Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[douglasbarbin]

Normally, you want to start fermentation at a relatively low temperature, then ramp it up near the end. You seem to have done the opposite. May I ask why?

 

[fedoradude]

Normally, you want to start fermentation at a relatively low temperature, then ramp it up near the end. You seem to have done the opposite. May I ask why?

My Mr. Beer video says to let it stay in the bottle at room temperature for 2 weeks then to put the bottles in the fridge for a longer time. That's why I'm doing it. Just followin' directions.

 

[olephart]

Normally, you want to start fermentation at a relatively low temperature, then ramp it up near the end. You seem to have done the opposite. May I ask why?

I am (very) Loosely following this briess recipe;
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Recipes/beer/display/ditchberry-beer

Musta been a typo..

Primary Fermentation: 7 days at 70ºF
Secondary Fermentation: 7 days at 65ºF
Fermentation Notes:
Original Gravity:
Final Gravity:

Maybe I should have reversed the temps.

I reset the temp controller from 63° to 73° about 24 hrs ago. Still only at 67.4° and climbing, must be well insulated. Thinking about unplugging this cooler, with the door ajar and going with room temp.

 

[douglasbarbin]

My Mr. Beer video says to let it stay in the bottle at room temperature for 2 weeks then to put the bottles in the fridge for a longer time. That's why I'm doing it. Just followin' directions.

Those are some pretty awful directions, then. That isn't what you want to be doing at all. Let me know how that beer turns out. I don't think it will ever carbonate if you put it in the fridge immediately after priming/bottling.

What you should want to do is this:
1) Let it ferment at whichever temperature is appropriate for the yeast strain you are using.
2) Let it ferment until Final Gravity is confirmed using a hydrometer. Often this involves raising the temperature at the end to allow the yeast to clean up fermentation byproducts. This is especially important with lagers (see "diacetyl rest").
3) Only in the case of lagers do you want to reduce the temperature to what you would find in your fridge. You don't do that at all for ales. Regardless, you want to raise the temperature back to room temperature after you add your priming sugar and bottle your beer. This will allow your beer to carbonate. A refrigerator is too cold for most strains of yeast.

 

[douglasbarbin]

I am (very) Loosely following this briess recipe;
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Recipes/beer/display/ditchberry-beer

Musta been a typo..



Maybe I should have reversed the temps.

I reset the temp controller from 63° to 73° about 24 hrs ago. Still only at 67.4° and climbing, must be well insulated. Thinking about unplugging this cooler, with the door ajar and going with room temp.

I don't think it was a typo, just bad instructions. I just took a look at them, and those are awful.

The only "3056" yeast I know of is Wyeast 3056, and it is a blend of ale yeasts. There is no "3056 lager yeast" that I am aware of. Also, 65-70 degrees is too warm for any lager yeast, unless you are doing a California Common beer, which this is not. 14 days of fermentation is also pretty ambitious for a lager, probably far beyond the capability of anyone who would be following these instructions. So that part of the directions is wrong.

The bit about the temperatures is questionable as well. You are adding more fermentable sugars to the wort when you add the fruit, so you probably don't want to drop the temperature, as this will most likely make the yeast "lazy". However, in the case of a fruit beer, you might actually want that, since you want to keep some of the residual sugars and flavors from the fruit. In this case, I'd say "maybe" about lowering the temperature. But if it were me, I would probably just ferment at 65F the entire time.

 

[fedoradude]

Those are some pretty awful directions, then. That isn't what you want to be doing at all... I don't think it will ever carbonate if you put it in the fridge immediately after priming/bottling.

That isn't what I'm doing. The MBK directions said to after adding the carbonation tablets during the bottling process to then let it set at room temp (where it did primary fermentation) for 2 weeks. THEN put it in the fridge.

This is what I'm doing.

I find this confirmed in the following directions from this website http://www.beveragefactory.com/mrbeer_brewing.shtml


"Step 4: Conditioning (Age or Lager)
"After your beer has carbonated it is ready to drink. However, to improve the flavor of your beer even more you may want to condition it for weeks or even months. This can be done one of two ways:

"A. Warm conditioning (aging): Place beer in a dark, dry location away from sunlight that is 50°-70° F.

"B. Cold conditioning (lagering): Place beer into a refrigerator, or dark dry location that is 35°-49° F.

"Whether you choose to condition your beer or not, it will always taste best if chilled for at least two or more days before drinking.

"TIP: Drink your beer within 4 months of bottling."

 

[douglasbarbin]

^ That makes a bit more sense, then. I assumed the 2 weeks you were talking about was primary fermentation. So you did a lager?

 

[fedoradude]

So you did a lager?

