Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[Justibone]

So I'm trying to quickly brew a batch before I head out of town for the weekend. It's one with some leftover ingredients I have laying around. I have:

1 can Octoberfect Vienna Lager HME
1 pack Booster
1 lb. Golden Light DME
1/4 oz Hallertau hops
2 oz. peach extract
Mr. Beer yeast
2 Gallons Deer Park water

That's the recipe, anyway. My main questions are do I use the Booster as well as the DME? Actual MRB recipes call for a can of UME which I don't have, and was planning to substitute the DME for the UME.

If you use the booster, you will get more alcohol and less flavor. It makes the beer more "dry", and increases the ABV. So, it's up to you if you want to use it or not.

Second, how exactly do I boil the DME?

I plan on adding the peach extract after fermentation has occoured to preserve some of the flavoring. Also I will be dry hopping this batch.
Thanks guys!:rockin:

Usually if you are doing a boil with DME, you boil a certain amount of it for the full time (60 min.), and then add the rest in with 10 min. left. In your case, since it's a small proportion of the total fermentables, you can add it in at 10 min. left, or you can boil it the whole time. It's really up to you. I don't think it will make too big a difference (some difference in color, mainly).

I think it's smart to use the peach in secondary, but dry-hopping a fruit beer kinda has me scratching my head a bit. Diff'rent strokes, I guess!! :fro:

 

[Justibone]

A few weeks ago I bought a Mr. Beer as I have been very interested in starting homebrewing for some time but wanted an easy way to get into it in an inexpensive way. I was in the Navy for 6 years and developed a serious love for beer and really wanted to brew but never had time and now since I'm in college I have loads of time.

GI Bill is sweet, idn't it?

I started my first batch right when I got the product in the mail. I followed the directions provided with the Mr. Beer kit and felt pretty good about the whole process. It hasn't started warming up here yet so my house is still relatively cold (we keep it in the mid to mid-upper 60's). I keep the keg in the upstairs bathroom which has the best temperature control and is also the warmest room in the house.

If the ambient temperature is in the mid-60's, the fermentation can be 5-10 degrees fahrenheit higher than that, due to the yeast's metabolic activity.

A few days ago I bottled the batch, which was 17 days after I started the brew. As I was bottling it (I was using growlers (sp?) from beer that I had bought from microbrews in the past) I noticed the beer looked very light (was using the West Coast Pale Ale recipe). I didn't check up on the beer much as it was fermenting as I simply figured it was idiot proof but this seemed peculiar. I also tasted a slight bit and it tasted a bit funny. I guess I'll see in a few weeks after carbonating to see how it is.

You should only bottle in growlers rated for pressure, i.e., the swing-top kind. Even then, you are kind-of taking a risk. Bottle bombs are not fun!

By "light", do you mean it looked like a Coors light, or was it opaque? If it was *transparent* and light, it's fine; if it was *opaque* and light, then your yeast weren't done with the beer yet, and it was still fermenting.

Unfortunately, fermenting beer is not quite "idiot-proof".

It is pretty easy, but it's not quite idiot-proof. If you have good sanitation, good temperature control, good patience and you use sane recipes, then you will get good beer. So, that's about four degrees removed from idiot-proof, sadly.

As for tasting un-carbonated beer, sometimes it tastes good and sometimes not. If it tastes good flat, then it will taste good carbed. If it doesn't taste good flat, then it still *might* taste good carbed. It's hard to judge accurately from that taste.

As for tasting funny, check this page:
http://www.homebrewzone.com/off-flavors.htm

Now to my main question. I understand that too high of a temperature is bad because of the microbiology with yeast, but is it possible to be in a too cold temperature? By too cold I'd mean low 60's, nothing lower. I may run in to a problem this summer with finding an adequate room in the house to keep my brews at the proper temperature. Thanks for the help!

