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I gave away my Mr Beer kit and bottles at Christmas to try to help somebody else get started. Then my wife gave me 3 Mr Beer starter kits for Christmas. I made the Bavarian Weis and am enjoying it now, but am looking at doing something else with the Irish Stout kit, perhaps adding oatmeal or...

The IPA came out very well. I must have just misread the hydrometer.

Thanks, all. I can't do much about it now but it all goes into the experience folder for the next batch. I may have looked at the wrong column on the hydrometer, and if I thought I was looking at the right one, naturally did it again for the FG. I mixed water to wort pretty well and stirred...

I may well not have read the hydrometer correctly. I did follow the directions for the math several times. May get a new one or go over it with the homebrew supply store to make sure I'm reading it right. The level was just a little bit over the 5-gallon mark after I transferred to the...

I made up the Brewers' Best IPA adding a liquid yeast that the homebrew shop recommended as the only change. I've not gotten much bubbling activity the last few batches in the airlock, so didn't think much of it, and there is evidence of krausen activity when I opened the ale pale, but doing...

My next kit, a Scottish Ale, was brewed 3 weeks ago Sunday. I put the fermentor in the basement, where the temp is usually around 65 all year round. The fermentor temp settled out at about 68 for a couple of days. Then we had the sudden below 0 temp drops, and my basement hit 55, fermentor...

From bottling day to opening that first bottle, time has flown. I had my first dunkleweitzen on Monday night and it was excellent. Having 2 batches come out so well has really given me some confidence. I have the kit for my third one, a Scottish Ale, ready to go for this weekend. I know I...

I had asked the local homebrew supply store about this after seeing a mint chocolate stout mentioned at a local craft beer store. I'm still pretty much of a kit guy, so am planning to use the Imperial Stout kit, and they suggested the powdered coco method and mint extract, but I'm keeping my...

Been saving the Mr Beer spring special from last spring, the Imperial Lager and have finally gotten it in the keg. I found instructions on the Mr Beer forum for it since it didnt come with anything and I really wanted to do a true lager if possible, not just follow the generic Mr B...

Since temps have been on the low side, I have left my Weitzenbier for an extra week. Picked up 48 bottles at Brewtensils and will be working on bottling this Sunday. If this stuff tastes as good as the Brown Ale, I'm totally hooked on this new hobby. Tom Oxley

Had the first bottle on the 29th, and wow. Great stuff. More than a hint of chocolate, very creamy and great head retention. Now working on a second 5-gal batch, this time the Dunkel Weitzen. Brewed on Sunday and slowly fermenting away. I'm not noticing any bubbling in the airlock, but temp...

At a recent church bazaar, where it seems everyone in the community cleaned out their closets, attics, basements and garages for junk to donate for a church group to make a few bucks from, I found a bag of round metal balls with mesh sides that are used to put teas into for brewing a cup without...

Just finding the thread - interested as I am in military vehicles and brewing now. If there is a military property disposal depot somewhere near at hand, the HUMMVs are beginning to be retired. Good side is the capacity and relatively simple maintenance. Bad side is most will have very high...

Welcome, from this old Retired militaryman and newby brew guy. Tom Oxley

I've bottled the batch and await trying the first bottle. It was an interesting time. I broke the seal to work with transfer, adding sugar and stuff, and about half of the water in the bubbler thing immediately drained into the mix. Happily the batch made the recommended ending gravity after...

And if you need to kill some time between wonderful brews, check out the National Museum of the Air Force here in Dayton. :)

I think the one magazine is out of print these days, Eagles and Empires or something like that. The game shop in Chicago by a similar name published the magazine, several sets of rules and had a great webstore presence. Each issue had an article on period food and drink, dress, weapons...

This year has been about learning. Got my Mr Beer kit for Christmas, bought all the related books, got the Ale Pale kit given to me, collected bottles, and have made around 7 or 8 Mr B brews and my first regular batch. Next year will be more about experimenting, finding that elusive...

Thanks. Wasn't 100% sure on putting the hydrometer in the bucket or using a tube for it. Seems I see it done both ways in the books I've been reading. I tend to err on the side of caution, so I will use a tube for it instead. Between the cold I had and a few pesky gnats buzzing around the...

I made a simple starting set of labels for Old Ox Beer using MS Publisher and Avery 5164 labels. I'll do something a bit fancier but was in a bit of a hurry as I'm putting together a case for a Christmas party and need to label things as I can while I still remember what is what. :)