Me. Beer kit + more.
- Thread starter mjwj12
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Good start!
I'm concerned your Mr Beer fermentor is above it's temp range. Many people will put it in a cake pan with water and drape a towel over it, and rotate small frozen water bottles to keep the fermentor in the mid 60's.
I'm concerned your Mr Beer fermentor is above it's temp range. Many people will put it in a cake pan with water and drape a towel over it, and rotate small frozen water bottles to keep the fermentor in the mid 60's.
The S style of airlock won't work with a blowoff tube, but it might allow for the tube to be pushed through the stopper. But if the volume and gravity are kept lower, along with the temp you ought to be OK.
Devilsnight
Well-Known Member
Are you fermenting in the bucket or the lbk?? confused... The bucket looks like a good fermentor. then drain out into the Mr. beer keg to bottle. I made one batch in the keg, now it's my bottling bucket!
Its sitting in my hallway closet head level. never touched. My house stays about 62 to 68 all day.
Im still debating if i should add some sugar or honey to it on friday..
I will be fermenting out of the bucket. Im going to cook my oktoberfest up tonight i think if i have time.
Im confused though. rodwha says the same thing about bringing from the fermenting bucket to the keg? but i honestly do not see a reason why? i was going to go from the fermenting kegs (bucket and mr beer keg) straight to the bottles. Let them sit for about two weeks.
am I missing something here?
ericbw
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2012
- Messages
- 3,592
- Reaction score
- 1,225
Possibly. If you're using the carbonation drops (the little candies), you add them to each bottle, then add beer to the bottle. It can be straight from the fermenter (but keep reading, I'll come back to that). Adding sugar at bottling is called "priming."
To "batch prime," you would move the beer from the fermenter to a bottling bucket (or the keg) with a sugar solution that will prime all of the beer at once rather than each bottle individually. Not necessary if you're "bottle priming" with sugar or drops in each bottle.
HOWEVER (I said I would come back to it), it probably makes sense to transfer from the fermenter and leave behind the trub, then bottle from the second container. It's easier to get less sediment into the bottles that way because.
You don't HAVE to do it that way, but I think it's easier to do it cleanly if you do.
mjwj12
When I bottle from my Mr. Beer keg, I do not have the carbonation drops, so I mix 1c water with 6tbsp sugar, and put that into my "bottling bucket", siphon the beer out of the Mr. Beer container into the bucket (no splashing) leaving all the yeast and junk behind. Then from the bucket into the bottles, again no splashing.
When I bottle from my Mr. Beer keg, I do not have the carbonation drops, so I mix 1c water with 6tbsp sugar, and put that into my "bottling bucket", siphon the beer out of the Mr. Beer container into the bucket (no splashing) leaving all the yeast and junk behind. Then from the bucket into the bottles, again no splashing.
Ok i see what your saying, Im guess that is why people buy strainers/funnels too. I got another bucket last night to i might make that one bucket a only fermentation bucket. that way i can test different things out. I got a bag of those boosters with my Mr. Beer kit so i think im going to use those with the Mr. Beer brew only. and with my next batch(tonight) im brewing i will batch prime.
Your beer is possibly 10* warmer then the air temp. That means your beer could be 72-78*! 72 might not be too bad, though the yeast will likely create some flavors (I like to ferment colder spas not to get the additional flavors), which may be what is desired. If I were to leave it up to the ambient temp I'd move it somewhere that's in the mid 50's.
If you are happy with 3.7% beer that's something like light American beer then leave it. But if you'd like to add some alcohol as well as some flavor I'd suggest you add some honey. I've made beer with honey and it was amazing!!! I highly recommend it!
eric explained why it's good to transfer it, both for batch priming and for clearing out the grub.
skitter: I see now how you prime your beer...
If you are happy with 3.7% beer that's something like light American beer then leave it. But if you'd like to add some alcohol as well as some flavor I'd suggest you add some honey. I've made beer with honey and it was amazing!!! I highly recommend it!
eric explained why it's good to transfer it, both for batch priming and for clearing out the grub.
skitter: I see now how you prime your beer...
By bag of boosters you mean priming tablets? The carbonation drops?
Mr Beer used to supply some of their kits with a bag of booster, which was mostly corn sugar. It was put in at the beginning of the short boil to add alcohol. I hated trying to work with that stuff the first time I used it, and since learned to discard it and add DME in it's place for an improvement.
Mr Beer used to supply some of their kits with a bag of booster, which was mostly corn sugar. It was put in at the beginning of the short boil to add alcohol. I hated trying to work with that stuff the first time I used it, and since learned to discard it and add DME in it's place for an improvement.
Im most positive that it is a carbination/sugar drops. they do look like candy.
