New and eager brewer thanks to Mr Beer

[brewshki]

I am currently brewing my first two batches, one of cider and the other of a czech pilsner. I was given a Mr Beer kit for my 21st birthday and I decided that this is a really fun hobby. Anyone have any experience with with Mr Beer or any tips?

 

[smccarter]

My wife bought me a Mr Beer kit for Christmas 12 years ago. I used it once, then bought a kit from the LHBS. I'm sure I didn't use it correctly, but the beer I brewed was aweful, and to date is the only beer that I didn't drink. I threw all but a couple of the bottles out. I'm sure that since Coopers bought the company, the beer kits are much better. Coopers has always produced great LME.

I'd say follow the instructions to a tee, unless you're instructed to use table sugar for any thing... ANYTHING.... Corn sugar or DME will be a much better substitution for table sugar. Other than that suggestion, I don't have any.

Welcome to the hobby... it's addicting. You're going to love it.

 

[kmcrae]

I'm a pretty new brewer too. I started with small-batch all grain, but I think probably the most important thing I've learned so far is...

....

.......

To have some patience.

 

[rekoob]

Welcome to the site.

Sound like a great b-day present... Happy birthday.

Take your time and enjoy the process.

 

[Oginme]

I started with a Mr. Beer kit a couple of years ago. My advice is to (1) ignore the instructions they give when it comes to fermenting temperatures and ferment at a lower temperature (66F to 68F), and (2) go to howtobrew.com to get a good starting tutorial on brewing. I do also recommend buying the updated copy of the book 'How to Brew' by John Palmer.

You can take any recipe on-line and scale it down accordingly to fit your Mr. Beer Keg (MBK for short), so don't let yourself be limited by the Mr. Beer recipes. From what I have read recently, they have made an upgrade in their quality but you can still do far better yourself. There are great recipes here on HBT. Another place for proven recipes can be found at www.homebrewersassociation.org.

When you are looking to make an upgrade, I would say that fermentation temperature control made the biggest improvement in the quality of my brews.

Above all, enjoy yourself!

 

[brewshki]

Thanks a lot! I'm really excited. I currently have a batch of apple cider and Czech Pilsner going. They are both bottling and today is the two week for the cider and 1 for the beer. It's so hard to wait that I have started chilling one of the ciders. I'm afraid it's going to be a bust or won't be carbonated enough. Any tips for this stage? What to look for or what not to do?


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[chuckcomm]

Follow this link https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/mr-beer-read-all-about-ask-questions-46360/ its here at the Forum and is all about Mr Beer.

I did three batches with Mr Beer before buying my 5 gallon kit. The link above will be a great help to you.

 

[BigJack]

There is a ton of info on Mr Beer around here. The biggest things I'd say are:

1) The 2-2-2 rule. Two weeks in the fermenter (aka, the Little Brown Keg, or LBK for short) at least two in the bottle to carb and at least two more to cold condition. Don't rush your beer no matter what the instructions say. In fact, many styles benefit from longer conditioning.

2) Control that fermentation temp if you can. The LBK fits nicely in a decent size ice chest. You can use ice packs to keep it under 70 if you live in a warm climate.

3) If you want a stronger beer, add malt instead of sugar.

4) Consider learning how to make a beer in your LBK without the Mr Beer canned kit. You can buy extract and hops or even learn to do two-gallon brew-in-a-bags. It isn't hard to come up with your own brews.

5) That said, if you like the canned kits, keep brewing them. The haters will tell you that you can't get a good beer from a canned kit. I say "BS." Mr. Beer (Coopers,) Brew Demon (the old Mr Beer recipes imported by a different company,) Munton's (their Gold box kits will make two batches in the LBK,) and Brewferm all make decent kits that can make solid beer in the LBK. I rarely brew from a can anymore, but every once in a while, I just want a quick and easy brew session.

6) Don't feel forced by anyone to move up to bigger batches unless that's what suites you. Some guys jump from Mr Beer's LBK to 5 gallon systems. Some don't. Brew to make you happy.

7) Read How To Brew by John Palmer or The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian.

 

[brewshki]

I have the book and it is awesome so far! What exactly is cold conditioning? Do I just stick it in the fridge for 2 weeks?


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[BigJack]

I have the book and it is awesome so far! What exactly is cold conditioning? Do I just stick it in the fridge for 2 weeks?


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Basically.

 

[Kevin79]

I am currently brewing my first two batches, one of cider and the other of a czech pilsner. I was given a Mr Beer kit for my 21st birthday and I decided that this is a really fun hobby. Anyone have any experience with with Mr Beer or any tips?

A lot of us here got started with a Mr. Beer Kit. I still use my LBK to do smaller experimental batches. Some advice:

If your first few batches don't turn out well, don't get discouraged. Mr. Beer kit instructions are meant to teach the the most basic of brewing practices. If you follow the instructions you will indeed make beer, but it may not be "good beer." But fear not! With a few minor adjustments in your brewing practices you will be dishing out better beer and itching to buy your first 5 gallon starter kit, where the fun really starts to begin as most home brew suppliers cater to these set ups.

So what are some basic beginner brewing practices you should be paying attention to you ask?

