First sip of my first brew!

[user 161678]

I just sat down today and tasted my first batch. It was the light American that came with the Mr. Beer kit I got for Christmas. I bottled it on July 8 after 3 weeks in the fermenter and it has been sitting in the fridge for the last 2 days. It has a yeasty flavor that doesn't make it unbearable, just not delicious. Does it need to cold condition more or is this just how my beer will taste?

 

[Dustinj]

How long did you bottle condition at room temp before refrigerating it? Did you use sugar and water or fizzy drops?

 

[user 161678]

How long did you bottle condition at room temp before refrigerating it? Did you use sugar and water or fizzy drops?

Used table sugar to prime and the bottles were kept at about 71 degrees for a month. Unfortunately, I just put the sugar in the bottle, no sterilizing.

 

[mysteryshrimp]

An infection doesn't taste yeasty. It might just be a little green. most extract batches I've come across are best at 6-8 weeks. If that's the case, it will improve with a little age.

Mr Beer is not the best quality kit. I'd avoid the refill kits and visit your friendly Local Home Brew Store. They can customize a 2 gallon kit, or sell you a bucket for 5 gallon batches.

 

[snyklez]

I don't have much to offer besides; 1. Let it sit awhile, that's usually the consensus, and 2. Congratulations! It will only get better from here.

 

[Dustinj]

Used table sugar to prime and the bottles were kept at about 71 degrees for a month. Unfortunately, I just put the sugar in the bottle, no sterilizing.

I've never used mr beer but did you make simple syrup and add the beer to it then bottle or just put sugar in the bottles? Did the the bottle "pop" when you opened it? Also don't shake it up leave the stuff at the botom of the bottle. Im thinking it's just flat. You may need to try some fizzy drops from your LHBS.

 

[m3n00b]

What temp did you ferment at? Anything above 65 during the first couple of days and you'll get yeasty esters and other off flavors from the fromunda yeast.

 

[Yooper]

My friend has a mr beer and loves it, but in my experience the beer isn't great. The beer tends to have a yeasty quality to it, as well as a bit of extract (not fresh) flavor.

This beer may not improve much, but if you keep it cold and pour the beer off of the yeast cake that is in the bottle that will help minimize any yeasty flavor and character.

 

[Brewnoob1]

My first brew, was a basic American ale kit. I still have a few bottles and that was a few years ago. Honestly, mine took about 6 months before it tasted good enough to share. After the few few months, I even considered dumping them. Time will help but honestly, I think experience and just brewing more will do you better. My 2nd batch was LEAPS and BOUNDS better than the first. Control your fermenting temps, pitch enough yeast, and it seems like you have the patience down. So just practice practice practice and you'll see improvement with each batch.

 

[user 161678]

It was fermented in the low 70's, and it is perfectly carbonated. I did a second batch in my mr beer which I got from LHBS. That is bottled now and sitting in the cellar. I now have a bucket fermenter and the "Brewer's Best" pumpkin spice porter. Hopefully, brew day is coming soon! I'm still a little fuzzy on the secondary fermenter debate ( LHBS insisted on using one while I hear that a secondary is outdated.) and conditioning, and cold conditioning. Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[m3n00b]

Low 70s is too hot. Low 60's ambient would be ideal.

 

[KepowOb]

It was fermented in the low 70's, and it is perfectly carbonated. I did a second batch in my mr beer which I got from LHBS. That is bottled now and sitting in the cellar. I now have a bucket fermenter and the "Brewer's Best" pumpkin spice porter. Hopefully, brew day is coming soon! I'm still a little fuzzy on the secondary fermenter debate ( LHBS insisted on using one while I hear that a secondary is outdated.) and conditioning, and cold conditioning. Thanks for all of the advice.

From what a lot of people say here (plus my experience at my LHBS), LHBS seem to be stuck on using a secondary. You can use one if you want, but the consensus these days seems to be, unless you have a good reason to be doing it (adding fruit, dry hopping - and some people dry hop in the primary) is that all it does increase your risk of infection without any real benefit.

 

[chawagi]

Use a priming calculator when you bottle, and use a bottling bucket rather than individual bottle priming. It's been a loooooong while since I brewed on Mr. Beer, but if I remember the instructions correctly, it has you add a ridiculous amount of sugar to each bottle, then bottle the beer on top of that.

That is what pushed me away from Mr. Beer and out of homebrewing for a while. Every beer tasted very yeasty and overly sweet.