Because my next batch is more technical im going to ferment it in my bucket without the spigot. let 2 to 3 weeks go by, batch prime it and drain/strain it into my bottle bucket. Let it sit anoth few weeks then bottle it. Sound good?
Those are carbonation drops then.
It does sound like a good plan. When you go to drain it into the other bucket make certain the receiving bucket is at an angle so that it doesn't splash. You don't want to aerate your beer at this point or it might taste like wet cardboard.
It does sound like a good plan. When you go to drain it into the other bucket make certain the receiving bucket is at an angle so that it doesn't splash. You don't want to aerate your beer at this point or it might taste like wet cardboard.
Good thing you told me.
so when i get done with the boiling and cooking, set the bucket in ice while i pour it in my fermenting bucket for how long?
Until the wort temp is around 70* or so +/- 5* maybe. It'll likely take a few sink fills of cold water to do this.
I fill it up with cold tap water, set my pot in the sink and stir for maybe 5 mins. Drain and repeat two more times. On the fourth time I add 1 gal of tap water in a bottle that's beer refrigerated along with 2 ice trays of ice and do this twice.
Then I pour it into my fermentor and add my chilled top off water to ~6 gals and I'm usually right around 70*.
I fill it up with cold tap water, set my pot in the sink and stir for maybe 5 mins. Drain and repeat two more times. On the fourth time I add 1 gal of tap water in a bottle that's beer refrigerated along with 2 ice trays of ice and do this twice.
Then I pour it into my fermentor and add my chilled top off water to ~6 gals and I'm usually right around 70*.
I'll put the pot in the sink and surround with ice while I stir it to cool it down. Everybody has their own way, and nobody is dead wrong (usually) you gotta find the way that works for you.
Dont every pour it into the fermenter HOT
Dont every pour it into the fermenter HOT
ericbw
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2012
- Messages
- 3,592
- Reaction score
- 1,225
I'm not sure if you're just saying it one way and thinking another way, or if you might have one misconception. When you batch prime, don't add the sugar to the fermenter and then transfer. Add the sugar (dissolved in boiling water, then cooled down) to the empty bottling bucket, THEN transfer the beer.
I don't think straining is a good idea at that point because it can add air to the beer, which is bad. The only time you want to add air is at the beginning of the ferment, when you pitch the yeast. Most random stuff that gets into the bottle will eventually settle out anyway.
^^ This,
After fementation, you want no splashing or chance to re-introduce air into your beer, it will make it taste bad and possibly spoil it.
My advice would be to not add anything else to your beer while it's fermenting. Too easy to add bad contaminants, and until you know whether you like this particular beer or not, you won't know whether you've actually made it better or worse. If this is a hobby that you think you'll be staying with, you'll have ample time to play with recipes. Just let this one run it's course and see how it turns out. Pick up another kit and do it all over again. You can brew practically forever just by buying the premade kits. Check out some of the online homebrew sites and pick up a book or two, it'll help you immensely to understand the brewing process. I started with Charlie Papazian's Joy Of Home Brewing, and just recently picked up John Palmer's How To Brew. Both are great books
If you are OK with 3.7% light tasting beer leave it. If you won't I'd still suggest adding honey. And it'r probably best to use honey that's been pasteurized.
You could boil 1 cup of water and add the honey to that, bring it back up to a boil for a moment, and cool in the fridge (covered) before adding it to the fermentor. I've done this many times without heating it with no ill effects (though it doesn't mean there's not a first!).
You could boil 1 cup of water and add the honey to that, bring it back up to a boil for a moment, and cool in the fridge (covered) before adding it to the fermentor. I've done this many times without heating it with no ill effects (though it doesn't mean there's not a first!).
ericbw
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2012
- Messages
- 3,592
- Reaction score
- 1,225
I haven't heard of heating honey to kill wild yeast. I am pretty sure it is not a hospitable environment for much to live in. You can keep a jar of honey for years.
Unpasteurized honey can contain wild yeasts, but won't contain bacteria. Though you won't contaminate your beer with yuckies, it could get something unexpected with wild yeast. Maybe not a big deal after the majority of the fermentation has been achieved.
jd_brewing
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2013
- Messages
- 307
- Reaction score
- 71
I've done several mr beer batches you can bottle strait from the mr beer keg if you want the base/ foot of it acts as a sediment trap kinda like a conical with the spicket being above the trub level especially with a beer that small
If you ever try to move the beer from your Mr. Beer keg into a bottling container, you will notice that some of the yeast in the bottom gets pulled out with the flow, this would lead to bottles of different carbonation strengths if they got more yeast than others.
