slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
As I mentioned before, this is a wort made from 3 different MB HMEs, two light ones & a stout. I can't see where I can use this in any other beers.
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As I mentioned before, this is a wort made from 3 different MB HMEs, two light ones & a stout. I can't see where I can use this in any other beers.
Kirkwooder
Emperor of all things nobody cares about
The base really doesn't make that much difference for a starter. when you go to use the yeast that you start in this wort, you will dump off 90% of it, and what remains behind will be almost all yeast. All it really needs to do is feed your reproducing yeast. You can use stout wort to make a starter for a pale ale for example.
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
Ah, I read your post a little too quickly the first time. I didn't realise you meant a yeast-starter. I see your point now.
douglasbarbin
Well-Known Member
Ah, I read your post a little too quickly the first time. I didn't realise you meant a yeast-starter. I see your point now.
What other kind of starter is there?
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
What other kind of starter is there?
I'm a noob still, I honestly thought he meant as a "starter" to another batch.
I'll catch up on the ins & outs of the brewing lingo at some point, promise!
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
Bottled my Klondike Gold today after a 3-day cold crash, didn't get any cloudy beer until after I filled the last bottle. There was just enough left in the LBK for me & my brew-bro to have a taste. It tasted like beer!
YAY ME!
Can't wait to see what it tastes like after carb & conditioning for 5 weeks, then one more in the fridge.
:smack:
Now, I am thinking about starting a batch of the infamous Apfelwein in my now-empty LBK #1. I don't have another cooler to put the LBK in, but the Apfelwein ferments at room temp, so this might just be the perfect time!
:fro:
YAY ME!
Can't wait to see what it tastes like after carb & conditioning for 5 weeks, then one more in the fridge.
:smack:
Now, I am thinking about starting a batch of the infamous Apfelwein in my now-empty LBK #1. I don't have another cooler to put the LBK in, but the Apfelwein ferments at room temp, so this might just be the perfect time!
:fro:
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
Well, I quickly boiled, cooled, and added my quart (really 3 cups since there was so much sediment) of extra wort to my LBK last night. I now have about 3" of krausen on top of my 2.4-2.5 gallons of wort, and if it gets any bigger, it will be foaming out of the lid.
douglasbarbin
Well-Known Member
Well, I quickly boiled, cooled, and added my quart (really 3 cups since there was so much sediment) of extra wort to my LBK last night. I now have about 3" of krausen on top of my 2.4-2.5 gallons of wort, and if it gets any bigger, it will be foaming out of the lid.
Get some Fermcap-S and that will keep it from foaming out of the lid. Or you could try infant gas drops (I think it's the same thing).
LizzyDragon84
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My first foray into beer brewing turned into a bit of a disaster today.
I got a Mr. Beer a couple of months ago to try beer brewing. I got a Mexican Cervesa going late last month and was going to bottle it later this week. I kept the keg in the back of my clothes closet where it's dark and wouldn't be disturbed.
But when I went into my closet to get a shirt this morning, I noticed a rather strong smell of beer and discovered that the floor was damp. To my horror, I discovered the keg had sprang a very bad leak. When I tilted the keg slightly to check the tap, the spout half fell into my hand and the back half with the nut floated away in what little beer was left.
I quickly sanitized some bottles but was only able to fill two of the 750ml Mr. B bottles with the remains. I checked the spigot assembly- the screw part was split in half. At this point, I'm not sure what happened. I don't think anything hit the spigot, and I was careful when moving it to not hold it by the tap.
But I won't give up on beer brewing just yet. I've got a can of Czech pilsner I want to try next. And I also got a cooler to manage the temperature better, which should also help protect the keg from anything hitting it again.
I see that Mr. B sells replacement spigots. Should I just get another one, or are there more durable alternatives out there? I'm not ready to move to a larger more sophisticated setup yet. The small footprint and minimal equipment needed to use Mr. B is very appealing to me right now.
I got a Mr. Beer a couple of months ago to try beer brewing. I got a Mexican Cervesa going late last month and was going to bottle it later this week. I kept the keg in the back of my clothes closet where it's dark and wouldn't be disturbed.
But when I went into my closet to get a shirt this morning, I noticed a rather strong smell of beer and discovered that the floor was damp. To my horror, I discovered the keg had sprang a very bad leak. When I tilted the keg slightly to check the tap, the spout half fell into my hand and the back half with the nut floated away in what little beer was left.
I quickly sanitized some bottles but was only able to fill two of the 750ml Mr. B bottles with the remains. I checked the spigot assembly- the screw part was split in half. At this point, I'm not sure what happened. I don't think anything hit the spigot, and I was careful when moving it to not hold it by the tap.
But I won't give up on beer brewing just yet. I've got a can of Czech pilsner I want to try next. And I also got a cooler to manage the temperature better, which should also help protect the keg from anything hitting it again.
