Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[pstant]

Tip for cider or apfelwein - don't leave it in the LBK longer than a few weeks past fermentation's end. You do need to secondary this, even if it's just some glass apple juice or wine jugs. The LBK is not conducive to keeping a clean environment after a longer period of time - I got an infection in mine the one time I tried to make it.

Thanks. I haven't heard of anyone else having issues with infections for ciders. I'll keep it in mind. I was thinking 4-6 weeks in the LBK. Thoughts?

 

[slym2none]

That sounds pretty good.

There are always those SlimLine 2.5G containers at one of the big box stores you can drill a hole in the top of and put on an airlock. That's my plan when/if I ever try cider again, to use one of those as a "secondary".

 

[bpgreen]

That sounds pretty good.

There are always those SlimLine 2.5G containers at one of the big box stores you can drill a hole in the top of and put on an airlock. That's my plan when/if I ever try cider again, to use one of those as a "secondary".

I wouldn't advise using a slimline as a secondary. Those are only meant to hold water.

Using them as a bottling container is one thing, but they're the wrong kind of plastic for fermentation.

And I think they'd be an even worse choice as a secondary since they're pretty permeable. If you use a secondary, you want it to be less permeable, not more.

 

[slym2none]

Ah, good call. I had no idea... my bad for possibly spreading bad info!

 

[treacheroustexan]

One of my co-workers got a mr.beer kit for Chrismas and brought me in one of the (american lights?) and I drank it last night. I was super impressed that it was a mr. beer kit to be honest. Just chiming in this thread to say that!

 

[slym2none]

Being taken over by Coopers did MrB a world of good. I made their IPA and added some Carapils, DME, and FF7C hops. It was pretty good! That would have been my third batch, I believe... good times...

 

[pstant]

Mr Beer kits nowadays I think make a decent beet as long as you follow their pamphlet directions. The nice thing about it is that you can also add other malts, add hops, specialty grains, or herbs and spices and create a masterpiece.

 

[West_Coast_Brew]

I posted a separate thread on this, but since it's related to the Mr. Beer I thought I'd ask here too.

I currently have a 5 gallon batch of stout in my primary fermenter bucket and I picked up a few Mr. Beer's on clearance and was thinking of splitting that batch and using the Mr. Beer barrel as a secondary to try different flavors, but as I just read above I'm concerned that it might expose the beer to too much air. I was only planning on letting them sit another week after transferring.

Does anyone have any advice? The flavors I'm planning on trying are a cacao tincture, a vanilla and cacao tincture, and maybe one with raspberry puree.

 

[bpgreen]

I posted a separate thread on this, but since it's related to the Mr. Beer I thought I'd ask here too.

I currently have a 5 gallon batch of stout in my primary fermenter bucket and I picked up a few Mr. Beer's on clearance and was thinking of splitting that batch and using the Mr. Beer barrel as a secondary to try different flavors, but as I just read above I'm concerned that it might expose the beer to too much air. I was only planning on letting them sit another week after transferring.

Does anyone have any advice? The flavors I'm planning on trying are a cacao tincture, a vanilla and cacao tincture, and maybe one with raspberry puree.

I don't think the LBK is a good candidate for secondary fermenter.

 

[Oginme]

I've used my MBKs many times for secondary fermenation, particularly when adding fruit. It works pretty well, but I would not plan on cold crashing afterwards.

 

[Kirkwooder]

Oxidation is really an over rated problem. The LBK will work fine for what you are wanting to do. As long as you are not doing Barley Wines that need months of aging , a LBK should work very well for a secondary.

Take extra care when transferring to the LBK to avoid any unnecessary introduction of oxygen and you will be fine! If you really wanted to cover all bases, ad a small amount of fermentables to the beer when transferring, so that the beer produces a new layer of co2 on top of the fermenting beer.

