Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[MadCat]

I've only formulated a couple of recipes, and modified others. None were fruit beers. When I do create a recipe, I use the calculator on BrewersFriend to check the expected results. But I prefer to use established recipes. I think it's a good idea to start with proven formulas.

Thanks for the BrewersFriend calculator. Not sure on the amount of fermentables in the fruit, but looks like I'm safe doing 2.5 gallon batches and hitting my target abv. I'm going to go for it, and make some guesstimates on what to do. Shouldn't be too hard to make something that tastes decent.

 

[JohnSand]

Please let us know how it goes.

 

[MadCat]

Will do! Probably going to do the Raspberry Wheat first. I will post the finalized recipes when I brew. Still need to order supplies and get some free time to brew.

 

[XtremeRebel]

Signed up for the forums after my wife and I found a Mr Beer kit in Target. Looking forward to appyling the tips I've read in the thread when bottling my first batch and making the second.

 

[skitter]

Welcome and good brewing! Lots of things to learn here, I'm still learning and perfecting making beer in the LBK

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Well the first batch is going in my Mr. Beer. Thanks skitter for the recipe. Temp in our basement bath is 64 and I was happy to see that after 24 hours it's doing its thing. Foaming and bubbling action going on and a nice malt smell at the lid. Hope things keeps going.

Thanks to everyone for their tips.

 

[skitter]

Well the first batch is going in my Mr. Beer. Thanks skitter for the recipe. Temp in our basement bath is 64 and I was happy to see that after 24 hours it's doing its thing. Foaming and bubbling action going on and a nice malt smell at the lid. Hope things keeps going.

Thanks to everyone for their tips.

Shine a light through the top if you have to see whats going on inside, but do not open the lid until 2 weeks are done

Next time leave it up in the warmer areas of the house for 8-12 hours or until you see it become active, it will start faster that way. Then move it to your 64 degrees.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Shine a light through the top if you have to see whats going on inside, but do not open the lid until 2 weeks are done

Next time leave it up in the warmer areas of the house for 8-12 hours or until you see it become active, it will start faster that way. Then move it to your 64 degrees.

I used a flash light like they tell you and it was working real good last night about 30 hours into the process. I checked this morning and it's up to 71 degrees on the jug. I think the room has warmed a bit to bringing the temp up but have read the fermentation process will warm it a few degress. I have a blanket around it so the swing in room temp doesnt make it fluctuate. :rockin:

 

[skitter]

My house is 70 but I have my fermenter sitting in my Son's (8yo) closet which if he remembers to keep the door closed stays at a solid 66 degrees. Perfect as I can get without a swamp cooler Too bad that won't work during the summer (outside wall of the house, helps cool it down with no air circ)

 

[BrewinHooligan]

My house is 70 but I have my fermenter sitting in my Son's (8yo) closet which if he remembers to keep the door closed stays at a solid 66 degrees. Perfect as I can get without a swamp cooler Too bad that won't work during the summer (outside wall of the house, helps cool it down with no air circ)

I had great results with a smaller cooler that the LBK fits in and rotating frozen water bottles 1-2 times per day.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

My house is 70 but I have my fermenter sitting in my Son's (8yo) closet which if he remembers to keep the door closed stays at a solid 66 degrees. Perfect as I can get without a swamp cooler Too bad that won't work during the summer (outside wall of the house, helps cool it down with no air circ)

Being up in Wisconsin and using a set back temostat our upstairs goes from 64 at night and day to 68 when we get home from work. Pushing 20 below right now. I figured downstairs is a little more even but the areas I checked were between 60 - 64 and the 64 was our second bathroom. Should be able to get it pretty consistant within a couple of days being a small room. Hope the temperature swings don't bother it to much.

 

[Blake_Smash]

Ordered hops DME and 4 more Mr. Beer recipes. Put the ACL pack in and brewed it up. Fermenting nicely so far. Was a little nervous that it wouldn't get started because the dry yeast packet had popped open before i opened the tin. Its been roughly 72 hours, nice layer of Krusen on top and the sediment on the bottom has compacted down nicely. Thanks for all the help guys

 

[ipcellon]

I enjoyed reading the through the previous posts and am also glad to see how many people respond and help out. Received a MBK for Christmas and threw together a batch of Cerveza. Tomorrow (9 Jan) will be week one but Im going to hold out for another week before transferring to the bottles. My "brew room" is a constant 71 degrees which is a little worrisome as I would like it in the 66 degree range but what can you do.

Thanks and I look forward to the upcoming knowledge.

