Mr Beer kits for souring

[burninator]

I guess it's about time I risked squandering any good will I might have accumulated in this place, so here goes...

A friend of a friend gave me some Mr. Beer refills he'd put away in a closet a while back, and I have some duplicates. Assuming these are still good (can they spoil?), has anyone ever used these for sour beer? I have two cans of nut brown and two cans of Canadian blonde. Both brews are low IBU, and low-to-mid OG. I could supplement each with some DME to make a couple of 5 gallon batches, and further lower the IBU, in the process.

I figure if I don't bottle them straight, they might make something interesting for blending.

Thoughts?

 

[dmtaylor]

I've never brewed a Mr. Beer kit but I know someone who has and it turned out pretty well actually. If you want to sour them, I say go for it! I bet it turns out very good, assuming of course that you enjoy sour beer. I've been drinking sours for many years but still learning about them, and I'm still actually kind of torn because it seems to me like there's no beer easier to brew than a sour one, it's just a matter of how sour, and whether it's from Brett or Lacto or other. But I've also brewed enough sour beers ACCIDENTALLY in my day to know how easy it is to do (and fortunately the accidents often turned out quite tasty, actually!). For example, any low hopped beer or insufficiently boiled beer is likely to get sour on its own if left in the fermenter for too long. Extreme laziness like mine has caused this several times. It also helps to have an old bucket where you made a sour beer on purpose once and then subsequent batches after magically sour on accident after that if left too long -- the bugs don't move out of porous plastic. But anyway.......... Yeah, go for it! It will taste great, especially if you sour the beer on purpose with real actual Brett or Lacto that you add yourself. A handful of raw malt thrown into the cooled wort also works very well, I've done that on purpose in the past and it made an award winner.

 

[Agate]

If you've got the moxie to make gose from kraut, I'd say go for it! Assuming the malt extract hasn't gone all stale on you...

 

[BGBC]

If you've got the moxie to make gose from kraut, I'd say go for it! Assuming the malt extract hasn't gone all stale on you...

This is what I'd be worried about.

No cost to you at this point other than time and fermenter space, so why not.

 

[Mujtabaq]

Anyone know any good Sour recipes for Mr Beer?

 

[burninator]

If you've got the moxie to make gose from kraut, I'd say go for it! Assuming the malt extract hasn't gone all stale on you...

This is what I'd be worried about.

No cost to you at this point other than time and fermenter space, so why not.

Is there any way to know, though? Stale hops shouldn't be problematic, right? If the cans are sealed, and not bulging, I imagine the extract isn't compromised.

The recipes, themselves, just seem suited to mixed fermentation, though I've found no evidence that anyone's making sours from a nut brown base, so I may be out of line.

 

[BGBC]

Is there any way to know, though? Stale hops shouldn't be problematic, right? If the cans are sealed, and not bulging, I imagine the extract isn't compromised.

It's similar to using old grain. It has an expiration date, fresher the better.

Is there any date (production or best by) on the cans?

 

[burninator]

It's similar to using old grain. It has an expiration date, fresher the better.

Is there any date (production or best by) on the cans?

Let's just call them...quite old.

 

[Agate]

As in, about to get their learner's permit or that-milk-has-sat-out-awhile old?

Lme really has a poor shelf life. I can't imagine this will end up well. Maybe the extract would be good for decanted starters, but to me, old extract is really pretty horrible tasting. Kind of has a weird, plasticky taste to it. But there's no harm in opening one up and tasting it!

 

[slym2none]

THere should be a best-by date on one of the ends of the can.

 

[burninator]

I'll take a look when I get home. I know they've been around for several years. Probably not worth the trouble.

Age of my particular cans aside, I don't guess anyone's used these for this purpose?

Or soured a nut brown base?

 

[BGBC]

Not a traditional nut brown, but there's this:
http://jesterkingbrewery.com/jester-king-homebrew-recipes-part-ii#oloi

 

[burninator]

Yeah, so this stuff is probably a bit past its prime.

View attachment 1456971963517.jpg

 

[Agate]

Umm... Yeah. I've got a couple bottles of beer older than that... But they're probably awful. Id expect the same of those.

I bet they make great compost though!

 

[k1ngl1ves]

'02?!!!!



FOR SCIENCE!!!

 

[slym2none]

Yeah... 2012, maybe.

2002, those should be disposed of with honors.

*plays Taps*

 

[burninator]

Umm... Yeah. I've got a couple bottles of beer older than that... But they're probably awful. Id expect the same of those.

I bet they make great compost though!

'02?!!!!



FOR SCIENCE!!!

Yeah... 2012, maybe.

2002, those should be disposed of with honors.

*plays Taps*

Maybe I'll dump them in the garden where all my spent grain goes. Probably I'll just toss them in the garbage and console myself by buying some grain.

Just to bring this back around, my original thought was that a nut brown ale isn't terribly appealing to me as a clean beer, so I don't know how it would work for souring. It'd probably be better to brew a more traditional brown ale for souring. Right?

 

[slym2none]

A nut brown might be interesting. Who knows how those things play with each other, until it is tried, right?



Also, I wouldn't dump those cans out in your yard. Area dogs might come & lick the sweet liquid, and it is pre-hopped.



Please, just throw them away. Console yourself with the new, fresh grains.

 

[burninator]

A nut brown might be interesting. Who knows how those things play with each other, until it is tried, right?



Also, I wouldn't dump those cans out in your yard. Area dogs might come & lick the sweet liquid, and it is pre-hopped.



Please, just throw them away. Console yourself with the new, fresh grains.

Good call. Even though our yard is fenced, it's going in the trash for next week's pickup.

@BGBC I like the idea of the Ol Oi. I might give that a go. Can't get JK around here.