Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[user 38569]

Two days at ~70 degrees and check out the head on this thing...

Hopefully this is a good thing.

 

[Vuarra]

No. It's not a good thing. Please send the contents (postage paid) to me, and I will dispose of that in the most appropriate way.

I also apologize to whoever I stole that from... I know it was from in here

 

[jedimann74]

Just bottled up my WCPA last night. Only had one issue and that was the last bottle I did had a ton of sediment in it. I'm sure it will settle during the carbonation in the bottle but it would have been nice if they all poured clean. As soon as I did that I made my second batch. Gotta keep that primary full ya know. Now the wait is on to taste the beer. I think I may try one after a week and see how it is.

Oh, I forgot to ask, was anyone naughty like me and remove the cap on the fermenter to see what was goin on inside the keg? The warning says never to do it as it could spoil the beer but I had to look and from what I can tell it didnt spoil but I wont know for sure til the first chilled sip after the carbonation is done.

 

[thurdl01]

My last bottle looked the same as yours. After a week, I couldn't pick out which one it was.

 

[webnmar]

Just bottled up my WCPA last night. Only had one issue and that was the last bottle I did had a ton of sediment in it. I'm sure it will settle during the carbonation in the bottle but it would have been nice if they all poured clean. As soon as I did that I made my second batch. Gotta keep that primary full ya know. Now the wait is on to taste the beer. I think I may try one after a week and see how it is.

Oh, I forgot to ask, was anyone naughty like me and remove the cap on the fermenter to see what was goin on inside the keg? The warning says never to do it as it could spoil the beer but I had to look and from what I can tell it didnt spoil but I wont know for sure til the first chilled sip after the carbonation is done.

I have removed the cap several times on several of my ferementations. If you are careful, don't breath or sneeze in it, and don't slosh it around, I think you are fine. I haven't had an issue.

Also, I noticed that your next batch is High Country Canadian Draft. I made that for my first batch and would recommend the following:
1. Do not use the booster
2. Instead add in 1lb of Light Dry Malt Extract at the point of the instructions for booster
3. Use two cans of High Country Canadian Draft extract instead of one
4. Boil the wort after you have mixed in the HCCD HME for 15 minutes
5. With 5 minutes left in the boil, add a hop sack with 1/2 ounce of U.S. Saaz Pellet Hops in it.
6. Then pour it into the fermenter with the water as instructed and add to 8.5 quarts. Go ahead and keep the hops bag with Saaz in the fermenter.
7. Ferment for 21 days... (No peeking )
8. After 21 days and assuming you have a bottling bucket by then (we all know by now that you can't resist ) mix into bucket with 5 packed and level Tablespoons of corn sugar boiled in 1/2 Cup of Water. Then bottle
9. Let carb for 3 weeks @ 70 degrees (no exceptions)
10. Let condition after that for 3 weeks.

Without too much more effort or cost, and 7 additional weeks of impatient waiting, you will have the some of the best Canadian Draft beer made at home that you could do. Good Luck, I hope you try it and like it. I think it is way better than the standard recipe. :rockin:

 

[user 38569]

No. It's not a good thing. Please send the contents (postage paid) to me, and I will dispose of that in the most appropriate way.

I also apologize to whoever I stole that from... I know it was from in here

Too late. Yeast ate it all

 

[Brewinator]

Mr. Beer's malt formulations tend to be pretty tasty. The probem with WCPA, like all of Mr. Beer's formulations of hoppier styles, is the woefully inadequate hopping. An American Pale Ale should be between 30-45 IBUs:

BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 10

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, e.g., is 37. Compare to Mr. Beer's WCPA at 14. WTF? That's less than half the bitterness that an APA even starts at.

Add some Cascade hops to that mix, and then you have a real pale ale.

Popped my first bottle today. I can't say much in terms of the flavor department, but then I'd heard that about the pale ale.

 

[Killer_Robot]

I just opened my first real bottle (WCPA plus a cup of honey) today, and I have beer! It's okay: still undercarbonated and I now understand what people say by "cidery" beer, but some further conditioning and not using booster on future brews should help there. I'm feeling happy, I made drinkable if not great beer even with the basic ingredients. I suppose the one liter bottle also contributes to the happy part too.

 

[jedimann74]

I have removed the cap several times on several of my ferementations. If you are careful, don't breath or sneeze in it, and don't slosh it around, I think you are fine. I haven't had an issue.