It is possible to be too cold. What that does is slow the yeast down, so that the beer takes longer to ferment. The low 60's, considering the added heat from yeast metabolism, was not cold enough for that -- it takes more like the 40's for several weeks to kill yeast. So low temp was probably not your problem. You definitely need to look into a swamp cooler set up (threads on this site aplenty), especially going into the summer brewing season. Either that, or brew a bunch of wheat beers!!

* Also wanted to ask about water quality. I think my tap water is pretty good, should I get a water analysis from the city while using Mr. Beer or should I be fine. My place doesn't have a water softener or any of that fancy crap, just straight city water.

If it tastes okay to drink, it's okay to brew with. However, your brews will get better if they have better water. I usually buy it from the store (Spring water is my favorite), but my buddy has a built-in Brita for his fridge and he uses that.

Enjoy college, sailor!

 

[Darklordenron]

So I'm trying to quickly brew a batch before I head out of town for the weekend. It's one with some leftover ingredients I have laying around. I have:

1 can Octoberfect Vienna Lager HME
1 pack Booster
1 lb. Golden Light DME
1/4 oz Hallertau hops
2 oz. peach extract
Mr. Beer yeast
2 Gallons Deer Park water

That's the recipe, anyway. My main questions are do I use the Booster as well as the DME? Actual MRB recipes call for a can of UME which I don't have, and was planning to substitute the DME for the UME.

Second, how exactly do I boil the DME?

I plan on adding the peach extract after fermentation has occoured to preserve some of the flavoring. Also I will be dry hopping this batch.
Thanks guys!:rockin:

Well I ended up brewing this one yesterday. Decided to boil the booster/DME combo in 5 cups of water for 30 minutes. I Had a spill-over while boiling the DME/Booster:/ it sucked, I never want to have to clean that up again!! Not 24 hours later I come back and check on it. We have fermentation, and an aggressive one, at that! so it's plugging away and doing it's thing at a healthy 64 degrees or so which I assume is actually around 70 inside the wort. I can't wait to see how this little experiment turns out..

I should make it known to those who don't know that DME is not fermentable sugar, hence the decision to also use booster with the recipe. Just FYI in case someone has a question about that..

 

[Justibone]

I Had a spill-over while boiling the DME/Booster:/ it sucked, I never want to have to clean that up again!!

Fermcap-S, or the generic equivalent. Put it in the boil - it is beer magic. Never have a boilover again.

 

[Darklordenron]

Yes! I was told about it, but didn't use! I feel bad now, but will certainly learn from my mistake! Thanks!

 

[LLJKTympanic]

GI Bill is sweet, idn't it?

By "light", do you mean it looked like a Coors light, or was it opaque? If it was *transparent* and light, it's fine; if it was *opaque* and light, then your yeast weren't done with the beer yet, and it was still fermenting.

Now that I think of it, it seemed slightly opaque but only a bit. It's my first batch so I anticipated problems, everyone's gotta learn somehow.

I wish I had actually checked into the whole bottling in growlers deal. I took some precautionary measures to minimize hassle if I do get a bomb. Already ordered a bunch of bottles so next time I won't have to worry about it.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Darklordenron]

I didn't have great success with the WCPA until I dry hopped it and used some DME..DEme compensates for the "thinness" of it and provides more mouthfeel. That will come out real nice-like if you try it next time. Not saying yours will be bad at all though.

My WCPA was extremely translucent in the bottle, but poured it had more colour than I anticipated.

 

[jb721]

Just when I thought I had graduated to 5 gal batches I found an Octoberfest Vienna lager can in the man cave. Guess I'll have to brew it up. Darn I think I'm going to put a pound of DME and a pack of booster as well as some extra hops. I'm going all out on this one! Cheers!

 

[Alleydude]

Just when I thought I had graduated to 5 gal batches I found an Octoberfest Vienna lager can in the man cave. Guess I'll have to brew it up. Darn I think I'm going to put a pound of DME and a pack of booster as well as some extra hops. I'm going all out on this one! Cheers!

That's exactly what I did with my Oktoberfest. I used Hallertau pellet hops and some dark, unhopped dry extract. It's only about 6 days in the bottle now, and I am dying to try it.

