Posted November 17, 2017 5 minutes ago, Bonsai & Brew said: Whatever happened to the good 'ol days when @MRB Josh R would get us all whipped up with excitement when releasing a new recipe?!! Thinking Lock, Stock & Barrel Imperial Stout, Chewbeerca, or Witch's Flight -- kidding, Josh, but I'd love to know the backstory of this winter warmer!🍻 I will try to throw one up tomorrow. I've been a bit busy lately with the store, I haven't had a lot of time to come on here as much as I used to, but I'm always still watching. Bonsai & Brew and MiniYoda like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 8, 2017 It's probably not going to make it for Christmas, but tonight after 2 weeks in the fermenter I add the mulling spices to the Mr Beer -Yule Like This Ale- then another week in the fermenter. Obviously I do not think far enough ahead. Bonsai & Brew and Shrike like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 8, 2017 My Yule Like This Ale gets the spices next week, and bottled on the 22nd. I'm going to give it extra conditioning time, and hope that it's ready by mid February (nice birthday gift). 76shovel likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2017 On 11/16/2017 at 7:17 PM, MRB Josh R said: I will try to throw one up tomorrow. I've been a bit busy lately with the store, I haven't had a lot of time to come on here as much as I used to, but I'm always still watching. still waiting for you to throw one up............so to speak dale hihn and D Kristof like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 23, 2017 So I brewed my christmas beer recipe on August 20 (without the honey), tried the first bottle on Thanksgiving. I could taste the chocolate, and porter but not the cherries. Beer was fizzy, but tasted good and not hoppy nor bitter. Tasted a 2nd bottle last week, and it was very very bitter. The bitterness overwhelmed the flavor and was dominant. Not sure if it was the last one bottled or not, which would have some trub in it. Tasted a 3rd bottle tonight, not as bitter as last one but still bitter. Which is odd, since the first bottle was great. What should I do? Why are they bitter, and why was the first bottle the best so far? Not sure if I should share these bottles with family... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 23, 2017 Check the cherries you used. Also, did you sanitize the blender, and the strainer if you used one? If that's all ok, too much allspice? johnbe likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 27, 2017 I sanitized everything with a spray bottle pre mixed with star San. Cherries were not expired. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 11 On 11/16/2017 at 2:03 PM, Bonsai & Brew said: I just added this one to my Christmas list! https://www.mrbeer.com/yule-like-this-ale?_ke=Y29vbHBpbmVzQHJ1c2htb3JlLmNvbQ%3D%3D&utm_campaign=yule+like+this+ale&utm_medium Yes add this - this one is well worth it and very spicy - I entered this in the Home Brewers contest and recieved 34 on both scores !! Both judges said need more body so already working on that for the second go around. Nickfixit, Bonsai & Brew, John K. and 1 other like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 11 27 minutes ago, Ironman brew said: Yes add this - this one is well worth it and very spicy - I entered this in the Home Brewers contest and recieved 34 on both scores !! Both judges said need more body so already working on that for the second go around. Nice job! I've been hoarding my Bewitched Amber Ale HMEs for other projects and (unfortunately) did not get around to brewing "Yule Like This." Thanks for the reminder! Cato likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 15 Is it just me that thinks people taking someone else's recipe and submitting it to contests is wrong? Someone else put a review on Mr. Beer saying the same thing. I don't even see why someone is proud to win a contest when it isn't their creation. Maybe I'm just not with the "cool kids" on this one. Cato and Shrike like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16 12 hours ago, SilverBrewerWI said: Is it just me that thinks people taking someone else's recipe and submitting it to contests is wrong? Someone else put a review on Mr. Beer saying the same thing. I don't even see why someone is proud to win a contest when it isn't their creation. Maybe I'm just not with the "cool kids" on this one. If I ever entered a straight-up Mr. Beer recipe in a competition, I'd probably credit @MRB Josh R as collaborator. From a marketing/social buzz aspect, my feeling is that Mr. Beer would be thrilled to see one of their recipes do well (or even win) in competition. As for personal satisfaction, one still has to execute well to make any beer, so @Ironman brew should be proud of his entry. KaijuBrew, John K. and MRB Josh R like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16 13 hours ago, SilverBrewerWI said: Is it just me that thinks people taking someone else's recipe and submitting it to contests is wrong? Someone else put a review on Mr. Beer saying the same thing. I don't even see why someone is proud to win a contest when it isn't their creation. Maybe I'm just not with the "cool kids" on this one. I concur. To me, entering a Mr. Beer-based brew into