Leaderboard

Finally i found a pic of me and josh discussing something very important im sure.

I patiently waited to run into don osborn last night and when i finally did i chatted his ear off. He wasn't exactly walking away from either so i hope i kept my fanboy side to a minimum. As if hours of free beer wasn't enough we went to the hotel bar after the social night. At some point tasty mcdole walks in and we called him over for some very nice convo. I got john palmer to sign my book outside of the scheduled book signing. Such a nice guy, seems like theres not a mean bone in his body. Talked with @MRB Josh R quite a bit. He pointed us in the direction of the best brew tents. Nice to talk beers with an actual judge. And that was just night one.

Finally, I brewed a Hoppy CAL! 🍻 Calidelic Mandarin IPA Classic American Light HME BrewMax Pale LME, 0.55 lb. Rahr 2-Row, 1.25 lb. Caramel 120L, 0.06 lb. Summit, 0.25 oz., 20 min. Azacca, 0.25 oz., 10 min. Galaxy, 0.25 oz., 7 min. Citra, 0.5 oz., half for 5 min. and the remainder @ flame-out Mandarin zest @ 10 min. Mandarina Bavaria, 0.5 oz. dry-hop along with additional mandarin juice/zest on Day 7 Safale US-05 Mash grains @ 152 F for 60 min. Sparge with 2-3 cups hot water 30 min. boil including LME OG 1.058 IBU 58 SRM 5 ABV ~5.5% Inspiration for this recipe: Mr. Beer Tangerously Hoppy IPA and New Belgium Citradelic Tangerine IPA.

brewing isnt for everyone. it IS a lot of work. it takes dedication and not everyone is willing to do that when they can go to the store and buy beer, even if it is swill. i can go on for hours talking to people about making beer but dont have anyone who shares my interest... so i pretty much just become a bore. i regret not learning the craft in my youth when i actually had friends that i could brew for. ive become incredibly introverted and agoraphobic in my old years. thats ok. i have my beer.

Last night was supposed to be our taking it easy night... however... we left for a sake and ended up going to 4 or 5 different bars. At the end we were at a pub with all the brewing network guys and gals. I got a pic with all of them of course. Very nice people. Brewers as a whole seem so nice. Not a single bad thing to say about the whole experience.

So much free stuff. Unreal

I was thinking about brewing a stout on friday, but that didn't work out. The three year old is currently an insomniac. Thought i could sneak in maybe a PM MRB rye ipa brew tonight but that didnt work out. Three year old is currently an insomniac. so instead while he ate popcorn and watched bob the builder i polished up three fermenters, two kettles and one cooler. When a brew day does present itself, i will be ready.

Ewan.. remember your first dozen beers will be learning experiences. this is the part where you make mistakes, see how doing things influences the final product and learn what to do to make the beer better. don't expect great beer on your first few kits. almost every mistake you can make has been done by someone else here. if your final product tastes like green apples because it was too hot, drink it anyway. you can add stuff to your glass to cover it up like a shot of booze or maybe some powdered orange drink. the ONLY beer I would dump would be one that had an ecoli infection.. .which is very rare if you are even remotely careful about hygiene and sanitation. a lacto infection can be covered up with juice or something to mask the tart.. or consume it as a tart or sour beer. an acetobacter infected beer can be turned into vinegar and used in cooking. ...and remember, not everything you see is an infection.

worst part about this. Im 25....my and my fiance dont enjoy going out partying and to clubs so we dont have many friends that enjoy what we enjoy. EVEN FREE BEER. sadly my generation and one behind me are lazy...

Try jiggling the red wire...

