Mr. Beer beer

[Ian2400]

Hi everyone, I just got a mr. Beer from my friends and put in my first batch into the keg yesterday. I've been trying to read up (there is a LOT out there) and have been seeing references to certain things Mr. Beer tells you to do that you shouldn't do, or products they have that you shouldn't buy. However, a lot of these tips don't come with suggestions for what you SHOULD do.

So, my questions:
Bottling:
Is it okay to bottle right from the Mr. Beer or is there a better way to do it?

What kind of bottles should I buy? Are the flip-top glass ones alright or should I go with the PET bottles from mr beer?

Sanitizing:
I read that the one-step from Mr. Beer is no good. What is the best thing to use for sanitizing?

Brewing:
I read that the booster is crap. Should I buy the UME from mr beer, or is it best to find recipes online and make everything from scratch, skipping the mr beer ingredients entirely? I'm setting out to make a true hobby out of this so the quickness of the Mr. Beer ingredients isn't necessary. If buying recipes and UME from mr beer is the best way to go for a few batches though, I will do that.

Yeast:
I read (yeah, been doing a lot of reading) that Mr. Beer yeast produces overly fruity beers, which are very much not my thing. What is the best kind of yeast to buy, and where can I find how much yeast I need per batch?

Sorry if these are overly nooby, I tried looking around here for the answers and couldn't find anything really specific (brand names, etc to look for or sites to buy from).

I'm kind of tight on money but I can afford some things. Basically if there is a cheaper but equally good way to do something let me know, and if that cheaper way involves buying all scratch ingredients and spending a lot of time, well I have a lot more time than money .

And again, sorry if this shouldn't be asked or I should go somewhere else, feel free to just link me somewhere if I missed it.

 

[Joos]

Welcome to HBT Ian.I would just use the mr. beer for now.No sense in putting it to waste.If you are truly interested in the hobby then look either online or for a LHBS(local home brew shop) for a start up kit.If and when you get a start up kit.Throw out the directions and start asking questions hereAs for yeasts there are many different strains for many different styles.So again just use the stuff you have for the recipe you have.Good luck and have fun.

P.S. I figured I'd let you know.Your profile says your female

 

[Ian2400]

I can do that, I'm just out of what I have (the kit only came with one recipe). I figured I would make this batch and then move on to something else for the second. Why waste money on more mr beer stuff if there is a better way to do it?

Also, I'd really like an answer to the bottling questions, as I'll have to do that in a week and have nothing to bottle with.

edit: I fixed my profile, thanks!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I still use the PET Mr Beer bottles that came with the kit my wife bought me over 18 months ago. They are very easy to handle, and hold a litre, which is easier for bottling. I use real bottles as well, the the Mr Beer bottles work well for beer that I am not presenting to others.

Also, the One-step stuff is good enough to carry on using until it's all gone. Then upgrade when it's gone.

 

[Ian2400]

Well that's the thing. My friends got me the SUPER basic kit, which had one thing of onestep cleaner. That will be gone after I bottle my first batch, so I'm wondering what to get next and how much to use of it for each batch.

Essentially after this first batch I'll be at square one but with the mr beer keg Hence all the questions. I figure I shouldn't waste more money on expensive mr beer stuff if there is a higher quality and cheaper alternative.

 

[Ian2400]

Oh, and a list of useful beginner accessories would be nice too. For instance, I'm not sure how useful thermometers or a funnel/strainer would be. I feel like bottling with a funnel/strainer would oxygenate the beer, but I'm not sure.

 

[Joos]

I personally don't order stuff online.But if you "search" I'm sure you'll find a good starter kit.As for sanitizer I usually use star san in a spray bottle.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I've used one step for all my beer batches (4, ha ha) and haven't had a problem. Maybe I just got lucky...

 

[Nurmey]

Welcome Ian!
A really great place to start is reading http://www.howtobrew.com
Most of the beer making books are based on 5 gallon brews made in pails or carboys. The principle is the same, you are just making smaller batches in Mr. Beer.

You are correct in thinking that you can make better beers by buying ingredients from a local homebrew store or online. You could buy 5 gallon ingredient kits, split all the ingredients (except the yeast-use the whole packet), and brew just about any beer you like.

Might I suggest you look at some of the extract kits from Austin Homebrew Supply

A bottling bucket and bottling wand are the right tools for bottling.

 

[Ian2400]

I live in Pittsburgh so I have a few homebrew shops nearby. If I get a 5 gallon kit, should I buy one extra yeast packet per kit and basically double the yeast content of each batch?

 

[ArcaneXor]

Ian,

welcome to the hobby. I suggest just playing with the Mr. Beer for three or four batches, while you learn more about the hobby in books such as John Palmer's How To Brew, in forums such as this one, and the various beer-related Podcasts such as Basic Brewing Radio. That way, you can decide whether you like the hobby and are ready to invest extra money into additional equipment.

