20130223

Mr Beer Brewday

Back in 2009 the thing that got me into Homebrewing was a Mr Beer Kit. I did one batch of that underhopped West Coast Pale Ale and I was hooked. Not because the beer tasted good but because I had so much fun doing it. I thought the beer tasted like total crap. I just remember green apples. Back then I had no idea about off flavors or anything. It was a random purchase from Fred Meyer. I think I dumped like half of the bottles but I went out and bought equipment for all grain brewing... why? because I was stupid.



I had no idea about anything I was doing. I just knew that this was the way that breweries made real beer, and that is how I wanted to do it. The funnier thing was, I hated beer. I could not stand it. Granted, I was drinking the wrong beer at the time but I only drank things such as Long Island Iced Teas, Mai Tais, Mojitos, Gimlets, etc. No beer at all... except maybe some PBR while over at a buddies house playing college drinking games. But, hey. PBR was the best 12 pack 6 dollars could buy.



This year for Christmas I was gifted a Mr Beer Kit... This would be my second one in 3 years and I only used the first one once. I had no idea what I was going to do with this one. So, I took the easy route out. I made beer... or whatever that stuff really is that comes in this package. I don't really remember the directions to the kit from my first time using it but this time they seemed to be a lot simpler... Maybe I just don't remember at all. Though, this process does not seem very sanitary.



It was as easy as getting some water hot, mixing that booster pack until it is disolved, adding the can of extract, pouring it into the football keg like thing, and topping it off with water. When I did my first batch I remember seeing nothing wrong with the process. I mean, I was only following the directions. Now, what about the chlorine in the water? Shouldn't that water be treated just in case there are any microbes in there that will hurt the beer? Don't I need to boil the extract? Not that I am an extract expert, being I have never done an extract batch, but I feel that it should be treated somehow...



I guess quite a few of my suspicions were addressed when I tasted a sampling at bottling time. I only had three words for the beer. Oily, Slick, Cider-esque. That is what I can remember from my first trip into it too. Once it was bottled all there was to do was wait...



The first pint, or so, of my Oktoberfest Beer. Maybe I should have given it a few weeks in the fridge to let it "properly" lager but I do not think it would have done it any good. Maybe I will throw a bottle in and report back. It is not as oily and slick as it was. It is now more kind of dry and powdery... I do not know what that is. That green apple taste is still there but this is a lot better now than it was back then. Still not amazing or anything but, I guess it's homebrew? Nothing I would enter into a competition. That's for sure.

So, I still have two cans of Mr Beer left. I was thinking about adjusting the process and seeing how it comes out at that point. Still use the equipment given but boil the wort, maybe add some hops. Who knows. I am not trying to make fantastic beer with this kit, that is what I have my all grain equipment for, but I don't want the next batch to taste like crap. Especially since I have another Oktoberfest and that West Coast Pale Ale. I think it would be a fun experiment.

Cheers!

4 comments:

  1. Who got you this Mr. Beer kit? It seems like a weird thing to get someone who already brews.

    I am actually a big Mr. Beer fan ... mostly because it was what got me started, but I was able to make really good beers with it. In fact, I still use the Mr. Beer fermentors when I want to experiment with a small batch. I also sometimes will split a 5 gallon batch in two Mr. B fermentors and try different things in each (two different yeasts or jalapenos in one and not the other etc). I actually do most of my lagers in two Mr. Beer fermentors that can fit in coolers with ice. That is the best way I've found to keep the fermentation in the 50s (I don't have a fermentation fridge).

    If you want to improve your Mr. Beer results, don't use the yeast they send. It is a fine yeast, but you don't know how long it has been siting around and it is not enough for a good fermentation. Get some fresh dry yeast from your local home brew shop.

    Also, I don't think they did themselves any favors making the introductory recipe an HME with booster. In fact, they are now moving away from that now that Coopers bought them. The booster is going away. It looks like from your pictures you got an old kit.

    You will make better beer if you replace that booster with some unhopped malt extract. Personally, I would add in more hops at that point too.

    If you are worried about your water, it makes sense to brew with bottled spring water too.

    Oh ... do not boil your HME. It has already been boiled, so you are messing up the designed hop profile. You will be taking away any hop flavor (what little was in there already) and adding bitterness by boiling. If you add unhopped malt extract (as I mentioned before), you can go ahead and boil that along with whatever hops you want to add. Make sure you add additional water.

    Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions.

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    1. My Sister-In-Law got it for me because she thought it was the perfect gift for someone who makes beer. "IT COMES WITH IT'S OWN LITTLE KEG!!!" I had no idea what to do with it, so I just decided to make beer. Should have been common sense lol.

      You threw a lot of good info in here. The other day someone asked me if I thought a Mr Beer kit was a good way to get started. I told him no and explained the extract brewing process to him and then I was told to do pushups and called "hipster" lol great times.

      I figured the first batch I would make as is, but I wanted to use my own yeast and hops, etc when doing it again. I always treat my water, but I did not for this. I was just going to play by the rules and brew according to their directions. I still have 2 cans left so we will see how that goes.

      Yeah, I had no idea what the booster was all about but since it is not necessary, maybe I won't use the others as well. It is all just an experiment. Let's see how it goes...

      Cheers!

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  2. Well, for what it is worth, I think Mr. Beer is a great way to get started, especially if you are not sure you are going to like it. It is a very inexpensive way to try it out. I do say this knowing that I probably never would have started brewing if my sister had not gotten me that gift.

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    1. I totally understand that. It is what got me started as well... then I made a huge jump, but that is besides the point.

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