Also, I noticed that your next batch is High Country Canadian Draft. I made that for my first batch and would recommend the following:
1. Do not use the booster
2. Instead add in 1lb of Light Dry Malt Extract at the point of the instructions for booster
3. Use two cans of High Country Canadian Draft extract instead of one
4. Boil the wort after you have mixed in the HCCD HME for 15 minutes
5. With 5 minutes left in the boil, add a hop sack with 1/2 ounce of U.S. Saaz Pellet Hops in it.
6. Then pour it into the fermenter with the water as instructed and add to 8.5 quarts. Go ahead and keep the hops bag with Saaz in the fermenter.
7. Ferment for 21 days... (No peeking )
8. After 21 days and assuming you have a bottling bucket by then (we all know by now that you can't resist ) mix into bucket with 5 packed and level Tablespoons of corn sugar boiled in 1/2 Cup of Water. Then bottle
9. Let carb for 3 weeks @ 70 degrees (no exceptions)
10. Let condition after that for 3 weeks.

Without too much more effort or cost, and 7 additional weeks of impatient waiting, you will have the some of the best Canadian Draft beer made at home that you could do. Good Luck, I hope you try it and like it. I think it is way better than the standard recipe. :rockin:

That does sound good, I may make that the last of the pre planned batches I am going to make. The other pack I have is the Brewmaster Select Pilothouse Pilsner but from the smell of whats in my primary now that could be my fav if it tastes anything like it smells. Your rcp also takes me another step in the advanced direction which I would like to move to eventually. I hope this makes sense what I am saying, just got home from drinking with the wife, sister in law and her BF, lol.

 

[jedimann74]

Mr. Beer's malt formulations tend to be pretty tasty. The probem with WCPA, like all of Mr. Beer's formulations of hoppier styles, is the woefully inadequate hopping. An American Pale Ale should be between 30-45 IBUs:

BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 10

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, e.g., is 37. Compare to Mr. Beer's WCPA at 14. WTF? That's less than half the bitterness that an APA even starts at.

Add some Cascade hops to that mix, and then you have a real pale ale.

I am actually fine with the weakness of the beer. I am not a fan of the hoppy/bitter beers. Well at least not yet. Havent trained myself to like anything like that yet.

 

[popester]

Somebody tell me the throw away this batch:

Johnny Silk's ESB that I pitched with both yeast packets without rehydrating plus a Safeale half pack that I had in the fridge from a previous Mr. Beer recipe. There was active fermentation and I bottled after 17 days with standard bottling sugar that has worked with other beers.

Today I tasted two of the beers after about 9 days in the bottle and there is almost no carbonation, no head and the beers taste horribly sweet and just *bad*. I'm thinking the two yeast pitch wasn't the best idea in the world.

Should I throw the batch away? Its only a Mr. Beer recipe so its really only about 20 beers, but I just can't see them getting any better...

 

[McGarnigle]

Somebody tell me the throw away this batch:

Johnny Silk's ESB that I pitched with both yeast packets without rehydrating plus a Safeale half pack that I had in the fridge from a previous Mr. Beer recipe. There was active fermentation and I bottled after 17 days with standard bottling sugar that has worked with other beers.

Today I tasted two of the beers after about 9 days in the bottle and there is almost no carbonation, no head and the beers taste horribly sweet and just *bad*. I'm thinking the two yeast pitch wasn't the best idea in the world.

Should I throw the batch away? Its only a Mr. Beer recipe so its really only about 20 beers, but I just can't see them getting any better...

No one is going to tell you to toss this batch. You should wait longer than nine days for carbonation, and probably flavor as well. Sweetness is usually a sign of under-fermentation, not over-pitching the yeast.

Anyway, beer does often improve after such a short time in the bottle. What's the upside to throwing it away now, when all the work has been done?

 

[popester]

What's the upside to throwing it away now, when all the work has been done?

Clearing room in my closet

 

[Shooter]

That does sound good, I may make that the last of the pre planned batches I am going to make. The other pack I have is the Brewmaster Select Pilothouse Pilsner but from the smell of whats in my primary now that could be my fav if it tastes anything like it smells. Your rcp also takes me another step in the advanced direction which I would like to move to eventually. I hope this makes sense what I am saying, just got home from drinking with the wife, sister in law and her BF, lol.

I've moved up to five gallon kits, but still do Mr. Beer batches for a quick painless beer every now and then. I've only done a handful of Mr. Beer kits, but, so far Canadian Draft is my favorite. I can actually taste hops in it, not a lot, but they're there. I use 1 lb light DME in place of the booster and pitch Nottingham yeast, but otherwise no hop additions. Canadian Draft is probably the most likely Mr. Beer kit to see another run through my fermenter. Not a great beer, but a decent thirst quencher!