 

[brewski09]

Do tinctures with alcohol (neutral vodka works well) and add at bottling. It works great. For the raspberry, invest in a smaller bucket/carboy to referment in. FYI, the CO2 doesn't sit there in a layer indefinitely, it will dissipate.

 

[Holiday101]

I just bought a Mr. Beer classic kit unused for $15 at a second hand shop. It has the American light beer ingredients which doesn't interest me (God knows how old it might be too) much but I assume I can use the CO2 drops for something else. My main curiosity is whether there is a gasket for the top lid as it doesn't seem to be all that airtight. Also do people drill a whole in the lid and put in an airlock?

I may just use it as a bottling bucket, I dunno. Seemed like a no brainer for $15.

 

[slym2none]

If it was airtight, then it would get pressurized by the escaping CO². The top where the lid screws on actually has grooves in the threads to allow gases to escape. Putting an airlock on one would be pointless because of that feature.

I have two of the LBKs now, I use them for fermenting beer. They each fit in a cooler so I can put ice-bottles in to control the temps, and I can shove them in the fridge for cold-crashing.

 

[Holiday101]

Has anyone here made the Hacked Root Beer recipe? I have with my kit the American light extract which I believe is the base, I was thinking to get the extra ingredients from Mr. Beer to make the Hacked Root Beer but not sure how it all goes together. I know you can just get the kit but I don't want another can of the extract.

 

[BigFloyd]

I just bought a Mr. Beer classic kit unused for $15 at a second hand shop. It has the American light beer ingredients which doesn't interest me (God knows how old it might be too) much but I assume I can use the CO2 drops for something else. My main curiosity is whether there is a gasket for the top lid as it doesn't seem to be all that airtight. Also do people drill a whole in the lid and put in an airlock?

I may just use it as a bottling bucket, I dunno. Seemed like a no brainer for $15.

You can actually make something pretty decent with that American light kit if you add some things to it. Steep 1/2 lb of crystal 60 grain (in a mesh bag) in 160*F water for 30 min. Bring that to a boil and toss in 1/2 lb of light DME. You can add maybe .3 oz of Saaz or similar flavor hop (in a hop bag) and let it gently boil for 15 min. Kill the boil, add the Mr/ Beer stuff and proceed as usual. After cooling and pitching, try to keep it in the mid-60's.

The LBK lid is made to let the CO2 escape downward through the threads while keeping nasties out. No need for an airlock. It does a good job as a little fermenter.

 

[Holiday101]

You can actually make something pretty decent with that American light kit if you add some things to it. Steep 1/2 lb of crystal 60 grain (in a mesh bag) in 160*F water for 30 min. Bring that to a boil and toss in 1/2 lb of light DME. You can add maybe .3 oz of Saaz or similar flavor hop (in a hop bag) and let it gently boil for 15 min. Kill the boil, add the Mr/ Beer stuff and proceed as usual. After cooling and pitching, try to keep it in the mid-60's.

The LBK lid is made to let the CO2 escape downward through the threads while keeping nasties out. No need for an airlock. It does a good job as a little fermenter.

Heh heh, actually I was just gonna ask what else I can do with the kit vs tossing the extract, thinking about a partial mash. If I'm going partial mash I'm looking at 1/2 lb of crush grain max no more or less? How much water is appropriate for the BIAB mash? I was also considering one of their better yeast packets but don't know if it's worth it. I think I might just brew this one out for the hell of it and then move on. I'm eventually looking at BIAB or otherwise all-mash 2 gallon batches.

Are people happy with the spigot and bottling cane set up Mr. Beer now sells? I was actually thinking of putting on a better spigot though I hear that would mean making a bigger hole to accomodate.

 

[TonyKZ1]

The spigots and bottling wand are working fine on mine, no issues.

 

[Holiday101]

The spigots and bottling wand are working fine on mine, no issues.

Ah good. I was thinking as I expand I may just use the fermentor as a bottling bucket.

 

[TonyKZ1]

Ah good. I was thinking as I expand I may just use the fermentor as a bottling bucket.

