First Brew

[erkbechtold]

Hello people, I just finished my very first ever home brew. I used a Mr. Beer kit and added 1lb of malt extract to boost the alcohol content. The finished product tastes rather sweet and I was hoping someone on here could tell me how I can make my next brew taste better? All advise is welcome.

 

[kellanv]

What was the recipe? One pound is a lot for a small batch. My guess is stuck fermentation or yeast attenuating due to high alcohol leaving sugar behind.

 

[midlo-brewer]

How long did you let it sit in the mr. beer keg for before bottling, and how long did you let it bottle condition for?

 

[erkbechtold]

I used 1 can of Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale HME, 1 bag of Mr. Beer booster, 1lb malt extract that I bought from my local brew supply store. Not exactly sure what the measurements are for the HME and booster?

 

[erkbechtold]

I let it stay in the Mr. Beer keg for 3 weeks before bottling then left the bottles sit for 2 weeks before drinking.

 

[midlo-brewer]

Did you sample it before you bottle or batch primed it and if so was it sweet then? If it was not, I would say that you need to give the bottles a little more time to condition for the yeast to munch on the sugars you added when bottling to help carbonate your beer.

 

[SittingDuck]

The booster is sugar. The canned extract plus the sugar plus the added extract is a lot of sugar, including unfermentable sugars from the extract, and it looks like your only bitterness came from the hopped extract. Your yeast could have crapped out, as suggested above, but my guess is you just have an unbalanced beer--lots of malt/sugar, no hops or other bittering agents.

 

[erkbechtold]

The booster is sugar. The canned extract plus the sugar plus the added extract is a lot of sugar, including unfermentable sugars from the extract, and it looks like your only bitterness came from the hopped extract. Your yeast could have crapped out, as suggested above, but my guess is you just have an unbalanced beer--lots of malt/sugar, no hops or other bittering agents.

Thanks SittingDuck I think you are right on. I have said to myself a couple times it tastes like it could use more hops flavor. Next brew I'm not using a Mr. Beer kit recipe just the equipment.

 

[erkbechtold]

Did you sample it before you bottle or batch primed it and if so was it sweet then? If it was not, I would say that you need to give the bottles a little more time to condition for the yeast to munch on the sugars you added when bottling to help carbonate your beer.

I did sample it and it tasted slightly sweet but not too bad. It tasted like I drank an open can of beer left over from a frat party a week ago. Make sense?