Keep your Mr. Beer keg if you decide to upgrade - they make excellent fermenters for Ciders and Apple Wines.

 

[djt17]

I too started with Mr Beer; I found a lot of useful info here: Mr Beer FAQ and Wiki | Main / Mr. Beer Fans FAQ

 

[RichPGH]

Ian,

I am from the Pgh area.

There are a few LHBS in the area, one just off the McKnight Road Exit on Babcock Blvd, one in Crafton, one toward Monroeville and one up North, in Portersville.

I tend to swing by there for incidentals, but I mainly order online, due to time constraints.

I have to Back what has been said so far - Take your time and ease into the hobby. The Mr Beer Kits are fairly inexpensive, and can be ordered online. They include sanitizer with each kit, along with common brewer yeast.

Later on you'll be scaling down Ed's Apfelwein to fit into your Mr. Beer Keg while trying to figure out where you can store your 6th 5 gallon fermentor. There'll be plenty of time for that later.

 

[Nurmey]

I live in Pittsburgh so I have a few homebrew shops nearby. If I get a 5 gallon kit, should I buy one extra yeast packet per kit and basically double the yeast content of each batch?

You got it. A yeast packet (dry) is good for 1 to 5 gallons and they don't store well after being opened.

You might want to check in here before following the kit instructions if they sound wonky. Some instructions are ok but some are just plain bad.

What beer are you thinking about making?

 

[Ian2400]

Well I just put in the west coast pale ale, and next I would like to make an amber, something similar to bell's amber ale. If anyone knows a good mr. beer amber I'd appreciate the advice, its hard to tell how something is going to taste from their website . If there is something a bit nutty (the rogue hazelnut brown nectar is probably my favorite beer if that gives you an idea) that would be best. I'll try out a few batches of mr beer with UME and let you all know how it turns out.

 

[jkarp]

I too started with Mr Beer; I found a lot of useful info here: Mr Beer FAQ and Wiki | Main / Mr. Beer Fans FAQ

Heh, I wrote that. Not to take away from HBT, but there's good folk over there at Mr. Beer Fans who really know how to get the most out of the system. Pop over there and introduce yourself. I'm not there but on the rare occasion any more, but anyone's certainly welcome to PM me Mr. Beer questions here. I also did a custom database for QBrew that has all the Mr. Beer ingredients defined.

 

[Shooter]

Bottling:
Is it okay to bottle right from the Mr. Beer or is there a better way to do it?

What kind of bottles should I buy? Are the flip-top glass ones alright or should I go with the PET bottles from mr beer?

Sanitizing:
I read that the one-step from Mr. Beer is no good. What is the best thing to use for sanitizing?

Brewing:
I read that the booster is crap. Should I buy the UME from mr beer, or is it best to find recipes online and make everything from scratch, skipping the mr beer ingredients entirely? I'm setting out to make a true hobby out of this so the quickness of the Mr. Beer ingredients isn't necessary. If buying recipes and UME from mr beer is the best way to go for a few batches though, I will do that.

Yeast:
I read (yeah, been doing a lot of reading) that Mr. Beer yeast produces overly fruity beers, which are very much not my thing. What is the best kind of yeast to buy, and where can I find how much yeast I need per batch?

Bottling from Mr. Beer works fine, if you've got the cash, look into their locking spigot with bottling wand, it works very well.

For sanitizing, I like Star San, some prefer Iodophor, did I spell that right?!?

There's nothing inherently wrong with the Mr. Beer ingredients. I often use their products, but I doctor them up a little. For basic recipes, use a pound of light dry malt extract in place of the booster, it's a big improvement, for darker beers you could use amber or dark dry malt extract.

Yeast, I always use a better yeast, if I'm going for an American ale, US-05, an English ale, S-04, a cleaner, more lager like brew, I usually go for Nottingham.

Despite what some might tell you, not necessarily on this board, as it's full of pretty cool people who have been there before, Mr. Beer is a fine way to start out if you aren't ready to jump right into bigger batches. I have one more five gallon extract batch and then I've got an oatmeal stout planned as my first partial mash. My friend has a simple all grain setup that I might be purchasing soon. Despite all of that, I continue to use and enjoy my Mr. Beer fermenter and don't see my self stopping any time soon!

 

[Ian2400]

Thanks everyone! Jkarp, that Mr. Beer fans site is very helpful. I'm definitely going to invest in the bottling spigot, the closet I have the keg in would be a ***** to bottle from without it I think. It also turns out that Mr Beer is having a 20% off sale on recipes that ends in an hour, so I'm going to grab up a few and hope for the best. Right now I have picked out:

Honey Brown Ale (another favorite of mine is JW Dundee's Honey Brown)
Shameless Stout
Midlands Mild Ale

If anyone has any further recipe suggestions let me know, I won't click purchase for another half hour or so and I'll check back here before I do .