Personally, I love wheat beers. I made the Belgian Blanc, and it knocked the socks off a friend of mine. Said it tasted like a Blue Moon

I got started in home brewing with MrBeer. Even the worst thing I brewed with MrBeer was better than anything I bought at the grocery store. The first batch I made was CAL and to me it was like PBR which is about as low as you can go with a commercial brew. Brewing different styles has opened my horizons to the almost limitless possibilities of beer styles and the amazing tastes, textures etc. I have given several people samples of my brews to try. Not one has ever said it was not good. They all said it was excellent. There are some stalwarts that wont drink anything other than a particular brand from the major commercial breweries (you know who). But I'm working on them. I extol the advantages of brewing your own even if it's "only HME". The results are still better than anything your can buy OTC. And sometimes even as good as some of the all grain brewers and micro-breweries. Just my 2 cents worth.

Finishing up experimental American Ale #1. Made Brew 1 suggested by @Shrike! First brew: - 1 HME and 1 LME - 3 oz Carapils - 2 oz 2 row - 2 oz flaked corn - 2 oz Pilsen

ive done a pseudo decoction where you draw off some of the mash and bring it to a boil to carmelize it a bit. ive done one where I took a lb of dme in I think 2 liters of water and boiled it down to less than half its volume before adding it to a 90 min boil. this will be a single decoction mash. will bring mash up to about 125f , draw off about 6 cups of gruel .. heat to 150f... rest it for 12-20 mins.. then raise to boiling for about 20 minutes. stirring like mad the whole time of course. then add back to mash tun til mash hits 152f. cover and lower remaining decoction to 150ish before stirring into mash tun. lot of extra work... but then again I love overcomplicating things. looking to hit all those extra notes you get in a trappist ale from decocting.

just bottled my last farm house ale for the summer, will be saving a few to enter the state fair home brewers contest this sept. that is......if I don't drink it all....

Can't sleep, may as well brew... As @MrWhy and @MRB Tim show no sign of giving up any ground in the Great Mexican-Belgian Beer War of 2017, I put together a hasty attempt at a Trappist Single mini-mash: Cerveza de Hermano (Brother's Beer) Mexican Cerveza HME Chateau Pilsner, 1 lb. Honey malt, 0.13 lb. Carapils, 0.25 lb. Mr. Beer Booster, 0.39 lb. Styrian Golding, 1 oz., 25 min. Crystal, 0.5 oz., 10 min. Saaz, 0.5 oz., 5 min. Mandarina Bavaria, 0.5 oz., Day 7 dry-hop Safbrew Abbaye yeast Mash grains @ 152 F for an hour. Sparge grains with 2-3 cups hot water. Dissolve booster; begin 30 min. boil. Hop as scheduled. HME @ flame-out Finish pint of Black Moon Weizen and return to bed.🍳 OG. 1.054 SRM 4 IBU 37 ABV ~5.5%

I've now brewed a couple of dozen different recipes over these past two years. I have ratings as my signature. My favorites off hand are Millennium Flight Red, Diablo IPA, Cherry Wheat (see recipe below), French Roast Stout (see recipe below) and Orange Spiced Pumpkin Lager (see recipe below). Kevin

I would have to go with the Nilla Porter and Bewitched Amber Ale as my two favorites with Chug-a-lugger close behind.

If I had to pick just one I'd go with Witch's Flight. But if I were to do a top five it'd probably be: 1) Witch's Flight 2) Angry Bovine 3) Calavera Spiced Chile Stout 4) American Burleywine 5) Lock, Stock, and Bourbon Barrel Stout Runner-up: Noche del Lobo I'm not including any of the ones that I've tinkered with by adding different grains or hops.

I know this thread is almost nine years old, but now that someone's revived it, I'd be curious to know what current members' favorites are. I have just one batch that's been in the bottle long enough to drink. It's a Bewitched Amber Ale that's pretty decent but still needs to mature some after two months of carbonation/conditioning. I have also bottled a 1776 Ale and the Noche del Lobo recipe. Fermenting a Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner with Pale LME and a packet of U.S. Saaz now. I have high hopes for all, but am curious what others thought of the beers they've brewed so far. So back to the OP's original question, what are your favorite Mr. Beer kits? Jim

@MRB Josh R is charging $10 per selfie... thats taking food out of my childrens mouth

ive started replacing them after about 3-5 yrs of service. I had 1 blow out that occurred in the cap. I usually tighten the hell out of them when I bottle so maybe that stresses the caps. to date 2 bottom blow outs, 1 top. I started carbing in a cooler with the lid down. cleaning up after a stout bottle rocket is a pain. this way I can still drink the beer... if I remember to sanitize the cooler inside first. yes... I have a drinking problem. I refuse to waste good alcohol. I also refuse to waste bad alcohol or mediocre alcohol.

