Me. Beer kit + more.

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mjwj12

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Hello all! New here!! I got got a ingredients kits from my wife a while ago from beer nut in slc ut. In it came with ....
2 1oz of hops
3/4 cups of priming sugar
11.5 grams of dry yeast
Specialty grains
6lbs of light malt extract.

Now I bought the mr. Beer kit with all the bottles and keg and stuff. I'm trying to look how to use these ingredients in the mr beer kit

Any and all help would be great!!!

Thanks
 
The Mr. Beer is 2 gallons, and assuming the kit you have is a 5 gallon kit, you could just scale the recipe down and use 2/5 of everything.
 
That looks like a pretty light gravity 5 gallon batch kit. I'd be inclined to split that in half if you can (except for the yeast) and do two 2.2 gallon batches. The LBK will handle that volume just fine. However, if your malt extract is liquid (LME), you're going to have a bit of a tough time dividing that thick syrup into two equal parts. The other option is to buy a 6.5 gallon fermenter bucket and do the whole thing.

About the instructions that came with your Mr. Beer kit, find the nearest trash can or bird cage.
 
Do the full size batch after ordering a bucket or picking one up at your local homebrew store and make a cider in the mr beer fermenter
 
If you use the Mr. Beer kit you will probably want to brew more when its finished. You will probably want to brew a larger batch. I agree. Get yourself a larger fermenter. You're going to get it evetually anyway.
 
If you have a fermenter other than the Mr Beer setup I'd just make the both of them as is.

If not brew your Mr Beer kit and split the other in half. Your Mr Beer fermenter will handle up to 2.5 gals as long as it's not a high ABV beer.

What are the kits you have? And do you have any equipment other than what came with Mr Beer?
 
Just split it. Plenty of people do 2.5g in the LBK. You can split the yeast too. Fold the pack in half, pour out half, tape and refrigerate the rest. It works fine.
 
rodwha said:
If you have a fermenter other than the Mr Beer setup I'd just make the both of them as is.

If not brew your Mr Beer kit and split the other in half. Your Mr Beer fermenter will handle up to 2.5 gals as long as it's not a high ABV beer.

What are the kits you have? And do you have any equipment other than what came with Mr Beer?
Click to expand...

I have the basic Mr. Beer kit that you can buy from the store.
(everything that is in the pic)

Now a while back my wife bought me a ingredients kit from a local brewery in SLC Utah Stated in the OP.

I know that if i really get into brewing(I hope i do) that i will want to get bigger and better equipment. But for now i would like to see where i am at with the the stuff i have now. I want to use all the ingredients that i have as of now. I just dont know how and where to start brewing the hops, grains and stuff.

MrBeerPremiumEditionBeerKit1.jpg
 
You could also go to the bakery dept in your local grocery store and ask if they have any food grade icing buckets. I got several from my store and now have 5 ~5.3 gal buckets that I can brew up to about 4.5-4.8 gal brews in. Or I can store grains now as I found out the Blendtech will crush grains!

Your SLC kit, if it's LME, may be difficult and very messy to try splitting. I won't do that anymore! You'd want to get a free bucket and lid and use a 1/2" drill bit to drill a hole in the lid to one side, and buy a grommet and airlock. Then also buy a bottling spigot and drill a hole near the base that's about 1" (IIRC) and install the spigot for a bottling bucket. All for less than $10 unless you need to buy the drill bits.

If you don't want to do the bottling bucket setup you can get a siphon and bottle filler and bottle straight from the fermenting bucket.
 
rodwha said:
You could also go to the bakery dept in your local grocery store and ask if they have any food grade icing buckets. I got several from my store and now have 5 ~5.3 gal buckets that I can brew up to about 4.5-4.8 gal brews in.
Click to expand...

I did this. I also bought 3 of the buckets from Firehouse Subs fire $2 each. The problem with the Firehouse buckets is that I could not figure out how to get rid of the pickle smell to save my life. Stick with the Bakery. They're free and no odors. You just can't do a full 5 gallon brew.
 
rodwha said:
You could also go to the bakery dept in your local grocery store and ask if they have any food grade icing buckets. I got several from my store and now have 5 ~5.3 gal buckets that I can brew up to about 4.5-4.8 gal brews in. Or I can store grains now as I found out the Blendtech will crush grains!

Your SLC kit, if it's LME, may be difficult and very messy to try splitting. I won't do that anymore! You'd want to get a free bucket and lid and use a 1/2" drill bit to drill a hole in the lid to one side, and buy a grommet and airlock. Then also buy a bottling spigot and drill a hole near the base that's about 1" (IIRC) and install the spigot for a bottling bucket. All for less than $10 unless you need to buy the drill bits.

