Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[slym2none]

Done! I have the LBK in a cooler with some ice in it for now, while the bottles w/water in them are freezing.

Man, I hope I haven't done any damage to the beer - it was literally 14 hours ago I put the top on the LBK.

:smack:

 

[slym2none]

1) DO NOT use table sugar, as per the directions. You can actually make decent beer, but not with table sugar. If you are really broke or cheap get some corn sugar (aka dextrose) from your local homebrew store (or online like austin homebrew or northern brewer, etc.) Otherwise get more malt extract or, if in a pinch, just use two cans instead of one and skip the sugar altogether. Generally speaking more malt = better beer.

This was one question I was going to bring up, and while it might get answered later, I want to address it now - if I were to use LME for carbonating my finished beer, how much would I use? I definitely don't want to use table sugar, as I hear it can impart a "cidery" taste to the beer, and I don't think I want that for a hoppy APA.

 

[slym2none]

Kevin: Don't expect that much foam in the Mr Beer. I didn't get a lot in the way of bubbling either with the first batch. The cider kit had more than the pale ale did, but I think there was more fermentable matter in it.

1st, pardons for quoting pretty old posts.

2nd, within 12 hours, I had an inch-thick layer of foam, if not thicker, in my LBK. I will admit, I am using one of the MB recipes that calls for the regular ingredients plus a packet of their "booster" as well as a packet of unhopped LME. From what I've read so far, the more fermentable sugars, the more foam - as that correct?

I also added a 1/2 oz. package of Cascade hops to this recipe, as I have developed my palate for hops over the past few years (although I still don't like the ultra-bitter stuff) - not that these have anything to do with the foam production, just thought I'd add that in. FTR - the recipe I am using is the Mr. Beer "Klondike Gold".

 

[Kirkwooder]

This was one question I was going to bring up, and while it might get answered later, I want to address it now - if I were to use LME for carbonating my finished beer, how much would I use? I definitely don't want to use table sugar, as I hear it can impart a "cidery" taste to the beer, and I don't think I want that for a hoppy APA.

Yes you can use DME or LME for priming sugar. I use DME almost exclusively. It takes 1/4 cup of DME per gallon of beer. Slightly more LME could be used but I really don't think you will notice a difference.

When did you add your extra hops?

And yes, you will often notice a heavier layer of krausen, or foam on the top of a beer with a higher original Gravity than one with less fermentable sugars. Higher fermentation temps will also cause increased krausen.

 

[slym2none]

Yes you can use DME or LME for priming sugar. I use DME almost exclusively. It takes 1/4 cup of DME per gallon of beer. Slightly more LME could be used but I really don't think you will notice a difference.

And yes, you will often notice a heavier layer of krausen, or foam on the top of a beer with a higher original Gravity than one with less fermentable sugars. Higher fermentation temps will also cause increased krausen.

Thanks for the response!

When did you add your extra hops?

I threw the muslin sack with the hops in after pouring the wort into the LBK. I had to make sure it was out of the way when I sprinkled the yeast in, so if I do that again, I'll remember to put it in dead last.

I know, that's dry-hopping, and won't impart bitterness. Depending on how bitter the original recipe actually is (and if I decide to use this recipe again), I might add some hops to the boil next time. I am still learning which hops are best for bittering & which are for flavour, and which hops have the flavours I like.

 

[slym2none]

i just started my final batch of mr beer recipe ive got (vienna lager). I ditched the alcohol booster and subbed 1 lb light dme and used nottingham yeast rather than what was under the cap. after 12-16 hours this is what my fermentor looks like.

That's about what my MB looks like right now - using the standard ingredients.

 

[Kirkwooder]

Congratulations, you made beer! Get it cooled and let it ride for at least 3 weeks.

 

[slym2none]

Naw, they'll love it at that temp, you just won't like what they are making.

Uh-oh... I followed the MB kit directions, starting with a gallon of cold water in the LBK, did the boil, took it off the heat to add the LMEs, mixed that with the water in the LBK, and then sprinkled on the yeast. I am sure the wort was warm when I did this... am I going to have some funky beer?

