MR.BEER® COMMUNITY

Absolutely. Click here to navigate to the Mr.Beer® Help Desk, where you can find a complete list of downloadable instructions.

This is normal. Booster™ is best dissolved in cold (room temperature) water, and yes: it will take several minutes of stirring to fully dissolve.

Underneath the plastic lid of every MR.BEER® beer mix you will find 1 packet of dry brewing yeast.

When brewing the standard MR.BEER® recipe, which contains a Beer Mix and Booster™ Pouch, your beer may be ready in as little as two weeks. Recipes that contain additional ingredients may require more brewing time. Some of the most complex recipes can take up to 6 months before they are ready to enjoy.

With MR.BEER®, you need only a few things to make some of the most amazing beer you have ever tasted.

1. Brew Keg -- The brew keg is where fermentation occurs, turning sugars into alcohol.
2. Hopped Malt Extract (Beer Mix) -- MR.BEER® Beer Mixes contain all the essential ingredients needed to make beer - malted grain in extract form and hops.
3. Booster™ or Unhopped Malt Extract (UME) -- These ingredients add the additional sugars needed to create the appropriate amount of alcohol. Booster™ simply adds the required sugar, and UME's add the required sugar and additional flavor.
4. One-Step™ Sanitizing Cleanser -- the first step to making great beer is proper sanitization. OneStep assures a sterile environment every time you brew.
5. Bottles -- In order to carbonate, store and serve your beer you will need bottles. MR.BEER® sells 1-liter PET bottles that are perfect for bottling your beer.

When you purchase a Home Brewing Kit from MR.BEER®, all the essential ingredients you will need to make your first batch of beer will be included along with a brewing guide that contains much more detailed information of the beer making process. Please note that the MR.BEER® Deluxe Edition brew kit does not include bottles.

Some beer mixes have particles of fresh hop cones added during canning to give each beer its distinctive flavor. Don't worry, they will settle out near the end of fermentation and (to a greater extent) during carbonation.

When brewing with hops, it's best to place them in a sanitized muslin hop sack to minimize hop particles in your finished beer. Tie off the open end of the sack, and place it in your boiling water just before removing the heat. Proceed as usual, leaving your hop sack in the fermenter for the entire fermentation, unless your recipe directs you otherwise. Just throw it away after bottling your beer -- it's not reusable.

During fermentation, yeast converts sugar into alcohol and CO_2. Most of that sugar comes from the malt used in the brewing process, but a number of other sugars can be used as adjuncts. Corn sugar, table sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, and some fruit syrups can all be used as adjuncts, or supplemental flavorings. When using these sources of sugar, it is important to remember that they may give your beer a distinct cidery, or harsh alcoholic character if used in excess.

In order to minimize this cidery character, we recommend maintaining a high ratio of malt to adjunct. When brewing an average to medium strength beer (3.5 - 6.5% ABV), make sure that at least 2/3 of your fermentable sugars come from malt extract and no more than 1/3 comes from adjuncts. For example, if you brew a beer that should have 6% ABV, make sure at least 4% of that alcohol comes from malt (in other words, you'll need two cans of extract). If you're brewing a stronger beer, your ratio should be even higher, something like 4 to 1 malt to sugar. Booster is a special blend of sugars that ferments quite cleanly, but it should be used like any other adjunct, and counted as one.

It's important to remember that -- with very few exceptions -- the best beers around are all malt beers, or beers brewed without adjuncts. Using sugar is an old method of increase ABV on the cheap, and the quality of the beer reflects that.

It is mostly dormant yeast mixed with trub (pronounced troob). Trub is composed of coagulated protein and hop particles. Don't worry, it's perfectly normal.

No. You can easily introduce a rogue organism that may sour the beer. The best thing to do is trust that your yeast is functioning perfectly. If you want to check on the activity level of the beer, shine a strong flashlight on the outside of the keg to see if fine bubbles are still rising, or if there is yeast foam still floating on the beer.

The MR.BEER® brew keg does not have a traditional "airlock". However, the Brew Keg has been specially designed to automatically release CO₂ and keep out contaminants. Positive pressure produced during the fermentation process keeps airborne contaminants from entering the brew keg. For best results, keep the brew keg at a constant temperature for the entire duration of the fermentation process.

We do not recommend modifying the brew keg to hold a traditional airlock or bubbler. We have worked hard to develop a method that would no longer require these devices, because they have a tendency to bubble over into the brew and contaminate it.

Our yeast normally works quite quickly. But you will want to leave it for a minimum of seven days to ensure complete fermentation and to allow the sedimentation phase to improve the clarity of your bottled beer.

Hold off just a little longer. Sometimes the fermentation takes a little longer than expected, especially when brewing at cooler temperatures, or when brewing with extra fermentable sugars or old yeast. In some cases, fermentation may take up to three or four weeks before your beer is ready to bottle.

When we say "clear," we mean not cloudy like it was when the beer was fermenting. It will never be completely transparent because it is rich in protein. Put a light source at the back of the fermenter and if the beer glows, it is ready to bottle.

