First Brew!

[PlainsBrew]

Hey guys, love the forums...

Quick question... I'm bottling my first batch tomorrow. Its a Pale Ale from Mr. Beer... yeah yeah, I know... but its my first.

I want to use Corn Sugar instead of regular sugar.... The question is... how much should I put in a 1 Liter bottle... my current calculation has me at 2 3/4 to 3 teaspoons... Is that way off?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

PS. Oh, and since I only have 8 bottles... I don't plan on doing a batch prime. I'm just going to prime the bottles and fill them, as per the instructions... not worth getting my bottling bucket fired up for 8 bottles. Thanks!

 

[PlainsBrew]

Ouch! Not even a, "Screw you, noob!" lol

 

[Nurmey]

I don't think it's that no one wants to help you but I don't know the answer. In 5 years of brewing I've never put sugar directly in a bottle, only in the bottling bucket.

 

[PlainsBrew]

I understand that... It seems to be pretty subjective... I'll give something a try and hope for the best... thanks.

 

[Runyanka]

Screw you n00b...
Just kidding, Mr Beer is a great kit to start out on, many of us have. I still use my mr. beer for doing small test batchs. Hope your beer turns out great. :rockin:

 

[Runyanka]

On a lighter note... is that amount more than the regular table sugar? My brother in law just did his first mr beer kit, and added corn sugar vs table sugar and his beer turned out rather flat with no head (probably because he dumped a s*** load of corn sugar into the boil because he wants high alcohol beer).

 

[PlainsBrew]

I put in their "booster" pack as directed. The recipe says 2 1/2 Teaspoons of regular sugar, per 1 liter bottle... I am leaning more towards that same amount of corn sugar right now... I will try 3 teaspoons next time...

Thanks for taking the time Runyank...

 

[Runyanka]

Sure thing...
Yeah I would use the same amount of corn sugar, the worst thing that could happen is that you could have over carbonated beer vs flat beer. Either way, it will still be beer, and you will still get that "oh face" when taking your first sip.

 

[Shooter]

I would think 2 3/4 to 3 tsp would PROBABLY be okay, but don't quote me on that. As you note, regular cane sugar is 2 1/2 tsp.

Don't worry about brewing with Mr. Beer, nothing to be ashamed about there. I'm still a noob, but I started with Mr. Beer. I've moved up to five gallon extract kits and steeping grains. It's nice adding your own hops and really feeling like you're going one step beyond what Mr. Beer has to offer, but, honestly, I still use my Mr. Beer all the time and I still prime my Mr. Beer batches with cane sugar. I just bottled the High Country Canadian Draft this afternoon and am anxious to try it in a few weeks.

If you haven't already done so, check out the Mr. Beer thread. It's long, but has a lot of good information. Just a few tips, ditch the booster in the future and substitute 1 lb of extra light dry malt extract, buy a better yeast. Dry yeast works fine, I find myself using Safale US-05 and Nottingham for my recent Mr. Beer batches. Also, let the thing ferment at least two weeks before bottling and give it at least three weeks in the bottle before sampling. I know, it seems a long time to wait, but, quite honestly, it's still not really enough. Giving your beer the extra time will be noticeable in the finished product. You'll probably find, as you drink the bottles over the course of a few weeks that they just keep getting better with age. Trust me, I have a five gallon batch of brown ale that I really liked at three weeks in the bottle. Now, several weeks later...I absolutely LOVE it! Oh, and don't forget to RDWHAHB!