Super simple MR. BEER all grain

[Malticulous]

I found a used Mr. Beer fermenter at the Mormon thrift store (along with a couple Kolsch stanges.) The weather was bad and I decided to use my Mr. Beer for a simple little Blond Ale.

2 lb 8 oz Belgian Pils
6 oz Munich 8L
1 oz Aromatic 20L
10 grams Willamette FWH
8 oz Desert Wild Flower Honey (flame out)

It should come out 4.5-5% ABV and 16 IBU. I hope to get some of the honey in the aroma. The pills sweetness may be confused with honey (but the honey sweetness will be fermented out.) This beer is a good crossover for BMC to craft beer.

Here it is mashing brew in a bag style.

I crushed this twice, lined my 16qt pot with a $2 paint strainer and heated up 12L water to about 160F. I doughed in and stirred it until the temp was at 155F them moved it off the burner and covered it. After 30 minutes it was at 150F so I put it back on the heat and stirred until it was back to 155F and let it sit another 30 minutes.

After the mash I pulled the strainer out out an let it drip a minute. I put it in a bowl so I could get more of the wort out of it latter. Then I put in the first wort hops and turned on the heat for the boil. I boiled it for 90 minutes because of the pilsner malt.

I could have chilled this in an ice bath in the sink or in the sink with my smaller immersion chiller if I had a adapter or enough ice, but I went out the back porch to chill it. It's not freezing out there but it is cold.

After I chilled it to 62F I was ready to fill my Mr. Beer.

All I had for yeast was a vial of WLP001. This will be a big starter for a 11 gallon batch later.

The vial gushed when I opend it. I hope it's alright.

I ended up with 9L of 1.045 wort so my efficiency was in the high seventies. Not bad. No doubt this is way cheaper than canned hopped LME and it will taste better too.

There is no reason someone with a Mr. Beer and a 4 gallon pot can't go all grain.

 

[Revvy]

I nearly always have gusher vials of whitelabs.

I'm really dying to know how the mr beer ended up in the MORMON resale shop.

Good job!

I've been saying the samething about using the mr beer fermenter ofr small batch all grain for years.

 

[Espi]

I'm really dying to know how the mr beer ended up in the MORMON resale shop.

That was my first thought as well.

 

[philipsheperd]

That looks really nice, i just got the mr beer kit and its fermenting with my first beer ever , how much did all the ingredients cost? how long you gonna let it ferment?

 

[Malticulous]

It cost me under five bucks (the yeast was given to me from Morebeer). I buy most of my grain in bulk. The grain was mostly $1.17 a pound and the hops were also free from Morebeer. The honey was $1.50 ($3 a pound) from a local. It's really just part of the cost of the next batches because it's a yeast starter to make enough yeast for 11 gallons. Free beer!

Even spending $2.00 a lb for grain and a dollar for hops it would cost under $10.00 with dry yeast. I seen Mr. Beer extract today at the store and it cost $24 for two cans. This is much better because I don't need the crappy booster.

It will ferment until it's done. Probably a week or two. Then I'll take a hydrometer sample. I expect this to finish at 1.008. If it's there and tastes good I'll cold crash it then bottle. If it's not and/or there are fermentation off flavors I'll warm it up a day or two and sample it again.

 

[philipsheperd]

that seems like a lot of work to just make yeast for your next batch

i started homebrewing because i hate piss beer, but is it really that much work for a truely amazing beer?

 

[Malticulous]

If you think of it as work this hobby is not for you. I do this for the enjoyment of it. What I did for this batch is as easy as it gets this side of extract and with as little clean up as is possible. I spend about eight hours brewing and packaging on a 11 gallon batch with dry yeast. This little four hour batch will yield a case of beer and I'll profit the yeast as well. And yes, I do make some amazing beer, better than I can buy. It is worth it.

 

[philipsheperd]

if it taste amazing....that is all that matters to me, i am no so sorry for these dumb questions, i hope one day ill be up to your level of brewing

 

[MetallHed]

how big are those mr. beer fermentors? I always thought they were 2 gallons...?

i do 2.5 gal. batches and thought about the mr. beer, but thought they were just 2 gallons..

looks good though!