 

[Shooter]

Somebody tell me the throw away this batch:

Johnny Silk's ESB that I pitched with both yeast packets without rehydrating plus a Safeale half pack that I had in the fridge from a previous Mr. Beer recipe. There was active fermentation and I bottled after 17 days with standard bottling sugar that has worked with other beers.

Today I tasted two of the beers after about 9 days in the bottle and there is almost no carbonation, no head and the beers taste horribly sweet and just *bad*. I'm thinking the two yeast pitch wasn't the best idea in the world.

Should I throw the batch away? Its only a Mr. Beer recipe so its really only about 20 beers, but I just can't see them getting any better...

Give it another week, at minimum, and then check carbonation. Even if the beer is carbed by then, it doesn't mean it's done conditioning. I usually sample my first beer at three weeks, whether it's a big batch or Mr. Beer. At that point they're usually carbed and taste okay, but often they improve drastically with just one or two more weeks in the bottle.

 

[thegame310]

Two days at ~70 degrees and check out the head on this thing...

Hopefully this is a good thing.

Mine looked like that only 1 day, now I have 0 head on it at all.

 

[jedimann74]

okay my WCPA has been carbing in bottle for a week now and they are some hard plastic bottles. I put them on the bottom shelf in my fridge so they dont get super cold right away. Let them sit for a few hrs to get rid of the room temp feel and opened the one I had a ton of sediment in. There was a little hiss when I took the cap off so I am pleased with that and it tastes better then some of the microbrews I bought from Dundee. If they are all lightly carbed like that but already in the fridge will they continue to carb up or will the cold stop that?

 

[Pogo]

Let the bottled beers carb for three weeks at 70 degrees F...then chill.

The refridgerator can slow, or even stop, the carbonation process, depending on the strain of yeast involved.

Pogo

 

[Roosterman]

My last bottle looked the same as yours. After a week, I couldn't pick out which one it was.

The final bottle was pretty cloudy too. It is as clear as the rest now, but there is far more residue on the bottom. Not at all concerned, it'll still go down.

 

[jedimann74]

I just drank that bottle of mine today with all the sediment. Course it was still on the bottom until my kids knocked it over. Mixed it all so it was cloudy again but didnt change the taste.

 

[khiddy]

Reading through the last week or so of posts in this thread, I have one piece of advice that applies to every one of you who's posted a question or a review of your Mr. Beer batch:

WAIT! DON'T DRINK IT YET!

You're all opening your beer too soon after putting it in the bottle. A week? Nine days?

Give it 3 weeks at 70*F, then a week in the fridge before opening. You'll be rewarded with a smoother, better carbonated, less green-tasting beer.

This isn't hard, folks. I know it can be difficult to wait, given that you're so excited to try the fruits of your handiwork. But your impatience is going to drive you out of the hobby. Give it a little more time, and you'll find the real flavor that even Mr. Beer can produce.

WAIT!

 

[Roosterman]

Reading through the last week or so of posts in this thread, I have one piece of advice that applies to every one of you who's posted a question or a review of your Mr. Beer batch:

WAIT! DON'T DRINK IT YET!

You're all opening your beer too soon after putting it in the bottle. A week? Nine days?

Give it 3 weeks at 70*F, then a week in the fridge before opening. You'll be rewarded with a smoother, better carbonated, less green-tasting beer.

This isn't hard, folks. I know it can be difficult to wait, given that you're so excited to try the fruits of your handiwork. But your impatience is going to drive you out of the hobby. Give it a little more time, and you'll find the real flavor that even Mr. Beer can produce.

WAIT!

Thanks for posting. I know I drank to early. As you said, I was excited about tasting the golden nectar. I did have pretty low expectations, so I was very pleased with the results. I have the second batch fermenting now. Later this week, I'll bottle it. I will let it sit longer this time. Like you, all the grizzled vets say wait. So I wil. I will look forward with anticipation for the results.

 

[Vuarra]

Just as an addition to khiddy, I've made an IPA, some of which was bottled, and some went into a Mr. Beer barrel (similar setup, but I liked the spout etc). It's been fermenting for 3 weeks (actually due to laziness) and bottled for three weeks. Even my wife, who likes BMC water, liked the IPA.

 

[thurdl01]

I knew I rushed the first bottle, but I actually did it in part to show myself how the character would change over time. The rest have been hanging out in my 70 degree spot until I pick them off one-by-one and have been getting better and better. My second batch is hanging out right now, hits two weeks on Friday, and I'm being more patient with it, mostly because I've got the first batch to tide me over.

Just opened my fourth bottle of WCPA this weekend. Had probably a month in room temperature carbonation and a week of cold conditioning. That was a dern good beer. And a dern good beer with what I understand is one of the weaker Mr. Beer products.