 

[skitter]

I enjoyed reading the through the previous posts and am also glad to see how many people respond and help out. Received a MBK for Christmas and threw together a batch of Cerveza. Tomorrow (9 Jan) will be week one but Im going to hold out for another week before transferring to the bottles. My "brew room" is a constant 71 degrees which is a little worrisome as I would like it in the 66 degree range but what can you do.

Thanks and I look forward to the upcoming knowledge.

Wilton cake pan at Wally for $12, it's 12"x18" Set Mr. Beer keg in it, fill halfway with water, and put a dish towel over it that reaches both ends into the water, it will keep it at 64-66 without ice.

 

[Bountyjack]

Any advice on the Aztec from Mr. beer? Should I add any hops or other dry malt extracts？，

 

[skitter]

Any Mr. Beer kit I add at least 1lb of LME/DME

I don't bother adding hops, too easy to clash with whatever is in the can.

 

[mightymouse]

Good Afternoon from Iowa.

I brewed my first beer last night (with my 5 year old daughter, who bought me the Mr. Beer kit of Christmas). Its in the Keg fermenting.

I followed the brew instructions to a T. My question comes in re: adding sugar to the bottles stage. Instead of putting in dry cane sugar before adding the liquid, can I use honey?

If so, will it add a honey flavor?

 

[brewski09]

Good Afternoon from Iowa.

I brewed my first beer last night (with my 5 year old daughter, who bought me the Mr. Beer kit of Christmas). Its in the Keg fermenting.

I followed the brew instructions to a T. My question comes in re: adding sugar to the bottles stage. Instead of putting in dry cane sugar before adding the liquid, can I use honey?

If so, will it add a honey flavor?

There is no problem using honey. I believe the instructions give an amount of honey for priming. You may notice a little honey flavor, but not to much unless it's a light beer. If I want honey character, I go with a good sized addition in secondary added straight in. Kinda like a booster pack added to secondary.

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[rtk822]

Beer is done fermenting. I bottled them up and set them in the fridge. Uh oh because I read something wrong. I thought this was wrong but then read on and it said conditioning in the fridge is okay. So I went from keg to bottle to right in the fridge??? Can someone tell me if this was completely wrong or am I still okay!?! (First time brewer)


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[Jones4412]

I am finishing up the fermentation on my first batch with the Mr. Beer Brew Kit this week. This first batch is a plain old American Light Beer which came with the kit. I am not expecting anything special from my first batch, as I just followed the instructions which came with the kit. For my next batch I want to try and add other grains and hops to the wart to help kick up the specific types of malt extracts that I have ordered.

the recipe I ordered is called That Voodoo That You Do. the product info says it is amber in color yet a little hazy and malty, yet balanced with a twist of spice the wheat lends.

RECIPE INCLUDES:
1 Can Bewitched Amber Ale HME
1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast (under lid of HME)
1 BrewMax SoftPack LME - Golden
1 Packet No-Rinse Cleanser

YOU PROVIDE:
1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed

Does anyone have any input on what I could do to help enhance this recipe. IE types of grains I can mash and or types of hops I could add to help make a great tasting beer.

I was hoping to go off some type of recipe like this one I found on YouTube, but tailored more for an amber ale.

Thank you

 

[Bountyjack]

@skitter thanks for the info

 

[skitter]

@skitter thanks for the info

Np man, if you look back a couple pages I wrote up a much more detailed description on what to do to a Mr Beer kit. I need to add it to my website and add it to my sig

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[brewski09]

Beer is done fermenting. I bottled them up and set them in the fridge. Uh oh because I read something wrong. I thought this was wrong but then read on and it said conditioning in the fridge is okay. So I went from keg to bottle to right in the fridge??? Can someone tell me if this was completely wrong or am I still okay!?! (First time brewer)


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Pull them out for a couple of weeks to room temp so they will carbonate or else they may never finish. A beer/wine fridge would be set around 55F, but a good fridge will be closer to 34F. It shouldn't hurt the yeast, just make them sleepy and they won't carbonate. A good lager strain will take forever at those temps.

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[skitter]

Pull them out for a couple of weeks to room temp so they will carbonate or else they may never finish. A beer/wine fridge would be set around 55F, but a good fridge will be closer to 34F. It shouldn't hurt the yeast, just make them sleepy and they won't carbonate. A good lager strain will take forever at those temps.

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^^^ This

3 weeks at 70 is the rule of thumb. After that you can fridge them if you need

 

[dennisrromine]

My basement stays around 50°. I was wondering if that would be an ideal place to store my beer after it has been bottled and is in the carbonation process. Thanks

 

[dennisrromine]

Looks like my question has been answered. If I would just read!

