I've just started trying my 1st beer. It's been in bottles for 3 weeks now and I had my second bottle yesterday. I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed. It tastes like beer and has a good head, but it's just kinda boring/tasteless. It was a Mr. Beer WCPA and Canadian draft mix with no booster. Once again, it's OK, but not near as good as the commercial brews I drink. Does it get better with the better kits, grains, hops, etc. ? I had the last of my SN Celebration Ale, a Firestone Union Jack IPA, Tommyknocker Black IPA and some Piraat ale this weekend, and I had very little interest in continuing to drink my beer. Any help here? My beer just tastes like a bud heavy or similar high volume brews.
Disappointed in 1st beer
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The ones you mentioned are bigger beers than what you made. Those heavier beers make that home brew seem watery by comaprison.
I will go out on a limb and say Yes. Not being an extract brewer I cannot tell you what the best extracts are or whose kits are best, but I know that fresh, high quality ingredients will make a better beer, just as it does with food. My very first beer was a Mr Beer Cowboy lager that looked and smelled and tasted like beer but was watery and had no mouth feel at all. That's when I got enthused and started researching. My second attempt with the Mr Beer was using the Pale Ale extract with some specialty grains and a partial mash. Turned it into a brown ale and it was great!. So hang in there, learn from this and look at other options. Get some books (John Palmer How to brew: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html) Online version is good, printed version better. Then try again. Keep at you will regret it!.
Good Brewing!
Good Brewing!
that's what i was thinking, union. it sounds like the beer the OP brewed was a fairly light, Mr Beer brew, which, IMO, won't stand up well to big commercial beers.
OP, yes, there's many kits out there that make a commercial quality (or better) beer if brewed properly. there's also a kit (or 73) for every style of brew imaginable.
OP, yes, there's many kits out there that make a commercial quality (or better) beer if brewed properly. there's also a kit (or 73) for every style of brew imaginable.
My friend has a Mr. Beer kit and she loves it. But I will say that the beer is bland and boring, no matter what kind she makes. She made a Vienna lager that she loved, and it tasted very much like the West Coast Pale ale that she loved.
I'd try a quality kit like from northernbrewer.com and/or austinhomebrew.com. They have great instructions and it's easy to do. Since they come in 5 gallon kits, if you have a Mr. Beer fermenter, you could just make 1/2 at a time (but use all of the yeast and buy another package). I think you'll notice a world of difference!
I'd try a quality kit like from northernbrewer.com and/or austinhomebrew.com. They have great instructions and it's easy to do. Since they come in 5 gallon kits, if you have a Mr. Beer fermenter, you could just make 1/2 at a time (but use all of the yeast and buy another package). I think you'll notice a world of difference!
Yeah,I too was thinking he should try to brew something a bit closer to what he's used to drinking.
Yea, I have the John Palmer book and already bought a 5 gallon kit and my next brew is a Irish Red Ale from Midwest. It is still an extract, but had steeping grains and hops, so I am hoping it will be better. Maybe I should stop drinking the good craft beer and switch to natty light the week before I try my next home brew!
that kit will make a very nice beer.
BamaRooster
Well-Known Member
+1 move beyond Mr. Beer and I think your home brew will improve.
Will it ever be close to or superior to the best craft beers? Could I eventually make a Stone Ruination type quality beer? Does that kind of quality in a homebrew take months, years to accomplish?
i regularly make beer that is as good or better than commercial examples of the same style. even my extract batches tend to be really good. i have a PM Cascadian Dark that is as good or better than my two favorite CDA's (Stone's SSR and Deschute's Hop in the Dark). so yeah, you can easily make beer that's very very good.
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
Two separate issues here, If and when.
Can you? yes.
will is take months or years? that is largely dependent on several factors, however I would focus on making things you are proud of, if you focus on improving with every batch and stay attentive the quality of your beers will skyrocket. Take notes, read, make the needed adjustments, repeat.
very true. experience is key here. that said, it's very easy to make amazing beer, and you can begin doing it even as a new brewer. i suggest reading a lot, brewing a lot, and picking the brains of more experienced brewers. there's thousands here on HBT with some awesome tips, info, etc.
BOBTHEukBREWER
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Add 2 lbs of medium spraymalt extract to your kit, don't add sugar, and boil 2 oz hops in 5 pints of water for 5 mins and strain & cool and add to your fermenting wort on day 3 - you will be very pleasantly surprised.
When I did hop teas,I boiled them for 15 minutes,more flavor/aroma that way. EKG & Willamette worked real well that way. Medium DME over here would be amber. 2lbs of DME is def better than sugar everytime. Now,you could add the 2lb's DME,then toss in 250g of demerara sugar for a little more flavor complexity. It's raw cane sugar that tastes like light brown sugar laced with honey. Good stuff for priming with as well.
I found that the 2 Mr. Beer kits that I did, tasted very similar. I used the same stock Yeast that came with the cans of extract, but the recipes were very different (scottish Wee Heavy and the West Coast Pale Ale), and they both just tasted like yeast too me. I think it's the design of the Mr. Beer - combining the Bottling Bucket and the Fermenter, I think that allows too much trub to make it into the fermenter.
That being said, it did get me into brewing, and I've been enjoying it immensely ever since.
That being said, it did get me into brewing, and I've been enjoying it immensely ever since.
william_shakes_beer
Well-Known Member
My early extract batches were preassembled kits from Brewers best. They mostly contained 2 cans or LME (2X 3.3 LB cans) for a 5 gallon batch. While I never made one, I remember early in my pre-first batch research seeing kits from Coopers etal. that contained 3.3 LB extract and 3 LB cane sugar. That will make beer. but be very dry and probably not terribly flavorful. What was your batch size (in the fermenter) and how much extract (dry and liquid) did you use? If I came across a kit that called for 3 lbs sugar I'd probably replace it with a like amount of light DME or light LME.
That is the best thing to do with Cooper's,Munton's,etc cans. More mouth feel flavor,& aroma than dextrose,brewing sugar,enhancers,etc. Add some appropriate hops & you're there.
NateLTB
Well-Known Member
As a starting homebrewer myself the best advice I can give you would be to read as much as possible and talk to other homebrewers. Homebrewers are a great group of people and every single one that I've met will share their tips and tricks with you. If you've already read John Palmer's book you should check out the Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian and also spend as much time as possible on this forum. The people on here have so much knowledge, just start reading through different topics and you'll learn a ton.
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