Yes, you can bottle directly from the keg, but you get a more even distribution if you go to a bottling bucket
jd_brewing
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2013
- Messages
- 307
- Reaction score
- 71
skitter said:
This is true just a suggestion I he's trying to keep things simpler
ALL,
So lets get this straight. Currently i have a Mr. Beer Keg fermenting with the American Light Extract that comes with the home brew kit. That is the only thing that i boiled and poured into the keg, added the correct amount of water and yeast that it came with. Some are saying not to open it up to add sugar at the 1st week mark, some are saying i can add sugar/honey. At 2 weeks im going to bottle it straight from the fermenting keg that it is currently in(per the instructions) and add the cabination drops. (attached is the pic of what it is.) After i bottle it i will let it sit another 2 weeks for the sake of it and because yet again thats what the instructions say. after the two weeks of it being bottled im going to put it in the fridge for another week. Then it should and will be good to drink.
So lets get this straight. Currently i have a Mr. Beer Keg fermenting with the American Light Extract that comes with the home brew kit. That is the only thing that i boiled and poured into the keg, added the correct amount of water and yeast that it came with. Some are saying not to open it up to add sugar at the 1st week mark, some are saying i can add sugar/honey. At 2 weeks im going to bottle it straight from the fermenting keg that it is currently in(per the instructions) and add the cabination drops. (attached is the pic of what it is.) After i bottle it i will let it sit another 2 weeks for the sake of it and because yet again thats what the instructions say. after the two weeks of it being bottled im going to put it in the fridge for another week. Then it should and will be good to drink.
Yes. You could let it sit 3 weeks, which most do, but being a low gravity beer it may not be needed. If you add honey or sugar I'd go ahead and give it 3 weeks total fermentation, and 3 weeks conditioning time.
boydster
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2013
- Messages
- 2,895
- Reaction score
- 833
My 2 cents:
You CAN add sugar without doing any harm, but if this is your first batch it might not mean that you SHOULD add the sugar, because it's good to follow a proven recipe so you have a baseline to compare against when you make your next batch. In other words, how will you know what the sugar addition did for the beer if you've never made it without the sugar?
You CAN bottle it straight from the keg, and if there is more yeast in a particular bottle than another bottle it is NOT going to result in the bottle with the excess yeast being overcarbonated. You could pour an entire packet of yeast into a bottle and it will only carbonate to the level that the priming sugar will allow (not that you'd actually want to do this, just saying that the sugar determines the carbonation level, not the yeast).
After you bottle it, give it a minimum of THREE WEEKS in the bottle before moving to the fridge. Your beer will be more evenly carbonated and taste better because of it. Those Mr. Beer instructions are good for making big paper airplanes, but that's about all.
Also, don't drink your beer straight from the bottle. There will be a yeast sediment from conditioning, which doesn't taste very pleasant. Pour it in a glass slowly, so as not to disturb the sediment, leaving the last 1/4-1/2" in the bottle. If you have white countertops, or pour over a white sheet of paper, you can see when the yeast is coming up the neck of the bottle and stop pouring then
My 2 cents:
You CAN add sugar without doing any harm, but if this is your first batch it might not mean that you SHOULD add the sugar, because it's good to follow a proven recipe so you have a baseline to compare against when you make your next batch. In other words, how will you know what the sugar addition did for the beer if you've never made it without the sugar?
You CAN bottle it straight from the keg, and if there is more yeast in a particular bottle than another bottle it is NOT going to result in the bottle with the excess yeast being overcarbonated. You could pour an entire packet of yeast into a bottle and it will only carbonate to the level that the priming sugar will allow (not that you'd actually want to do this, just saying that the sugar determines the carbonation level, not the yeast).
After you bottle it, give it a minimum of THREE WEEKS in the bottle before moving to the fridge. Your beer will be more evenly carbonated and taste better because of it. Those Mr. Beer instructions are good for making big paper airplanes, but that's about all.
Thanks a ton. I stated this earlier. The hardest part is waiting, everything else is learning process.
Boydster I should have clarified, bottling from primary (and assuming you just add the priming sugar mix to the primary) would make for varied carbonation levels along side the varying levels of yeast.
Since he is going to be using the drops I guess its a moot point either way
Since he is going to be using the drops I guess its a moot point either way
So tonight i brewed my oktoberfest brew. I really hope it comes out good. Doing all the ingredients is very technical stuff. Im glad i had some instruction. I realized i need some stuff. Like a lot bigger brewing pot! Does the size of pot make that big of a difference?and it only came out to a lil more that 3 gallons and i knew it wouldn't so i didn't scrape out the malt. Im pretty sure of myself tonight. I didn't add any kind of priming sugars, just the yeast. I put everything in the end in my fermentaion bucket. The one without the spigot, so im going to have to transfer it over to a bottling bucket at some point when i add the sugar.
now for my next brew... anyone have any suggestions?
now for my next brew... anyone have any suggestions?
