Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Ben on December 25, 2014, 05:38:36 PM
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One of my Christmas gifts was a Mr. Beer. Kinda neat and well timed, because as I've mentioned elsewhere I've for the most part given up soda and will have a beer with meals nowadays. I've actually thought of maybe doing some brewing, sort of for the opposite of what most probably get into it for, to make a low ABV beer that tastes good for consumption with lunch and dinner. Not that I also wouldn't be making some good stout and weisenbeer as well.
I've done some googling and understand the Mr Beer is kinda looked down upon by those who are really into home brewing, but I figure it will be an easy way for me to experiment with the process and see if I like it. I know zero about home brewing, but I'm gonna give it a try and I'll let you guys know how it goes in six weeks or so. :laugh:
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Good luck, as long as you get something drinkable that costs even a fraction less than buying it, you win.
I have sometimes urged one of my best friends to come on here and show off his home brewing outfit. A few of his creations could have won contests, they were so perfect. Others were more akin to a hops IED, or drinking rusty pennies through a dirt filter. Still, as the years have gone by, he has more successes than failures.
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Wow. Good concept. I'm not much of a beer drinker but the hard cider kit sounds great.
Does this portend the era of the nano-brewery?
Sure, there are lot's of home brewers now but this might cause a massive increase in that number and as a result all manner of trading opportunities. Local exchange clubs and perhaps getting onto local restaurant menus as a limited amount, limited quantities option.
Of course it also means that in a year or so these things will be showing up in thrift stores country-wide.
Have fun with yours and we expect updates.
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I have a 5-6 gallon brewing equipment and I've always wondered about a Mr. Beer for making small batches for fun. I expect a full review from you.
Others were more akin to a hops IED,
I'm so going to have to remember that line. :)
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I experimented with MrBeer and had mostly decent results.
The one batch I didn't care for was due to my adding too much lemon zest. Also I started drinking it too soon. Originally it was too lemony (like a Leinenkugel Summer Shanty) for me as well as a little green. After it set a while bottle conditioning it was much better.
MrBeer beers have a distinctive character or flavor. Have you ever noticed you can almost always tell you are drinking a Samuel Adams product regardless the style? Same type of thing going on. It isn't a bad or off flavor but after a couple/few batches of different Mrbeer brews you start to notice the common flavor.
I would follow the directions and if you are going to change anything buy a good yeast recommended for the style you are brewing. The MrBeer "taste" might be due to the strain of yeast.
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Thanks for the tips Ron! I'm gonna probably start the fermenting today.
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I've owned two of them, in addition to a much larger brewing setup based on 5 gallon buckets. The smaller fermenters were handy for testing recipes, and after I quit drinking, I used them to make custom vinegars. Homemade ginger vinegar is pretty handy in the kitchen.
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Sanitation is the most important thing. Fresh ingredients is next. Do that and it'll be ok.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/mr-beer-read-all-about-ask-questions-46360/
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I should add, do *not* intentionally make vinegar around any brewing process that isn't intended for vinegar. It will cross contaminate very easily, and everything will be vinegar.
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I experimented with MrBeer and had mostly decent results.
The one batch I didn't care for was due to my adding too much lemon zest. Also I started drinking it too soon. Originally it was too lemony (like a Leinenkugel Summer Shanty) for me as well as a little green. After it set a while bottle conditioning it was much better.
MrBeer beers have a distinctive character or flavor. Have you ever noticed you can almost always tell you are drinking a Samuel Adams product regardless the style? Same type of thing going on. It isn't a bad or off flavor but after a couple/few batches of different Mrbeer brews you start to notice the common flavor.
I would follow the directions and if you are going to change anything buy a good yeast recommended for the style you are brewing. The MrBeer "taste" might be due to the strain of yeast.
It's that canned wort malt syrup they use. Despite the flavors or types, it all has the same base. Most of the brew stores have different kinds of malt extract brewing bases too.
My father made one batch with the Mr. Beer we got him for Christmas last year. It came out okay, just undercarbonated. He still has the other three cans in the multi-pack we got him, but meh... he enjoyed it, got the "beermaking" bug out of his system, and sated his curiosity, so even if it never gets used again, I call it good.
