Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[NwMaltHead]

I always feel like there's not much activity over there.

True, but if you are still on batch #3 and #4 with Mr. Beer, then there isn't a lot of use quite yet for the intricate details discussed in other sections of this site.

 

[slym2none]

I am really feeling like I have outgrown the MrB forum. It really is kind of a "beginner's only" forum, or at least, for people who don't want to do more than a 30-minute brew day.

I am currently in a discussion about how leaviing your beer on the yeast-cake for longer than 4 weeks won't automatically give the beer off-flavours. One person said, in an absolute, that leaving the beer on the yeast for 5 weeks or more will give off-flavours, most likely from autolysis. I tried to reference this site, where many people have left their beers on the yeast far longer with no ill results. I almost got into the "only big breweries need to worry about autolysis so soon" but I figured, these guys are the ones who hold a lot of beginner's hands, and they just don't want to say anything that might give new brewers any bad habits. I can understand that.

I just also see that I am not a hand-held beginner anymore, and some of the stuff said there is wrong (but gives beginners a good mind-set) to just outrageous (the one guy's absolutes). I figure that one guy needs to be king of the hill, so why not let him?

I just won't be posting over there very much anymore.

(Sorry, HBTers!)

 

[NwMaltHead]

I am really feeling like I have outgrown the MrB forum. It really is kind of a "beginner's only" forum, or at least, for people who don't want to do more than a 30-minute brew day.

I am currently in a discussion about how leaviing your beer on the yeast-cake for longer than 4 weeks won't automatically give the beer off-flavours. One person said, in an absolute, that leaving the beer on the yeast for 5 weeks or more will give off-flavours, most likely from autolysis. I tried to reference this site, where many people have left their beers on the yeast far longer with no ill results. I almost got into the "only big breweries need to worry about autolysis so soon" but I figured, these guys are the ones who hold a lot of beginner's hands, and they just don't want to say anything that might give new brewers any bad habits. I can understand that.

I just also see that I am not a hand-held beginner anymore, and some of the stuff said there is wrong (but gives beginners a good mind-set) to just outrageous (the one guy's absolutes). I figure that one guy needs to be king of the hill, so why not let him?

I just won't be posting over there very much anymore.

(Sorry, HBTers!)

Yeah I'm getting that vibe. Lol. I am short on cash for awhile but plan on upgrading next summer. Been reading books and other forums as well.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

Hi all - just acquired a few cases of the 16 oz Mr. Beer brown PET bottles (new and unused). Never used plastic bottles before, and think I'll try them out on my next batch.

How's iodophor for sanitizing these (which is what I have on hand)?

Thanks! Other suggestions also welcome if iodophor is not a good choice.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I like to bottle at least one of every batch of my beers in a PET bottle. You know when they are fully carbed by how firm the bottle is.

 

[skitter]

Any sanitizer should work just fine. I used Starsan when I was using the MR Beer bottles. I still use the LBK's for fermenting my AG batches and I haven't had any issues.

 

[ericbw]

I am really feeling like I have outgrown the MrB forum. It really is kind of a "beginner's only" forum, or at least, for people who don't want to do more than a 30-minute brew day.

I am currently in a discussion about how leaviing your beer on the yeast-cake for longer than 4 weeks won't automatically give the beer off-flavours. One person said, in an absolute, that leaving the beer on the yeast for 5 weeks or more will give off-flavours, most likely from autolysis. I tried to reference this site, where many people have left their beers on the yeast far longer with no ill results. I almost got into the "only big breweries need to worry about autolysis so soon" but I figured, these guys are the ones who hold a lot of beginner's hands, and they just don't want to say anything that might give new brewers any bad habits. I can understand that.

I just also see that I am not a hand-held beginner anymore, and some of the stuff said there is wrong (but gives beginners a good mind-set) to just outrageous (the one guy's absolutes). I figure that one guy needs to be king of the hill, so why not let him?

I just won't be posting over there very much anymore.

(Sorry, HBTers!)

I also think that the changes in the Mr. Beer products have made it less tweak able, so less creative. My hey had the smaller cans so you could use a base and add more lme, hops, etc.

The big cans seem to be even more simplified so you're not really mixing any thing.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

Any sanitizer should work just fine. I used Starsan when I was using the MR Beer bottles. I still use the LBK's for fermenting my AG batches and I haven't had any issues.

Thanks!

