Mr. Beer - Adding fruit and/or raising ABV?

[Bomber]

First off, many thanks to the forum creators, mods and to those members who help others...and especially those who have created the sticky posts (that include both instructions and photos).

I've never made beer and it's still enjoyable reading the posts here (and watching videos elsewhere).

I purchased a Mr. Beer (2 gallon barrel) kit (sans the bottles) on clearance for about $14. I had read in another thread here that the container is useful but that the extract/yeast and such tend to be of lesser quality compared to other options.

Regardless, I'd like to use the extract because it's my first time and it was cheap (meaning if I screw up....no biggie). With that said, it's a light beer with an ABV of between 3-4 (I read that in another post).
I'm not a quantity drinker and light beer is not my favorite type of beer. I've gotten into bombers recently and therefore I think 2 gallons of this light beer would be wasted on me.

I'm curious about A.) adding fruit and B.) raising the ABV. I've read several different posts. Fresh fruit, frozen fruit, extract.....pre boil/post boil, steep, 1st fermentation, 2nd. Use less for fruits like raspberries, more for fruits like peaches.

Has anyone had experience using canned fruit in syrup? If so, what would be the best way to go about this process with a simple extract in the Mr. Beer kit? Would the syrup raise the ABV level at all?

Also, I believe the barrel in the kit is over 2 gallons. Even with the extra space, do I run any risk (with canned fruit in syrup) of fermentation overflow or bleeding through the lid?

Many thanks for any advice or experience offerings.

(My apologies as perhaps this post would have been more appropriate in the Mr. Beer sticky. Please move it if you feel that's the case. Thank you.)

 

[slym2none]

I started out using Mr. Beer, so I can be confident in what I'm saying.

A pound of dry malt extract can only improve the flavour of the beer, and will add about 12 gravity points (1.7% ABV) to your beer. You can use light DME for most any recipe, although if it's one of the dark beers they make, amber is OK, and hop-forward beers seem to do better with wheat DME.

I still use the barrel for fermenting my beers, I use recipes scaled to 2.5 gallons (which you can achieve by filling it to just above the "Q" in the top-most "quart" marking") and have yet to overflow it, although I've come close.

I have never used fruit in any of my beers, either MrB or all-grain. Sorry that I can't help you there. I will say that the syrup will raise the ABV, but IDK how much. Also, most of the flavour will be stripped out the fruit, so having some extract of the same fruit might be advisable to get the level of fruit flavour you are looking for.

 

[jayjt29]

Ive added fruit to fermenter's before, but have no knowledge of Mr beer, or never used it. IMO I wouldn't put fruit into a Mr Beer as you cant rack it off. Fruit will add to the ABV but it all depends how much you put in.

Cheers
Jay

 

[Bomber]

Many thanks, slym2none and jayit29.

Wow, slym2none, I had no idea that DME even existed. That really opens up a whole new world and sounds like it would help on both fronts (flavor and ABV). That's exactly what I'll do. Definitely looking for some type of depth to the flavor. I looked up a calculator and apparently 1.87lbs. LME + 1lbs MDE will yeild about a 5.40% ABV. That seems about normal.

The LME that came with this kit is an American Light Beer. The picture on the can is a "rocky mountain" type of thing and therefore I imagine it's like a Coors Lite or other such beer. From what I gather, beer brewing is both a science and an art. From your post, it sounds like a wheat DME might be best. Would I simply pour in the warmed can of LME (stirring so as not to scorch on the bottom) and then pour in the DME after that (incorporating while trying to prevent clumping)....in the same pot at the same time with the same amount of water suggested by Mr. Beer being 4 cups? Sounds like some overboil potential there or no?

Out of curiosity, are their LME and DME combinations that simply don't work in terms of flavor. For instance, this "Coors Light" type of LME and an amber DME. Would the flavor output be conflicting.

jayit29, curious as to what type of fruit you usually use and in what form (fresh, frozen, puree, extract). Agreed, I'm not sure how it would work with Mr. Beer. There isn't a 2nd fermentation stage for this. I don't know if perhaps the fruit could be steeped after boil and removed before putting it into the keg. Or if the fruit could remain in the keg in a moslin bag and removed before bottling. I see some bottles of fruit "essence" for sale online at a local brew shop. It states that it's best used after fermentation. Not quite sure if they mean to add it and stir it directly before bottling. I'd be curious if a few drops could be added to each bottle instead of a whole batch.

I'll be heading to a local brew shop and ask a few questions there as well as pick up a few items. Maybe I can turn this kit into a semi faux cherry wheat beer.