 

[Darklordenron]

Just when I thought I had graduated to 5 gal batches I found an Octoberfest Vienna lager can in the man cave. Guess I'll have to brew it up. Darn I think I'm going to put a pound of DME and a pack of booster as well as some extra hops. I'm going all out on this one! Cheers!

I knew there's a reason I keep a couple mr. beer kegs around. Experiments!

 

[yummybeer]

i have an extra can of mr. beer pale ale lme in my brewery cabinet that i've had for about a year now. first question (a dumb one, but i'll ask anyways) is would the little packet of yeast that comes under the cap of the lme still be viable enough after a year to try to brew it?
if so, i also have a project for this mr beer pale ale (project is to try to reuse a coors light home draft keg for kegging, just to see how well it'll work). i also have extra dme (extra light dme) from a recently brewed batch. i'm also wondering if it may be worth it to maybe add a little extra dme to a mr. beer pale ale just to maybe add just bit of malt character?

 

[Darklordenron]

DME with WCPA? Absolutely. That would give that thin, sugary beer mix some much needed body. (can you tell I harbor some aggression towards my first batch of WCPA? as far as it still being viable, the yeast packet has a date stamp on it. I'd assume the can would be in line with the yeast date, though the can itself is likely good for at least a year. Make a half-assed starter and those yeasties should take off out the gate.

 

[Justibone]

i have an extra can of mr. beer pale ale lme in my brewery cabinet that i've had for about a year now.

Is it hopped? That's a very important consideration.

first question (a dumb one, but i'll ask anyways) is would the little packet of yeast that comes under the cap of the lme still be viable enough after a year to try to brew it?

Possibly, but not definitely. When in doubt, with yeast, you can form a starter (there are lots of threads about starters). The MrB yeast isn't very good to start with, though, so it's probably better to just go ahead and buy new yeast.

if so, i also have a project for this mr beer pale ale (project is to try to reuse a coors light home draft keg for kegging, just to see how well it'll work).

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_I_reuse_the_Coors_Light_Home_Draft_Keg

I don't know if this works or not, I just googled it.

i also have extra dme (extra light dme) from a recently brewed batch. i'm also wondering if it may be worth it to maybe add a little extra dme to a mr. beer pale ale just to maybe add just bit of malt character?

Do you like your pales "crisp" or "flavorful"? If you think Coors has about the perfect amount of body, then don't add extra malt to your pale. If you prefer something so close to bread that you could make a sandwich with it, add the malt.

(I kid, but really, extra malt adds #1 alcohol, #2 body, #3 mouthfeel.)

 

[Justibone]

I knew there's a reason I keep a couple mr. beer kegs around. Experiments!

SMaSH it up!

 

[scottystals]

So I got a MRB and started it up. Then I found this site and this thread. My second beer is a week into fermenting, my first a week into the bottle, and I finally finished reading this thread! *Plants flag* Yay me.

I know some hopheads out there will think my question sacrilegious, but I was wondering... would MRB be good to do a small batch of gruit in? I think the pro side is that its a nice small batch to experiment with, and I can easily drink it all quickly enough for it not to go bad (no hops for preservatives). On the con side, with no hops to do their antibacterial thing during fermentation, am I just asking for trouble without having a real airlock?
I do love a good bottled bread, after all

 

[Justibone]

On the con side, with no hops to do their antibacterial thing during fermentation, am I just asking for trouble without having a real airlock?

The actual amount of preservation that the hops do is pretty limited. I'd say you should be fine. Are you going to dry-infuse the herbs? If so, make sure you soak them in sanitizer first. Also, make sure you do an extra good job of sanitization.

You can make your MrB a little more sterile by modifying the lid. Some guys put sanitized foil or something else under the threads of the lid to make it more airtight, and drill the lid so they can add a grommet and an airlock. I'm sure there are instructions out there on the web or on YouTube on how to do it, but that's an option if you want to be more careful about sanitation.

