Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[supermutantbrewmaster]

Danstar produces a great dry saison yeast that usually works well for my hefes. It's the Belle Saison.

 

[theillestbrewer]

I personally just used the LME from the American Light kit to make a Weissbier (Orange Blossom Honey Wheat to be exact) with White Labs Belgian Wit Ale WLP400. Didn't do a starter since this is only my 4th batch and the fermenting started off very slow. Dropped the LBK into a swamp cooler with sanitized water and the yeast is going crazy! Cant wait to bottle this stuff.

 

[mgibson89]

jesus, i feel like im learning at a turtles place then. im still terrified to make the jump from extract w/ specialty grains to all grain.

 

[Kirkwooder]

jesus, i feel like im learning at a turtles place then. im still terrified to make the jump from extract w/ specialty grains to all grain.

JUMP!

You'll never look back!

 

[theillestbrewer]

ive actually learned a lot from doing all-grain as a first batch and then jumping back to extract. im doing my 3rd extract batch tomorrow ... extract has been the best learning experience because it takes effeciency out of the equation of "bad beer" & you focus strictly on sanitizing and the brew process. once im confident in that, then ill go to BIAB.

 

[mahduk]

I'm pretty late to this party. Based on the date stamp of the first post, about 8 years late.

Anyway, I worked at a closeout retailer back in the '90s and we got the 5 gal. Mr. Beer kits. I had heard of home brewing before then, of course, but with a price point of $20 for the entire kit (with supplies to make your first batch) how could I not get it? According to the instructions, you could use regular table sugar to either augment the malt syrup or for priming (I can't remember exactly which) and I took that to heart. Needless to say, my first batch was horrible but I drank it anyway. Because it WAS beer, just not very good beer. The thing is, I knew that I could make better beer. I based that on the fact that if the beer didn't get any better than that, no one would be home brewing. So I sought the advice of a local wine shop owner who also sold home brewing supplies. He directed me toward dry malt extract and priming sugar. More importantly, he told me about The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. I immediately tracked down a copy from my local Half Price Books store and read it voraciously. My second batch, while still all extract, was leaps and bounds better than that first batch. My long-suffering friends were very supportive (most likely because they were getting free home brew without the work). From that point on, I used my Mr. Beer kit for several batches. Until the day I dropped the plastic fermenter (thankfully empty) and cracked the housing. I was now forced to go with a glass carboy. So as Bob Ross would say, it was a "happy accident".

Now, even though I'm still only doing partial mash, I'm enjoying the wonderful hobby of home brewing all because of a $20 Mr. Beer kit that got the ball rolling for me. I will forever be grateful.

 

[brewtoplease]

Kits like these open the door to homebrew. They are great to teach you the basic skills and the success rate gives people the confidence to venture out and step up their game

 

[Oberon67]

A friend of mine was on an extended visit to northern Iraq a few years ago (Kurdistan), and discovered that while you could get beer there, it was all cheap Scandinavian lagers. When I got word that he was growing tired of Tuborg and Lowenbrau, I packed up a Mr. Beer kit and shipped it to him.

Now, you may not be well aware that there is a fair number of British expatriates in Kurdistan, but there is, and my friend was a nodding acquaintance to most of them. Once he started cranking out batches of Pale Ale with his Mr. Beer kit, however, he discovered that his popularity among this population increased immensely.

 

[brewtoplease]

Behold the power of good beer

 

[FMac]

I'm forever grateful for Mr. Beer for getting me into the hobby/obsession. I brewed once with it and it made beer. Walk before you run. Happy Brewing!

 

[Tute]

I just sort of drank my first bottle of Mr. Beer last weekend, and it was surprisingly good!

I say I "just sort of" because the bottle really wasn't close to done conditioning--it needed another week minimum, really two more weeks, before it was ready to drink. I chilled it and cracked it open early just because the family member who bought me the Mr. Beer kit was visiting, and I figured it would be good to show that her gift had been put to use. I expected it to be green and flat, but it was . . . really good.

If a green Mr. Beer Pilsner is that delicious, I can't wait to try more brewing. Mmmmmm . . .