If you don't want to do the bottling bucket setup you can get a siphon and bottle filler and bottle straight from the fermenting bucket.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much! i will post up when i pick it up!
 
Just so you know I sprayed them out back with the hose first. Later the grass was dead.

After that I ran them through the dishwasher without soap, and then washed them by hand with Oxyclean and rinsed well.

It was a little work, but not bad for free!

And mine still had an icing smell, but beer took care of that! And no off taste to comment on. If it was there I didn't notice.
 
Hello, with your help i just picked up a Icing Bucket from a local Walmart Bakery and ordered a Airlock with gromment for 4$ Looks like i might be starting my next batch sooner then later.

Airlock-and-Grommet.jpg
 
mjwj12 said:
Hello, with your help i just picked up a Icing Bucket from a local Walmart Bakery and ordered a Airlock with gromment for 4$ Looks like i might be starting my next batch sooner then later.
Click to expand...

I also picked up a bottling spigot for 5$
 
Something else I've done to make things easier is to fill a pitcher up 1/2 gal at a time and pour it into the bucket, and once I got up to about 3.5 gals turned off the lights and used a flashlight in the bucket to see the water line and mark it with a permanent marker. And keep going marking additional 1/2 gal marks. It's not perfect, but it gets you in the ballpark, and I'm OK with that.
 
rodwha said:
Something else I've done to make things easier is to fill a pitcher up 1/2 gal at a time and pour it into the bucket, and once I got up to about 3.5 gals turned off the lights and used a flashlight in the bucket to see the water line and mark it with a permanent marker. And keep going marking additional 1/2 gal marks. It's not perfect, but it gets you in the ballpark, and I'm OK with that.
Click to expand...


Hey that's a good idea. I looked to see if there were marks for measurements but none. I'll do that when I get home!!
 
The temp will be your house temp. And the volume is the volume of your beer.
 
Buy fermometers for your buckets. Very important as you need to maintain the temp of the beer and not focus on the water or air temp.

You'll need a storage tub and fill it 2/3 with water. Drink plenty of 2 liter sodas and fill almost full with water and freeze them. You'll want several as they take a while to freeze solid. Also 2 qt juice jugs work well. I also have 20 oz to 1 liter bottles too. Maintain the water temp with the bottles.
 
rodwha said:
Buy fermometers for your buckets. Very important as you need to maintain the temp of the beer and not focus on the water or air temp.

You'll need a storage tub and fill it 2/3 with water. Drink plenty of 2 liter sodas and fill almost full with water and freeze them. You'll want several as they take a while to freeze solid. Also 2 qt juice jugs work well. I also have 20 oz to 1 liter bottles too. Maintain the water temp with the bottles.
Click to expand...


Is there a pic of the tub that I need? I'm not sure what I need them for. Sorry newb here
 
Just a plastic storage bin.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-18-Gallon-72-Quart-Storage-Box-Set-of-8/10401037

You need to keep your fermentors cold. Even in cold water the beer can be 5 or more degrees warmer. You want to keep your beer (generally) well below 70* with the mid 60's usually being ideal.

For your Mr Beer fermentor I've seen someone put it in a rectangular kitchen pan with water and a towel draped over it and using small frozen water bottles to maintain the temps. If you shoot for ~60* water temp you'll likely be close enough to ideal temp. Mr Beer sells a small fermometer, but it's not cheap considering the shipping.
 
rodwha said:
Just a plastic storage bin.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-18-Gallon-72-Quart-Storage-Box-Set-of-8/10401037

You need to keep your fermentors cold. Even in cold water the beer can be 5 or more degrees warmer. You want to keep your beer (generally) well below 70* with the mid 60's usually being ideal.

For your Mr Beer fermentor I've seen someone put it in a rectangular kitchen pan with water and a towel draped over it and using small frozen water bottles to maintain the temps. If you shoot for ~60* water temp you'll likely be close enough to ideal temp. Mr Beer sells a small fermometer, but it's not cheap considering the shipping.
Click to expand...


So what you are saying is after I bottle it from the keg fermentation(2weeks) I should keep is in a tub chilled?
 
No. It needs to be chilled as soon as you put it in the fermentor, just after you brewed it up.

If it ferments without being chilled it'll get quite warm and will likely create fusel alcohol, which will give you a hangover with as little as a few beers.
 
You'll brew your beer, chill it to pitching temp, pour into your fermentor, and drop that into your tub of water and wait.
 
rodwha said:
You'll brew your beer, chill it to pitching temp, pour into your fermentor, and drop that into your tub of water and wait.
Click to expand...