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I just started brewing again 2 months ago after a 15+ year hiatus. I've brewed twice so far (not including the cider, sake, and lemon wine), 3 gallons of Belgian dubbel and a 4-gallon Englishish pale ale. I'm doing all-grain mashes this time, which is not impressive because I haven't worked up to 5 gallons yet. ;/ Both beers are almost ready to bottle, but not quite. (The Belgian is taking an awfully long time)
What size is the Mr. Beer, about 5 liters, or a little bigger than that? It might be a good system for making minimally carbonated British ales and serve right from the fermentor. In any case, I think you'll want to move away from the kits pretty quickly to save money, better selection of yeasts, and have fresher ingredients.
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What size is the Mr. Beer, about 5 liters, or a little bigger than that? It might be a good system for making minimally carbonated British ales and serve right from the fermentor. In any case, I think you'll want to move away from the kits pretty quickly to save money, better selection of yeasts, and have fresher ingredients.
Two gallons. That was one of the complaints of people who are really into brewing - if you're gonna do it, do bigger quantities and make it worthwhile. If it was my own idea to get into it, I would have done some research and possibly done what the experts recommended, and spent a bit more money for the "good" equipment. But as a Christmas present that was probably purchased at Amazon or BevMo or somewhere, it's already here so I'll give it a try.
As AJ alluded to in his post, I'll either get the bug out of me in a batch or two and quit, or really like it and invest in "real" equipment. Though on the Mr Beer forum, it's suggested that buying better ingredients and using the Mr Beer will also give superior results compared to what comes in the kit.
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"Go big, or go home" ;/
There are folks at HBT (http://homebrewtalk.com) that do ONE gallon all-grain brewing. You could do that easily on your kitchen stove, and boost it with malt extract (or for some styles, sugar) to get to 2 gallons. (Partial mash brewing) With small batches, you gotta be more efficient with your time is all -- or maybe you don't if you really like the process. I can boil 4 gallons on my kitchen stove, so that's my practical limit. If I get a bigger pot, the stove probably can't quite handle it.
Eventually I'll have to get something set up so I can boil outside. (probably an electric kettle made from a bucket) In the winter here, boiling a gallon of water into the air in the kitchen is not a problem. Any other time of the year and Mrs Z. would run me out of the house.
I'll bet there are people at HBT that use Mr. Beer and there's probably a subforum for it.
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Well, I got the first batch into the fermenter. It took me twice as long as it should have because I was super paranoid about sanitation. For instance, I ended up boiling water in the malt pot twice to make sure it was sterilized. :)
I was originally going to use one of the two recipes included with the kit as a "sacrificial brew" in case I screwed up the first time, but one of them was a Czech Pilsner, which I don't know anything about, so I'd have no idea if I had a poor batch (unless I REALLY screwed up of course), and the other looked to be some kind of Corona imitation, which I guess if it tasted bad, I got it right. :laugh:
I ended up using the wheat beer kit I got as an additional gift since I know my wheats, and I'll be able to tell if I did well or not. Anyway, now the waiting begins.
Thanks for that link and all the time it has sucked me out of Bob! :P They have like a 500 page thread there on Mr Beer.
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Good luck. My intro to homebrewwing was a gifted Mr. Beer as well. Strangely enough, their Blueberry Ale was one of the best and most memorable beers I have brewed. A few others were swill. After about 4 months I was ready to venture to the nearest specialty store and get a big boy starter kit.
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I am still watching this: http://www.picobrew.com/Shop/productdetails.cshtml/0
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I am still watching this: http://www.picobrew.com/Shop/productdetails.cshtml/0
That looks like a great system for a commercial small brewer to use for prototyping new recipes. As a homebrewer who never has to have the beer turn out the same way twice, I *like* using homemade primitive equipment. (I do need to get a digital thermometer tho')
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Well, I got the first batch into the fermenter. It took me twice as long as it should have because I was super paranoid about sanitation. For instance, I ended up boiling water in the malt pot twice to make sure it was sterilized. :)
I was originally going to use one of the two recipes included with the kit as a "sacrificial brew" in case I screwed up the first time, but one of them was a Czech Pilsner, which I don't know anything about, so I'd have no idea if I had a poor batch (unless I REALLY screwed up of course), and the other looked to be some kind of Corona imitation, which I guess if it tasted bad, I got it right. :laugh:
I ended up using the wheat beer kit I got as an additional gift since I know my wheats, and I'll be able to tell if I did well or not. Anyway, now the waiting begins.
Thanks for that link and all the time it has sucked me out of Bob! :P They have like a 500 page thread there on Mr Beer.
I linked the super long Mr Beer thread earlier. :P
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I am still watching this: http://www.picobrew.com/Shop/productdetails.cshtml/0
Even with a pretty significant savings per batch it'd take a long time to recoup $1800.