If you're really worried, buy a 4L bottle of Gallo wine and after you drink it all (or make some sangria for a barbecue) you have a good size carboy for all of your beer experimentation. It takes a #10 bung, IIRC, but make sure you take it to the homebrew store with you to be certain your bung and airlock will fit properly.

Enjoy!

 

[Darklordenron]

take it to the homebrew store with you to be certain your bung and airlock will fit

huh, huh. You said "bung".

 

[scottystals]

The actual amount of preservation that the hops do is pretty limited. I'd say you should be fine.

Ok, it makes sense that the hops would not have much of a disinfectant effect during the fermentation process, I just wanted to make sure before I get any further.

Are you going to dry-infuse the herbs? If so, make sure you soak them in sanitizer first. Also, make sure you do an extra good job of sanitization.

I haven't gotten this far yet, but yes, I believe I will. I still have some reading to do around here on the few threads that do deal with gruit. I just figured the MRB thread would be the place to find out about the effectiveness of the barrel

You can make your MrB a little more sterile by modifying the lid. Some guys put sanitized foil or something else under the threads of the lid to make it more airtight, and drill the lid so they can add a grommet and an airlock. I'm sure there are instructions out there on the web or on YouTube on how to do it, but that's an option if you want to be more careful about sanitation.

If you're really worried, buy a 4L bottle of Gallo wine and after you drink it all (or make some sangria for a barbecue) you have a good size carboy for all of your beer experimentation. It takes a #10 bung, IIRC, but make sure you take it to the homebrew store with you to be certain your bung and airlock will fit properly.

I think that new equipment seems a more viable option, as modifying the MRB barrel seems unnecessarily complicated, as it works just fine for regular beer. The potential problems are probably all in my head anyway! Thanks a bunch for the advice, and I'll let you all know how it goes if it gets to the go phase

 

[Darklordenron]

dry-hopping a fruit beer kinda has me scratching my head a bit. Diff'rent strokes, I guess!! :fro:

It's awesome. It seems to give a real good balance between the hops and the sweetness. Again, I'm no master brewer, but to my friends and I, it's delishus.

 

[Alleydude]

Before I make the move to the 5 Gal. system I wanted to do one all grain brew in my Mr. Beer set-up. So here is what I will be doing:

Ingredients

2lb's Muntons Pale Ale Malt
1/2lb Muntons Crushed Crystal Malt
1/2oz Organic Cascade Hops Bittering
1/2oz Organic Cascade Hops Finishing
6 grams Muntons dry yeast

I plan to mash the grains and 1/2oz hops at around 155(ish) degrees for an hour, sparging the grains at the end to get all the good juicy stuff out of the grain, then boiling for an hour adding my finishing hops with ten minutes to go in the boil.

I'm sure someone will let me know if I am about to screw this up, so fire away!

I am really excited about this one. My partial Mash Canadian Draft I did several weeks ago tasted great coming from the fermenter, it's gotta be awesome.

 

[Justibone]

DON'T MASH HOPS.

I've never done it, but I think it would be either bad, or, at the least, unhelpful. Hops should be boiled, after you've removed the grain from the mash altogether.

Also, you might appreciate a bit of extra hops for dry hopping. Add them in about 7-10 days before bottling to extract their aroma. If you do dry hop a beer, make sure and drink it up rather than store it... hop aroma fades with time.

EDIT: Also, take a gravity reading after the mash, to make sure you actually extracted the sugar. Your grains are uncrushed, there in the picture, so if there's a problem with the crush the only way you'll know is by a hydrometer reading of the mash (or with the iodine-starch test). I'd have some DME on hand to bring your gravity up if needed, or just keep the mash going until you reach the gravity you planned on. Good luck!

 

[Alleydude]

DON'T MASH HOPS.

I've never done it, but I think it would be either bad, or, at the least, unhelpful. Hops should be boiled, after you've removed the grain from the mash altogether.

Also, you might appreciate a bit of extra hops for dry hopping. Add them in about 7-10 days before bottling to extract their aroma. If you do dry hop a beer, make sure and drink it up rather than store it... hop aroma fades with time.