 

[lnxusr]

So, I'm 8 days into my first ever brew of American Blond Ale and there's these little flakes floating around. I noticed them a couple of days ago. That's when it started clearing, so they may have been there all along and I just couldn't see them. Some flakes are moving down, some up, but most of them are suspended not going up or down.

Is this normal and/or OK?

I've been planning on fermenting for two weeks and hope they've settled by then. If not, should I wait a bit longer or got ahead and bottle?

I've done a few tastes. The first a few days after putting in the little keg - it was really yeasty tasting. Second time, five days old - It was less yeasty but real sweet. Today, the sweetness was less but more yeasty than last time, not quite as yeasty as first.

 

[mad_legend]

I believe the flakes that are suspended to be the hops from the malt extract. They should settle down after being in the keg 2-3 weeks. The yeasty flavor is partially due to them settling on the bottom right next to the spigot and going straight into your glass, and also becuase they are still active.

On another note, I have noticed, and it has been said, to WAIT! Waiting will solve most of your concerns/issues, ex:

I made a batch of 'Hop Head Red'.

RECIPE INCLUDES:
1 Can Bewitched Red Ale
1 Can Pale Export UME
1 Pouch Booster™
1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast (under lid of beer mix)
1 Packet Willamette Pellet Hops
1 Muslin Hop Sack
1 Packet One-Step™ Sanitizing Cleanser

YOU PR0VIDE:
1/2 Cup Honey (I used a whole cup)

The instructions say 2 weeks keg, 4 weeks lager. Boy, was I disapointed! After 4 weeks in the bottle, it looked like mud, tasted alright, but looked nasty. I put it away for another 4 weeks, looked better, but not great. Finally, it disapeared into my collection to be forgotten. 7 months later, I figured I'd give it a chance... WOW! Beautiful red, balanced, perfect carb. Since then I have learned if it doesn't taste or look good, WAIT!

The only advice I can give to help with waiting is to buy/make more beer and try making Apfelwein too! The more you make, you will eventually end up with a stockpile!

 

[lnxusr]

Thanks mad_legend. I see now I should have waited one more day before posting. Today, there's only a few flakes floating around, it's getting clearer and the yeasty taste is less.

 

[yeoldebrewer]

As we say about brewing patience: "Step away from the beer!" .

But cracking a bottle at one week intervals can sometimes be educational.

 

[thegame310]

Just finished up bottling my first batch of West Coast Pale Ale. I fermented for about 3 weeks. And i'm going to go with the advice on here and bottle for 3 weeks at 70, then a week in the fridge before opening. I cant wait to see the results.

 

[Roosterman]

I just finished my last beer from my first batch. Something interesting is the difference between bottles within the same batch. It didn't seem to be aging but the carb was quite different in each. The last was the most carbed, but some earlier on had decent carbing. Others were only slightly carbed. Just kind of interesting to me to have the difference.

 

[lnxusr]

I bottled my first batch up yesterday morning at the two week fermenting mark. I went from the Mr Beer keg into a plastic bucket to add the sugar all at once . I took the recommended 1 1/2 teaspoon for each bottle and put it all in the batch, mixed it up then bottled. They're already pretty hard, so I hope they don't explode. I put them in an ice chest and latched the lid just in case.

Now the hardest part. Waiting...

 

[Shooter]

Just a quick shot of the Mr. Beer locking spigot and bottling wand combination they're selling on their site. The locking spigot is very nice, the bottling wand appears to be just a standard spring loaded wand. It's a little too long and I'll probably cut it down a little bit, but it sure is nicer than holding the spigot open and trying to pour against the side of the bottle. For a while I used a short, maybe eight inch length of 1/2 inch ID tube on the old spigot to fill the bottles from the bottom up, but this puts that to shame!

 

[Roosterman]

Just a quick shot of the Mr. Beer locking spigot and bottling wand combination they're selling on their site. The locking spigot is very nice, the bottling wand appears to be just a standard spring loaded wand. It's a little too long and I'll probably cut it down a little bit, but it sure is nicer than holding the spigot open and trying to pour against the side of the bottle. For a while I used a short, maybe eight inch length of 1/2 inch ID tube on the old spigot to fill the bottles from the bottom up, but this puts that to shame!

Thanks for sharing the picture. It's nice to see it in action. I agree, it seems way to long.

 

[Shooter]

It seems like maybe they made it extra long to work with everything up to two liter bottles. For the standard one liter Mr. Beer bottle it could be cut down two or three inches and still be plenty!