 

[TheHappyHopper]

I just sort of drank my first bottle of Mr. Beer last weekend, and it was surprisingly good!

I say I "just sort of" because the bottle really wasn't close to done conditioning--it needed another week minimum, really two more weeks, before it was ready to drink. I chilled it and cracked it open early just because the family member who bought me the Mr. Beer kit was visiting, and I figured it would be good to show that her gift had been put to use. I expected it to be green and flat, but it was . . . really good.

If a green Mr. Beer Pilsner is that delicious, I can't wait to try more brewing. Mmmmmm . . .

That's the experience that I had with the Mr. Beer kits in the past - they actually make decent beer, you just don't have the recipe control that you get doing the all-grain method. There is a guy in my local homebrew club that does a ton of Mr. Beer kits (he got them with some big discount or something) and he tells us about all the little extra things you can do to make sure that the Mr. Beer kits make good beer, things that they don't go over in the kit instructions (since they are meant for people with 0 brewing knowledge), such as using good water, pitching good yeast (usually trashing the packet that comes with the kits), proper fermentation temps, etc. Usually the people that are hating on the Mr. Beer kits have only tasted the ones made by people who didn't do one of those steps properly and ended up with bad beer.

And if you upgrade your brewing equipment in the future, those Mr. Beer kegs make great 2-gallon fermenters for small batches.

 

[edogg69]

I have had good success with mr beer.

 

[Tute]

And if you upgrade your brewing equipment in the future, those Mr. Beer kegs make great 2-gallon fermenters for small batches.

I'm thinking my Mr. Beer keg is going to be put to precisely this use for my first experimental all grain batches.

 

[cstrom]

Used my mr beer fermenter tonight to make my first stout. Also with my first temperature rest, stressful the first time around but oh so satisfying. The recipe is called cactus milk stout if any one is interested ill post the recipe and or let you guys know how it taste

 

[Synap6]

the LBK rocks! i quit using carboys, tubing and siphons. I never made a Mr Beer kit, but bought those Little brown kegs for my extract and all-grain recipes because they're headache-free

 

[Osborne]

Used my mr beer fermenter tonight to make my first stout. Also with my first temperature rest, stressful the first time around but oh so satisfying. The recipe is called cactus milk stout if any one is interested ill post the recipe and or let you guys know how it taste

I'm interested!

 

[Hoolio]

Just got a Mr Beer from a friend for free. Came with the "American classic light" can. I am going to my LHBS tomorrow (60 miles away). What do I need to make a better beer? This will be my first batch.

 

[Kirkwooder]

Just got a Mr Beer from a friend for free. Came with the "American classic light" can. I am going to my LHBS tomorrow (60 miles away). What do I need to make a better beer? This will be my first batch.

First off, throw away the instructions that came with the kit. Then boil 1 gallon of water and add the can of extract, and bring it back to a boil for 20 minutes or so. sanitize your little brown keg (LBK). Cool your wort in the pot in an ice bath. Put your wort in the LBK. Top up to the 2 gallon mark with water. Make sure your wort is cool and pitch your yeast.

Now I would suggest that you use a different yeast than what comes with the kit. I would suggest picking up a packet of us-05 for your first batch. It is very important to keep your fermenting beer below 68*F or so.

It will need at least 3 weeks in the LBK and 2 more in the bottle.

Good luck!

 

[Hoolio]

Thanks.

 

[NoFlyZone]

I wouldn't do that. The extract is not simple LME but rather *hopped* malt extract. A 20 minute boil will cause the loss of all hop aroma and flavor. Follow the instructions, though using better yeast like the suggested US-05 will help. Leave in the LBK for 3 weeks fermenting. Make sure the temp of the wort in the LBK (not ambient air temp) sits in the middle to low end of the range recommended for the yeast. After bottling, condition for at least 4 weeks in the low 70s.

 

[slym2none]

Hello, all. I just got a Mr. Beer kit from a friend and plan on using it soon. I do plan on reading through all 600 pages of this thread first, too. *gulp*

I'll reply again soon!

 

[SippinSudz]

Sanitize
Temp control

Those are the absolute top contributors to brewing beer. Without these and you'll fail, or make some nasty brew.

