New To Brewing Need Help RE: using Fruit juice in beer?

[Justme2]

Hello; I am very green at home brewing, however, I find it to be a very interesting and rewarding hobby.
I am using a MR BEER kit, and so far have made several batche, and they have come out ok.
So, my problem is...I decided to try something different, and used 32 oz of cranberry juice in the fermentation process. I replaced the water with the juice, not used it in addition to. I used the basic American Light refill.
Its been fermenting nicely, and it seems it is complete. When tasting it, it tastes pretty good. I noticed that the carbonation seems a bit higher than usual though, before racking and bottling. I think im readt to bottle it, however Now I'm concerned....do I still use priming sugar, or not? Its seems pretty carbonated now, I'm wondering if I use priming sugar, will it cause bottles to explode from being too carbonated? Should I just use less sugar, no sugar? Any help here would be appreciated!

 

[wtfDean]

if it's carbonated to taste, go ahead and bottle it without priming. since you have no way of measuring how complete fermentation is, you may run the risk of bottle bombs even if you don't prime. you could let it sit for a few days to be sure it's done. if you did that and it's carbonated enough to drink without priming, go ahead and bottle it. if not, maybe you should consider adding half of the priming sugar recommended for that kit. its less about bottle bombs and more about having a super foamy product.

and i will say that you style is most unorthodox. never a bad trait

 

[shortyz]

i hope you didnt just buy some cranberry juice from the store, that stuffs PACKED full of sugar and will make your beer a wee bit high on ABV.

keep us updated

 

[estricklin]

Normally when I use fruit juice, or any kind of fruit for that matter, I let it sit a bit longer. Usually at least 4-6 weeks if not many months. It just tastes way better and I dunno why.

You shouldn't have very much carbonation in your beer at this point, a tiny bit yes, but not much. If your truly happy with the carbonation level then bottle it and skip the priming sugar, but remember your going to lose some C02 in the transfer process, furthermore; I think you will be disappointed in the outcome.

The main thing is to make sure your fermentation is complete. How long's it been? 2 weeks is really a minimum without taking hydrometer readings.

 

[Colorowdy]

I would let it sit for another week or two.
Buy a hydrometer or two. Mine always seem to break when I only have one in hand.

 

[fuelish]

I've never bottled a beer that exhibited signs of carbonation/fermentation.....wait until fermentation is COMPLETE (which it sounds it isn't atm), and then prime and bottle as usual.....why risk having bottle bombs/gushers when so easily avoidable with a small amount of patience?

 

[Justme2]

wtfDEAN , makes sense, ty!

Shortyz, I used oceanspray!! LOL. Well, a little high in ABV might not be too terribly a bad thing, i guess...long as it tastes good. Its a total experimental batch, but I dident think out the consequences! ;-)

Colorowdy...Brings me to another question, as I just purchased a hydrometer. Im still trying to figure it out, however. Far as I can tell, the simple version is, if the reading is the same twice in a 48 hour period, its done fermenting? is this correct?

fuelish...good advice, and its true paitence is truly a virtue.

Gentlemen, when we say...bottle bombs, are we just talking about overcarbonation? Can a beer bottle actually explode from the pressure, or just be kinda messy to open? I don't want an emergency room visit to be the end result of making beer at home!!
Hey, I told you guys I was waaaay green!! LOL

Also, the Mr. Beer kits are pretty basic, and seem easy to use. eventually as experience and budget permit, I will probably advance with my homebrewing. Though, it SEEMS to me, that the Mr Beer kits ferment pretty quickly. they are only making about 2.5 gallons of beer, and the refills are malted extract. It seems they are made to work quickly, for us rank amatuers...but I may have just gotten lucky with the few batches I have made. Iusually give them about 2 weeks, as the instructions say 1 week its usually ready to bottle, but up to and no longer than three. However, from reading, it seems many people wait longer. But I don't know if thats because of differing methods, larger batches, and other factors. The beers I have made seemed to be ok, but perhaps waiting longer would make flavor differences I haven't realized?

Thank you all for your replies. It seems homebrewing is as much a science as an art. I guess I have to master the little bit of science involved, to create the Masterful Art that is homebrewing!

 

[shortyz]

for 70$ u can buy all the sht u need to brew extract with grain... do it man, dont look back.

 

[doornumber3]

Yes. The bottles can explode if its way over carbonated or not done feenting. Be careful where you store them and be prepared it can happen.

 

[Colorowdy]

Yep.
If you don't feel like buying more equipment just keep usingthings what you got. I still use my lil brown keg all the time.
Check out the extract brewing page. Pay attention to volumes and scale down.
Surf these pages and use the search option in the corner. You will learn alot.
Happy brewing.

 

[headshaker]

Try. A couple pet bottles plastic and see how tight they feel after a day or two.MOST Soda is bottled this way for that very reason.