First Brew Questions

[Imprezed86]

hey everyone ill be brewing my first batch tomorrow and had a few questions.

like everyone i recieved a mr. beer kit for a christmas present. i am ok with the kit to start with just to see how much i like brewing. im sure ill be bouncing back and forth on here tomorrow when im actually brewing if i have any more questions.

the kit included the "Grand Bohemia Czech Pilsner" and "Aztec Mexican Cerveza"...... both rated at a 3.7% abv and the pilsner is 27 IBU's and Cerveza is 13 ibu's. basically im not a fan of these type of beers at all so that leads me to my first question.

is there anything i can add to the HME to help bring up the ABV and the IBU's??
i do have a home brew store in my town so getting most supplies shouldnt be a problem.

Any help would be great

Cheers,

Joel

 

[F250]

Did you read the Mr Beer FAQ at the top of the page?

Rick

 

[Imprezed86]

Yes i read through some of them, mostly talking about how people started with a mr. beer kit, some saying how its not a good start and what not.

 

[timduncan200021]

I'm in the same boat as you, just started my first brew ever in a lbk I received for Xmas, but one thing that I have consistently read is that an easy way to add more flavor, body, and abv is to add a lb of DME. Mix it in with your water pre boil and bring it to the hit break and keep it from foaming over and then boil it a lil while longer and then remove from heat and add the mr beer mix as per instructions. Someone correct me if I'm wrong I don't want to lead anyone astray.

 

[kh54s10]

To raise the abv you can add LME, DME or one of the many sugars. This will upset the balance of the recipe and depending on how much of a change you make it could be awful.

To raise the IBU you can add hops. I don't know the boil schedule so I can not advise on when or how much to add. You would also want to know what type of hop to add.

I suggest that you stick with what you have and decide if you like brewing. Then on the first brew you do on your own find a recipe that is of the style, ABV and IBU that you want.

Learn more about brewing procedures, then recipe design, then start making changes.

 

[Imprezed86]

Yeah, I've been reading a little bit more through the fourm on this. I suppose i will just follow the directions for the first couple batches just to get the feel of what I'm suppose to be doing.

One other question and im sure its been answered on here.

the 5 gallon reciepes with the lbk being 2.5 gallons i think.. would it be possible to buy another lbk and just evenly spilt the reciepes between the two or is it better just to go ahead and buy a full 5 gallon set up. this is just thinking in advance if i enjoy brewing ( which i believe is going to be a 100% YES!)

 

[homebrewhaha]

You'll likely be happier with the full 5-gallon setup. Just simpler: you won't have to worry about splitting batches between two fermenters.

 

[Imprezed86]

I was thinking that it would be easier with the 5 gallon set up. My brother brews a good amount and its what he has been using so i do have someone on speed dail when the time comes to upgrade my set up but ill try the lbk kit for awhile just to see how things work. I'm sure there will be a lot more questions to come! thanks for the input everyone

 

[jCOSbrew]

I would keep it simple for the first batch and use the partial boil + cold top off water to help cool the wort to yeast pitching temps. It is easier to cool 2-3 gallons of boiling wort in an ice bath in the sink than 5+ gallons.

Adding or substituting unhopped LEM or DME for most of the sugar should improve the beer. If you decide to add hops put them in at the end of the boil or at flamout for flavor/aroma. Both of the kits you mentioned are not intended to be bitter, high IBU styles.

 

[Imprezed86]

I think im just going to stick to the directions for a couple of times. Seems like the right thing to do until i get the hang out what exactly needs to be done.

I was planning on brewing tomorrow but after spending most of my work day reading the fourm it has me wanting to start a batch tonight. So my night maybe stopping by the craft beer store on the way home from the office and jumping into to this brewing thing tonight!!

 

[jCOSbrew]

Good luck on the first brew. Just don't follow the fermentation directions on the can.

Leave it in the primary for 2-3 weeks then make sure the gravity is stable for a few consecutive days before you bottle.
Pick up a copy of Palmer's How to Brew and read up before your next batch.

 

[Imprezed86]

well im getting everything set up and ready to brew. is it ok for me to wash my boiling pot with soap and water?? Is there any certain type of metal the boiling pot should be??

I picked up some Dogfish Head "Midas Touch" to enjoy with the process.

Wish me luck!!

 

[nukiwaza]

I got the exact same kit as you and I am in the same boat. I picked up a hydrometer and some caps yesterday. One of my firehouse buddies will let me borrow his capper. I plan on following the directions for the first batch.

If you register your kit they will send you advice by email. One of the first pieces of advice was to ignore the directions and let it ferment longer and condition in the bottle longer.

 

[Imprezed86]

I've been reading about the 2/2/2 rule with the lbk, so i think im going to follow that. I just got finished brewing my first batch which i thought was going to take a lot long..... i guess this is considering a partial boil??? I guess with the HME it takes away from the full boil and wart ice bath that i have read about.

I used a plastic spoon to mix everything so i hope that doesnt mess anything up. I've read on here that using a metal spoon is better i think. I now understand why people get so antsy to try it, i just put my lbk in the closet and im already wondering what its going to be like.

Does anyone know where to get the refills besides ordering online??

Also should i go ahead and use glass bottles instead of the plastic ones it came with? I enjoy my craft beers so i have been saving bottles for a couple months now...

thanks for the input everyone.