 

[Hoolio]

Stopped in at the LHBS yesterday and got some star-san, some safeale-04, (didn't have 05) a bucket, and air locks. I'm going to make the Ed Wort's Apflewein too.

 

[slym2none]

Sanitize
Temp control

Those are the absolute top contributors to brewing beer. Without these and you'll fail, or make some nasty brew.

OK, I got a little impatient and went ahead and made my brew last night. Patience has never been my strong point, but cleanliness is - I sanitized EVERYTHING, let the equipment soak for at least 30 minutes (not just ten) and even dipped my hands in the bowl of the excess solution before touching stuff. My water came from jugs of spring water - I have heard hard water isn't bad, but my local tap can taste & smell like a pool at times, & I don't want the chlorine to kill the yeast.

Right now, my main concern is temperature - not that I will go over the high-end of the recommended 76° F, but the coolest part of my house that is both stable & doesn't receive direct sunlight stays between 72 & 74. Will this cause the fermentation to take longer than 2 weeks?

 

[NoFlyZone]

OK, I got a little impatient and went ahead and made my brew last night. Patience has never been my strong point, but cleanliness is - I sanitized EVERYTHING, let the equipment soak for at least 30 minutes (not just ten) and even dipped my hands in the bowl of the excess solution before touching stuff. My water came from jugs of spring water - I have heard hard water isn't bad, but my local tap can taste & smell like a pool at times, & I don't want the chlorine to kill the yeast.



Right now, my main concern is temperature - not that I will go over the high-end of the recommended 76° F, but the coolest part of my house that is both stable & doesn't receive direct sunlight stays between 72 & 74. Will this cause the fermentation to take longer than 2 weeks?

Not longer but may impart funky favors. If you're able, place the LBK in a cooler with a couple of frozen water bottles. Change out the bottles every 12 hours or so. A stick on aquarium thermometer on the side of the LBK, below the beer level inside, can help you monitor the actual temperature.

 

[Kirkwooder]

OK, I got a little impatient and went ahead and made my brew last night. Patience has never been my strong point, but cleanliness is - I sanitized EVERYTHING, let the equipment soak for at least 30 minutes (not just ten) and even dipped my hands in the bowl of the excess solution before touching stuff. My water came from jugs of spring water - I have heard hard water isn't bad, but my local tap can taste & smell like a pool at times, & I don't want the chlorine to kill the yeast.

Right now, my main concern is temperature - not that I will go over the high-end of the recommended 76° F, but the coolest part of my house that is both stable & doesn't receive direct sunlight stays between 72 & 74. Will this cause the fermentation to take longer than 2 weeks?

72* is a bit too warm. and 76* is definitely way too high. It is VERY important that you keep your fermenting beer at the lower end temperature that the yeast is recommended at. 66-68* would be better. You will likely get off flavors at 72*.

 

[Cheeto]

First off,
Congrats on your first brew!!
Plan another, 2 gallons will go quickly.

Secondly,
If your water is as you say, good choice on using bottled water! The choline and bromine in that water can do some rather uncool stuff..

Lastly,
High temp fermentation can result in phenol production.
Phenols (polyphenol) is an astringent or clove flavor..
Those are not desirable flavors for most beers. Your LBK resting in an environment that has an ambient temp of 72-74 could lead to fermentation temps close to 80 deg
I encourage you to get your LBK in to a cooler or some place where you can lower the air temp down around 60 deg.

Another concern will be a metallic flavor that comes from canned malt extract, this normally happens with old cans.

But again, Congrats on your first of many beers

 

[slym2none]

Thanks for the info - I will look at dragging out my big 'ol cooler and keeping some frozen water bottles in there.

I have noticed a very thick foam already forming on the top of my wort - I read that it can take 1-3 days before fermentation starts, but it seems 12 hours was enough here. Is that due to the higher temps? Or just really active yeast?

Thanks to everyone wishing me well. I am sure I will have a lot of questions, but I really do need to read through this thread before I go asking a bunch of them.

:rockin:

 

[Kirkwooder]

It's likely do to the high temps, COOL it as quickly as you can. Most off flavors are produced in the first stages of fermentation.