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Gentlemen, This mead recently received a bronze medal at a competition. Ciders and meads were combined in the category and it was the only mead to medal.

Boy i tell you, this week... unexpected $800 car bill, my toilet is clogged, we got put on mandatory overtime, ITS WINTER ALL OF A SUDDEN. All these things dragging me down. But then the ups man shows up with an early xmas present from a friend and theres two beer kits in the box. Things are looking up

Well my queue consists of my next PA. However, I have fleshed out the recipe and have a name for it. BOOTY CALL. Heck I even have some label art to go with it. After that well I did buy some NZ hops called Rakau, so another PA at some point will feature those, and a name too. Rakau Rumble. My queue for the moment.

@Cammanron no worries. i would just use table sugar then. 1/2 tsp for every 12 oz. i have a little funnel that i use, or you can make one out of paper or something like that.

I received a MrBeer kit as a regift. It had been in a hot attic for several years. Yeast was still good. Dry yeast is tougher than we're lead to believe.

When crafting a recipe, I usually look at my inventory of yeast and work back from there. Figure out the style and brew something you enjoy drinking.🍻 You've got a nice supply of fermentables there but I would save the robust LMEs for another brew. Bewitched plays nicely into malty styles so you could definitely use up some of your light/pale extracts though. It might be a good time to ask the Forum for everyone's favorite Bewitched Amber Ale recipe... When in doubt, always partial-mash. Here are some other ideas: https://community.mrbeer.com/topic/36584-warlock-doppelbock/?tab=comments#comment-463879 http://support.mrbeer.com/support/solutions/articles/13000042781-heathers-scotch-ale-recipe-instructions

Here's what I've got so far based on very limited research: Munster Altbier 2-gallon, Mash-in-Sack Weyermann Pilsner, 2.2 lb. Wheat (malted, or raw via cereal mash), 1.5 lb. Weyermann Acidulated malt, 0.2 lb (late mash addition) Weyermann Melanoidin, 0.18 lb. Magnum FWH, 0.2 oz., 50 min. Hallertau, 0.5 oz., 15 min. Hallertau, 0.25 oz., 5 min. Yeast nutrient Safale (you guessed it) K-97, fermented cool OG 1.053 IBU 30 SRM 6

Final brew day notes: I added a little more than half a tsp lactic acid near the end of the boil to target a pH of 4.5. OG was 1.053. K-97 fermentation wasted no time taking off and it looks like I have made beer.

While waiting for the protein rest, this is the perfect time to enjoy a beer. Who needs Hoegaarden when you can be enjoying a wonderful wit from Twocan Brewery?🍻

After a while sanitizing becomes part of the routine. I go so far as to sanitize the stove top, back splash and range hood. I also completely do the sink, faucet and handles, and of course all the counter tops and cabinet pulls. Sounds excessive, but I also bake bread occasionally and I don't want those other yeast around. All equipment gets a good dunk, and like a surgeon, I set up a sterile field. Don't forget your hands! Downstairs where I store my keg and bottles, the plastic table-top gets a good wipe down too. BTW - your spouse will love you for the extra clean kitchen!

Admins? We don't need no stinkin' admins!

after 3 weeks fermentation, i would cold crash it for a couple of days and i'll bet it will fall out for the most part. I've had some gross looking stuff worse than that before and it was fine.

I did not back sweeten. Turned out like a Dry highly carbed wine. I will put one in the fridge tonight and do a video review tomorrow! I like it!

This always reminds me of the 2018 MUG meet up

This is where a spray bottle of sanitizer comes in handy 🙂

I thought it was obvious you were talking about sanitizing the spoon. If nothing else, at least there is activity in the New Brewer thread.😊

MRB has greatly revised a lot of their conditioning times to much shorter periods. IMNSHO it's simply an effort to appeal to newer brewers. I still condition my beers for the "old" times. And I don't ferment any ales (except for ones using Saison yeast) at a temp above 67F.

When I'd drink an Apple Brown Beery, I'd put 1/4 cup apple juice into the glass before pouring. It gave it a nice touch of sweetness.