 

[mrhighnmighty]

I started with Mr. Beer and I'm still using it. The first batch I brewed (West Coast Pale Ale) I added half a bottle of Honey to it. Figured it couldn't hurt and the first batch turned out great.

I also made their Canadian Draft with a bit of Honey in it too. Right now I'm using a mr beer kit to make a nut brown ale, to which I've added clover honey, nutmeg and almond extract........ Knock on wood. Should be delicious.

Mr. Beer is great for starters. I'm going to upgrade to a Northern Brewer kit soon because the Mr. Beer batches make so little beer.

 

[troutah]

I currently have my third batch fermenting and planning a brew morning on Friday. It's been really fun so far. However, I find that my first two batches, the Cowboy Golden Lager and the Bewitched Red Amber both have very cidery tastes to them. The descriptions do not say anything about fruitiness or apple flavor. The Bewitched is still a little young and the ferment temps were a little low on both 66 - 68 degrees. However, the Cowboy was fermented for 17 days, bottled for 21 days and has been in the fridge for 2 days. Is that just the flavor or did I miss something soemwhere? I am impressed that I have made beer I can drink, and it is better than High Life and the like, but I am trying to compare it to micobrews and the cidery taste is killing me in that respect. Any Input?

 

[Shooter]

I currently have my third batch fermenting and planning a brew morning on Friday. It's been really fun so far. However, I find that my first two batches, the Cowboy Golden Lager and the Bewitched Red Amber both have very cidery tastes to them. The descriptions do not say anything about fruitiness or apple flavor. The Bewitched is still a little young and the ferment temps were a little low on both 66 - 68 degrees. However, the Cowboy was fermented for 17 days, bottled for 21 days and has been in the fridge for 2 days. Is that just the flavor or did I miss something soemwhere? I am impressed that I have made beer I can drink, and it is better than High Life and the like, but I am trying to compare it to micobrews and the cidery taste is killing me in that respect. Any Input?

Did you use a booster pack? If so, that's possibly your problem. If you used DME in place of the booster, my guess would be it needs another week or two. I've found bottles are usually carbed by week three, but most beers really seem to be better starting around week four.

 

[Killer_Robot]

I currently have my third batch fermenting and planning a brew morning on Friday. It's been really fun so far. However, I find that my first two batches, the Cowboy Golden Lager and the Bewitched Red Amber both have very cidery tastes to them. The descriptions do not say anything about fruitiness or apple flavor. The Bewitched is still a little young and the ferment temps were a little low on both 66 - 68 degrees. However, the Cowboy was fermented for 17 days, bottled for 21 days and has been in the fridge for 2 days. Is that just the flavor or did I miss something soemwhere? I am impressed that I have made beer I can drink, and it is better than High Life and the like, but I am trying to compare it to micobrews and the cidery taste is killing me in that respect. Any Input?

Aging a bit more should help these batches. At the least, my WCPA improved past the worst of the cidery tastes once in the bottle for 4-5 weeks. The only real solution, though, is to stop using the Booster that come with the standard brew packs: having plain corn sugar as such a large proportion of your beer will not just give a weakly flavored brew but will also lead to malnourished yeast that produce those cidery flavors. Instead, move to the all-malt recipes in the deluxe and premium levels, or use some of the recipes on the site. It will cost you a little more, but you'll definitely get better results.

Even better, if you're feeling a little adventurous, is to simply buy some extract and hops, maybe some steeping grains from a brewing supply store. That can save you money, only takes a little more time, and gives you a lot of options. Even a five gallon recipe kit can be used in a Mr. Beer - simply use half the ingredients and save the other half for next time. Even just taking one can of Mr. Beer hopped malt extract and adding a pound of dry malt extract from your LHBS instead of the Booster makes a good start.

Finally, if you haven't already I suggest reading through this whole thread. I know it's immense but it's got lots of advice and resources for using a Mr. Beer to make some excellent stuff, and I found it very useful when I was recently starting off.

 

[thegame310]

So, I have my WCPA bottled since 6-1 it's almost 3 weeks since I have it bottled. Is there any harm putting it in the fridge now for the rest of the time?

In fact..is there any harm in bottling and then going right to the fridge period? Or should it be a week or two before the fridge?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Shooter]

So, I have my WCPA bottled since 6-1 it's almost 3 weeks since I have it bottled. Is there any harm putting it in the fridge now for the rest of the time?

In fact..is there any harm in bottling and then going right to the fridge period? Or should it be a week or two before the fridge?

Thanks in advance!

Give them at least three weeks at 70 degrees to carbonate. It sounds like you have. I usually throw one in the frige at week three to test for carbonation. Once they're carbed they can probably be put in the fridge to continue conditioning, but I just leave them out until I need them.