 

[brewski09]

You should have active fermentation like that in less than 24 hours even at temps in the low to mid 60's. If it's ever longer than 24 hours then be concerned about your yeast.

 

[Oginme]

Uh-oh... I followed the MB kit directions, starting with a gallon of cold water in the LBK, did the boil, took it off the heat to add the LMEs, mixed that with the water in the LBK, and then sprinkled on the yeast. I am sure the wort was warm when I did this... am I going to have some funky beer?

Next time you really want to wait until the wort temperature gets below 70F before pitching the yeast.

The warmer the yeast ferments the beer, the greater the chance for off-flavors from stressed yeast. The higher temperatures put the yeast reproduction into hyper-overdrive and they produce many by-products which they will not go back to clean up. With controlled temperatures (mid to upper 60's for most ale yeasts) the yeast will reproduce at a steady rate and clean up their own by-products as they ferment the wort.

On another note: While some people discourage the boiling of the wort to prevent loss of hop oils, your extract has already been boiled to pasteurize it before condensing and canning. The hops that are present have already been isomerized to allow them to stay with the wort. A minimum boil of 10 to 20 minutes will help with clearing up any SMS that gets released from the heating up of the canned extract. (been there, experienced that on my very first MB brew).

Another thing that will help with keeping your beer stable for a longer time will be to boil your cooling water a day or two ahead of time and then putting it into a sanitized bottle or jar in the refrigerator to cool down. You spent a lot of time sanitizing all your equipment and hands, don't spoil it by potentially adding something which has not been treated to retard bacteria or wild yeast growth.

 

[ericbw]

This was one question I was going to bring up, and while it might get answered later, I want to address it now - if I were to use LME for carbonating my finished beer, how much would I use? I definitely don't want to use table sugar, as I hear it can impart a "cidery" taste to the beer, and I don't think I want that for a hoppy APA.

You shouldn't get a cidery taste from using table sugar to bottle. It's a small amount. (Not like using it in the recipe as a fermentable.).

I don't know how you'd get LME to dissolve for bottling. It's thick and sticky. DME yes, LME probably not.

Finally, S-04 makes really pronounced aromas at high temps. Some people like it, but most would call it off flavors. So if this batch is not to your liking, that would be the first thing to change. Either S-04 with good temp control OR us-05 with good temp control.

 

[Oginme]

This was one question I was going to bring up, and while it might get answered later, I want to address it now - if I were to use LME for carbonating my finished beer, how much would I use? I definitely don't want to use table sugar, as I hear it can impart a "cidery" taste to the beer, and I don't think I want that for a hoppy APA.

For carbonating there are a number of on-line calculators which will help you determine how much of a particular sugar (dextrose, table sugar, molasses, honey, DME, LME, etc.) to use. Table sugar is fine (and my normal choice for bottle carbonation) and will not lead to a cidery taste.

 

[slym2none]

You should have active fermentation like that in less than 24 hours even at temps in the low to mid 60's. If it's ever longer than 24 hours then be concerned about your yeast.

Oh, I have VERY active fermentation, my wort had a 1" thick layer of foam within 12 hours. I think it was because my wort was too warm, now that I am reading into this thread.

It took all day yesterday, off & on, to get to page 67! But I am learning a lot. Like, no matter what I think might have happened, unless the beer shows signs of infection, to go ahead and let it play out, all the way through the conditioning phase.

 

[slym2none]

Next time you really want to wait until the wort temperature gets below 70F before pitching the yeast.

The warmer the yeast ferments the beer, the greater the chance for off-flavors from stressed yeast. The higher temperatures put the yeast reproduction into hyper-overdrive and they produce many by-products which they will not go back to clean up. With controlled temperatures (mid to upper 60's for most ale yeasts) the yeast will reproduce at a steady rate and clean up their own by-products as they ferment the wort.