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I linked the super long Mr Beer thread earlier. :P
This is my new standard reply when I don't catch stuff. I need to make an APS specific macro for it. :laugh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79YUknp1T7I
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I've owned two of them, in addition to a much larger brewing setup based on 5 gallon buckets. The smaller fermenters were handy for testing recipes, and after I quit drinking, I used them to make custom vinegars. Homemade ginger vinegar is pretty handy in the kitchen.
I thought Mormons didn't drink?
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I thought Mormons didn't drink?
I was raised Methodist. Wasn't much good at it, though. Something about non-church-sanctioned, inappropriate coed activities during lock-ins.
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Well, so far so good. I bottled last night. A taste of the beer in the fermenter gave me a bit of a "Summer wheat" taste (flat, of course) with the fruit overtones. I was a bit surprised, as the yeast that came with the kit has a 68-76 deg range, and the beer fermented in the lower range, which should have made it more clovey. Though I wasn't around for a week of the fermenting, so temps could have inched up a couple of degrees the first week. I did keep the fermenter in an ice chest to help moderate temp fluctuations.
They sell better yeasts at the Mr. Beer site, which I will probably use on the next batch instead of the included yeast. The Safbrew WB-06 wheat yeast has a 59-75deg range, so I'd be able to keep the fermenter in a closet under the staircase, which stays a pretty constant low-mid 60s.
Anyway, two more weeks sitting in the bottles, then I'm gonna stick them in the fridge for a week or so before the first taste test.
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You kept it in a cooler? That might inch up the temperature all by itself - yeast produce heat, the cooler would help keep said heat within.
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You kept it in a cooler? That might inch up the temperature all by itself - yeast produce heat, the cooler would help keep said heat within.
Yeah, that was the recommended storage method for the fermenting keg in the DVD that came with the kit. For the week I was there to check it every day, temp in the cooler got down to around 67 when I checked first thing in the morning, then up to around 69-70 in the late afternoon. I was actually getting concerned about the yeast going dormant, but certainly heat from the yeast could have upped the temps.
I'm starting the next batch when I know I can be around for the first full week, when most of the activity is going on, so I'll have a better idea of the temp range.
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Lower fermenting temps would produce less esthers and phenolics, which would lend that clovey flavour you're referring to.
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Damn you remind me I bought the ingredients awhile back to brew up a batch of beer and never got around to it. :facepalm:
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Well, I just popped open the first bottle of the wheat beer. I'm calling it a (qualified) success! :)
While it's not a "Holy crap, I'm giving up on commercial beers forever" success, it turned out to be a quite drinkable beer. While not the taste of a premium German hefeweizen, if I had to identify it, I would say that it's a taste between Blue Moon and Erdinger (both beers I enjoy).
I didn't get the overly fruity flavor I was afraid of when I tasted the wort, so it looks like my fermenting temps stayed in the range I hoped for. Alcohol content seems low (which I was hoping for with this beer). I didn't spend the $15 on a hydrometer until after I'd already started fermenting, so ABV is just a guess. Also, I didn't give this bottle a full two weeks in the fridge - more like 4 days (I was on the two weeks fermenting, two weeks lagering at fermenting temp, two weeks in the fridge schedule) because I couldn't wait any longer. :) I'm letting the other bottles sit in the fridge longer and as I go through them I'll see if there's a flavor change.
Otherwise though, I'm pretty happy with my beginner's success and that I didn't have to dump the whole batch out. :laugh: I think on the next round of wheat, I'll use their "deluxe" pack instead of the standard. The deluxe one comes with an extra LME packet which is supposed to add a bit of maltiness to it.
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Yesterday I bottled my first brew in over ten years. (Belgian dubbel; still tasted kind of sweet, but that might have just been all the alcohol plus not much hops bitterness and no carbonation yet.) I have a batch of ESB that is also ready to bottle and I might get to it today.
I'm about three beers behind in my brewing plans. Life keeps interrupting my Saturdays. :(
The 3 gallons of lemon wine disappeared really fast. So did the gallon of very alcoholic crabapple wine. And the quart of even-more alcoholic rice wine. And...
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Well, I just popped open the first bottle of the wheat beer. I'm calling it a (qualified) success! :)
While it's not a "Holy crap, I'm giving up on commercial beers forever" success, it turned out to be a quite drinkable beer. While not the taste of a premium German hefeweizen, if I had to identify it, I would say that it's a taste between Blue Moon and Erdinger (both beers I enjoy).