Once added to the wort, yeast will stay alive for several months. Your beer is probably fine. Go ahead and pour a little out of the tap into a clean glass and taste it. If it tastes fine, bottle it. If the beer is extremely clear, you may have trouble carbonating your beer. If this is the case, try filling all your bottles to the neck bottom or 3/4 level, then beginning with the last bottle filled, fill each bottle within 2 inches of bottle top working back to your first bottle filled. This will even out the amount of suspended yeast and insure proper carbonation of your bottles.

The floating matter is foam and yeast that has not settled. If you are using fresh hops and/or any of the American series mixes, it might also contain some hop particles. This is also normal and will settle out during bottle carbonation.

You have nothing to lose by adding the yeast. If your sanitation was impeccable, the beer may turn out fine. Otherwise, the beer may sour, but you will not know until you conduct the fermentation. Add the yeast, then after about a week give the flat beer a taste. If it doesn't taste like vinegar and is not sweet, bottle it!

Cidery flavors are due to the excessive use of white granulated sugar, also called cane sugar (sucrose). When yeast ferments sucrose, a green apple flavored compound called acetaldehyde is produced. Acetaldehyde is not particularly hazardous, it just doesn't taste that good in your beer. MR.BEER® recipes should not have this flavor. Brown sugar, honey, and most syrups will also produce acetaldehyde when used excessively. Make sure that no more than 1/3 of your fermentable sugars come from any of these sources, and you should be okay.

Vinegary beer is caused by one or more acid-forming bacteria that live in dirty fermenters, dirty bottles, can openers, peoples' homes, and kitchen sinks. The critters produce acetic acid and lactic acid - both are harmless but are not usually appreciated in beer. To avoid this problem, wash all brewing supplies (fermenter, tap assembly, mixing spoon, bottles, funnel, etc.) with warm water and a mild detergent and rinse well. Then sanitize in a solution of OneStep™ before any brewing activity. Avoid opening the fermenter during brewing.

Fruitiness is common in ales, and is typically not found in lagers. When we say fruitiness, we are usually talking about low levels of fruit flavor, not the big fruit flavor you get when making a fruit beer. Moderate amounts of flavors such as apple, apricot, pear, strawberry, pineapple, and banana are desired in ales, but may be disliked by regular lager drinkers. To avoid fruitiness, ferment your beer below 72°F, no warmer. Also, allow the beers to lager in your refrigerator for several weeks after carbonation is completed.

Skunkiness in beer is caused by exposure to ultraviolet light. UV light reacts with the acids dissolved from hops, and produces the skunky aroma you're picking up. The reaction takes only a matter of minutes when the beer is in a clear glass or bottle in full sunlight, so be careful when drinking outside. Brown-tinted glass or plastic helps block those UV rays, but neither is impenetrable, so make sure your keg is in a shady or dark location during the fermentation. Green or blue-tinted glass hardly protects your beer at all.

Contrary to popular belief, temperature has nothing to do with the reaction that causes beer to skunk.

A musty, stale, or papery flavor/aroma in your beer is usually caused by excessive aeration of the wort when it is very hot, or by excessive splashing of the beer during bottling. Take care to allow the beer to gently run down the side of the bottle when filling each bottle. If you hear it splashing, something is wrong.

Solvent-like flavors are usually caused by warm fermentation temperatures. When the yeast ferment too warm (above about 75 F), they produce not only ethanol, but compounds that are collectively known as fusel- or higher-alcohols. These compounds have a more noticeable alcohol flavor and aroma and can leave your beer tasting like rubbing alcohol or paint stripper.  Don't worry, fusel-alcohols are not very tasty, but pretty harmless.

Excessive acetaldehyde can also lend a nail-polish remover-like flavor to your beer. Reduce the amount of cane sugar, molasses, honey or syrup in your recipe, and watch the fermentation temperature just to be safe.

Ususally solvent-like flavors and aromas will diminish with time, so give your beer a couple more weeks and try it again.

Medicinal, plastic and band-aid like flavors come from a couple of places. Probably the most common source of these flavors is chlorine (bleach). If you use bleach during your sanitization procedures, make sure that you 1) are using it correctly (50 - 100 ppm, about 1-2 teaspoons per gallon), and 2) that you rinse it thoroughly with sterile water (which is usually tough to find in your home). Bleach may also be used by your local water provider to inhibit bacterial contamination in the water distribution system, which means that you may have 10-20 ppm household bleach coming out of the faucet in your kitchen. Activated-carbon charcoal filters will remove chlorine from your water, and you can always purchase bottled drinking water (not distilled or RO water) to brew with.

Wild yeast also may also be to blame, especially for cough-syrupy or band-aid flavors. Review your sanitization procedures and good luck with your next batch!

With the appropriate care and cleaning you can reuse your bottles and caps many many times. You should always check your bottles for internal scratches that can harbor unwanted bacteria, and always make sure the caps' threads are not stripped or damaged in anyway. As long as you take care of your bottles and keep a close eye on their condition, you shouldn't have any problems reusing them.

PLEASE NOTE -- The ring that snaps off of the MR.BEER® caps the first time they are used is a tamper proofing ring for commercial use, it will not affect the seal of future batches.