On another note: While some people discourage the boiling of the wort to prevent loss of hop oils, your extract has already been boiled to pasteurize it before condensing and canning. The hops that are present have already been isomerized to allow them to stay with the wort. A minimum boil of 10 to 20 minutes will help with clearing up any SMS that gets released from the heating up of the canned extract. (been there, experienced that on my very first MB brew).

Another thing that will help with keeping your beer stable for a longer time will be to boil your cooling water a day or two ahead of time and then putting it into a sanitized bottle or jar in the refrigerator to cool down. You spent a lot of time sanitizing all your equipment and hands, don't spoil it by potentially adding something which has not been treated to retard bacteria or wild yeast growth.

Yeah, I wish the MB kit had told me to cool the wort first. That's one thing I'd think they would want to tell us!

And of course, as I got impatient and didn't read this thread first, I found out about boiing the canned HME after I had made my brew. Lesson learned, hopefully not the too-hard way.

I used two 1-gallon jugs of spring water & didn't open them until necessary, I hope that is "clean" enough (at this point) for my beer but I will remember to pre-boil them, sanitize the jugs it came in, and let them cool off before using for my next batch.

Thanks for the tips! Now, back to reading... maybe I can get to page 150 today.

 

[slym2none]

OK, Easter got in the way, so I am only up to page 80 (so far) tonight. ANYWAY, quick question I haven't seem answered yet - since I am essentially dry-hopping this batch, is it OK to leave the hop-sack in the LBK for the three weeks I plan on leaving the beer there? Or do I need to remove it at some point?

 

[Kirkwooder]

Ideally, when dry hopping you add them in the last week or two, but an extra week won't hurt. Let them ride. They will be fine.

 

[ericbw]

OK, Easter got in the way, so I am only up to page 80 (so far) tonight. ANYWAY, quick question I haven't seem answered yet - since I am essentially dry-hopping this batch, is it OK to leave the hop-sack in the LBK for the three weeks I plan on leaving the beer there? Or do I need to remove it at some point?

I didn't go back to see what your process is exactly. Usually dry hopping is 1-2 weeks, so it would be better to add them after the first week. Be sure to sterilize the hop sack first (boil it and let it cool; fill it and add it). Sanitize your hands, the lid, etc.

 

[slym2none]

Kirkwooder - thanks, I am definitely not worried about something being "too" hoppy. 3 years ago, I thought that Sweetwater's 420 was too bitter for my taste, now I enjoy most everything that Stone brewery makes, and they have to be one of the most aggressively hop-forward producing beer companies out there.

ericbw - I had already added the sock into the LBK right before sealing it up. I did soak the muslin bag in the sanitizer beforehand, instead of boiling it. Next time, I will do as you recommend.

Thanks for your answers!

 

[slym2none]

OK, first - I hope y'all don't think I am a huge PITA for posting so much here. Apologies if so.

Second - I need advice, and while it's about brewing, it is based on a Mr. Beer kit, so I am going to stick with this thread. Here's the deal: while the MB setup I am using now was free, I found an entire Premium kit intact on craigslist for $20, that includes two cans of the HME for the Mexican Cerveza & the Czech Pilsner. The Corona-clone doesn't interest me that much, and the Pils only so-so, but looking on the MB site, I found a recipe for a barleywine called Novacaine, and I asked the MB people if subbing the American Ale with the Pilsner HME would work in this recipe. They said it wouldn't be the same, but it should work just fine. So, to make this recipe, I'd need to buy a can of their Irish stout HME, the "golden" LME (it is their wheat-based LME), the yeast, & the hops.

My question/need for advice is this - I would obviously buy good yeast & hops, but instead of ordering more (expensive) MB ingredients, I can go to a LHBS and get the stuff. Since I am going there, why not drop the can of Irish Stout & the "golden" LME out and go with a partial-mash setup? THIS is where I need advice - what grains should I be looking at buying to substitute for these MEs? I can figure out the extra hops I might need (although any suggestions there would be fine, too) but some advice on the base grains, the specialty grains, and maybe a link to a recipe to follow on how to boil the wort made from said grains would be great!

This also means I will now have two LBKs, so I can either use one for mixing the priming sugars, or have two batches of beer going at once!