Ohhhh ok Got it. How long does it need to be in the chilled container. Is it up to me or no? See right now i did the mr beer instructions to a T from Youtube, it is in the mr beer keg sitting in my closet for 2weeks+ then i will bottle it then put it in the fridge for it to chill for another 2 weeks.
like i said prevously i have a whole kit that im going to start one i get my spigot and airlock in the mail.
I found this wiki how

Is this a good way to use the ingredients batch that i have?
 
You'll want to give your beer at least 3 weeks fermentation and 3 weeks conditioning, and 3 days in the fridge for better results. I give mine 4/4/1.

The first week is the more critical time frame to maintain temps. After that it's OK to let it warm up to room temp, though I usually don't until maybe that third week or so.
 
rodwha said:
You'll want to give your beer at least 3 weeks fermentation and 3 weeks conditioning, and 3 days in the fridge for better results. I give mine 4/4/1.

The first week is the more critical time frame to maintain temps. After that it's OK to let it warm up to room temp, though I usually don't until maybe that third week or so.
Click to expand...

:mug: Thanks alot for your help!
I think the hardest part to all of this is WAITING!!!:cross:
 
Waiting is hard if you don't have beer stashed in the back! :D

I recently had finished all of mine so these next 3 batches will have me capable of waiting well enough again! In the meantime I've just had to send SWMBO to the store for beer!
 
rodwha said:
Waiting is hard if you don't have beer stashed in the back! :D

I recently had finished all of mine so these next 3 batches will have me capable of waiting well enough again! In the meantime I've just had to send SWMBO to the store for beer!
Click to expand...


I'm guessing swmbo means... Something to do with your wife lol?
Honestly I've been over beer. I'm more of a 'on the rocks' kind of guy. But this making my own beer is really exciting. Maybe when these beers are done and it'll be a lil surprise to me and my wife. A diamond I'm the rough.
 
What's the key ingredient to make the beer more alcoholic?
 
She Who Must Be Obeyed

Funny 'cause I don't listen much to her.

I'll take whiskey and water, but since I got into craft beers I just don't drink liquor/cocktails or wine much anymore. LOVE the beer!

Alcohol is created from sugars. Barley, when mashed converts starches into sugars, but sugar or honey or molasses can be used too, but they are more simple sugars and thin beer out. A little is OK, but too much and it's weird.
 
rodwha said:
She Who Must Be Obeyed

Funny 'cause I don't listen much to her.

I'll take whiskey and water, but since I got into craft beers I just don't drink liquor/cocktails or wine much anymore. LOVE the beer!

Alcohol is created from sugars. Barley, when mashed converts starches into sugars, but sugar or honey or molasses can be used too, but they are more simple sugars and thin beer out. A little is OK, but too much and it's weird.
Click to expand...


Well my wife recently bought me sippin rocks. Look it up. Stones that you freeze. And doesn't water down the liquor. Yummmm.

On another note. So if I do some testing and add a lil more sugar/honey/molasses to my keg for fermentation it could turn out Better or worse.
 
If it's a small amount it should just bump up the alcohol content a little and drop the IBU's slightly. You could even just add a small amount of table sugar.

I've seen those plastic balls you freeze.
 
rodwha said:
If it's a small amount it should just bump up the alcohol content a little and drop the IBU's slightly. You could even just add a small amount of table sugar.

I've seen those plastic balls you freeze.
Click to expand...


ImageUploadedByHome Brew1388872076.702278.jpgnaw granite.

Here is a question. My mr beer kit doesn't tell me to put the sugar/carbonation rocks in till I bottle it. Am I correct here? I sure hope so
 
Your kit came with carbonation drops? Look like little candies? If so it'll mention the number each bottle needs. Some are small and need several and some are about the size of sore throat medicine and need just 1. But yes, add at bottling.

I've not seen those. Cool!
 
rodwha said:
Your kit came with carbonation drops? Look like little candies? If so it'll mention the number each bottle needs. Some are small and need several and some are about the size of sore throat medicine and need just 1. But yes, add at bottling.

I've not seen those. Cool!
Click to expand...


Ok great. Yes those the ones.
Would it be bad to add sugar now? After 2 days of fermenting? Then add those "candies" when I bottle it?
 
You can do that. I'd wait maybe a couple more days as it'll allow the yeast to work on the more complex sugars. Simple sugars weaken the yeast in some way (basically). It does something with the way the develop their "skin" and so it'd be better to allow them to do their thing on the more complex ones now. Maybe give it a week total.
 

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