First Brew Mr Beer Canadian Draught

[NadoHawk]

So I brewed my first batch two weeks ago Friday. Mr Beer High Country Canadian Draft....sorry did not take pictures, but by now you've all seen enough people with pictures documenting pretty much the exact same brew process and I made some mistakes like believing the filtered water was in the fridge which added to my brew setup time by about an hour or so.

I did a taste test today. It smelled great and the beginning taste was great, I did not notice any off flavors on the first sip (took an ounce at most for sample). Only thing I noticed was it had a bland after-taste, but I would assume that is due to no carbonation since I recall drinking flat beers and those tasted much worse than what I tasted tonight.

Now the only issue is I really started getting into the tax season at work and forgot to get bottles for the bottling on Friday. How far can I realistically keep it in the fermenter if work gets in the way of my bottling?

This was not the best beer I have had, but this was my beer so it makes it something special. Next brew, I will start to experiment like adding hops and DME to the Pale Ale version. The Whispering Wheat will wait until summer and what a treat that will be when I make it akin to a Belgian.

Also, and this does not matter much to me since I like beers like hefeweizens, but the beer was a bit cloudy. If I wanted to have one of my batches more translucent in the future, would you recommend an additive like Irish moss?

 

[NadoHawk]

Also when I bottle, I want to get every little drop out of my Mr Beer (I think this may be called increasing the efficiency, right?), but I have read that agitating the keg too much can release some of the sediments at the bottom and also over-arriate the beer, which I have been told is not ideal. What is the best way to do this with the basic setup (I don't see Mr. Beer selling that spigot improvement anymore)?

Do any of you just simply bottle your beer and then drink the dregs of the beer for a healthy does of Vitamin B? I know an Australian might be more prone to do this since Vegemite is basically this plus spices.

 

[midlo-brewer]

You can easily go 3 to 4 weeks in the Mr. Beer keg without any issues...done it many times myself. Usually leaving the beer longer will result in a clearer beer overall, unless its a wheat beer! I have only done a handful of batches, and I typically primary for 3-4 weeks and have had clear beers!

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I use Mr Beer too and if you have room in the fridge, cold crash it there for 2-3 days before you bottle. Clears things up real nice and makes the trub more solid and less likely to make it into your bottles. The Whispering Wheat with a pound of wheat DME and Danstar Munich yeast is super tasty by the way!

 

[HopHeadGrady]

Only thing I noticed was it had a bland after-taste...

This was not the best beer I have had.....

Judging by those quotes, in my expert opinion, it's an authentic Canadian Draught! :cross:

 

[NadoHawk]

You can easily go 3 to 4 weeks in the Mr. Beer keg without any issues...done it many times myself. Usually leaving the beer longer will result in a clearer beer overall, unless its a wheat beer! I have only done a handful of batches, and I typically primary for 3-4 weeks and have had clear beers!

Thanks. I think I will wait to bottle then. Gives me time to get some 2-liter bottles...probably root beer would be best because they come in darker bottles.

I use Mr Beer too and if you have room in the fridge, cold crash it there for 2-3 days before you bottle. Clears things up real nice and makes the trub more solid and less likely to make it into your bottles. The Whispering Wheat with a pound of wheat DME and Danstar Munich yeast is super tasty by the way!

That might be a bit hard to do, but I might see if I can have my way with the fridge...I'm guessing not, but I can always try. Thanks.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Root beer flavor sticks in the plastic and leeches into the beer from what I have heard. You can use any color bottle if you make sure they stay out of light.

 

[NadoHawk]

So I still have yet to bottle. About a week ago, someone decided to wash the dishes in my sanitizing solution of which was the rest of that supply.

Will bleach ruin the flavor of the beer?

 

[Draken]

I have noticed that all my Me Beer batches taste about the same... Which is not that good. Definitely get a different yeast instead of what comes under the lid for the next batch. Also bleach will wrk, but you really have to rinse the crud out of the bottles afterwards. I have heard (on here) that a bleach soak can get rid of the root beer flavor. Good rule though, if it smells like root beer, don't use the bottle for anything else.

 

[NadoHawk]

So I finally tasted the end result. It is not the best tasting beer I have ever drunk, but I sure have been drinking a tad bit of it (more than I drink of other beers) so I guess it can't be too bad. It is a comfortable beer to drink is how I would describe it, not great but not bad either....a chill beer to drink while watching a TV show or playing a video game.

The major issue with my beer is little head due to waiting three months to finally bottle.