I see that Mr. B sells replacement spigots. Should I just get another one, or are there more durable alternatives out there? I'm not ready to move to a larger more sophisticated setup yet. The small footprint and minimal equipment needed to use Mr. B is very appealing to me right now.
douglasbarbin
Well-Known Member
^ You can replace it with an Italian bottling spigot like this one, which is what I recommend doing even if your original Mr. Beer spigot isn't broken. It's a bit more durable, and you can attach a hose and bottling wand to it. I don't know if they have upgraded the Mr. Beer spigots to accept a hose/wand (and from the pic you posted, it looks like they may have), but when I was using Mr. Beer probably 5 years ago or so, the spigot basically just "dumped" the beer into the bottles, which is what the Mr. Beer instructions said to do. Terrible instructions and it probably led to some oxygenated beer.
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I've had a number of the Mr. Beer valves break on me. Complained once and received one (1) replacement. Thanks, Douglas for the recommendation of the Italian bottling spigots. I'm going to try one to see how well it works.
And, yes the newer Mr Beer spigots do accept a bottling wand and hose.
And, yes the newer Mr Beer spigots do accept a bottling wand and hose.
LizzyDragon84
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Hmmm, those Italian spigots sound promising. The challenge looks like either finding one that fits the Mr. Beer, or modifying the LBK to accept one. The one Douglas linked to is too large (it needs a 1" hole, and I think the LBK is .75").
douglasbarbin
Well-Known Member
I don't remember if I drilled mine out or not, but I suspect that I may have. At any rate, there are most likely other spigots available that don't require drilling if you look around.
LizzyDragon84
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I do have to give a shoutout to the customer service team at Mr. Beer. I had e-mailed them to let them know what had happened. They quickly arranged a replacement spigot and beer mix to be shipped to me. I appreciate the great customer service and can't wait to get back to brewing again soon.
I realize they may not have the greatest gear around, but their service is helping me to keep going.
I realize they may not have the greatest gear around, but their service is helping me to keep going.
TheHappyHopper
Well-Known Member
I would definitely get the Italian bottling spigot that was mentioned above. Yes, you will have to increase the hole diameter to accept the larger spigot, I have done this on 2 Mr. Beer kegs and am very happy with the results. I just used a round metal file and went around the hole until it was large enough, that took about 15 minutes, or you could do it much more easily with a Dremel.
Sure, Mr. Beer will replace the broken spigot, but it may just fail again in the future - at which point you will have another wasted batch of beer.
Sure, Mr. Beer will replace the broken spigot, but it may just fail again in the future - at which point you will have another wasted batch of beer.
LizzyDragon84
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Yeah, that's what a guy on the Mr. Beer forum also said. I didn't realize I could tighten to that point, and I also thought that if I had, it would leak right away- not weeks later. Looks like I was wrong on both points. When I first tested the keg/spigot assembly, it leaked a little bit. I tightened it and didn't have any further issues that first day.
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
Quick question - which of the beer recipe calculators was it that uses the Mr. Beer HMEs in its' equations again? I know I could find it in the past 50 pages or so of posts, but I'mma lazy...
TIA!
TIA!
qBrew with Screwy Brewer's database update. See here: http://www.thescrewybrewer.com/2010/09/qbrew-homebrewers-recipe-calculator.html
ericbw
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That's strange. Does this happen a lot? If it is not a problem that many people are complaining about, then the replacement is a good bet.
Filing or drilling the very thin Mr. B keg seems delicate. You could end up with tiny cracks that turn into bigger ones. I'd go with their replacement, especially since it now has a spigot that takes a hose.
I would have to say that it does happen quite a bit. I have two LBK's and on both this has happened. the spigot will leak if not tightened enough and will break if tightened too much. After getting replacement spigots from MB, it happened again.
I got some spigots like the Italian one mention from my LHBS and carefully enlarged the hole on the LBK's. Since then I've had not problems at all.
I should mention that Murphey (of Murphey's Law fame) will cause the spigot to fail when the keg is full of beer and not when it's empty!:smack:
Kirkwooder
Emperor of all things nobody cares about
Hey guys, I did an American Porter kit last night and followed the instructions pretty well. I finally bought a hydrometer for testing gravity and was pretty excited to use it.
When I tested the OG after cooling and before pitching, it was only 1.030??? I even cooled the sample down to the 59 like in the John Palmer ebook and it only went up to 32?
Could I have added too much water? The can says that it makes two gallons but instructions say to fill up to 8.5 quarts. Could the half quart diluted the wort too much? I'm confused on what I did wrong. Any help or tips appreciated.
When I tested the OG after cooling and before pitching, it was only 1.030??? I even cooled the sample down to the 59 like in the John Palmer ebook and it only went up to 32?
Could I have added too much water? The can says that it makes two gallons but instructions say to fill up to 8.5 quarts. Could the half quart diluted the wort too much? I'm confused on what I did wrong. Any help or tips appreciated.
douglasbarbin
Well-Known Member
I doubt it was dilution. Half a quart is only 1/8 of a gallon, which is equivalent to 1/16 (or 6.25%) of your total recipe volume. I don't think that would make a huge difference.
More likely, you left a good bit of extract in the can, or you didn't take the measurement correctly (i.e., you did not mix everything thoroughly before taking the hydrometer reading).
I just looked at the mr beer site for this kit and the ABV is 3.7% (holy crap is that even considered a beer?) and I couldn't find anything for target OG. Maybe the low OG isn't really that far off after all.