 

[jkarp]

If anyone has any further recipe suggestions let me know, I won't click purchase for another half hour or so and I'll check back here before I do .

In general, the amber and dark beers are more forgiving to noob mistakes. I'd suggest trying some of those initially. Here's a few of the Mr. Beer recipes I remember enjoying:

Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout
Linebacker Doppel Bock
Raspberry Lager (I took 3rd in a local homebrew competition with this one)
St. Patrick's Irish Stout
German Hefeweizen
May The Schwarz Bier With You! (this one was seriously good)
Otto's Octoberfest

 

[Ian2400]

Alright, I'm getting:
German Dopplebock (uses the linebacker)
Honey Brown Ale
Ol' St Nick's Midnight Ale (uses the english nut-brown which sounded great)

I'm also getting the bottling spigot, a brew-o-meter, and 8 of the 1L PET bottles. I feel like that is too much beer per bottle but I don't want to risk blowing up glass bottles on my first few tries.

Thanks again guys, I'll let you know what happens.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I live in Pittsburgh so I have a few homebrew shops nearby. If I get a 5 gallon kit, should I buy one extra yeast packet per kit and basically double the yeast content of each batch?

A little tip for the future when you expand your operations. Some stores are excellent, some are just plain bad. Use your time here to learn some good solid basics regarding method, sanitation and ingredients. It is useful to be armed with a sound basic knowledge gleaned from many other brewers when visiting the LHBS. You will soon know by what he tells you if it is a good store or not, and if it is wise to trust him.

 

[coffeegod]

If I can give you one piece of advice it would be this DO Not follow the mr. beer schedule instead use 2-2-2 two weeks in the fermenter to weeks in the bottle carbing and two weeks conditioning in the fridge. Steeping a little grain also helps. I have done many mr. beer batches before moving to a larger system and still use the stuff. One step is a cleaner and will work 98 percent of the time, but if you want to be really sure get a sanitizer. Star San is good, but so is bleach.

 

[carbon111]

Bottling:
Is it okay to bottle right from the Mr. Beer or is there a better way to do it?

Yes though a bottling bucket (+ hose and bottling wand) will help you keep the trub out of your beer.

What kind of bottles should I buy? Are the flip-top glass ones alright or should I go with the PET bottles from mr beer?

The flip tops are great bottles though you need to get new rubber washers occasionally. Regular beer bottles work nicely too and are much cheaper but you'll need a capper and bottle caps.

Sanitizing:
I read that the one-step from Mr. Beer is no good. What is the best thing to use for sanitizing?

Sanitizing is done after cleaning (it's not a substitute). Starsan and Idophor work great in that they don't require long contact times to sanitize and at recommended strength they are both "no rinse". They both have plusses and negatives and some people like one over the other. Search the forum for discussions on Starsan vs. Idophor.

Brewing:
I read that the booster is crap. Should I buy the UME from mr beer, or is it best to find recipes online and make everything from scratch, skipping the mr beer ingredients entirely? I'm setting out to make a true hobby out of this so the quickness of the Mr. Beer ingredients isn't necessary. If buying recipes and UME from mr beer is the best way to go for a few batches though, I will do that.

Using an equal weight of liquid malt extract will usually give you a much better brew.

Yeast:
I read (yeah, been doing a lot of reading) that Mr. Beer yeast produces overly fruity beers, which are very much not my thing. What is the best kind of yeast to buy, and where can I find how much yeast I need per batch?

There are lots of yeasts out there but dry yeasts might be easier for someone new to the hobby to deal with as they don't require starters. Safale, Danstar, Coopers and Muntons all make great dry yeasts that are available at your LHBS or online.

I'm kind of tight on money but I can afford some things. Basically if there is a cheaper but equally good way to do something let me know, and if that cheaper way involves buying all scratch ingredients and spending a lot of time, well I have a lot more time than money .

A carboy, brewpot, fermenting bucket, airlock, racking cane, vinyl tubing, hydrometer (and test jar), thermometer and a wine thief are the main components in most "starter kits" and can be had pretty cheaply. You could keep your Mr. Beer as a fermenter and "upgrade" yourself when you're comfortable.

The best available online resource is How To Brew and, of course, this forum.

A great book to get started with would be The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian - a very fun read: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060531053/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Welcome!

 

[Ian2400]

Okay, so I finally got a big ass shipment of supplies. I put a thermometer on my keg and it reads 76F. It has been that or higher this week (hottest week in pittsburgh yet, really). Should I still take it out after 2 weeks or let it go longer?