 

[Sheldon]

That does sound interesting and I too brew for pride and self satisfaction. I still have one Mr Beer fermenter that I kept and may try this recipe when I next brew. Thanks and keep us updated on progress and test tasting.

Sheldon

 

[Justibone]

I *think* that if you fill it all the way up (not recommended without Fermcap-S) then it can be 2.4 gallons, but most people brew closer to 2.1 gallons using MrB.

2.1 * 128 = 268.8 = 22.4 beers
2.4 * 128 = 307.2 = 25.6 beers

2.25 gallons = 24 beers (12 oz. ea.)

That doesn't count trub loss. Also, you lose a lot of beer if you rack from their spigot, since it sits kinda high up and doesn't have a dip tube.

 

[MetallHed]

I *think* that if you fill it all the way up (not recommended without Fermcap-S) then it can be 2.4 gallons, but most people brew closer to 2.1 gallons using MrB.

2.1 * 128 = 268.8 = 22.4 beers
2.4 * 128 = 307.2 = 25.6 beers

2.25 gallons = 24 beers (12 oz. ea.)

That doesn't count trub loss. Also, you lose a lot of beer if you rack from their spigot, since it sits kinda high up and doesn't have a dip tube.

Thanks, JB.

If I see a cheap one on craigslist I might pick it up.. can't have too many fermentors!

 

[Malticulous]

If I only loose one liter I will have 24 333.3 ml bottles.

Here is is in my fermentation chest freezer with 11 gallons of porter

I like how it fits on the bottom bucket. I can also get a five gallon carboy and three 1 gallon jugs in there. I have to heat it with a 15 watt light now. I should probably cover it but incandescent light is not near as bad as sunlight or florescent for skunking beer. I have lagers in water baths out in the brew shed for now too.

 

[El_Exorcisto]

I started brewing by fermenting my all grain batches in a Mr Beer. It was slow going, only making 2 gallons at a time. However, like you said, it was cheaper and WAY better than going extract.

 

[Malticulous]

It finished at 1.012. I siphoned 2.2 gallons into the bottling bucket. So I boiled 2.2 oz Dextrose and stirred it into the beer.

Ended up with 13 bombers and a pint of thick slurry.

 

[K5MOW]

WOW sounds like a great recipie to try with my Mr. Beer.

Roger

 

[alemonster]

nice job!!! I started with Mr. beer. Made some pretty damn good beer with it!! And I now do 3 gallon all grain batches in glass carboys. I like that idea of making starters with the mr. beer keg. and you get close to case of beer!! To me it sounds like a Win, Win!!

 

[weirdboy]

For what it's worth I used a Mr Beer as a fermenter for a long time. Like a few years. I finally caught an infection in there sometime last year and threw it away...there's some corners and whatnot inside the Mr Beer that make it hard to get thoroughly clean and sanitized, so it was just a matter of time I guess.

 

[Alleydude]

Hate dredging up old threads, but how did they turn out? Any pictures of the finished brew?

Thanks for the walk-through.

 

[Malticulous]

I turned out fine. Light, dry, not very bitter with a hint of honey in the aroma. I don't think I took any pictures of it.

I have another batch in my Mr. Beer now, but I used a 3 gallon cooler to mash in. I did a double decoction mash for a Dopplebock. I don't really want five gallons a strong beer I have to age. I should bottle it. After they carb up I'll hide them in the back of the fridge until late fall.
http://hopville.com/recipe/609782/doppelbock-recipes/mr-bock

 

[Justibone]

Yeah, the strong beers and barleywines are better in smaller batches. Unless you're planning on bottling in 750ml champagne bottles and giving them out to a LOT of friends as gifts, the big beers are just better in smaller batches.

My opinion, of course.

P.S. - Might be fun to turn a bit of that dopplebock into eisbock... just throwin' that out there.