Thanks for the insight, I'm going to guess it was maybe a bit of both bad mixing and not getting all the hme out. Thanks.
douglasbarbin
Well-Known Member
I would expect the OG to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.040 for a beer of that ABV. So you're about 8 points off, give or take.
brewski09
Well-Known Member
I'd call it a pretty minor variance for what it's supposed to be. Did the kit call for added sugar or a booster pack? Those usually give you 1%. Also, check the hydrometer on just water. My tap (cold water) reads 1.002-1.003 but hydrometer a are notorious for being off sometimes. Check periodically to make sure you stay calibrated. Also calibrate your thermometer regularly. I've been off by over 10 degrees before.
It's been about 36 hours and I'm not getting good krausen. There are bubbles that show fermentation but it pretty weak. Also I'm getting a sour milk smell. It's not strong but it's there. Infected?
Because I've been getting that damned after taste I really kept this batch cool, around 60-62. I hydrated the yeast in some sugar water prior to pitching as well thinking it would help. Is it just lag or did something go terribly wrong?
Because I've been getting that damned after taste I really kept this batch cool, around 60-62. I hydrated the yeast in some sugar water prior to pitching as well thinking it would help. Is it just lag or did something go terribly wrong?
Kirkwooder
Emperor of all things nobody cares about
I would bet that you don't have an infection. Just an active fermentation. It's not likely to get overly active with a 1.030 beer though.
As for the after taste, what yeast are you using? I'm not fond of the Mr. beer yeast.
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
My Mr. Beer Novacaine has been in the fermenter 13 days, and I still have about a 1" thick layer of krausen. Is this high-gravity brew just going to take a while to ferment? My plan is to let it go for 4 weeks in the LBK anyway, so no worries, I am just curious. FTR - I used an entire 11.5g packet if US-05 yeast, and since I had a volume issue, my volume is 2.4 gallons, and with some help from another user & qBrew, this will be about a 10.8% ABV beer instead of a 12%-er.
Also, something I wondered - if we are to wait until primary fermentation is mostly done before dry-hopping, how do I avoid letting in regular air (oxygen-rich regular air) and messing up the layer of CO² when I unscrew the lid to toss the hops in?
Also, something I wondered - if we are to wait until primary fermentation is mostly done before dry-hopping, how do I avoid letting in regular air (oxygen-rich regular air) and messing up the layer of CO² when I unscrew the lid to toss the hops in?
Kirkwooder
Emperor of all things nobody cares about
Bigger beers do sometimes take a bit of extra time to ferment out. Let it ride, it should be done well before the 4 week mark.
Just throw the hops in and don't worry too much about the oxygen getting into your beer. Just be careful not to splash any more than necessary. RDWHAHB
I'm using the dry gold packet that comes in the HME cans. I figured the the yeast isn't choice, but I think the bready tomato soup after taste I got consistently through 3 batches was from pitching at too high a temp and not managing fermentation temps typically at an ambient air temp of 69-74 in a dark closet.
Kirkwooder
Emperor of all things nobody cares about
Fermentation temps. are very important to the final product, no matter the yeast. I try and ferment most of my standard pale ale type beers at no higher than 66*-67*F. I often find I start getting noticeable off flavors above 69*. Especially with the Mr. Beer, Muntons, and Coopers yeasts. I don't do many "kit in a can" beers any more but the few that I have done in the last couple years I replaced the yeast with us-05 and they came out much better.
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
So, two days ago, still a good layer of krausen on my brew. Tonight, the only sign is the ring around the LBK. FINALLY!
:fro:
Now, 10-11 more days to make sure it's done & some cleanup by the yeasty beasties, then a 2-day cold crash, and then bottling!
It's gonna be the 6-7 month wait before even trying one that's gonna hurt. Next up, an IPA!
:fro:
Now, 10-11 more days to make sure it's done & some cleanup by the yeasty beasties, then a 2-day cold crash, and then bottling!
It's gonna be the 6-7 month wait before even trying one that's gonna hurt. Next up, an IPA!
slym2none
"Lazy extract brewer."
A question about my upcoming IPA - it is using the Diablo HME from MrB, and if it is anything like the last MrB kit I used, the beer is a little thin with not much in the way of head-retention. I plan on using 4 oz. of Carapils (or Carafoam) for this, but I also want to add a little red colour, as I am also adding some DME & hops, and will call it "A Helluva IPA." Someone on another site told me to use CaraRed, but I have read where it doesn't really add much red to the colour, plus it is a caramel malt and will add sweetness that isn't right for an IPA. Then someone else mentioned elsewhere about using a very small amount of black malt and that will add a red colour, but now I am worried about the 'roasty-toasty' flavour that can put off. My LHBS doesn't carry RedX, so I can't use that.
Any ideas? Will just a small amount of black malts be OK? Or should I look for another way to get the colour I am looking for? If so, any suggestions would be appreciated.
TIA!
Any ideas? Will just a small amount of black malts be OK? Or should I look for another way to get the colour I am looking for? If so, any suggestions would be appreciated.
TIA!
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