a contest is like entering Progresso soup into a homemade soup contest. Even if you steep grains and add hops, the base came from a can that someone else put together. Sure, take pride in your end product, but I wouldn't enter it in a contest. SilverBrewerWI likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16 1 hour ago, RickBeer said: I concur. To me, entering a Mr. Beer-based brew into a contest is like entering Progresso soup into a homemade soup contest. Even if you steep grains and add hops, the base came from a can that someone else put together. Sure, take pride in your end product, but I wouldn't enter it in a contest. But a can of HME is not beer -- it is only an ingredient in the process of brewing. Otherwise one could argue that using any LME or DME in a competition beer is somehow unethical. Like Josh has said, judges don't care how the beer was produced -- it will be judged on its own merits and scored appropriately. John K. likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16 I disagree with the idea of not entering MR Beer based brews into competitions if you want to (It will use ingredients anyone can get) - if it was that easy to make best of class brews using Mr. Beer, there might be more of them in the competitions. Mr. Beer makes it easy to make drinkable beer, sometimes good beer but probably not often competition rating beer. (I am not intending this as a put down of the MR B brews and I intend to continue using them.) That said, having a beer judge comment on the beer is very useful in assessing the merit of the recipe and process. Also in combating/confirming the assertion that one (or someone :-D) cannot make really good brews using Mr. Beer ingredients and method. If one can get the review outside of a competition fine, but maybe it is not that easy unless you have a beer judge buddy. Just because someone else has made the HME, does not always mean you will get a good beer out of it. (As mentioned in this forum - lol). Even Mr Beer recognizes the limitations of beer made from extract, and sells augmenting grains and other ingredients. So to score well in a competition is an achievement to strive for. MRB Josh R, Shrike, John K. and 2 others like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16 17 hours ago, SilverBrewerWI said: Is it just me that thinks people taking someone else's recipe and submitting it to contests is wrong? Someone else put a review on Mr. Beer saying the same thing. I don't even see why someone is proud to win a contest when it isn't their creation. Maybe I'm just not with the "cool kids" on this one. It's not just about the recipe, but about technique, sanitation, etc. I'm all for someone entering a recipe they didn't create into competition. They will still get valuable feedback which will help them create their own recipes. @Ironman brew even pointed out how he's going to tweak the recipe for a fuller body, which will pretty much make it his recipe. Many of my AG recipes are inspired by base recipes that other people wrote. There really is no such thing as an original recipe. Bonsai & Brew, SilverBrewerWI, Nickfixit and 2 others like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spruce_beer Picked some of these and put in freezer for Xmas Beer Xperiment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted Thursday at 07:08 PM Thanks for all your responses to my response. Obviously there is more than one way to look at this and we all don't have to agree. Was interesting to see what everyone had to say. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted Thursday at 08:40 PM On 5/15/2018 at 7:21 PM, SilverBrewerWI said: Is it just me that thinks people taking someone else's recipe and submitting it to contests is wrong? Someone else put a review on Mr. Beer saying the same thing. I don't even see why someone is proud to win a contest when it isn't their creation. Maybe I'm just not with the "cool kids" on this one. The last Club Competition for my homebrew club was everyone brewing the same recipe. It was in fact my Blonde Ale recipe that I have won several medals in other competitions. I did not win either, and every beer that was brewed was different from each other. So a recipe is only a guideline, you as a brewer have to do everything else to complete that beer. Even Anheuser Busch brewers have to blend several batches of Budweiser to get the taste just right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted Thursday at 08:55 PM On 5/15/2018 at 4:21 PM, SilverBrewerWI said: Is it just me that thinks people taking someone else's recipe and submitting it to contests is wrong? My thoughts on comps are well documented, however, I do agree with you as I would state, "I wouldn't do it." If I knowing knew it was a recipe from someone else, no, I wouldn't try to pass it as my own. Back in the day I have brewed others recipes and I even called them "XXXXX's Porter" and so on. That sparked a huge debate here, so I wont go further than that. With that said... On 5/16/2018 at 9:39 AM, MRB Josh R said: There really is no such thing as an original recipe. I agree with this as well. To be 100% original is darn near impossible, if not completely. SilverBrewerWI likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
