Help

[bob winstead]

I just started brewing my own beer, so still very very green. I have a Mr beer kit and ordered a refill of churchills nut brown ale. I also bought a kit at a thrift store that has the following, crystal malt, package about 1.5x3, hops, package about 3x5, and some yeast. Can I add any of those to my mr beer kit to help it make better beer? I really like this hobby and can see myself upgrading very soon to doing all grain beer, it looks alot more interesting, but for now, this is what I have. Thanks for your help....

 

[Tpost704]

Welcome Bob! Congrats on getting into home brewing. I have never personally used beer kits before, but a lot of people have gotten into brewing this way and have had success. Quality of ingredients and sanitation are HUGE in brewing quality beer. I would stick to kits purchased from your local home brew store or reputable online sources such as Northern Brewer or Midwest Brewing Supplies. Personally, I would not brew anything I found at a thrift store. My suggestion is pick up a book on home brewing and start learning. "How to brew" by John Palmer or "The Complete Joy Of Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian are both great starting points. Get the basics under your belt and brew a few quality extract batches first. You will likely have greater success this way and continue to develop to a point where all grain batches are more feasible. Good luck to you!

 

[seatazzz]

+1 on the above. You don't mention where you are located, but I would search around for a local homebrew supply (LHBS) and stop in. More than likely you will get a LOT of good information there and they will be able to point you in the right direction. Brewers Best kits (sold at most LHBS or you can get them online) have done me well in the past. Very easy instructions.

 

[flars]

I just started brewing my own beer, so still very very green. I have a Mr beer kit and ordered a refill of churchills nut brown ale. I also bought a kit at a thrift store that has the following, crystal malt, package about 1.5x3, hops, package about 3x5, and some yeast. Can I add any of those to my mr beer kit to help it make better beer? I really like this hobby and can see myself upgrading very soon to doing all grain beer, it looks alot more interesting, but for now, this is what I have. Thanks for your help....

I agree with what has been said already. The thrift store purchase would be risky. The yeast more than likely has been improperly stored and has little to no viability. The hops have definitely not been stored properly. Freshly packaged hops can be kept in a refrigerator for a month. Longer storage needs to be in a freezer in a sealed bag, preferably never opened original packaging.

Take some time to look around at the on line sites to get fresh ingredients. Right now Northern Brewer has 15% off on orders over $75 if you have subscribed to their email offers. Might be too early though to jump in with big dollar spending without some reading and looking first.

NB publishes the recipes and instructions for brewing their kits. Instructions are better than most. Take a look and see what interests you.

Welcome to the world of home brewing.

 

[kh54s10]

As far as using what you have to enhance the Mr Beer kit. 1) I wouldn't do it with a kit bought at a thrift store. As already mentioned it is probably outdated and most probably stored poorly.
2) We can't help much because we don't know what crystal malt it is, what hops they are, or what type or the age of the yeast.