1. Sanitation. everything that will be in contact with your wort after it has been boiled needs sanitized.

2. Temperature control. Next to sanitation this is the most important aspect that will make or break your beer, and one thing Mr. Beer kits fail to emphasis enough. Make sure your beer is at proper pitching temp before pitching in your yeast. Get a thermometer (make sure you sanitize it first!) and test the temperature before throwing in your yeast. For most beers, pitching at 70 degrees or lower is ideal. Next you want to make sure you are fermenting in a cool dark place. Most ale yeast strains are comfortable in the 65 to 72 degree range and it is much better to ferment on the low end of that range to prevent off flavors. Get one of those thermometer stickers that stick on to your lbk and be forwarned the temperature of your beer while fermenting is usually 5 degrees higher than the current room temperature. look up swamp coolers on this forum for a cheap way to regulate temperatures.

3. Patience. Wait at least two weeks for you beer to ferment, three is better.Mr. Beer will tell you that you can go as short as waiting one week. I am here to tell you they are just flat out wrong. Period. End of Story.

4. Read this forum, especially the Mr. Beer thread, ask questions, this is the best place on the internet to get help and advice.

5. Try to cope with your new addiction...

 

[dkevinb]

Congratulations! I started with the original Beer Machine many years ago, then the kids got me a Mr. Beer a few years ago. I've since started putting together my own recipes for 5 gallon batches, but the Mr. Beer kits are a decent introduction and the beer is quite drinkable, better than a lot of commercial stuff. And the Little Brown Keg is a fine fermenter for smaller batches. I still use mine from time to time. There's a lot of information in the Mr. Beer sticky here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/mr-beer-read-all-about-ask-questions-46360/

Basic Brewing Radio has a good video podcast on how to amp up Mr. Beer kits: http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=january-7-2012-doctoring-mr-beer

To reiterate again, because I don't think these points can be over-emphasized:

1. Clean and sanitize obsessively. Everything that your beer will touch must not only be clean, it must be sanitary.

2. Have patience. Your beer will not be ready in a week, despite what the kit instructions say. Wait a minimum of 2 weeks in the fermenter and 2 weeks in the bottle before even thinking about putting it in the fridge.

3. Try to keep your fermenter not too hot and not too cold. For ales that means in the mid- to high-60's. Search for "Swamp Cooler" here for some ideas.

4. Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew. Barley WANTS to become beer.

 

[brewshki]

My beer just hit two weeks in bottles today. I am pretty happy with how it is going so far. It clearly is carbonating and now I am playing the horrible game of when to stick it in the fridge. The bottles are pretty hard but I thought one of my ciders was ready and it had minimal carbonation. Wouk it be best to let them continue to sit at room temp (between 73-80, I know my house is hot) for a few more weeks or start cold conditioning them now?


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[dkevinb]

My beer just hit two weeks in bottles today. I am pretty happy with how it is going so far. It clearly is carbonating and now I am playing the horrible game of when to stick it in the fridge. The bottles are pretty hard but I thought one of my ciders was ready and it had minimal carbonation. Wouk it be best to let them continue to sit at room temp (between 73-80, I know my house is hot) for a few more weeks or start cold conditioning them now?


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Two weeks at those temps should be fine. I'd go ahead and put it in the fridge. You can hedge your bets by only putting a couple in there, waiting a few hours and trying one.

 

[brewshki]

So no cold conditioning?


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[dkevinb]

So no cold conditioning?


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Oh, definitely yes to cold conditioning. The primary purpose is to clear the beer. After a week or two in the fridge it will look much better. It will probably taste a little bit better, too, just because it's a week or two older. But if you want to see if it's carbed and find out how it turned out it won't hurt to drink one or two once they're cold enough. Just don't drink them all the first night.

 

[podz]

Welcome to the site and use your Mr. Beer for everything you can! Learn and be happy!

I guarantee you that there are master brewers on this site who can produce a better beer using a Mr. Beer than a newbie can with a 10 grand all-grain system. Just like I used to run the table with any god-awful crooked cue that I picked up off the rack, beating the pants off of people using 500 buck custom cues.

 

[brewshki]

Awesome. Good to know. I am wary about if it carbed enough. I brewed a batch of cider that was about a week ahead of the beer and after two weeks and then 3 days in the fridge, it had minimal carbonation. Is that just the difference in things I am brewing or that I used cane sugar or a sign that I need better temps?


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[brewshki]

Before reading all of this, I was going to let the beer stay in carbonating for two more weeks.


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[ericbw]

Measure 2.5 gallons into the LBK. Mark that level. Then you can divide any 5 gallon recipe in half. 1 can of LME OR 2-3lbs of DME is a good base for a lot of recipes, and easy to measure.

 

[brewshki]

Well, I finally opened one bottle of my first batch. It is a Czech Pilsner that fermented for 2 weeks and conditioned in bottles for 3. It was a mr beer extract kit.



I was pretty happy with the results. It has plenty of carbonation, not a great head but has retained its carbonation and feels like beer. The flavor however isn't great.



It isn't bad by any stretch. There just is not a whole lot of flavor. It has a bit of a cidery taste but not much else. Not off putting flavors, just nothing recognizable or great.



Any thoughts? Help is always appreciated. I'm hoping to improve for my second batch.




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[JohnSand]

A few thoughts:
Let it condition longer before refrigerating. I rarely taste any brew before a month in the bottles.
Then leave it in the fridge for a week to really absorb the carbonation.
I started with MrBeer too. But I never made anything better than "okay" using their mixes. Some brewers improve those mixes with steeping grains and additional hops. You can find those suggestions in the MrBeer thread on this forum, or on the MrBeer forum, or BeerBorg forum. But I think that if you are steeping and hop boiling, why use the MrBeer mix at all? Just switch to extract+ kits or recipes. You can still make them in your LBK, just halve the 5 gallon recipes. I believe that you will make much better beer with those than with the MrBeer cans. Good luck, we all had to learn, you will too.