Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions
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have my recipe mostly set as the grains, yeast, and hops got in:
1 can Black Tower Porter HME
1 can Creamy Brown UME
4-8 oz Muntons Crystal 60L Malt
4-8 oz Pale Chocolate or Chocolate Malt (got both, eeny meany miney mo to choose i suppose?)
.5 oz Fuggles
.5 oz Goldings (or just one type with 1/2 while bringing it up to boil and the rest after the extracts are added)
packet Nottingham Ale yeast
my question is would a full lb of steeping grain be ok since itll be ~30% of the sugars or is the math different since its not all fermentable? and also, does the hop additions look ok?
1 can Black Tower Porter HME
1 can Creamy Brown UME
4-8 oz Muntons Crystal 60L Malt
4-8 oz Pale Chocolate or Chocolate Malt (got both, eeny meany miney mo to choose i suppose?)
.5 oz Fuggles
.5 oz Goldings (or just one type with 1/2 while bringing it up to boil and the rest after the extracts are added)
packet Nottingham Ale yeast
my question is would a full lb of steeping grain be ok since itll be ~30% of the sugars or is the math different since its not all fermentable? and also, does the hop additions look ok?
bscott1011
Well-Known Member
Wow - finally finished reading the whole thread. Lot of good info. Have my 2nd batch in the MrB now, Nut Brown hme, 1# amber dme, 3/4 cup medium brown sugar. Will be dry hopping with willamette after fermentation calms down a bit. Should be much better than the WCPA with booster I used for my first batch
BrewinHooligan
Well-Known Member
Congratulations! I think we can all agree our 2nd batch, or batches that we make after reading this thread are much better. Cheers!
I'm just starting to learn as well, but I have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of my first Mr. Beer batch. Now I'm certainly no beer expert, but I will say that the Vienna Lager I tried for my pilot batch tasted better than many common commercial beers. I'm sure it would taste like swill to many of the members on this forum, but I'm used to drinking stuff like Yuengling and Molson and the occasional Blue Moon. I only fermented my first batch for a week, bottled it for another week and chilled it for a couple days. Nice deep reddish color, impressive head and a really nice flavor. At least as good as a Yuengling. I plan to put a little more patience into my next batch, but I feel I have to put in a good word for Mr. Beer, as a casual beer drinker.
bscott1011
Well-Known Member
I will use WCPA again with dme and hops. The first one wasn't a bad beer, it was just lacking a bit. It is also a young brew and is just hitting two weeks in the bottle. Had a surveillance beer after a week, was still really raw but is much better this week. Thanks to the seasoned brewers for advice and support.
Love that term. I'm stealing it.
beathookup
New Member
So my first Mr. Beer batch has been fermenting for 3 weeks today, it's a WCPA which I plan to bottle tonight. I tried the beer about 10 days in and everything seemed to be in order. What should I look for when I begin to bottle my first batch? I'll be using the Mr. Beer bottles, plan on keeping them in a cooler in my kitchen, covered of course. Any help would be great
Just make sure to sanitize everything that will touch the beer and full the bottles carefully so that you avoid introducing any air.
trafficguy
New Member
I am making my first batch- kids bought me williams kit for Xmas- been fermenting for 3 weeks now- instrucyions said 2 weeks, check w/hydrometer, etc. calls for sg 1.026 or less- I'm at 1.028- should I continue to wait?
What was your recipe? Did you take an OG reading? If so, what was it? What yeast did you use? What were your fermentation temperatures?
Started my first Mr Beer batch yesterday. English nut brown ale (with some brown sugar added for flavor and alcohol content).
How long should it take to start seeing signs of fermentation? It has been about 12 hours and I don't see a thing. Some of the yeast has settled to the bottom, and there are some little clumps of it hanging on the surface and around the edges. No bubbles at all.
Only reason I'm concerned is because I did a batch of "inmate wine" (as seen on Craigtube) a few weeks ago. That started fermenting within 30 minutes. Granted that was bread yeast and sugary fruit juice... so its a little different. But I expected to see at least a little action by now.