 

[skitter]

Wrote a new article and posted it in my Sig for us Mr. Beer keg brewers

 

[brewski09]

My basement stays around 50°. I was wondering if that would be an ideal place to store my beer after it has been bottled and is in the carbonation process. Thanks

FWIW, I use the wlp862 cry havoc strain and it would carbonate at those temps given an extended carbonation period.

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[MaverickLFC]

Started my first brew 5 days ago. I have not seen any action in my air lock. There is no head on top of my brew. Did a hydro reading and it was 1020 ish. Needs to be 1014. I have been away for a couple if days. Temp of brew was at 20 degrees, but when I got back today it was only 14 degrees. Could the temp have slowed first fermentation?

 

[skitter]

Damn, can't figure out how much ABV my version has... I added my normal lb of LME to the Mr. Beer ACL kit as well as the 6oz steeped grains, and I just tried one green (bottled 4 days ago). May be due to me not eating much today but I'm definitely feeling it...

 

[carlahardy888]

Hi I was wondering If one of you could answer a question for me?! Im about to bottle my first home brew of larger but cant get a fee small water drops out of my bottles ive just steralised. Will this effect the beer? Thanks

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[skitter]

Hi I was wondering If one of you could answer a question for me?! Im about to bottle my first home brew of larger but cant get a fee small water drops out of my bottles ive just steralised. Will this effect the beer? Thanks

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Negatory Ghost Rider, No-Rinse sanitizer is ok to leave a bit in your bottle

 

[carlahardy888]

Oh that's great thanks very much

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[brewski09]

Damn, can't figure out how much ABV my version has... I added my normal lb of LME to the Mr. Beer ACL kit as well as the 6oz steeped grains, and I just tried one green (bottled 4 days ago). May be due to me not eating much today but I'm definitely feeling it...

Use a calculator like beer tools or brew toad to calculate the sg and the FG. That will give you an estimate at least. If you took hydrometer readings, mr malty should have a calculator for you based on those two readings.

 

[brewski09]

Started my first brew 5 days ago. I have not seen any action in my air lock. There is no head on top of my brew. Did a hydro reading and it was 1020 ish. Needs to be 1014. I have been away for a couple if days. Temp of brew was at 20 degrees, but when I got back today it was only 14 degrees. Could the temp have slowed first fermentation?

Yes, it definitely could have. You may get more if you raise the temp again. I didn't convert to Fahrenheit, but that's a pretty big swing and could easily be below the tolerance of the yeast.

My suggestion is to bring the temp back up for 2-3 days. If it's still at 1020, GENTLY stir the yeast cake with a sterilized utensil (rouse it). You may also find adding a small amount of fermentable sugars or even repitching the yeast (or a different more attenuating strain such as the us-04/us-05 dry strains) to be necessary. Good luck

 

[ericbw]

Yes, it definitely could have. You may get more if you raise the temp again. I didn't convert to Fahrenheit, but that's a pretty big swing and could easily be below the tolerance of the yeast.

My suggestion is to bring the temp back up for 2-3 days. If it's still at 1020, GENTLY stir the yeast cake with a sterilized utensil (rouse it). You may also find adding a small amount of fermentable sugars or even repitching the yeast (or a different more attenuating strain such as the us-04/us-05 dry strains) to be necessary. Good luck

I just had this happen with 2 1-gallon batches. I left it over the holidays, and it got pretty cold in the basement (57 F). Last week, I took it upstairs and it's gotten back up to 63, and the fermentation started back up. It's slow and I am sure nearing the end, but still not done. It seems like it takes a while for it to warm back up and start working again.

I have one on WB-06 and one on S-04, and they are both acting very similar.

 

[gfan2424]

Why would my OG be so low. I brewed a batch of English brown ale from a kit. And started with a 3 gal boil. While adding water to the chilled wort I watch my hydrometer but could only get about 4 gal of beer in order to keep the OG at the goal range. Why is this happening? How do I raise the gravity?

 

[brewski09]

Why would my OG be so low. I brewed a batch of English brown ale from a kit. And started with a 3 gal boil. While adding water to the chilled wort I watch my hydrometer but could only get about 4 gal of beer in order to keep the OG at the goal range. Why is this happening? How do I raise the gravity?

Read the instructions again and make sure you weren't supposed to buy some DME or sugar. Also make sure you weren't missing anything. Who makes the kit? At this point I would look at adding some extra light DME or just some sugar/honey.

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[Bountyjack]

Silly question from someone that's new at this.It is it personal opinion or is there a rhyme or reason why you should use a 5 gallon carboy or a 5 gallon plastic brew Bucket?

 

[skitter]

Most batches are 5g and corney kegs are 5g. Most people do 6g batches and by the time its done with trub loss etc... you end up with 5g