Mr. Beer Home Brewing

[jmatkins]

Hello all who do home brewing.

I still have my old Mr. Beer kit and I have started back using it. My wife said she will get me a better home brew kit for Christmas if I use what I have some more than I have been.
So here is my question(s).

Who still uses the Mr. Beer kits and other than the kits from Mr. Beer who has ideas/recipes that I can try to get more into home brewing. Other questinos to follow.

Thanks,

 

[veeref]

I started with a Mr. Beer kit about 10 years ago. They work for just getting into the hobby and seeing what's going on. I find you get more bang-for-the-buck with just getting a basic brew kit and a good extract recipe.

I just started doing all-grain recipes using a homemade mashtun from a cooler. Here's a good recipe for moose drool:
http://www.brew365.com/beer_moose_drool

It all depends on what you like. There are good extract recipes online if you want to keep it simple.

 

[BeerAdvocate]

Ditch the Mr Beer kit and move on to Extract brewing

 

[smokinghole]

I sort of got into it backwards I guess. I started with hard cider as I made that as a kid. So I bought a 6gallon PET carboy and then started buying stuff to make beer with after I did a batch of cider. I did 4-5 extract batches and switched to brewing with all grain very quickly. What volume does mr beer make?

 

[jmatkins]

Ditch the Mr Beer kit and move on to Extract brewing

As I said I am getting one for Christmas, I just need to keep using my old and keep up my practice.
Plus the wife is less likely upgrade me if I am not using my old kit.

 

[jmatkins]

I sort of got into it backwards I guess. I started with hard cider as I made that as a kid. So I bought a 6gallon PET carboy and then started buying stuff to make beer with after I did a batch of cider. I did 4-5 extract batches and switched to brewing with all grain very quickly. What volume does mr beer make?

2 gallons.

 

[smokinghole]

I mean I could probably convert most of the recipes I have for you into 2 gallon batches. You'd just have to buy the ingredients separately obviously.

 

[jmatkins]

I mean I could probably convert most of the recipes I have for you into 2 gallon batches. You'd just have to buy the ingredients separately obviously.

If you could break one down I would love to try a batch.

Thanks!

 

[smokinghole]

This recipe is for a clone recipe of Bell's Two Hearted Ale (IPA if you never had it). For the grains listed heat up you water to 155ish and let them steep for 30 min or so. You could go as far as using a small drink cooler and a mesh bag and do a miniature mash with them. Then when your boil starts only add like a pound of the extract. At the end nearing 5-10 min left in the boil add the rest of the extract of course adding the hops along the way. If you can't get extra light extract just plain light is okay. A three pound bag should can be used and then you have 12oz left over. Some of the left over can be used to carbonate the beer in bottles. If you can get some Munton & Fison dry extract it has better fermentation characteristics. For the amount to add for carbonation check the below link.

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

Also as a side note you might be able to start with less water than this recipe says. My pot has a crazy boil off rate due to it's surface area so my program is set to my equipment. You could probably start closer to 3 or a tad under. I forget when I did boils indoors what my boil off was typically like. I bet the directions from the mr beer kit can help.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 2.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.15 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 55.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 83.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.25 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 67.50 %
0.67 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 20.00 %
0.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 7.50 %
0.17 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 %
0.63 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 32.0 IBU
0.63 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 15.9 IBU
0.63 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 6.4 IBU
0.63 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (1 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
0.67 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

 

[eric_f]

My dad farms hops in WA state, and he's an avid home-brewer with outstanding results. He still uses the same basic quality kit from Liberty Malt Supply in Seattle, but I remember him saying the storefront was going out of business because of the more internet-based demand, but here's their number: (206) 622-1880. They make some quality wares that obviously last

Take Care,