Cheers,
Joel

 

[nukiwaza]

The biggest problem with the bottles they shipped with the kit is they are too large. Few people sit down and drink that much at a siting,plus if they don't like it there is so much more to get rid of. The glass bottles are the right size and are easy to reuse. I can spread the joy(or crap) of the first batch around to friends and family.

 

[Imprezed86]

Yeah i think im going to go with glass bottles. One thing that i will be doing is fill one of the plastic bottles for carb testing. i would rather unscrew a top to check here and there then to pry open a full beer when its not ready

 

[Imprezed86]

Well i have a few worries ( possibly) so its starting to get cold here in VA and my house has oil heat. So it get expensive to run the heat all the time. My house stays around 62-65 which i think it comfortable and i have a heater in my room for those cold nights. When i woke up this morning my house temp had dropped to 52 last night so i kicked the heat on and brought it back up to 65. I've been keeping my lbk in a closet in my spare bedroom. The closet is full of clothes so i would like to think that it isnt effected by heat change. Should i be worried that it got to cold for the yeast?

 

[nukiwaza]

From everything I have been told if it cold, just warming it back up is sufficient to restart the yeast. To cold is much less of a problem then too warm.

 

[Imprezed86]

Well i poured a little beer into a cup yesterday from my lbk, couldnt wait any longer, it was a bit on the sweet side and didnt have much flavor to it. My hopes werent high so im not dissapointed at all from this kit. It seems like the cold didnt affect the beer at all but for safety purposes i wrapped a blanket around the keg. im going to let this sit until this saturday when i bottle it.

anyone have any advice, tips, or tricks that could be helpful with bottling from the lbk?
anything else i might need? besides bottles and a capper?

 

[Imprezed86]

Well i waited and waited. My brew has been in the lbk for 2 and 1/2 weeks. I tried it again last night and its super sweet and doesnt even smell like beer/ alcohol. I wonder if it stayed to cold in my house and fermentation just never compeleted. Is there anything i can do now or is it to late?

 

[freisste]

Do you have a hydrometer? Sorry if this was already answered, I didn't go back to the beginning of the thread...

 

[Imprezed86]

No do not have one yet, if needed i can pick one up this week at the LHBS. Wondering if warming the keg up and maybe stirring it around will wake up the yeast if needed

 

[Imprezed86]

Well i bottled my first batch yesterday. It sat in the lbk for 3 weeks and 2 days which i hope was enough time. I ended up just using the bottles that came with the kit just in case of first time bottle bombs.

I also brewed the second kit that my mrb came with. Once i added the HME i boiled it for 15 minutes just to see what would happen so well see.

I put it in the closet again and wrapped it with blankets to help hold some heat since we just got a nice artic front in Va and temps were around 15 degrees this morning. I cant wait it get out of the office and see if i have some fermenting happening.

 

[Imprezed86]

When i got home yesterday after work i checked the lbk and man was it going crazy in there. Fermination was alot better then last time by far! Does that have to do with the 15 boil of anything or just having the right temp to pitch the yeast??

I am already starting to plan the next batch ( reading through the recipe section like crazy since ive had a lot of free time at work) i want to try a 2.5 gallon recipe a couple of time before i jump in and buy more equipment.

With the 5 gallon recipes do i simply just divide by 5? Then add 2 and 1/2 the amount??

Also can anyone suggest any type of beer that is easier being the first time i will be doing a actual boil with hop additions?

 

[freisste]

With the 5 gallon recipes do i simply just divide by 5? Then add 2 and 1/2 the amount??

Also can anyone suggest any type of beer that is easier being the first time i will be doing a actual boil with hop additions?

Going from a 5gal recipe to a 2.5 gal recipe you divide by 2. Or divide by 5 and multiply by 2.5 (if that is what you described?, but that is more complicated.

As far as a type, I would suggest any IPA with a single type of hops (not that multiple hop varieties are difficult, just more to keep track of).

 

[Imprezed86]

Haha yea i guess just dividing it half would have been easier to think of ( who would have ever guess i work for a bank )

now with spilting it half what about the boil size and the amount of time at a boil does that stay the same or change as well?

 

[half_whit]

There's a couple things you can do. First, did you take an original gravity reading with your hydrometer? Taking a follow up reading will tell you if any fermentation has taken place. Your brew will taste a little sweeter pre-carbonation anyway, so it could just be a particularly sweet recipe.

If you didn't use a hydrometer, have you seen any signs of fermentation? Bubbling or accumulation of krausen on top (thick mucky foam).

If not, there could be many reasons that fermentation didn't happen. If your wort is too hot when you pitch yeast, it wont survive (always pitch below 80 for ales). Leftover cleansers that weren't properly rinsed out can kill yeast. Not aerating the wort enough when you pitch could slow the yeast response. Some yeasts will require making a starter to get the proper response. But at 2 1/2 weeks, something's definitely up. You could always pitch again with fresh yeast! What kind did you use?

 

[half_whit]

...I really need to type faster when I reply to fresh threads.

 

[Imprezed86]

Ha yea i try to stay on top of this while im at work during slow time.

i think the reason with the last batch staying sweet for awhile is becuase i had such a horrible time with tempature changes in my house. now i have the heat set at a constant 66 so the room i keep everything in is around there and the closet with my lbk is around 66-68.

thanks for the input

 

[Imprezed86]

well bottles have been sitting for a little over a week and are carbing up nice. should i wait another week before throwing them in the fidge or is it safe to put them in now??