EDIT: Also, take a gravity reading after the mash, to make sure you actually extracted the sugar. Your grains are uncrushed, there in the picture, so if there's a problem with the crush the only way you'll know is by a hydrometer reading of the mash (or with the iodine-starch test). I'd have some DME on hand to bring your gravity up if needed, or just keep the mash going until you reach the gravity you planned on. Good luck!

Good info there. Glad I posted before I started. Thanks for the heads up. :rockin:

 

[Bmorebrew]

Based on your grain bill, if you end up with 2 gallons final volume, your OG would only be around 1040 or so. Assuming around 75% attenuation (FG around 1010), your beer would end up about 3.2% ABV. You could end up with a lower FG, but not at that mash temperature. If that is what you are shooting for, go for it, but since this is your first attempt at an AG, I just wanted to point that out.

Also, what Justibone said, don't mash the hops. For bittering purposes, generally people do a 60 minute boil.

 

[Alleydude]

Based on your grain bill, if you end up with 2 gallons final volume, your OG would only be around 1040 or so. Assuming around 75% attenuation (FG around 1010), your beer would end up about 3.2% ABV. If that is what you are shooting for, go for it, but since this is your first attempt at an AG, I just wanted to point that out.

Also, what Justibone said, don't mash the hops. For bittering purposes, generally people do a 60 minute boil.

So are you saying I should use more grain to bring up the ABV a bit? If I used the full bag of Muntons Crushed Crystal Malt instead of just half the bag would that help it out? Or should I get another bag of Pale Ale malt?

 

[Alleydude]

I think I answered my own question using

http://www.brewersfriend.com/allgrain-ogfg/

If I am correct, adding one bag (1lb) of Pale Ale and the whole bag of Crystal malt, I will bring the ABV up to about 5.14.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Bmorebrew]

I would certainly look at keeping the crystal malt at an absolute maximum of 20% of the total grain bill, more reasonable at around 10 to 15%. So if you added another pound of the pale malt that would put the crystal at around 14% and your ABV in the ballpark of 4.5% to 4.8%.

I can't tell by the picture, but it looks like crystal 60?

 

[Malticulous]

Before I make the move to the 5 Gal. system I wanted to do one all grain brew in my Mr. Beer set-up. So here is what I will be doing:

Ingredients

2lb's Muntons Pale Ale Malt
1/2lb Muntons Crushed Crystal Malt
1/2oz Organic Cascade Hops Bittering
1/2oz Organic Cascade Hops Finishing
6 grams Muntons dry yeast

I plan to mash the grains and 1/2oz hops at around 155(ish) degrees for an hour, sparging the grains at the end to get all the good juicy stuff out of the grain, then boiling for an hour adding my finishing hops with ten minutes to go in the boil.

I'm sure someone will let me know if I am about to screw this up, so fire away!

I am really excited about this one. My partial Mash Canadian Draft I did several weeks ago tasted great coming from the fermenter, it's gotta be awesome.

Your better off not mashing the hops (it has been done but for flavor not bitterness). Add some in at 60 minutes left in the boil. 1/2 lb crystal is a bit much. I would only use 1/4 lb in a two gallon batch (about 10%). You need more base (pale malt) and it will have to be crushed. You can do it with a rolling pin or bottle.

Here it is at Hopville. Click clone and play with it.
http://hopville.com/recipe/612677/home-brew/alleydude-pale

A 1.030 OG is too low. I'd add a least another pound of 2-row.

You can raise the OG with more of your crystal but you will not get more alcohol, just a higher FG. It will be too sweet. That is what crystals do--add residual sweetness to balance the finished beer. An APA does not need any crystal at all. I prefer it at 7-8%.

 

[Malticulous]

I have a Dopplebock fermenting in my Mr. Beer keg now. I mashed it in a 3 gallon cooler MLT.
http://hopville.com/recipe/609782/doppelbock-recipes/mr-bock

 

[Alleydude]

All great information. So I went to the store and got another pound of Pale Ale, but I guess I will back down the Crystal (yes, it's 60) to 1/4 pound, giving me a ABV of 4.23, if I understand everything correctly.