Beats me. I did what came with the kit. But I think it was a lager kit.

 

[douglasbarbin]

Beats me. I did what came with the kit. But I think it was a lager kit.

If it's an ale, you are wasting your time keeping it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Unless your refrigerator is really warm, it will be too cold for ale yeast to condition.

If it's a lager, then you will be in good shape. I would probably leave it a little longer than 2 weeks, even.

 

[bpgreen]

If it's an ale, you are wasting your time keeping it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Unless your refrigerator is really warm, it will be too cold for ale yeast to condition.

If it's a lager, then you will be in good shape. I would probably leave it a little longer than 2 weeks, even.

The kit may have had lager in the name, but unless it was a special kit, it was an ale.

I disagree with the contention that there is no benefit to cold conditioning an ale. If you're only going to leave it it the bottle for 4 weeks, you're better off warm conditioning it the whole time. But if you can wait 2 more weeks, try putting a few bottles in the refrigerator for two weeks and compare those with a few bottles you only cool for a few days.

I found this out by accident when I had to go out of town unexpectedly and had some bottles in the fridge when I left.

I keg now, but when I bottled, I would warm condition for at least a month and cold condition for at least two weeks.

 

[douglasbarbin]

The kit may have had lager in the name, but unless it was a special kit, it was an ale.

I disagree with the contention that there is no benefit to cold conditioning an ale. If you're only going to leave it it the bottle for 4 weeks, you're better off warm conditioning it the whole time. But if you can wait 2 more weeks, try putting a few bottles in the refrigerator for two weeks and compare those with a few bottles you only cool for a few days.

Why wouldn't you just warm condition it for another 2 weeks if you're waiting the extra 2 weeks anyway? Any benefit you saw from 2 weeks in the refrigerator was more likely the result of cold crashing and yeast/trub/etc. dropping out of suspension.

 

[olephart]

So I have this wheat beer fermenting, (2.5 gal batch...3.3 lbs Briess Bavarian Wheat LME, Cascade Hops, Safale S-40 yeast..). First 7 days at 68°, and I'll soon be finished with 7 more days at 63°. The past two days gravity readings were 1.016 and 1.015.

I'm going to leave it in the fermenter another week, would 58° sound like a good idea?

This yeast's fermentation temperature range is 53.6° to 77°, (ideally 59° to 68°).
Thanks

...Well it's been three weeks now, (this last week at 70° as per advice received in another post in this thread) I just checked the gravity, still the same as last week, 1.015, (OG was 1.042). Should I add more yeast, or call it done and bottle?


It has cleared up nicely in this last week.

 

[olephart]

...Well it's been three weeks now, (this last week at 70° as per advice received in another post in this thread) I just checked the gravity, still the same as last week, 1.015, (OG was 1.042). Should I add more yeast, or call it done and bottle?


It has cleared up nicely in this last week.

I do have some yeast nutrient left over from my attempt at Yooper's Welch's frozen grape juice wine recipe, I could put some in and see what happens.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I'd say it's done and bottle it. Just my .02

 

[douglasbarbin]

I do have some yeast nutrient left over from my attempt at Yooper's Welch's frozen grape juice wine recipe, I could put some in and see what happens.

Yeast nutrient isn't going to help at this point. Your wort is probably fermented as much as it's going to with the yeast you pitched. It could be a low-attenuating yeast strain, or you might have a lot of unfermentable sugars or starches in your wort. Either way, adding yeast nutrient isn't going to improve the beer.

 

[brewski09]

1.015 may be the target final gravity

 

[jcaggiano]

Infection question. I have the Diablo and its fermented for 3 weeks. There is a ton of white floating things which i assume are yeast colonies although i have not had anything like this before. I tasted the brew and it was not pleasant, a bit sweet and the aftertaste should be hoppy but i can describe it as a stinging taste. If i put in fridge and cold crash it to have the particles drop and they don't does that mean an infection and i should just toss it??? Help please...

Sounds like jelly fish

 

[olephart]

What do jelly fish sound like?😂

 

[olephart]

stupid phone....

 

[olephart]

Yeast nutrient isn't going to help at this point. Your wort is probably fermented as much as it's going to with the yeast you pitched. It could be a low-attenuating yeast strain, or you might have a lot of unfermentable sugars or starches in your wort. Either way, adding yeast nutrient isn't going to improve the beer.

Bottled it a couple of days ago...

