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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

ordered ingredients for a belgian chocolate stout. Briess recipe. i figure if it turns out great, i will give some to co-workers for New Years. If it's not worth a damn, i'll just drink it!

@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.

my wda is a success. i bottled on tuesday 11/12 after cold crashing for 3 days. filled 10 750ml bottles and i had about 8 oz left over. it had a great taste. i'll try the trub bottle after 4 weeks. thanks for all the help folks, i was close to tossing this batch.

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

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?

Pretty much fleshed out in BS, a Dusseldorf Alt which tends to be a bit more bitter than its Northern Grm cousin. I've done both styles and like them. Judges may or may not like me merging a bit of both styles in this recipe, but I don't care, this is for me, but I'll send it to my next comp and see how it fares. After that I'm going back to my mini brewbucket and an LBK and brew my Witbier in the mini brew bucket and a Red Ale in the LBK. I've got pretty solid recipes for both in BS and will keep the tweaks to a minimum. Those three brews should carry me until after the first of the year and then thinking of trying a Maibock.

Hidden Lake is a tasty brew.

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.

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.

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!

I'm just a little surprised that I liked this post before @MRB-Pat, @MRB-Robert, @MRB-Tyson, @MRB-Zach, or @MRB-Rick did.

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.😊

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

I've been told a packet of Truvia in each bottle will also work to back sweeten. Haven't tried it yet, but it's on my to do list for this year.

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.

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...

First of all, What @RickBeer said above. There is no reason to go away from 2.5 gallon batches. I do All Grain brewing with a propane burner and still 90 percent of my batches are 2.5 gallon. If I find something that I really like and I am totally satisfied with the recipe, then I will make 5 gallons of it the second time. Incidentally, I have 1 beer that I have reached that point. I hear lots of brewers say "2.5 gallons is a waste, it takes just as long to brew as 5 gallons. This is true but if the recipe isn't right you only have 1 case of bad beer to choke down or give away. Also, your heart may be whispering "Keg, Keg your beer young man" but I'll bet your wallet is still screaming "bottle". Also, some things to consider with Kegging. Unless you invest a small fortune in a 6 or 8 tap kegerator. You will be stuck drinking one or two beers until gone and then you can put something else on tap. I also, still bottle and will for as long as I still want to go to the fridge and choose from 10 to 12 beers at any given time. Just my $.02.

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.