stevehardt
Well-Known Member
Agree with Kealia here. I only have done 8 MRB batches, but I have noticed 3 in the keg and 4 weeks in the bottle makes for noticeably better beer
Me and my buddy are about to get started on our first brew and i was wondering if you guys could help out with some tricks
2a. When using HME; the boil is done for the purpose of sterilization only. 15 min max.
Any more and you risk caramelizing the wort rendering it unfermentable and reducing your hop utilization. Longer boil the sweeter the end product; when using HME.
I would disagree with this for two reasons:
1) You don't want to boil the HME or you're going to change the hop profile that has been set already.
2) There's no need to boil UME (LME) or DME.
@defalcos
If somebody is adding hops to the boil I would always recommend that they use unhopped malt extract (LME or DME). Boiling HME is going to change your hop profile. The 20 minute boil for flavor (as an example) would be pushed to 35 minutes assuming you boiled for 15 minutes when you open the extract. You'd agree that in a recipe you were crafting there is a difference between a 20 minute boil and a 35 minute boil wouldn't you?
All the manufacturers that I've read up on as for as LME goes state that it doesn't need to be boiled to go through a hot break (where you speak of coagulation of proteins, this has already been done). This is unnecessary.
Sterilization? Pouring the HME into the wort at flameout will handle that piece. There's no need to boil it for that purpose.
If you want to reduce volume, use less water. Sorry, couldn't resist.
. . .
Cheers.
I would have to agree with Kealia here as I have seen hop particles in the Mr Beer HME suggesting real hops, not hop extract.
At the barest minimum, you need to pasteurize the HME & if adding grain &/or bittering hops, you'll need to boil at least some of the extract, even if adding the balance as a late addition.
unless you're living in the dirtiest of abodes or are using a moldy/dusty/crummy batch, there is zero need to boil HME or all of your extract in a given recipe, unless you're interested in caramelization flavors. boil some of your UME as part of a wort that needs to be infused with hop profiles. adding anything to boiling water quickly pasteurizes it. (aka sanitizes it.) MrB instructions reflect this.
there are countless threads on the forum regarding the benefits of late extract addition, improved body and head, elimination of 'extract twang,' decreased and consistent color, and, quite frankly, ease.
a final note on boiling extract - if you boil the majority of your extract too hard, your beer won't have enough proteins left to create head.
cheers!
I won't argue that point but I would still suggest using unhopped extract whenever possible for boils. MrB does use real hops and the product has changed A LOT over the years - you should check it out.
It's a great way to get new people into brewing with an easy to use product that makes great beer - especially their seasonal releases that are 3.3lb cans.
Of course, like anything, it can be screwed up with too many adjuncts, poor temp control or sanitization, etc. but I've made some GREAT beers with their extracts - and some not so great beers, too.
Don't let any history or the "cheap sounding name" make you think any less of their product.
Canned extract is sterilized by the canning process. There is no need at all to boil it. The only reason Mr. Beer instructions have you heat any water at all is to help dissolve the booster.
I've used their products before and didn't find them any better or any worse than other brands of HME's.
Agree 100%. The 'standard refill' is thin and watery and I question why they wouldn't use two cans in even the basic kit so the first impression is much better and people don't immediately want to jump ship to something better.My main objection was I think that 1.2 lbs of malt extract for eight liters is WAY too little! The booster is better than sugar, but the beer, if brewed as instructed, is very thin and watery. That's not just my opinion, but the opinion of almost everybody that comes into my shop after brewing a batch or two of MB "by the book."
Scott, I think we're on the same team here.
My mistake, I was reading too much into some of the posts then.
Agree 100%. The 'standard refill' is thin and watery and I question why they wouldn't use two cans in even the basic kit so the first impression is much better and people don't immediately want to jump ship to something better.
The malt to adjunct ratio is out of whack on the standards and I will always recommend replacing or adding ME to the recipe instead of/in conjunction to the Booster.
Discussion is always good. We all want to make, and help others make, better beer.
Replacing booster with more ME makes a beer that you & I would prefer, but, of course, everybody has their own preferences. For a domestic style beer, they could make a can with about 1.5 lbs. of pale ME & .7 lb of brewery grade corn syrup (essentially a syrup version of the booster) & you would have a BMC style beer. Roughly a 2:1 ratio, which is normal for that style. Boring, yes, but Joe Six-Pack would recognize the beer. Of course, the number of people coming into my homebrew shop over the years that want to make BMC is not all that great. I wonder if MB's numbers are any different. . .
Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
www.defalcos.com
The American Ale kit from MB is essentially what you described only with their standard booster instead of corn syrup. Was my first MB brew, came with the kit that I bought, I was so put off by the BMC taste that I used all of the bottles for cooking, and ordered a homebrew kit from northern brewer, havent looked back. I guess I do have MB to thank for making me want to make BETTER beer, but I can hardly thank that american ale kit for the beer it produced. I cant seem to find it on their site in the refills, I imagine its just the recipe that they include with the kits. Dunno, maybe they dont make it any more.
This was years ago, so I can't be sure, but I believe my Mr. Beer setup came with West Coast Pale Ale. Thought if it was anything else, it was the Canadian Draft.
But yeah, that first batch was the only one I ever followed instructions for. Using just the HME and booster gave me a beer that tasted too sweet (which was probably more the result of human error on my part) and thin.
After that, I started using a can of HME and two cans of UME per batch, with much better results. The best batches I made used their Octoberfest hopped malt extract and Creamy Brown unhopped malt extract as a base.
Defalcos, I don't think I've seen you do anything but bag on the Mr. Beer and link to your shop.
Is that the only reason you're replying, to hawk your wares?
that or perpetuate ancient myths that force customers into buying unnecessary equipment. but yes generally he only throws his weight around in this thread beating the same point to death and bashing MrB while linking to his shop...
OK, my eyes are about to fall out, can someone please help! I am trying to verify how much sugar to use to batch prime my first batch of beer. I'll be using the 8 PET bottles that came with the kit, and I have one of the slimline containers to condition in. I think it is 2.5 teaspoons per bottle, add that to a cup of boiling water, then allow it to cool before adding the beer. Do I have this right?
OK, my eyes are about to fall out, can someone please help! I am trying to verify how much sugar to use to batch prime my first batch of beer. I'll be using the 8 PET bottles that came with the kit, and I have one of the slimline containers to condition in. I think it is 2.5 teaspoons per bottle, add that to a cup of boiling water, then allow it to cool before adding the beer. Do I have this right?
Let's not make this personal, y'all.
TL;DR - Don't fight. Not good for newbies.
For what it's worth, when I bought my first MrB kit back in 1996, it had a WCPA extract can in it. Those were the bad-old-days before the Internet was easily accessible, and it tasted awful. Even when I went to the homebrew store, the guys blamed using cane sugar (which was in the instructions) rather than fermentation temps and sanitation!
. . . I wish I had kept brewing back in those days. If my first beer had been good - even anywhere as close to as good as I can brew now - then I would have kept it up. But the LHBS guys told me I had to buy corn sugar instead of cane sugar, and that turned me off. A bit of encouragement, a bit of advice on how to use the stuff I already had, and they might have had a customer for years - if not for life. Instead, they just suggested that I buy more stuff (their stuff!) and even after I did I never used it.
I appreciate everyone here. Let's help make this a welcoming place for new brewers.
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