Batch #2 with a two questions?

[arrigo]

Ok I am on the edge of graduating college and upgrading to a better set up but for now still brewing in a Mr Beer keg.
Anyway, I have been reading and my first beer turned out fine. But, I just wanted to be clear on a couple things. Do you thing boiling my wort for 45 minutes versus the 5 minutes they recommend will make any difference. Oh, and the Mr beer kits just don't seem to have much hop flavor in them, when should I add some cascade pellets to the wort and long should they boil.
Again, I can't wait to get me a better setup. I've got all the books, finally hooked up with another home brewer near me to show me the ropes and can't wait to take it to the next level.

 

[Yooper]

I don't know much about Mr. Beer, so I'm not sure of their instructions. If you are NOT adding hops, though, DON'T boil more than five minutes. You'll boil off whatever hops oils are in there, leaving you with very little hops flavor and aroma.

If you ARE adding hops, you can add them during the boil, and boil a bit longer. Before I could advise you on that, I'd have to know what kind of beer you were making.

 

[arrigo]

I am going to use a Irish Red Ale beer mix, a Mellow Amber LME, and was planing on adding some Fuggles pellets. I also have some Cascade pellets. But I think the Fuggles will go better with that than the Cascade, right?

 

[Finn]

How big is a Mr. Beer? You can probably just calculate what percentage it is of a regular 5-gallon batch and use any recipe you want with the amounts reduced to your batch size.

Prozit!

--Finn

 

[Yooper]

Definitely no cascades in that style- and I'm not so sure about the Fuggles, either. I looked at the Mr. Beer website, and they mentioned Northern Brewer and Perle hops. Maybe this time, just make it as the recipe suggests, because if you boil it longer than called for, you'll boil off the hops flavor.

 

[arrigo]

Sweet, I will go with your advise. Thanks for the help.

 

[Finn]

Say, YooperBrew, what's the tomato wine I see in your signature? Is it any good? I've got scads of tomato juice from last season -- I grew special juicing tomatoes and canned off a ton of juice at EXACTLY the same SECOND that SWMBO and our little boy decided they didn't like tomato juice any more ... I'm so full of them red antioxidants I'll probably outlive a Twinkie, but there's only so much tomato juice one guy can drink.

Cheers!

--Finn

 

[Yooper]

Say, YooperBrew, what's the tomato wine I see in your signature? Is it any good? I've got scads of tomato juice from last season -- I grew special juicing tomatoes and canned off a ton of juice at EXACTLY the same SECOND that SWMBO and our little boy decided they didn't like tomato juice any more ... I'm so full of them red antioxidants I'll probably outlive a Twinkie, but there's only so much tomato juice one guy can drink.

Cheers!

--Finn

Well, I used fresh red tomatoes and made wine. It's a beautiful golden color, with a distinct tomato nose. I finished it dry, but you could sweeten it slightly. I'll dig up the recipe, and put it in the recipe database.