 

[BrewinBromanite]

I like to bottle at least one of every batch of my beers in a PET bottle. You know when they are fully carbed by how firm the bottle is.

Yeah, I've used an 8 oz sprite bottle a couple times for this purpose before. Without fail, I'm always opening at least one bottle at the 1 week mark regardless, mainly because I'm impatient and like to see the progress, even at the less than optimal carbed phase.

 

[NwMaltHead]

I also think that the changes in the Mr. Beer products have made it less tweak able, so less creative. My hey had the smaller cans so you could use a base and add more lme, hops, etc.

The big cans seem to be even more simplified so you're not really mixing any thing.

Yeah, the seasonals and craft cans are larger, a little less tweakable. I'm just getting started, but already am doing recommended recipes. It's very simple as you said, and all of the brews come out a little thin/light FG wise per category. plan on going 5-7.5gal, partial mash next summer.

 

[slym2none]

MrB cans have hops for bitterness, but not much on flavour & aroma. The biggest improvements I could make on what I brewed from them was adding a pound or so of DME, 4 oz. of Carapils, and for hoppy beers, boiling more water than they call for & using more hops in a hop-stand to get flavour & aroma without adding much to the bitterness already present.

Of course, I only made 5-6 batches using their ingredients, mostly hop-forward beers.

 

[skitter]

Yeah, I've used an 8 oz sprite bottle a couple times for this purpose before. Without fail, I'm always opening at least one bottle at the 1 week mark regardless, mainly because I'm impatient and like to see the progress, even at the less than optimal carbed phase.

I open 1 bottle at a week, a few at 2 weeks, and the rest as time goes on even with my AG batches. I like to know how time changes them

 

[skitter]

Yeah, the seasonals and craft cans are larger, a little less tweakable. I'm just getting started, but already am doing recommended recipes. It's very simple as you said, and all of the brews come out a little thin/light FG wise per category. plan on going 5-7.5gal, partial mash next summer.

I made a write up on tweaking the cans. I would add 2oz of White Wheat Malt now though. Head retention and all...

 

[bogg]

Hello. I'm new to home brewing simply because a friend gave me a Mr. Beer kit that he had in storage for a long time. I'd say the kit is circa 2011, because it comes with the Booster. Anyway the cans of HME have a best before date of July 2013. With this date, will the HME even be usable? Also, the Booster, which I believe is suppose to be a powder is just a rock solid chunk. Is it usable? Will it dissolve? The fermenting keg seems in fine shape and it came with 8 bottles and lids. I don't know if i should even try making beer with the old ingredients or just buy some fresh ingredients. Your thoughts, please.

 

[Kirkwooder]

The LME, or liquid malt extract, will no be "spoiled", but certainly will be well past it's best use range, and the rock hard booster is certainly garbage. You could make beer with the stuff but it will likely not be very good.

Save yourself the heart break of making a bad beer and buy some fresh LME or DME(dry malt extract) and some fresh hops and yeast, and make a good drinkable beer!

 

[bpgreen]

Hello. I'm new to home brewing simply because a friend gave me a Mr. Beer kit that he had in storage for a long time. I'd say the kit is circa 2011, because it comes with the Booster. Anyway the cans of HME have a best before date of July 2013. With this date, will the HME even be usable? Also, the Booster, which I believe is suppose to be a powder is just a rock solid chunk. Is it usable? Will it dissolve? The fermenting keg seems in fine shape and it came with 8 bottles and lids. I don't know if i should even try making beer with the old ingredients or just buy some fresh ingredients. Your thoughts, please.

The HME will be darker and have a different flavor than it would have originally (due to something called the maillard reaction), but can still be used if the can is not bulging.

Booster is essentially sugar (a blend of several different kinds). You can use it, also. It might be tough to get it to dissolve, but you can probably do that by putting it in the water you're boiling and just keeping an eye on it and stirring every once in a while.

I would definitely replace the yeast, though. Even if your friend stored it in ideal conditions, yeast loses viability over time, and the yeast that came with those kits wasn't really enough to start with. I'd replace the yeast with something fresh. Technically, you can use bread yeast (I've done it a couple of times as an experiment, and the results are somewhat similar to an English ale yeast), I wouldn't recommend using bread yeast, though. You'll get much better results using an ale yeast. I like Fermentis US-05, Danstar Nottingham (especially if it's fairly cool), and Mangrove Jack M-10 as good options if you want a good clean fermentation with the yeast providing few esters. For most of the beers I brew, I want the yeast to stay out of the way of the malt and hops, so I use those three the most.