Not my recipe, just whats up next. Steep - 0.25 lbs Briess Caramel 80L - 0.25 lbs Fawcett Pale Chocolate - 0.125 lbs Black Malt LME-DME - 6 lbs Amber malt syrup - 1 lbs Amber dry malt extract Hops - 1 oz US Goldings (60 min) - 1 oz Liberty (45 min) - 1 oz Willamette (15 min) Yeast Danstar Windsor

RDWHAHB

@Cammanron as @Jdub said, I wouldn’t worry about carb drops. They will add too much carbonation to your beer anyway. 1/2tsp per 12oz bottle is the better way to go.

Wouldnt it be nice if an employee from mr beer would advise on this question?

i may go with that. i intended to brew it today, but work stuff was way too busy. this weekend?

brewing on friday. got a recipe for a clone of lawson's ipa "sip of sunshine". anyone had it? I can't get it here in Tx. I believe that they are out of CT. Heard it is awesome, so of course I have to try it. have all the ingredients, which is a ton of hops. excited to brew again. brewing a 5.5 gallon batch.

Just a couple more rests before mash-out: about 20 min. @ 146 beta rest, then 20 min. @ 158 F for the alpha sacchs.

Haha, I recognize that Wit! Hope it met with your approval. I'm not a big wheat fan but I can drink Erdlinger Wit, and modeled this brew as close as I could get to theirs.

What a sticky, gooey mess! This is exactly what you want to add to the main mash to hit the first step, 134 F.

Let's brew the raw wheat version including both cereal- and step-mashes. Cereal mash 1.5 lbs of double-milled raw wheat. Steep in 1 gallon of well water for 20 min. then bring to rolling boil to gelatinize the starches. Boil 25-30 min.

Tomorrow I'll be brewing BIAB with an element inside the kettle, not using the induction burner. Once I hit mash temp I'll turn off the element add the bag, then the grains and dough in. I'll manually stir and add heat as needed, though now that I think about it I could clamp the whirlpool hose to the top of the kettle and create a recirculation. Then I could just set the controller at 25-30% power and should get a decent heat distribution throughout the mash.

Changed the name of my brew tomorrow from Booty Call to "Night Moves", after listening to Bob Seger's tune. I'm pretty much going to brew on the new rig the way I have been, just to check out the whole system. However, I think that to best take advantage of the features offered by the controller, I'm going to need to drill out the kettle lid and install a spray return, RIMS, so that I'll have a more consistent temp gradient throughout. What think you @Creeps McLane?

BTW just to add to my previous post - NEVER use a sponge! Paper towel for all cleaning and dispose of before moving onto a new surface.

Me: look it wife, I ordered everything on this app for groceries this week. Wife: thats cool, where at? me: woodmans (the furthest store away with the most gigantic beer selection) wife: oh I see whats happening here me: (Smiling) what do you mean???

Congrats @BDawg62!

Impressive!

Rafts of yeast can be "normal" Leave it alone until fully fermented (I usually let it sit 20 days or so). Dark spots also seem to appear from time to time during fermentation. Don't keep opening up the keg, as you risk letting some nasty bacteria in. Your risk causing infection with the thermometer is low, opening the keg increases the risk. BTW a stick-on thermometer works well.

My favorite trick is to mini-mash the MRB Craft/Seasonal refills into a 3-4 gallon batch but I have yet to try this with WDA. Maybe a Schwarzbier, Czech dark lager, etc. would be the way to go but we'll see.

Ashley says they have tested the recipes to validate their published process. They do ongoing quality control of the product - fermenting it in the office in Tucson.

Id just stick it in boiling water for a minute or five. Then wait for it to cool obviously eh?

When I receive my free WDA next week, I plan to chuck the MRB yeast and ferment with a fresh alternative Fermentis yeast -- still trying to come up with a Dark Ale recipe that has not been tried yet.

Ordered all the ingredients for this. Itll be the first wort my counterflow chiller sees. As soon as the conical opens up, this is going in. Its a Schells firebrick clone. I previously told @Bonsai & Brew i wasnt the biggest fan of that beer, but a guy should get through at least half of his sixer before he opens his big mouth. Im really liking the firebrick / nordeast combo. Start with a nordeast or two and then finish with a full flavored similar beer. One two punch

I would say that the Mr. Beer yeast that came with the can is fine to use.