Anyway, thanks in advance!!!

*EDIT* - just found someone 5 minutes from me selling just the LBK for $5! Gonna pick it up tonight. That makes 3!!!

 

[Kirkwooder]

Before you go nuts with the Mr. Beer equipment and try to steep enough grain to replace cans of LME look on CL for a beginners brewing kit with the buckets or carboys. I can almost always find them on there from one of the cities near me. Those kits sell for just under $100 at the LBS and they will give you a lot of flexibility in your brewing. I see them advertised all the time for around $40, on CL, and am sure they could be haggled down a bunch.

As for trying to replace a full can of LME with grains, which I'm sure could be done, I wouldn't have a clue how to get it right. I made about 3 extract batches and decided to jump into all grain and I'v never looked back. Base malt is pretty cheap and extract costs a fortune. I was lucky and handy enough to either find everything I needed for AG kicking around ready to be repurposed. If you need to buy everything you need to jump into AG it costs a fortune, but if you have a turkey fryer, an old cooler, and a bit of know how, you can get yourself started pretty cheap. All this can be had pretty cheap from CL or at a flea market as well. If you can do it, Make the jump.


Lastly, Take this piece of advise, and take it to heart. Before you brew any more beer, go and find a copy of either John Palmer's "How To Brew", or Charlie Papazon's "The Complete Joy Of Home Brewing". Once you have either of these two books, read it cover to cover. Then read it again!

It will save you from making a bunch of really sub standard beer that will then need to be either dumped or drank, and I don't know what is worse! lol

 

[slym2none]

I am living with someone else at the moment, so while I would love to go with a full 5-gallon setup, I really don't have the space. That's why I am sticking with Mr. Beer at this moment.

 

[Oginme]

I am living with someone else at the moment, so while I would love to go with a full 5-gallon setup, I really don't have the space. That's why I am sticking with Mr. Beer at this moment.

I started with the Mr Beer kit and went very quickly to all-grain batches to fit the MBK. Someone recommended John Palmer's 'How to Brew' and I also highly recommend getting this book. An earlier version can be found at www.howtobrew.com which can get you started, but the latest version has corrected some of the inaccuracies in the original text and adds much more in recent learning.

Presently, I do almost all my batches as brew in a bag (BIAB) which you can also find much information here on HBT. In terms of recipes, there are many fine recipes here on HBT which can be scaled down to MBK size.

Right now I typically use 3-gallon plastic carboys, but I do have five MBK's that I use for split batches, experiments and as a bottling bucket.

 

[slym2none]

Do you have a local source for bottles? I am trying to figure out how to get more.

My source for bottles is my LBS (local bottle shop). Buy them full, empty them yourselves ( ), rinse them out after emptying, then wash and sterilize them before using new caps.

:fro:

 

[douglasbarbin]

My source for bottles is my LBS (local bottle shop). Buy them full, empty them yourselves ( ), rinse them out after emptying, then wash and sterilize them before using new caps.

:fro:

That's the way to do it. Empty bottles cost almost as much as full ones.

 

[douglasbarbin]

My question/need for advice is this - I would obviously buy good yeast & hops, but instead of ordering more (expensive) MB ingredients, I can go to a LHBS and get the stuff. Since I am going there, why not drop the can of Irish Stout & the "golden" LME out and go with a partial-mash setup? THIS is where I need advice - what grains should I be looking at buying to substitute for these MEs? I can figure out the extra hops I might need (although any suggestions there would be fine, too) but some advice on the base grains, the specialty grains, and maybe a link to a recipe to follow on how to boil the wort made from said grains would be great!

We don't know for sure what's in the Mr. Beer extract, but generally you would be looking for these grains:

Irish: mostly pale ale malt or Maris Otter, small amount of crystal 40-80, smaller amount of chocolate malt, even smaller amount of roasted barley

Golden: 2-row malt or pale malt, wheat malt. Personally I would do about 33% wheat, 67% 2-row, but you could go as high as 50/50.