If I had to guess I'd say you're not getting the caps tight enough. When I get done bottling into plastic, I tighten as much as I can by hand, then take one of those grippers like you open a pickle jar with and give each cap a little more.

I picked up a dusty LBK and some old Mr Beer bottles from my brother who has since evolved his brew making towards full grain!

Several months back I brewed the standard Mr. Beer weissbier refill and added cherry extract at bottling. It's been one of the tastiest beers I've brewed. Kevin

Wow. That is so beautiful. It brings a tear to my eye.....

Thank you your excellence. Ill stalk you as soon as i walk in then. Best have some super secret new recipe to share with me

i'll be in Algeria for a wedding of my cousin and his camel

One week update: i have raised the temperature to 67 degrees (air temp) over the last few days. I certainly have a very active fermentation going on now. Plenty of foam on top. I will try to keep it near this temperature for the remaining two weeks.

That's a funny way to spell first I would drink that. If I was a better brewer, I would do a prickly pear lambic, but I am not even close to experienced enough to do that right yet.

1) Pitching at 72 is fine, but use cold refrigerated water in the future and you will get a more appropriate temp of 65-68. 2) 61 is a bit cool. Try getting it to at least 65 for best results. Be sure you ferment for 3 weeks total instead of 2 when brewing at these lower temps. 3) No need for a hydrometer if you are following a set recipe. Follow the instructions and the recipe will have the ABV it states (or at least very close to it). A hydrometer is really only required when creating your own recipes. 4) I agree, especially when it is your 1st recipe. Get a few under your belt and don't become a "mad scientist" until you understand the fermentation process better. 5) A yeast starter isn't necessary with dry yeast. It's only necessary when using liquid yeast and your starting gravity is very high. It is also used when your yeast may be a bit old and you need to grow more of it to be viable. 6) This is optional, but it does help. The Coopers yeast is fine as low as 59 degrees, but performs better at 65-72. Below 59 degrees, the yeast will go dormant. There is no need to re-pitch. The cold doesn't kill the yeast - the heat does. Once you add the yeast it is too late to take a gravity reading. Keep it simple. You do not need all the tools you are reading about on other sites until you start formulating your own recipes. Welcome to the community, by the way! Cheers!

Ordered 10 gallons worth of stout ingredients yesterday. Figuring ill make a split batch, 5 as a regular stout and the other 5 will have 4 oz of cocoa nibs and an undetermined amout of coffee.

I know I've posted a bit recently, but I'm planning the next few batches. Here's what i have for a basic 5 gallon American Wheat: 3# Pilsner DME 3# wheat DME 6oz red wheat malt .5oz magnum @60 .5oz Hallertau @40 .25oz Citra @20 Any thoughts or input is greatly appreciated as always!

I made an American Wheat with Citra hops. Really like it a lot. Going to make another batch in the next month or so.