I didn't get the overly fruity flavor I was afraid of when I tasted the wort, so it looks like my fermenting temps stayed in the range I hoped for. Alcohol content seems low (which I was hoping for with this beer). I didn't spend the $15 on a hydrometer until after I'd already started fermenting, so ABV is just a guess. Also, I didn't give this bottle a full two weeks in the fridge - more like 4 days (I was on the two weeks fermenting, two weeks lagering at fermenting temp, two weeks in the fridge schedule) because I couldn't wait any longer. :) I'm letting the other bottles sit in the fridge longer and as I go through them I'll see if there's a flavor change.
Otherwise though, I'm pretty happy with my beginner's success and that I didn't have to dump the whole batch out. :laugh: I think on the next round of wheat, I'll use their "deluxe" pack instead of the standard. The deluxe one comes with an extra LME packet which is supposed to add a bit of maltiness to it.
Don't drink it all while its green. It actually gets much better after a few weeks and more.
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Don't drink it all while its green. It actually gets much better after a few weeks and more.
I'm hoping to learn more patience after this first batch. :laugh:
I actually only stuck two in the fridge early. The other ten are are just going in now and will sit there for a couple of weeks (well, most of them anyways).
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I'm hoping to learn more patience after this first batch. :laugh:
I actually only stuck two in the fridge early. The other ten are are just going in now and will sit there for a couple of weeks (well, most of them anyways).
Thanks Ben, we'll all drop by on the 14th for beers at your place. =D =D =D
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Thanks Ben, we'll all drop by on the 14th for beers at your place. =D =D =D
I'd better get a bigger fermenter... :laugh:
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Well, I just popped open the first bottle of the wheat beer. I'm calling it a (qualified) success! :)
While it's not a "Holy crap, I'm giving up on commercial beers forever" success, it turned out to be a quite drinkable beer. While not the taste of a premium German hefeweizen, if I had to identify it, I would say that it's a taste between Blue Moon and Erdinger (both beers I enjoy).
I didn't get the overly fruity flavor I was afraid of when I tasted the wort, so it looks like my fermenting temps stayed in the range I hoped for. Alcohol content seems low (which I was hoping for with this beer). I didn't spend the $15 on a hydrometer until after I'd already started fermenting, so ABV is just a guess. Also, I didn't give this bottle a full two weeks in the fridge - more like 4 days (I was on the two weeks fermenting, two weeks lagering at fermenting temp, two weeks in the fridge schedule) because I couldn't wait any longer. :) I'm letting the other bottles sit in the fridge longer and as I go through them I'll see if there's a flavor change.
Otherwise though, I'm pretty happy with my beginner's success and that I didn't have to dump the whole batch out. :laugh: I think on the next round of wheat, I'll use their "deluxe" pack instead of the standard. The deluxe one comes with an extra LME packet which is supposed to add a bit of maltiness to it.
Loves me some Blue Moon, never heard of Erdinger.
On the topic of making your own stuff, there was a thread some time ago where walnuts, I'm pretty sure, where used. Anybody remember what that was?
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I'm hoping to learn more patience after this first batch.
You have to drink one green. It's like the "worst beer" ritual at any gathering of homebrewers; that one has to be passed around to everybody.
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I'd better get a bigger fermenter... :laugh:
Ok, Let me know when the new batch is ready to go, I'll bring the Wisconsin crew also.
10-12 gallons per day should be enough for the 5 of us.
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Loves me some Blue Moon, never heard of Erdinger.
On the topic of making your own stuff, there was a thread some time ago where walnuts, I'm pretty sure, where used. Anybody remember what that was?
Tasty stuff if you like hefeweizen.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fe%2Feb%2FErdinger-bottle-glass_RMO.jpg&hash=ce471eff5901b94bfbbbb8192b77d8472a0ffe4c)
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Ok, Let me know when the new batch is ready to go, I'll bring the Wisconsin crew also.
10-12 gallons per day should be enough for the 5 of us.
Yeah, I'd better skip the home fermenter and just buy one of the local brewpubs if you lot are coming out...
:laugh:
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Loves me some Blue Moon, never heard of Erdinger.
On the topic of making your own stuff, there was a thread some time ago where walnuts, I'm pretty sure, where used. Anybody remember what that was?
I think that was AJ Dual soaking walnuts in liquor.
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I think that was AJ Dual soaking walnuts in liquor.
I thought that was G98 doing that. It might have been both. I want to try that also.