1.015 may be the target final gravity

 

[olephart]

I was looking around the Mr Beer website, searching for recipes that use Canadian Blond and Saaz hops. I came across Amberosia Tripel.
It sounds yummy, “A cornucopia of fruit, spice and caramel malt, with a little licorice and peat in the background. A tripel such as this could be what they were partaking of on Olympus in ancient times. Ye Gods, it is simply divine!”

http://www.mrbeer.com/amberosia-tripel-recipe

It uses the Canadian Blonde extract and 1 Can Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner Brewing Extract, and Safbrew T-58 Dry Yeast.

I could get me some Briess CBW Pilsen DME and toss it in with the Canadian Blonde, with some Sterling hops, (looks like the Czech Pilsner Brewing Extract is brewed already with the Saaz hops).

Not sure about adding the 1 cup of granulated sugar though, an extra cup of CBW Pilsen DME sounds better to me.

...So I pulled the hop bag out this afternoon and started to cold crash it, (in the fermenter for three weeks), and I noticed what looked like a ring of slime in the wort.😣 Googled and read about infected beers, then sour beers.etc.😕 I just checked it again before posting a picture of the "slime ring", and I realized the ring is just the reflection of the flashlight beam, in the shape of a circle...😂 doh (insert Homer Simpson face palm GIF here).
Now I just have to wait three to six months to condition as per Mr Beer's instructions...
With the estimated ABV of 9.4℅, (Biermacht app), I can't wait.🍺

 

[fedoradude]

Those are some pretty awful directions, then. That isn't what you want to be doing at all. Let me know how that beer turns out. I don't think it will ever carbonate if you put it in the fridge immediately after priming/bottling.

As you'd requested, here's my notes from my tasting the first bottle from this batch (my first MBK):

Golden color almost like apple juice

Faint smell like beer

Very carbonated, bubbles rising nicely in the glass for several minutes

Glad I let it age the extra weeks in warm and cold stages to eliminate the green apples taste that I was warned comes with minimum aging. (I did notice just a hint of it still as the beer warmed up. I don't know if I would have noticed it if I wasn't on guard for it though.)

And here's a pic of the first glass from the first bottle:

 

[douglasbarbin]

Glad that it turned out well. Which kit was it?

 

[fedoradude]

Glad that it turned out well. Which kit was it?

The one that came with the LBK. I think they called it some kind of ale if I remember right.

 

[brewski09]

...So I pulled the hop bag out this afternoon and started to cold crash it, (in the fermenter for three weeks), and I noticed what looked like a ring of slime in the wort.[emoji21] Googled and read about infected beers, then sour beers.etc.[emoji53] I just checked it again before posting a picture of the "slime ring", and I realized the ring is just the reflection of the flashlight beam, in the shape of a circle...[emoji23] doh (insert Homer Simpson face palm GIF here).
Now I just have to wait three to six months to condition as per Mr Beer's instructions...
With the estimated ABV of 9.4℅, (Biermacht app), I can't wait.[emoji481]

I'd age it in bottles. Less chance for oxidation and infection. Speaking from personal experience here.

 

[olephart]

Going to cold crash it another day or two then bottle. Have to get a capper and caps soon. I want to use some 12oz bottles for this instead of the 25oz Mr beer bottles.
Most of my 15.2 oz Grolsch bottles are full of my Strawberry Wheat.

 

[Dirk_Dingle]

This might have been covered but I'm brand new to all this and there are 645 pages to this thread lol.

But I have a Mr Beer container ( not sure its called that )
and a Coopers DIY Brew kit.

Im wondering if i could brew Mr Beer kits in that Coopers equipment? I would be interested in doing this without messing anything up with the beer, Mr Beer kit looks a little weak to me.

Also any one have any links or recommendations for putting together a kit that I could use with the Coopers system? Im reading up more on the site so forgive my questioning.

 

[brewski09]

This might have been covered but I'm brand new to all this and there are 645 pages to this thread lol.

But I have a Mr Beer container ( not sure its called that )
and a Coopers DIY Brew kit.

Im wondering if i could brew Mr Beer kits in that Coopers equipment? I would be interested in doing this without messing anything up with the beer, Mr Beer kit looks a little weak to me.

Also any one have any links or recommendations for putting together a kit that I could use with the Coopers system? Im reading up more on the site so forgive my questioning.

You can put the wort into any container you want. If the coopers DIY kit is for 2.5gal sized kits then just take any recipe and cut it in half. You'll learn what you have to modify as you go to make the beer you intend to make.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=584941

Cheers!

 

[fedoradude]

Last night, I had another bottle of my first MBK batch.

Color, carbonation and aroma all still abou the same, but wow! could I ever taste the green apple taste that I had read about elsewhere in this thread. And I gave it an extra week's aging both room temp and cold trying to ward that off.

Anyone have suggestions post-bottling for toning that green apple taste down?