If you are using plastic PET bottles, pinch the mid-section of the bottle and when it is rock hard like a soda, the bottle is fully carbonated and ready to drink. If you use glass bottles, you will have to allow them seven days or more at room temperature (between 68-76°F), then try one and see.

PET bottles are the same plastic bottles used for the commercial bottling of soda. PET is an abbreviation for PolyEthyleneTerephthalate, the type of plastic used to make the bottles.

Yikes! Hope you're okay. There are a few reasons this may happen:

1. Adding too much priming sugar can cause this to occur.
2. If you prematurely bottle your beer this can occur. To prevent this from happening next time, make sure your beer is done fermenting before you bottle it. Sometimes old yeast can act slowly. To check the activity level of the yeast, shine a strong flashlight on the outside of the keg. If fine bubbles are still rising, or if there is yeast foam still floating on top, don't bottle it yet.
3. If you fermented and primed your beer according to the directions and the beer has a foul or sour taste it may be infected by a rogue organism such as an acid-forming bacterium. While not harmful to health, soured beers can continue to ferment in bottles long after the yeast stops. This additional fermentation produces more CO2 and ultimately may rupture the bottle. In any case, keep the rest of your beer in a refrigerator until consumption or empty the remaining bottles to prevent any more from exploding.

One possibility is that you accidentally omitted the priming sugar when you bottled. If this happened, go back and add the appropriate amount of sugar (see chart below). Or perhaps you refrigerated them too early. If this is the case, try taking them out of the fridge and leaving them at room temperature for a week.

Bottle Size Sugar Amount

12 ounces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/4 teaspoon
16 ounces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 teaspoon
20 ounces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/4 teaspoons
22 ounces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/2 teaspoons
1 liter/quart bottle* . . . . . . . . 2 1/2 teaspoons
2 liter bottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1/2 tablespoons
3 liter bottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1/4 tablespoons

Yikes! Hope you're okay. There are a few reasons this may happen:

1. Adding too much priming sugar can cause this to occur.
2. If you prematurely bottle your beer this can occur. To prevent this from happening next time, make sure your beer is done fermenting before you bottle it. Sometimes old yeast can act slowly. To check the activity level of the yeast, shine a strong flashlight on the outside of the keg. If fine bubbles are still rising, or if there is yeast foam still floating on top, don't bottle it yet.
3. If you fermented and primed your beer according to the directions and the beer has a foul or sour taste it may be infected by a rogue organism such as an acid-forming bacterium. While not harmful to health, soured beers can continue to ferment in bottles long after the yeast stops. This additional fermentation produces more CO2 and ultimately may rupture the bottle. In any case, keep the rest of your beer in a refrigerator until consumption or empty the remaining bottles to prevent any more from exploding.

Your beer is foaming because it is over-carbonated. There are a few reasons this may happen:

1. Adding too much priming sugar can cause this to occur.
2. If you prematurely bottle your beer this can occur. To prevent this from happening next time, make sure your beer is done fermenting before you bottle it. Sometimes old yeast can act slowly. To check the activity level of the yeast, shine a strong flashlight on the outside of the keg. If fine bubbles are still rising, or if there is yeast foam still floating on top, don't bottle it yet.
3. If you fermented and primed your beer according to the directions and the beer has a foul or sour taste it may be infected by a rogue organism such as an acid-forming bacterium. While not harmful to health, soured beers can continue to ferment in bottles long after the yeast stops. This additional fermentation produces more CO2 and ultimately may rupture the bottle.

In any case, keep the rest of your beer in a refrigerator until consumption or empty the remaining bottles to prevent any further carbonation. The best thing to do is make sure the beer is very cold (but not frozen) when you open it. Then pour it very slowly into an icy glass.

Booster™ is not entirely fermentable, which is why it gives your beer better body. This means if you use it for priming you will have an inadequate level of carbonation. You should only use white granulated sugar for priming. In the small amounts required, it won't contribute any off flavor to the beer. If you have it, dextrose may also be used to prime your bottles.

For our purposes, yes, they are equivalent terms. "Lager" comes from the German word for cold storage, but to some brewers it means fermentation that takes place at cold temperatures. The standard MR.BEER® recipes ferment at warm (ale) temperatures and may then be stored in a cold environment to meld and mature the flavors.

We do offer lager yeast (in both dry and liquid form) which will allow you to brew a true lager beer. Ferment with these types of yeast at cooler temperatures, then cold condition (or lager) them for 2 - 4 weeks.

Storing the carbonated beer at cold temperatures for several weeks allows some of the undesirable flavors of immature beer to fade away while allowing the sought-after hop and malt flavors to come to the foreground. Try cold conditioning some bottles for several weeks and compare the flavor to when you first bottled.

Beer filtration is a tricky thing for the home brewer, requiring pressurized cylinders and high pressure filter plates. Filtering through coffee filters or cheesecloth will only produce aerated beer and cause spoilage. The easiest way to get the clearest beer is to give the beer ample time to settle in the fermenter and do not disturb the fermenter during bottling.