As a side note the bottled beers shipped from Germany lose a lot in the shipping process. They come over on non-temp controlled containers, so they are subjected to about two weeks of of whatever the temps are. Plus if it is in the warmer months, then those boxes get damn hot.
We used to do quite a few of them. Mostly British ones, and generally bottles and kegs. Bass, Brown something, and few other I disremember. I do remember that they would not ship in the dead of winter for fear of freezing and exploding (we did have that happen a few times anyway, and lots coming over in summer with it was 90F+ outside and 120F+ in the containers.
That couldn't be good for them.
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As a side note the bottled beers shipped from Germany lose a lot in the shipping process. They come over on non-temp controlled containers, so they are subjected to about two weeks of of whatever the temps are. Plus if it is in the warmer months, then those boxes get damn hot.
We used to do quite a few of them. Mostly British ones, and generally bottles and kegs. Bass, Brown something, and few other I disremember. I do remember that they would not ship in the dead of winter for fear of freezing and exploding (we did have that happen a few times anyway, and lots coming over in summer with it was 90F+ outside and 120F+ in the containers.
That couldn't be good for them.
Such the reason a lot of you European brewers are buying up US brewers or at least teaming up with them so they can brew their products here. Save on shipping costs along with the brews being fresher.
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As a side note the bottled beers shipped from Germany lose a lot in the shipping process. They come over on non-temp controlled containers, so they are subjected to about two weeks of of whatever the temps are. Plus if it is in the warmer months, then those boxes get damn hot.
I've definitely seen that. I've had a few stinker bottles in Summer / Early Fall. Drinkable, but you could tell something was "off".
I've in the last half year discovered Weihenstephaner being sold in the US (thanks Bevmo!), and while $1/bottle more than Erdinger and Franziskaner, is really great tasting and I've never had a bad bottle. I have to wonder if part of the higher price is more quality control on the shipping?
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I've definitely seen that. I've had a few stinker bottles in Summer / Early Fall. Drinkable, but you could tell something was "off".
I've in the last half year discovered Weihenstephaner being sold in the US (thanks Bevmo!), and while $1/bottle more than Erdinger and Franziskaner, is really great tasting and I've never had a bad bottle. I have to wonder if part of the higher price is more quality control on the shipping?
Some import beers are noticeably better on the East coast as well.
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Necro.
After three weeks fermenting, a month and a half of lagering, and two weeks in the fridge, I tried my latest wheat batch. I can finally say I made something better than I can buy. It came out REALLY tasty. I used the Safbrew WB-06 yeast with this batch, which let me ferment at lower temps than the standard Mr Beer yeast. Also I think this yeast adds a bit of a better taste when poured into the glass than the standard yeast. Anyway, super happy with the results. I actually only stuck half the bottles in the fridge two weeks ago. I'm now going to add the rest, with two extra lagering weeks under their belt, to the fridge.
I currently have a Heavy McWee lagering for three months, at which point I'll be into Summer and too warm of temps for lagering most beers. I'm using a staircase closet that generally stays in the low-mid 60s, but July-September, will reach the low 70s. So I'm gonna do one more batch of this tasty wheat, then in the Summer, stick to the American Light with the standard yeast, which can both ferment and lager in the warmer temps. Plus that one tastes good after just a few weeks of lagering, so it can spend the rest of its time in the fridge. :)
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I'm finally drinking the Belgian dubbel that I brewed at the end of last November. (I bottled it in January, but the yeast went dormant before it was carbonated because the house was cold while we were in Hawaii) I've decided that I don't really like Belgian beers all that much (too banana-y). But it stronk; slight buzz from drinking one 11 oz. bottle -- after I'd been dry for almost 2 months for Lent.
The English "special bitter" that I brewed around Christmas is a lot better, even tho' it's not nearly as alcoholic.
Next beer will be a pre-Prohibition cream ale: 85% pale ale malt, 15% corn (Aldi's cornflakes breakfast cereal), 30 IBU's of Cluster hops, and US-05 or Nottingham yeast. Should be a good lawnmower beer if I don't screw it up.
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I raise this thread from the Great Beyond to introduce to you the Picobrew. (https://www.picobrew.com/)
For only $2000 you can have a machine that does 99% of the work for you. And creates a batch of beer in days instead of weeks.
Saw this on a business news program out of Africa, don't know why I never saw it mentioned anywhere else.
It's only a matter of time until someone automates the creating of more potent substances.
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It is a smaller and more 'plug and play' version of the Zymatic. I have been to the Seattle store/factory where these are made, and it is pretty interesting.