That being said, you are probably better off finding a recipe that you like and making that instead of trying to replicate the Mr. Beer stuff.

 

[slym2none]

OK, I'll admit a few things I have yet to:

I have a "financier," my buddy that gave me the MB kit is also supplying/paying for all the ingredients. I am just the labour.

I am still getting my feet wet and want to try a partial-grain mash before I go whole-hog with an AG mash. For the "Novacaine" recipe, I was thinking of using DME for the main part and just looking at the specialty grains to get the full flavour, to replace the can of Irish stout HME.

So, for the stout, really I am looking for a recipe that uses DME for the base and grains for the "oomph". Plus, my buddy already bought the other MB kit with the other two cans of HME that will be used for this "Novacaine" recipe.

Thanks, though - the info you gave above is at least a step in the right direction. I can find a stout recipe and scale it down using one of the online calculators mentioned early on in this thread. (I am on page 132 now, FTR).

 

[PC509]

My source for bottles is my LBS (local bottle shop). Buy them full, empty them yourselves ( ), rinse them out after emptying, then wash and sterilize them before using new caps.

:fro:

I've also asked friends and family to start buying non-twist off cap beer (preferably without a logo on the glass) and just get theirs when they are done. Between my extra beer intake (I'm not complaining!) and donation beer bottles, I'm getting ready to move to 5 gallon batches and eventually to corny kegs to free up some more bottles. Right now, I have 2 batches in the LBK's. Getting close to bottling time!

 

[slym2none]

OK, possible-stupid-question time - I am definitely going to let my beer sit in the fermenter for 2 weeks, & am thinking about 3, as I keep seeing people say it's "better." But isn't this just conditioning the beer? Is a week extra in the LBK better than a week of conditioning in the bottle? Either way, I don't plan on trying one until 8 weeks after I brewed the beer, I am just curious as to why I should leave it in the LBK when it's ready to bottle. (Really, I just want to get to brewing my next batch - my buddy is getting the Albert's Altbier stuff presently.)

Does leaving it to sit on the yeast do something that bottle-conditioning won't?

 

[NoFlyZone]

You don't want to bottle before the beer is "done" fermenting, meaning your FG has been reached. To KNOW that, you'd need to take at least 2 gravity readings 48 hours apart and have the values match. I just let my beer go three weeks to avoid wasting beer on the FG measurements. Making those two before bottling costs me about 12 ounces of beer--an entire bottle--that I'd much rather drink when it is nicely conditioned and carbed.

 

[Kirkwooder]

OK, possible-stupid-question time - I am definitely going to let my beer sit in the fermenter for 2 weeks, & am thinking about 3, as I keep seeing people say it's "better." But isn't this just conditioning the beer? Is a week extra in the LBK better than a week of conditioning in the bottle? Either way, I don't plan on trying one until 8 weeks after I brewed the beer, I am just curious as to why I should leave it in the LBK when it's ready to bottle. (Really, I just want to get to brewing my next batch - my buddy is getting the Albert's Altbier stuff presently.)

Does leaving it to sit on the yeast do something that bottle-conditioning won't?

Quite simply, Yes. Most beers finish better when left on the yeast in bulk to finish clearing up what ever off flavors they are able to. The extra time also gives the beer more time to clear up and not be as cloudy when served. However, the 3 week thing is mostly to be sure that the beer is done fermenting. Most ales will be completely done fermenting in 3 weeks. There are certainly exceptions though, some beers will fully ferment out in a few days and others may take a month or more. Generally speaking, the bigger the beer, the longer it takes to ferment. Lagers are generally stored cold, in bulk for several weeks after their fermentation has finished.

To be sure that your beer is finished you will need to take at least 2 gravity readings and have them the same. If you have a means to measure the gravity it is certainly advisable to do so, if not, waiting 3 weeks will likely be plenty of time for it to finish. If your beer is not finished and you bottle it, it will continue to ferment and off gas, building pressure, until either the fermentable sugars are consumed or the bottle explodes. This is where the term "bottle bomb" comes from. They are extremely dangerous.

Let it ride, you'll be happy you did!