Is my yeast dead? Or am I just being impatient?
How long should it take to start seeing signs of fermentation? It has been about 12 hours and I don't see a thing. Some of the yeast has settled to the bottom, and there are some little clumps of it hanging on the surface and around the edges. No bubbles at all.
Only reason I'm concerned is because I did a batch of "inmate wine" (as seen on Craigtube) a few weeks ago. That started fermenting within 30 minutes. Granted that was bread yeast and sugary fruit juice... so its a little different. But I expected to see at least a little action by now.
Is my yeast dead? Or am I just being impatient?
dmoore714 said:
You should be fine. I have seen lag times as long a 30+ hours. If you don't see any activity after 30 hours then maybe considering rep itching. Also a hydrometer would be a better gauge of activity as some yeast strains are hard to tell they are working by looking at them.
Will do. Thank you both for the advice.
By "repitching" do you mean adding more yeast? In other words... if this yeast is dead, could I add more to this batch or should I pour this out and start over?
Don't count on "seeing" anything other than what you already see:
1) Trub on the bottom
2) Possibly some yeast clumping on top
You are doing a basic MrB refill and they usually don't show an active fermentation like a maltier beer will do. Using one can of HME + Booster typically yields a pretty calm fermentation, but fermentation nonetheless.
Every batch is different so you can't always expect to see a lot of bubbles or a high krausen. Trust me, it's fine.
1) Trub on the bottom
2) Possibly some yeast clumping on top
You are doing a basic MrB refill and they usually don't show an active fermentation like a maltier beer will do. Using one can of HME + Booster typically yields a pretty calm fermentation, but fermentation nonetheless.
Every batch is different so you can't always expect to see a lot of bubbles or a high krausen. Trust me, it's fine.
petey_c
Senior Member
I'd like to second Kealia's advice. Some foam on top and some trub on the bottom. That's all folks. The real way to check is with hydrometer readings. I was always hesitant with Señor B, because I felt that was a little too much beer to lose from a 2+ gal. batch for a hydro reading. If you don't have one, you should get one. If you didn't get an OG, you can take a starting gravity and periodically (every few days for example) take readings to verify; A) nothing's happening (readings the same every time), or that, B) something's happening (readings getting lower). I know that airlock activity or lack thereof, means nothing, but I still feel better seeing it. You'll make beer, learn and continue to make better beer.
Thanks again for the advice. I read back through some of the 300+ pages of this thread. Sounds like this is a common noob question. Guess we've all seen the pics and vids of big bubbly carboys, and we expect the same from Mr Beer. Ill give it a few weeks and try not to worry about it.
Took a look at my brew this afternoon. The amount of yeast floating on the surface appears to have doubled. Guess that's a good sign that something is happening in there.
I'm getting a hydrometer this week. Too late for a baseline reading, but i know it will come in handy. Thanks again!
Took a look at my brew this afternoon. The amount of yeast floating on the surface appears to have doubled. Guess that's a good sign that something is happening in there.
I'm getting a hydrometer this week. Too late for a baseline reading, but i know it will come in handy. Thanks again!
You should wait until you have two readings of the same value. If wait two days - if I take a reading on Weds I try again on Fri. If same, I bottle. If not, wait another couple days. Wait until it stays the same. Then it's done.
IMO, the best feature of the hydrometer is the final reading, letting you know it's done. Even on this batch you'll see how useful it is.
Hey all. Excited to start in on the obsession here and I've spent the past few weeks researching and reading here and other places. I think I've read 1000 pages of forum posts here so far (200 of this thread) and I still feel like I have an elementary grasp! Hopefully getting a few of these Mr. Beer brews off the ground will give me a better idea.
Bf and I drink maybe 3 bottles of beer a week, total, so Mr. Beer and the occasional 1 gallon experimental brews should be enough for the pipeline once I get it going. The MB was originally for a gift for him, but he doesn't seem to care much. *shrug* That means I get to pick what brews!