Yep, that'll be fine. Quite a few people do that with the LBKs. I've now got a 2.5G Slimline (basically a square water jug) to use as a bottling bucket. I was using a 2G bucket for my 1G recipes but happened upon this 2.5G slimline deal so now I can use to bottle my 1-2G recipes.

 

[Oginme]

I use my MBKs as experimental fermentors as well as for a bottling bucket.

 

[Holiday101]

Yeah, considering getting a second fermentor from them as they are pretty cheap right now. Anyone know the difference in quality of the new black spigots as oppose to the old ones? Apparently they are better quality, have better seal?

 

[Oginme]

I just bought a couple of the new spigots a month ago, hoping that they would be better than the white ones. They do seem to be harder material but I did have an issue getting them to seal properly.

 

[Holiday101]

I just bought a couple of the new spigots a month ago, hoping that they would be better than the white ones. They do seem to be harder material but I did have an issue getting them to seal properly.

I was just curious if I could swap out the Mr. Beer spigot with a bottling one I found at a local home brew store. The listed size is 5/16 - 3/8.

 

[Oginme]

I was just curious if I could swap out the Mr. Beer spigot with a bottling one I found at a local home brew store. The listed size is 5/16 - 3/8.

I looked into doing that but the hole in the MBK is just a little too small. I contemplated trying to ream it out, but didn't want to ruin the MBK. Aside from that, the spigots available are longer than the ones available from Mr. Beer, so the outlet would be below the sitting level of the MBK.

 

[olephart]

Yeah, my Mr beer that I got for Christmas came without a spigot. So I picked one up at a homebrew shop. Arugh it was too big for the hole, (kept it to make a bottling bucket someday). In January when a replacement spigot arrived , (black one?), I put it in and checked for leaks. It leaked.... I had to do some careful trimming around the hole. One side is slightly higher because there is a seam at the hole. I shaved the high spots down at a 45° angle, matching the gasket. No leaks .

 

[olephart]

So, I'm thinking about making hard root beer using a Mr Beer Classic American Light refill kit.

If I understand correctly, I would brew the CAL in my LBK as normal. When the beer is done fermenting, transfer the 2 gallons of beer to a sanitized steel pot big enough, then gently mix the beer with 2 to 3 cups of sugar, and 2/3 bottle of root beer concentrate, (the one I picked up, “Watkins 2 oz”, makes 3 gallons of root beer), and bottle.

When the bottles are carbonated, (Squeeze test plastic bottles), pasteurize the bottles to stop the yeast, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=193295.

Any thoughts?

 

[ericbw]

So, I'm thinking about making hard root beer using a Mr Beer Classic American Light refill kit.

If I understand correctly, I would brew the CAL in my LBK as normal. When the beer is done fermenting, transfer the 2 gallons of beer to a sanitized steel pot big enough, then gently mix the beer with 2 to 3 cups of sugar, and 2/3 bottle of root beer concentrate, (the one I picked up, “Watkins 2 oz”, makes 3 gallons of root beer), and bottle.

When the bottles are carbonated, (Squeeze test plastic bottles), pasteurize the bottles to stop the yeast, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=193295.

Any thoughts?

My only thought is that when I used Watkins extract, I was disappointed. It wasn't a very strong root beer flavor. I have had good results with McCormick's every time. It's usually in the baking section of bigger stores (but not all stores carry it).

 

[olephart]

Thanks, I'll keep looking for McCormicks.

If I have to use the Watkins, I will add it to taste even if it takes the whole 2oz. I could add more vanilla too.

 

[skitter]

Yep, that'll be fine. Quite a few people do that with the LBKs. I've now got a 2.5G Slimline (basically a square water jug) to use as a bottling bucket. I was using a 2G bucket for my 1G recipes but happened upon this 2.5G slimline deal so now I can use to bottle my 1-2G recipes.

My 2.5g Slimline just broke... After 2 years I dropped it on the floor!