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Ok so i need some help the beer has been on the mr beer keg for 2 week and is still bubbling and has stringy particles in it did i do something wrong or does this usually happen its a wheat beer
 
Ive also read that it could be done with the ferm and just releasing execess co2 correct me if im wrong
 
there is no way for you to know if it is done conclusively without a hydrometer - airlock activity is meaningless. that being said, it is likely done.
give it another week for safety's sake, that'll make it 3 weeks in primary and just about perfect.
happy brewing good sir!!
 
I'm going to offer counter advice to the above post (ask 10 brewers how to do something and you'll get 20 answers).

Go with the 1lb wheat dme.
Warm the water up, but don't bring to a boil - it will make mixing in the DME easier.
Once mixed in, bring the water up to somewhere between 180 - 200 degress. That's hot enough to handle killing off anything if you are concerned about that.

At that point, add your HME and proceed as normal.

There's no need to bring the DME to a boil (or have BOILING water to add the HME into). Hot water makes dissolving the HME easier to pour into the LBK but it's not necessary.
Some people believe it's necessary to add the HME to boiling water to sanitize it - I'm not in the camp.

For the WW, there are plenty of hops in the HME to make a nice wheat beer without worrying about needing to add additional hops, too.

The priming sugar doesn't change anything, so you can change it if you want but I challenge you to taste a difference between using corn versus table sugar.

If you really want to kick it up a notch, switch out the Fromunda yeast for WB-06 (dry) or WLP300 for a nice hef.

Alright this sounds like what I am going to follow. Just how much DME should I use? 1Lbs? What about LME?
I am not sure what UME is
 
Alright this sounds like what I am going to follow. Just how much DME should I use? 1Lbs? What about LME?
I am not sure what UME is

UME is Unhopped Malt Extract, and is a term used by Mr. Beer to denote the difference from Hopped Malt Extract, which is the basis of their kits. Both are forms of LME, but mixed between several grain sources.
Other LME is typically, to my understanding, just one or perhaps two similar types of grain to give an exceedingly predictable product.
Mr Beer extracts are essentially their formulations of multiple LME's, with or without hops and hop extract (HME vs UME), to create a more or less finished recipe. The UME is sold as a premium option to replace the corn-sugar based "Booster" for alcohol content in their recipes.
 
UME is Unhopped Malt Extract, and is a term used by Mr. Beer to denote the difference from Hopped Malt Extract, which is the basis of their kits. Both are forms of LME, but mixed between several grain sources.
Other LME is typically, to my understanding, just one or perhaps two similar types of grain to give an exceedingly predictable product.
Mr Beer extracts are essentially their formulations of multiple LME's, with or without hops and hop extract (HME vs UME), to create a more or less finished recipe. The UME is sold as a premium option to replace the corn-sugar based "Booster" for alcohol content in their recipes.

Thanks for clearing that up! I feel like I am back in my networking classes with all these abbreviations :confused:

I noticed your in York, PA! And you are brewing Brewmutt's Irish Red. Did you do that in the Mr. Beer or get together a "big boy" kit?
 
Thanks for clearing that up! I feel like I am back in my networking classes with all these abbreviations :confused:

I noticed your in York, PA! And you are brewing Brewmutt's Irish Red. Did you do that in the Mr. Beer or get together a "big boy" kit?

Ah yes, I haven't updated my stats in a while. I ended up doing the Irish Red Ale twice, BrewMutt is the storebrand for Mr. Steve's in East York (well, and at their other 2 locations as well, but I've never been)
Yeah, it's a 5 gallon kit they put together, with LME and steeping grains. <slightly off-topic>They pre-measure and package all the steeping grains together, so it makes sense to get the "big boy" kit with the larger fermenter, hydrometer, etc. It's really pretty straightforward though, and they give you an instruction sheet as well. Just be careful to not oversteep those grains, or your nice bright red takes on a more nutty brown color- at least it still tastes great, if a little less crisp.</offtopic>

I bet if you asked though, they could help you get grains together for the 2.1-2.5 gallon mr beer fermenter, or direct you to the other kits that can be split in half easily (good selection of canned extract kits, coopers, brewers best, etc)
They also carry an assortment of soda flavorings, and winemaking supplies, and best of all- Beer Making books, including a small reference rack to lookup recipes.
I wish they carried more kegging equipment and other hardware, but they seem to make an honest attempt (some things just sell out irregularly)
Definitely worth a trip!
 
There are two very common mistakes with steeping grains:

1) not crushing the grains (or not crushing them enough)
2) letting them get loose and get into the boil

Neither will (necessarily) ruin your beer. I haven't had the color issue come up before, but then again, I've never tried to make my beer a specific color, so I didn't know that was even a possible error!