I ran across this 2017 Mr Beer article and while there are many hops not on this list, it's a great reference list that might help tickle your thought process when choosing your hops whether your brewing extract or AG. https://www.mrbeer.com/blog/post/aroma-hops-bittering-hops-dual-purpose-hops

I'm curious about how this came out. I've been making hard cider from Apple juice. It comes out pretty good, but it is dry. People who I've given it to want it to be sweeter, but the sweetness always ferments out.

He suddenly stopped posting here about two years ago. I always wondered what happened; he always had good info and posts to share.

Hello again Mr Sweat, Your second (tested) replacement, along with the 2 free refills that I promised, are set to be delivered tomorrow. Please message me here for tracking information. I'm sorry that this was insufficient in making up the inconvenience of the wait to you. I apologize also that my communication was insufficient. Tyson was trying to offer a faster solution, not weasel out of sending a replacement, and I'm sorry we created the impression otherwise. Other than having your second replacement tested (which I did) and including $50 of free stuff (which I did), I failed to consider any other ways I could have made it right. I would offer you a refund for the initial kit, had you purchased it from us directly. You are quite correct that our service was poor in this case, and I apologize for however my personal failures negatively impacted your view of this company. I wish you the best of luck in your brewing endeavor, regardless of where you get your supplies.

Oh, I wouldn't fully say that... I mean, the beers that I make that I know I love, I hated how fast they would with a 5 gal batches, let alone a 2.5 gal batch. There is something really nice about having the ability to do much bigger batches of the ones you want, while still being able to do smaller batches if you chose. True that! However, I like to think my time is worth something as well and it is MUCH faster to keg than it is to bottle...

I have two pieces of advice. 1) Slow down. 2) Utilize Google. In the world of professional breweries, if you ask people that opened a brewery what one of their top regrets is, the answer often given is "We should have gone bigger to begin with". Yes, they regret putting in a size X brewery when they quickly needed a size Y brewery. #2 on the list would be they regret not properly sizing the building to fit their size Y brewery that they now need... In the world of homebrewing, you'll find time and time again where people buy X, then soon after realize they should have bought Y. Many then buy Y, and X sits in the basement or is sold at a big loss. I know a professional brewer that has an entire storeroom at home full of homebrewing equipment demonstrating his impetuous nature. While it's fun to race forward, unless you're made of money you should slow down and read more. There is a ton of information out there. Then, when you know what you want to buy, research prices, and possibly wait for a great sale.

Love this guy. Just went back to one of his first videos and he answered my question of "how can i mash out in a cooler mash tun" thought others might like this too

Holy hell, you must've been really nice this year... that's like an extra couple hundred bucks on top of the 200 already. Maybe that's why @RickBeer has never upgraded his equipment, he's on the naughty list.

Not sure if this was what Haerbob was asking for, but... In honor of the Walking Dead finale, here's a nice Zombie Dust recipe that I've tasted (it's quite good) and I plan to brew at some point this year... Batch Size: 6 gallons Estimated Original Gravity: 1.065 Estimated Final Gravity: 1.018 Estimated Color: 8.5 SRM Bitterness: 65.9 IBU Mash Temp: 154 F 60 min boil Fermentation temp: 62-64 Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU 11.75 lb 2 Row (2.0 SRM) Grain 81.7 % 1.13 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 7.8 % 0.50 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 % 0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 % 0.50 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 % 0.75 oz Citra [12.40%] (First Wort Hop) Hops 17.0 IBU*** 1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (15 min) Hops 21.1 IBU 1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (10 min) Hops 15.4 IBU 1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (5 min) Hops 8.5 IBU 1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (1 min) Hops 1.8 IBU 3.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops - SafAle English Ale (S-04) or London ESB 1968 Extract version: 6.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 70.6 % 1.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 11.8 % 0.50 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 % 0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 % 0.50 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 % 0.75 oz Citra [12.40%] (First Wort Hop) Hops 12.5 IBU*** 1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (60 min) Hops 25.1 IBU 1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (15 min) Hops 12.4 IBU 1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (10 min) Hops 9.1 IBU 1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (5 min) Hops 5.0 IBU 1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (1 min) Hops 1.1 IBU 3.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops - SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) or Wyeast 1968