 

[brewski09]

Is get a new can of mr beer LME because that's not going to make good beer now. If you get into the hobby you can use that current can as an additive to a stout idle something where it will be covered up well. The booster just needs some attention to make it dissolve. People use candi (rock) sugar all the time (I know, a lot of the newer candi sugars are liquid now). I ALWAYS advocate for better yeast. I like the us-05 (common American strain from Sierra Nevada) or Nottingham myself. Those two will do just about anything you could want.

 

[bpgreen]

I like the us-05 (common American strain from Sierra Nevada) or Nottingham myself. Those two will do just about anything you could want.

Well, as long as "anything you want" is a clean fermenting yeast. If you're brewing a Belgian or a wheat beer (or a number of other styles), those would be poor choices. I like those yeasts, but they're appropriate for a lot of the beers I brew. I also keep my house pretty cool in the winter, and Nottingham is the only ale yeast I trust to ferment in the mid 50s.

 

[slym2none]

He did say "just about"...



@bogg - you can use the MrB LBK to make 2.5 gallon batches of any recipe. Find a 5-gallon recipe you like & cut everything by half. I still use the LBK myself but haven't used a MrB HME in a while.

 

[bpgreen]

He did say "just about"...



@bogg - you can use the MrB LBK to make 2.5 gallon batches of any recipe. Find a 5-gallon recipe you like & cut everything by half. I still use the LBK myself but haven't used a MrB HME in a while.

I guess we have different definitions of "just about"

For a beginning brewer, US-05/Nottingham will be just fine. But there are beers that I'd rather go to the grocery store and buy some bread yeast than use one of those. They're great yeast strains, but they're not the best for every beer.

 

[slym2none]

"Just about" does not equal "every".



I won't keep this up, however. My point is made.

 

[bpgreen]

"Just about" does not equal "every".



I won't keep this up, however. My point is made.

I started to reply to this but decided against it. Your point isn't made. It's just not coherent enough for anybody to bother with it.

 

[slym2none]

Ah, the old "attack the person, not the argument" tactic.

That's some weak sauce, man.

*ROFL*

 

[bpgreen]

Ah, the old "attack the person, not the argument" tactic.

That's some weak sauce, man.

*ROFL*

Sorry. I didn't attack you personally.

You made no point. I didn't attack the person. I just pointed out that you made no point.

US-05 is a good yeast. I have no problems with it. I use it a lot. I use Nottingham a lot.

But there are other yeasts that are better choices for certain styles of beers.

I'm not sure how or why this bothers you. Maybe we're on the same page and it's just that unpersonal forum communication messes things up.

 

[slym2none]

Ok. I didn't make a point at all. Because you said so.



Definitely done with this conversation - and you - now.

 

[Hoolio]

Back to the expired kit topic, I made an expired Mr. Beer American pale ale kit a month or so ago. I had some top cropped Pac man yeast that needed some place to go, so I used it. It made beer. I wished I had thrown some aroma hops in, but I didn't have any on hand. +1 to test batches in the LBK. I have a 2.5 gal batch of Unicorn Blood in mine right now.

 

[Sstraley01]

This is my 1st ever.. I have it in the Mr. Beer keg for 8 days now. I was just reading the instructions that came with it and it says to let it sit for 2-4 weeks. Why such a difference in time? And how will I know when it's time to bottle?
Thanks
Steve

 

[skitter]

When I was making the Mr. Beer kits they where typically done at 2 weeks max. Then 3 weeks in the bottle. Which kit was it? Unless you are using 2 cans worth of extract I don't see why it would take longer than 3 weeks. What temperature?

 

[TonyKZ1]

This is my 1st ever.. I have it in the Mr. Beer keg for 8 days now. I was just reading the instructions that came with it and it says to let it sit for 2-4 weeks. Why such a difference in time? And how will I know when it's time to bottle?
Thanks
Steve

It's recommended (and it's what I do regardless of the recipe) 3 weeks in the fermenter and 4 weeks carbonating/conditioning in the bottle. There's also a lot of info (both new and experienced brewing) over on the Mr. Beer Forum.

 

[douglasbarbin]

You will know it's time to bottle when you have a hydrometer reading that stays steady over the course of several days.