Learn something every day! :)
 
This seems to be the place to ask about Mr Beer, so here goes:

I got a Mr Beer kit and I've got my very first ever batch of homebrew going. I don't have any additional tools beyond what came in the kit yet. Its all set up in my unfinished basement so if there's a disaster its easy to clean. Plus its out of sight and in the dark. It fermented for 16 days at a fairly steady 66 F before it didn't taste especially sweet anymore. Then I bottled it in the 1L bottles using 2.5 tsp table sugar per bottle - just like the instructions say. That was 3 days ago.

Now we've had a bit of cold, rainy weather for a couple of days and my basement is down to about 62 F. The bottles are starting to feel a bit firmer but they've all got a layer of yeast sitting on the bottom already. Is it too cold to properly carbonate without taking ages? Is it so cold that I'm killing the yeast and possibly ruining my beer? What would you do?
 
This seems to be the place to ask about Mr Beer, so here goes:

I got a Mr Beer kit and I've got my very first ever batch of homebrew going. I don't have any additional tools beyond what came in the kit yet. Its all set up in my unfinished basement so if there's a disaster its easy to clean. Plus its out of sight and in the dark. It fermented for 16 days at a fairly steady 66 F before it didn't taste especially sweet anymore. Then I bottled it in the 1L bottles using 2.5 tsp table sugar per bottle - just like the instructions say. That was 3 days ago.

Now we've had a bit of cold, rainy weather for a couple of days and my basement is down to about 62 F. The bottles are starting to feel a bit firmer but they've all got a layer of yeast sitting on the bottom already. Is it too cold to properly carbonate without taking ages? Is it so cold that I'm killing the yeast and possibly ruining my beer? What would you do?

You won't kill the yeast with cold unless you freeze it.

At 62, it will take a bit longer to carbonate than it would at 68, but it will still carbonate. I would give it at least 2-3 weeks before moving it to the fridge for a minimum of 3 days. 4-6 weeks in the bottle and a week or two in the fridge would be even better.
 
You won't kill the yeast with cold unless you freeze it.

At 62, it will take a bit longer to carbonate than it would at 68, but it will still carbonate. I would give it at least 2-3 weeks before moving it to the fridge for a minimum of 3 days. 4-6 weeks in the bottle and a week or two in the fridge would be even better.

+1

Or you can move them up into the house where it's (I assume) warmer to help the carbonation along. But, I would still hold to the timing mentioned above.
 
You won't kill the yeast with cold unless you freeze it.

At 62, it will take a bit longer to carbonate than it would at 68, but it will still carbonate. I would give it at least 2-3 weeks before moving it to the fridge for a minimum of 3 days. 4-6 weeks in the bottle and a week or two in the fridge would be even better.

You can speed the carbonation up by moving the beer into a little warmer temperatures (say upstairs at 70ish), but I'm inclined to agree that it will carbonate eventually at the lower temperature & possibly taste a little better. If you're in a bit of a hurry (& most beginning homebrewers are), move it upstairs, then once it carbonates, you can either refrigerate or move back downstairs in the cooler temperatures until you are ready to chill & serve. I wish I had this problem, but we're always fighting the heat here on the Gulf Coast :)

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
www.defalcos.com
 
+1

Or you can move them up into the house where it's (I assume) warmer to help the carbonation along. But, I would still hold to the timing mentioned above.

Thanks everyone for the replies. It is warmer upstairs in our home, but not by much. We usually keep it rather cool, say 68-72. The biggest reason I've been reluctant to do that is the risk of an exploding bottle. I don't believe there was much sugar left from the wort and I tried to be very careful when adding my bottling sugar, but the thought of a bottle popping all over my kitchen or pantry or whatever is not pleasant. If one's gonna pop, I want it to go in the basement. Hopefully before I bottle my next brew I can get a bottling bucket and wand so that I can batch prime and won't worry so much.

So with that said, how much risk is there of an explosion? These are the Mr Beer 1 L plastic bottles with screw-on lids. Anybody have any experience, good or bad, with these?
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. It is warmer upstairs in our home, but not by much. We usually keep it rather cool, say 68-72. The biggest reason I've been reluctant to do that is the risk of an exploding bottle. I don't believe there was much sugar left from the wort and I tried to be very careful when adding my bottling sugar, but the thought of a bottle popping all over my kitchen or pantry or whatever is not pleasant. If one's gonna pop, I want it to go in the basement. Hopefully before I bottle my next brew I can get a bottling bucket and wand so that I can batch prime and won't worry so much.

So with that said, how much risk is there of an explosion? These are the Mr Beer 1 L plastic bottles with screw-on lids. Anybody have any experience, good or bad, with these?
Those PET bottles will hold a LOT of pressure before they blow. I would say there is not a high probability that they will explode. A hydrometer reading is essential in the future, IMHO. You could just put the bottles in a plastic bucket & take them upstairs. That will contain anything, just in case. . .