We both love porters, stouts and rauchbiers. He's more into IPAs and bocks while I like my ESBs and lambics.
I have the WCPA in primary, been there for two weeks, it goes into bottles to carb next weekend. Not too excited about this, I'm not much for pale ales.
In the MB pipeline (I did an amazon 4 for 3) is Junkyard dog IPA, Cowboy Honey Wheat and the Eyeopener Sumatra Stout.
I've found a few neat partial mash and all grain recipes here that I want to try 1 gallon brews of on non-MB weekends. The Vanilla Bourbon Porter recipe is calling my name but it seems a little complex for a newbie!
Thanks to everyone here for their guidance, you've made getting into this hobby a lot less intimidating.
Bf and I drink maybe 3 bottles of beer a week, total, so Mr. Beer and the occasional 1 gallon experimental brews should be enough for the pipeline once I get it going. The MB was originally for a gift for him, but he doesn't seem to care much. *shrug* That means I get to pick what brews!
We both love porters, stouts and rauchbiers. He's more into IPAs and bocks while I like my ESBs and lambics.
I have the WCPA in primary, been there for two weeks, it goes into bottles to carb next weekend. Not too excited about this, I'm not much for pale ales.
In the MB pipeline (I did an amazon 4 for 3) is Junkyard dog IPA, Cowboy Honey Wheat and the Eyeopener Sumatra Stout.
I've found a few neat partial mash and all grain recipes here that I want to try 1 gallon brews of on non-MB weekends. The Vanilla Bourbon Porter recipe is calling my name but it seems a little complex for a newbie!
Thanks to everyone here for their guidance, you've made getting into this hobby a lot less intimidating.
bagpiperjosh
Well-Known Member
my first Mr. Beer kit was when i was 17, my friend and I went to Target and bought one.... yes 17 and no questions asked. I was amazed.
my first Mr. Beer kit was when i was 17, my friend and I went to Target and bought one.... yes 17 and no questions asked. I was amazed.
Alcohol related laws are really odd. Technically, the Mr Beer kit doesn't have anything in it that requires you to be 21. It's only after you use it that you need to be over 21. In Utah, the ingredients are all considered food items, and are taxed at a lower rate than other things. Before May (?) of 2009, it was illegal to brew at home in Utah, but it was legal to buy malt, hops, yeast, etc.
The Shopko here cards me if I buy Mr Beer products, but other stores don't.
This talk of oddball alcohol laws and Utah reminds me of the movie SLC Punk. Awesome movie. Disturbing... but awesome.
Now that I'm confident my current batch (nut brown ale) is in fact fermenting, my attention is turning to batch #2. I have two other ingredient kits - West Coast Pale Ale and Whispering Wheat. Not thrilled about Pale Ale at all... so I'm wondering if I could throw out that HME and just use the booster? What would happen if I did the whispering wheat as per the instructions. Then put it in a secondary fermenter with a second batch of booster?
Now that I'm confident my current batch (nut brown ale) is in fact fermenting, my attention is turning to batch #2. I have two other ingredient kits - West Coast Pale Ale and Whispering Wheat. Not thrilled about Pale Ale at all... so I'm wondering if I could throw out that HME and just use the booster? What would happen if I did the whispering wheat as per the instructions. Then put it in a secondary fermenter with a second batch of booster?
Booster is an adjunct. It's sort of a special case adjunct since it has unfermentable sugars, but it's still an adjunct.
Doubling the Booster will increase the alcohol content, but won't improve the flavor. You'll need to leave it in the bottle longer before it becomes drinkable.
If you want to improve your beer, add malt. Don't add adjuncts.
I made and split a moosedrool clone between yep me bet fermentors in early December. I went home from school for holiday and now I am back and wondering if the beer is oxidized...
Does anyone have experience leaving beer in the vessels. For extended periods of time?
