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.
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.