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
www.defalcos.com
 
Yeah, those bottles will take a LOT of pressure. You will notice them distorting and bulging out before they blow, though.

If you're really worried about it, put them in a bucket or tupperware container to control the blast zone. Unless you did something really wrong, like double the priming sugar, there's no cause for concern.
 
+1 bulging.

I have heard that several weeks in the 30-40 degree range can kill yeast permanently, and that some people do this to stabilize back-sweetened wine (no one seems to back-sweeten beer...), but I don't know if I would necessarily trust that. I'd think there would still be a few buggers alive just to torment me. ;)

To speed carbonation, some people put bottles on top or behind their refrigerator, wherever is warmer. I agree with putting the bottle in the bucket if you are nervous, but it's not essential.
 
I've been using those Mr Beer bottles for quite awhile now. They do withstand a TON of pressure. You would have to at least double the sugar to have a problem. Come to think of it, has anyone EVER had a blowout with one of the Mr Beer plastic bottles? If so, what was the failure point? Cap blow off? Bottom blow out?

And since you haven't purchased a hydrometer yet, just buy the more accurate and quantity friendly refractometer. This is the one I ordered off eBay. It works perfectly fine. FYI, I made a best offer of $13 and they counteroffered with $15. I took it.
 
I've seen some posts of the PET bottles popping, but it is usually along a seem, so it was most likely a defective bottle.
 
$15 for a refractometer? That's a steal!

The downside to a refractometer is that, AFAIK, it isn't accurate for post-fermentation gravity. If you only have one or the other, you probably need the hydrometer so you can see when fermentation is done.

I have both. And a spare hydrometer, b/c if you don't have a spare, yours will break just to **** with you at some point. ;)
 
Le sigh. My mom was inspired by my talking about getting into home brewing (and thereby plying her with home brewed beer. Sneaky sneaky mother) and bought me ... a Mr. Beer. LOL! Go figure! Well at least that means I can start brewing now instead of the fall!
So it's the deluxe kit with the Blonde Ale and the Golden Lager.
My question is, will they combine well if I use both cans in one batch? No booster, I know I know. I am using one pack anyway, as I can't see spending 6 bucks in shipping for one packet of DME. I'm also putting a bit of honey in.
I'm following all the other suggestions here and I hope to make a good beer!
 
The only issue with combining them is that you don't know which hops are used in those recipes so it's hard to say. It would be like...well...mixing two of anything you didn't know anything about. Do you have a LHBS near you? Swapping in a pound of DME or LME for the Booster in each recipe will make a much better beer.
If you do use both cans together, using the Booster won't be an issue since your malt to adjunct ration will be fine. Adding honey could throw that off, though.

Two questions:
1) Why are you adding honey?
2) Why tinker with something before you know what the base recipe produces?

I'm all for experimenting, but not before you know what you are working with.
 
Nope. Nearest HBS is about 2.5 hours away and slog through nasty horrible traffic. Ick
Anywho, the Mr. Beer folks just got back to me (it's only been all day) and they say it's fine in fact they have a recipe kit that combines those two. And as for the honey? I love honey. Perty simple. :D
It figures, as soon as I post here, the Mr Beer folks get back to me.
 
Glad they got back to you with a solution.

As for the honey:
I, like many others, wanted to add honey when I first starting brewing because....well, I like honey and it sounded cool to add to a beer.

It rarely imparts any honey flavor, so if that's your goal it' not going to turn out as you expect. To get any honey flavor you need to add it AFTER primary fermentation is done and even then you need to use something better (i.e. that has more flavor) than your typical store-bought honey.

What it WILL do, is dry our beer and give it a crisp/dry finish. Some people like that in their beer, but you are not going to get a honey-flavored beer.

If you want that, try steeping some honey malt in your beer.

If you do want to get a honey flavored beer without steeping, I would suggest a recipe using the Whispering Wheat HME + the Wheat UME + honey. I can find the exact recipe that uses some honey up front and some later than did turn out well.
 
I agree, don't experiment with your first batch. Just make it as awesome as you can with what you have. When in doubt, use less water. It works for Kool-Aid(tm) and it works for Mr Beer(tm)! ;)

The other option than honey malt to get honey flavor is to brown your honey by stirring it over heat for a while. Do it outside. It is a smokey, melty, spattering fire hazard. It is an unholy mess. When it is brown (a little lighter than chocolate) it is done. The browner it is, the less it will dry out your beer.