Does it matter if I keg it or bottle it at this point?
Thanks!
Does anyone have experience leaving beer in the vessels. For extended periods of time?
Does it matter if I keg it or bottle it at this point?
Thanks!
That's a long time to leave it in the fermenter, but it may still be okay. Give it a taste. If it tastes like flat beer, bottle it. If it makes you think you'll get sick, dump it.
BrewinHooligan
Well-Known Member
Just cracked a "surveillance beer" of my 2nd batch after 2 weeks in bottles. It is the Whispering Wheat that I added a pound of wheat DME to and subbed Mr B yeast for Danstar Munich yeast. I still used the booster to give it an ABV bump the cheap way. Thanks to the knowledge gained through this thread, controlling my ferment temps better, and using better ingredients I have made damn good beer!! SWMBO will probably really like this one, but I really don't want to share!!!
kc9eci
Well-Known Member
FYI, Sellout Woot is selling the Mr Beer Premium kit for $20 +$5 shipping today. One day sale, so get it while you can. http://deals.woot.com/sellout http://sellout.woot.com/sale/23913
OK, something odd is happening, even though I'm linking directly to the sale in question, it doesn't go directly to it, you may have to look around a bit.
OK, something odd is happening, even though I'm linking directly to the sale in question, it doesn't go directly to it, you may have to look around a bit.
ValleyBrew
Well-Known Member
I was just about to post this. I thought about getting one to use for test batches. Your second link is correct. I don't know why it isn't working. If it is copied and pasted, it should work just fine...
http://sellout.woot.com/sale/23913
SkippyWilliams
Well-Known Member
ok I saw the Mr Beer on sellout today and was thinking about getting it just because it is $25 with shipping. However I am wondering if I would be wasting my $$$. I got the Brooklyn Brew Shop kit and am using that and plan on eventually moving up. So does anyone think I should get the Mr Beer or just keep using current kit until I move up which will most likely be this summer.
I would say stick with your current kit if you're happy with it, unless you're limited to a half hour and want to brew something quick. That's what the MrB kits excel at, IMO. Just depends on what you're looking for.
flushdrew42
Well-Known Member
my current, ready to drink supply is a modified MrB recipe. it's tasty, and aside from all of the crap it gets... it produces good beer, and brings many of us (me included) to the hobby.
it's basically just an extract kit, and produces beer. most people double the timeline from the instructions, and replace the "booster" with DME, but all in all, it's a cheap way to brew.
(btw this post could serve as a summary of this entire thread)
it's basically just an extract kit, and produces beer. most people double the timeline from the instructions, and replace the "booster" with DME, but all in all, it's a cheap way to brew.
(btw this post could serve as a summary of this entire thread)
Justibone
Well-Known Member
I picked up a MrB kit from the Woot. Haven't used one in years, but work has been so crazy that I either have to be able make beer quick, or not at all. 
Here comes MrB!!
Here comes MrB!!
flushdrew42
Well-Known Member
I picked up a MrB kit from the Woot. Haven't used one in years, but work has been so crazy that I either have to be able make beer quick, or not at all.
Here comes MrB!!
NICE!
Hey Justibone... thanks to you, and a few others, i'm happily drinking my first MrB brews. and now, just a few days from drinking my very first bottles of my own creations.
I'm not currently using the MrB, just my 2gal fermentor and 2 secondaries. the only reason i'm not using it is it's a pain to clean.
i'm hooked, and MrB is a big part of my reason.
this thread needs more "end product shots"
ValleyBrew
Well-Known Member
That would be the reason to pick it up for $25 shipped for me. Not the Mr. B part, but to have a 2 gal fermentor for test batches and the plastic bottles would be a bonus... If it is a pain to clean, maybe a should just pick up a 3 Gal Better Bottle at about the same price...? Thougths?
Justibone
Well-Known Member
I think a 3gal BB is harder to clean, you can't reach inside of it at all.
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