Hops at start of boil, not the mash - gottit.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Justibone]

You're going to love the result!

Seriously, though: don't forget to measure the gravity after the mash. If later you taste your beer and it's too hoppy, plus it doesn't buzz you the same as it normally should, then you might have had poor efficiency. That's happened to me before, but I blamed the hops. It wasn't the hops... in my case, it was the crush.

 

[Justibone]

I have a Dopplebock fermenting in my Mr. Beer keg now. I mashed it in a 3 gallon cooler MLT.
http://hopville.com/recipe/609782/doppelbock-recipes/mr-bock

5.5 lbs of grain in a Mr. Beer keg? If you have a good efficiency, that's gonna be a mule of a beer!

 

[Alleydude]

Here it is at Hopville. Click clone and play with it.
http://hopville.com/recipe/612677/home-brew/alleydude-pale

Ya know, I clicked on that link but didn't even notice it was customized for my recipe. That's really cool, going to have to poke around on that site a bit. Thanks for the heads up on it!

Well, I brewed it up using three pounds of Pale Ale malt. I used about 1/4 pound of Crystal malt. Added 1/2 oz. Cascade (Genuine Michigan Hops!) at the beginning of the 60 minute boil, added the other half with ten minutes to go. My OG was 1.039. It smells AWESOME! I'm all a-twitter!

Thanks for all the help everyone. You rock!

 

[Justibone]

My OG was 1.039.

This is definitely session beer territory. You'll be able to drink like an Englishman!

http://beeradvocate.com/articles/653

 

[Alleydude]

This is definitely session beer territory. You'll be able to drink like an Englishman!

http://beeradvocate.com/articles/653

Cool! Now I have a name for the beer!

 

[Ekim2112]

Has anyone tried using organic "raw" sugar (unrefined, evaporated pure cane juice) in a MR BEER kit for priming?

I try not to use "fake" sugars in my diet so I really don't want any in my beer if I can help it.

 

[Malticulous]

There is nothing fake about sugar. You can use the less refined stuff if you want.

 

[Ekim2112]

Also, I was thinking of trying to experiment with the first batch.

As in, staggering the initial fermentation and bottle conditioning by 1 week.

So I would bottle maybe 6 bottles after one week, then 6 after two and the rest after three weeks.

Then letting a third of each of those batches develop in the bottle for 1, 2 or 3 weeks before sticking them in the fridge.

Has anyone tried an experiment like this? I'd just like to have hard evidence of how the time and the processes work.

 

[Darklordenron]

Well, after many 2-2-2 beers, I finally am trying a 1-2-3 schedule. Don't really know if it will be good, but I'll post my findings if you like. I do like 2-2-2 but just wanted to try something different to see of it makes any difference.

 

[SociallyDistorted]

Well, after many 2-2-2 beers, I finally am trying a 1-2-3 schedule. Don't really know if it will be good, but I'll post my findings if you like. I do like 2-2-2 but just wanted to try something different to see of it makes any difference.

Interesting experiment. But if you're still willing to wait 6 wks before cracking the first one I think I would keep the first 2 weeks intact, maybe bump it or the 2nd stage up to 3 and take out time from the last stage. But then again, I've only been doing this since January and only have 6 ferments & 4 drinkables in the books so far so I defer to (and would like to hear from) those with more brewing experience

 

[Alleydude]

Interesting experiment. But if you're still willing to wait 6 wks before cracking the first one I think I would keep the first 2 weeks intact, maybe bump it or the 2nd stage up to 3 and take out time from the last stage. But then again, I've only been doing this since January and only have 6 ferments & 4 drinkables in the books so far so I defer to (and would like to hear from) those with more brewing experience

I agree. Shortening up your fermenting time could have no desirable result, if I understand correctly. You can always sample the final process at any time to see the results, but it's tough to go back to the fermenter.