WhyBrewingCo Tasting Weekend: Imperial Porter bottled 3/4/17 (12 weeks conditioning as of tasting) Brown Belgian Beast bottled 3/18/17 (10 weeks conditioning as of tasting) Imperial Red Ale Plus bottled 4/15/17 (6 weeks conditioning as of tasting) Slap Hoppy Stout bottled 3/25/17 (9 weeks conditioning as of tasting) Imperial Porter: Huh....not my best beer. But not my worst. The banana flavor is still a bit too present. It is still not balanced, the malt sweetness needs a stronger hop bitterness and presence. And it is strong. As in headache the next day strong. I fermented this too warm. I'll have another one in a few weeks and end up saving a couple for a nice long while, but nothing says this one is a long-term keeper. Brown Belgian Beast - this was a crazy drunk brew. The first sample I tasted evoked the flavors of raw meat. So this one has come a long way because at this point it tastes like a sweet, strong, brown belgian. It is not great. I am not sure if it is even drinkable. The alcohol is very strong in this one. I mean, I can taste alcohol. But at this point it does not taste like raw meat, which is an improvement. I think this is one I am happy to give several months to before sampling again, just to see what happens. Imperial Red Ale - WINNER!!!!! Great deep amber color. I upped this one with 3 smooth LME and some centennial and cascade hops. Legitimate great beer. Love it. Great flavor, great balance. Strong but not overpowering....feeling there is not need to sit on this one. Just going to start putting it into the drinking cycle. Slap Hoppy Stout - WINNER!!!!! Wow.....according to my notes I decided not to note what I did. Which is both unfortunate and boldly invigorating. That being said this current version of the slap hoppy stout is in every way outstanding. I love this beer. The recipe is two saint pats and a robust, and some northern brewer and goldings. Not sure what I ended up doing, but whatever. I will accept my brilliance without question. Seriously, not many times I've been served a better strong stout. Thinking that this one, along with my Imperial IRA is going into the rotation immediately, with maybe one or two saved for longer conditioning. Or not. So as it stands....IRA and Slap Hoppy are great beers and going into the the drinking mix now. The Imperial Porter sucks (my fault) and I see no reason to try to let it sit out. Will drink up and free the bottles (saving one). Brown Belgian...sucks.....but I'm going to sit this one out for awhile and just see what happens.

Happy Veinticinco de Mayo! I celebrated this lesser-known holiday with a Super Burrito, a Tipo de Belga Dobles, and a sizeable portion of chocolate ice cream. 🍻

It's good, but good enough to place 2nd in 'beer wars?' That will be up to the newly Anointed Beer Judge, @MRB Josh R!

The MRB cans contain hopped malt extract (HME). This is NOT boiled, just added to water that has been brought to a boil then removed from the heat. Microwaving the water to boil it should work just fine; the water doesn't care how it's heated. Now, if you're talking about recipes that require hops to be boiled in LME or DME, that's a different story.

I have now made 28 batches of Mr. Beer refills/recipes. I like variety and always want to try new things, so there are only 3 recipes I have repeated: Fresco Chile Lime, Let It Bee Honey Blonde Ale, and Millennium Falconers Flight Red, all very good. Other favorites are Howling Red Ale and Wild Wheat.

How about a half missed drunken selfie for $5? I'll send the money Fed Ex

Man now @MRB Josh R is totally on the hook to bring me goodies

You made a mistake in the exact same abbreviation for which you're trying to correct the dude.

Sat 6/3/17 Bottled the English Porter, my first BIAB beer. The sample was really good. Very fresh taste, good flavor. I am glad I went with half chocolate half pale chocolate. I think it cut down on the bitterness. And the goldings is present, but not it is not over hopped. I am looking forward to this one and do not see the need for a long conditioning time. I think three weeks should be just fine.

You are correct. I responded prior to coffee this morning. Only use the airlock if fermenting in the keg.

And the war rages on! Your Saison could definitely be in the running for 2nd Place. I am thinking of doing some comparison taste-testing this weekend with El Tipo and my go-to standard, New Belgium Abbey Dubbel. I know I told @MrWhy that I was going to wait a month before sampling again, but I am weak.

Good catch. Didn't see the distilled water part there. Don't use distilled water for brewing beer. Your yeast need the minerals it lacks. Did you check the date on the bottom of your can? If there was no activity, the yeast may be old and dead.

You don't add sugar to the beer in the bottle, you put sugar in the bottle and add the beer. What's "a German blend"? No Mr. Beer that I know.

Took some of these down to the local Taphouse and got moderate reviews. Flavor was great but carbonation was too low for the style. It's perfect in my opinion because most Nordic beers are naturally carbed and only to a very low level. But yes, great success for batch #3 (since resuming from 3years ago, #5 total) and first recipe on my own.