Newbie with Mr. Beer

[boku]

I have finished my first attempt at home brewing an IPA, I used Mr Beer and followed the direction’s to the T. I used 1 liter bottles & once primed and bottled let stand for a week and then refrigerated for about another week. When I opened the first bottle I did get a hisss… but the beer tasted completely flat. I heard the instructions that come with it over simplify the process and the bottles need to sit for at least another two weeks before carbonation occurs, is this correct? I'm Hoping to get my feet wet with this and then work my way up….

 

[SwAMi75]

Hmm....dunno anything about Mr Beer kits, but 1 week at room temp might have done a little, but you stopped the yeast when you put it in the fridge, ceasing carbonation completely. Probably a little more time at room temp would help.

Ditch the Mr Beer and get you an "intermediate" extract brewing kit, and you'll be off to the races! Plenty of good folks around here to help you out with it.

Best of luck, and welcome to the forum!

Sam

 

[tmoreau]

i also tried the mr beer set up and had the same problem.i think the two major problems with that setup is that they tell you only to bring the water to a boil.most other kits tell you to boil the wort for an hour.problem #2 is the fermentor it does not use an air lock . i tried a started kit from a local supplier which uses 5 galon buckets with air locks and have had no problems.i even used the mr. beer extract cans that i had left and it worked great.


GOOD LUCK

 

[Dude]

i also tried the mr beer set up and had the same problem.i think the two major problems with that setup is that they tell you only to bring the water to a boil.most other kits tell you to boil the wort for an hour.problem #2 is the fermentor it does not use an air lock . i tried a started kit from a local supplier which uses 5 galon buckets with air locks and have had no problems.i even used the mr. beer extract cans that i had left and it worked great.


GOOD LUCK

I bought a cheap Mr. Beer kit just for the small sized fermenter so I could split up a few batches as experiments. It does have an airlock--its built into the lid. Mine does anyway. Mine looks like a brown plastic beer barrel, with a white screw on lid? If you look closely, there is a slot in the plastic that allows for an airlock.

 

[hawktrap74]

definitly cook wort for an hour. staggering hops in intrevels to get different flavors. always use a bucket or carboy with the ability for an airlock its purpose is to prevent bactaria from getting in and to see the progress of the yeast working.
forget the kits put a recipe together with your hbs.

 

[KingDeer]

I have a Mr. Beer setup - just finished my third batch and all three were great. I even got a little "wild and crazy" on second batch making a raspberry/honey/wheat beer by guessing how much of extra ingredients to add. My wife drank most of those, if that tells you anything. What I've heard out here is to have patience - Mr. Beer kit says a week in the fermenter, and a week carbonating in bottles - from the first batch, I've fermented at least a week, then to a secondary for at least another week, then bottled and placed near my pellet stove (under cover) in shop for roughly another week.....and all I get is friends asking me what I'm making next and when will it be ready. I'd like to be able to use different malt extracts, as there are no retailers in my area.

I've never boiled wort for an hour - will try that next time - I have been boiling it for a good 15-20 minutes anyway though. Anyway, adjustments I've made to Mr. Beer instructions have largely come from what I've read out here, and everything's worked well so far.

 

[djsethall]

RDWHAHB. Brew another batch and build a pipeline of beer

 

[rod734]

You should not boil the hopped extract that comes in the kits. Just give it a little more time to carb. at room temp.

 

[petey_c]

Follow the Mr Beer instructions... almost. Your brew should've sat in the "keg" for three weeks and then in the bottle for three weeks, then into the fridge. I've had mediocre results with Mr. Beer. I'm about to sample my last (?) batch. 2 cans WCPA and Nottingham yeast. I would take the bottles back out of the fridge and give the yeast a chance to do their job for 2 weeks. Right now they're in a state of hibernation. What's the worst that'll happen? pete
You could also try here, http://www.mrbeerfans.com/ubbthreads/

 

[ArcLight]

I have a Mr Beer kit, its how I got started.

1. Id give an extra week for the fermentation time.
(actually I keep it in the fermenter for 3 weeks)

2. I'd give an extra week for the bottling time.
(I keep it at room temp for 3 weeks)

3. I let it sit in my cellar for another few weeks. I think teh Mr Beer beer did improve over time. One of the IPAs was horrible after 3 weeks fermenting/3 weeks carbing/1 week aging. But after another 5 weeks it tasked much better. Not "GOOD" but ok.