Whichever container you brown it in will be difficult to clean. I must emphasize, it is an unholy, messy FIRE HAZARD. Do it outside. On a grill you don't like very much. And be prepared in case bees come around (they might). You only need a few ounces to make a cool honey flavor in 2 gallons of beer, but if you brown a whole pound then you can store the extra.

Did I emphasize it's a mess? And that it doesn't taste *exactly* like honey? And that it can catch fire? Stir it constantly.

I haven't done it myself, but I've seen the Internet pictures and there are several threads running around. Search for "brochet mead".

This guy burned it black, but if he quit when it was still brown that's what you're after.
 
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Most educational.

Truthfully, if you read through the thread, which I am currently slogging through (page 129 so far!), many people have suggested using honey instead of the booster. Since I've got two cans of extract and I'm only using one booster pack, I figured some honey wouldn't hurt. It seems that the honey flavor won't survive the ferment, I'm cool with that. I'm just following suit more than anything. And to top it all off, I just looked up the recipe I was directed to, and it recommends 1 cup of honey. I only added 1/2 cup. I appear to be on track.
 
If you're using two cans of malt + some honey (or Booster) you'll be fine. If you use 1 can plus either Booster (or replace the Booster with honey) you'll have a thin, cidery beer that most people aren't happy with. Then they blame it on MrB, ditch it and go get a kit that they think is better - when in fact in only has MORE malt, not BETTER malt.

So yeah, if you're using 2 cans of malt feel free to use either the Booster or honey. The only issue is that you won't know if it's a good beer BECAUSE of that ingredient or in SPITE of it. :)
 
Thanks for the post BP! I like that they are going to reduce the need for sugars in the kits which should result in a higher quality end product.
 
I winder if there's any correlation between Coopers buying Mr Beer and the fact that many of the recipes are now "out of stock"? I've never seen so many beers listed as out of stock at one time. Makes me wonder if Coopers has decided to discontinue some of the current recipes
 
It makes sense. MrB used malts from New Zealand while Coopers makes their own malts in Australia. I believe I read that their plan was to not change the MrB offerings, but to start using their own malts for the MrB refills. That could change things a bit just by the nature of using a different malt, but it makes sense that they are going to sell off the current inventory while starting to produce the new kits/refills.

Somebody on the MrB boards said that they spoke to somebody in Customer Service at MrB yesterday and they planned to have the Coopers refills ready by mid-May or so.
 
I winder if there's any correlation between Coopers buying Mr Beer and the fact that many of the recipes are now "out of stock"? I've never seen so many beers listed as out of stock at one time. Makes me wonder if Coopers has decided to discontinue some of the current recipes

Yes, there is a correlation. Coopers will be supplying the extract for the Mr Beer kits (currently Maltexa supplies them under contract with Mr Beer).

No new cans of the existing HME and UME will be produced. So if there's a recipe that uses one of the existing cans and that HME or UME is gone, that recipe won't be offered.

Once they start selling the new Coopers created kits, they'll be putting up new recipes.

Here's a post from mrbeer on the mr Beer forum that answers a lot of questions:

http://community.mrbeer.com/forum/8...-acquired-by-coopers?limit=20&start=20#256091
 
Heh guys first post, I too got MB for christmas from my wife (by the way what does swmbo mean) so i made raspberry wheat with booster and primed bottles with sugar and made proud papas pilsner the same way using most of your advice ferment for 2 weeks and left them alone. well everything went well beer was good, now I got 2 more to try raspberry wheat but this time no booster replaced with golden wheat ume, and a cherry wheat with booster. My question is I read somewhere in the first 170 posts about fermenting for 2 weeks with out the fruit then rack into a secondary over the fruit for 2 more weeks then bottle, what will this do for the finished beer ? pros and cons ? I have bought another MB keg for this. Thanks to all who help us into future addictive behaviors anyways got to go before boss sees me screwing off. thanks Bill
 
Heh guys first post, I too got MB for christmas from my wife (by the way what does swmbo mean) so i made raspberry wheat with booster and primed bottles with sugar and made proud papas pilsner the same way using most of your advice ferment for 2 weeks and left them alone. well everything went well beer was good, now I got 2 more to try raspberry wheat but this time no booster replaced with golden wheat ume, and a cherry wheat with booster. My question is I read somewhere in the first 170 posts about fermenting for 2 weeks with out the fruit then rack into a secondary over the fruit for 2 more weeks then bottle, what will this do for the finished beer ? pros and cons ? I have bought another MB keg for this. Thanks to all who help us into future addictive behaviors anyways got to go before boss sees me screwing off. thanks Bill

SWMBO=She Who Must Be Obeyed

I'm not big on fruit beers, but I think the reason for waiting to add the fruit is that if you add it early, you just get alcohol from the sugars in the fruit, but if you add it later, you get some flavor from the fruit.
 
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