Witty Ging Update

The Witty Ging bottles have been conditioning in the fridge for close to three weeks now since people say that some flavors can mellow out with more time. I decided to try another bottle last night and it was quite drinkable! The tart taste was still stronger than I would have liked, but it was still a huge improvement. I am going to give this recipe another shot for my next brew session. The cooler set up should keep the temperatures in check and the beer should turn out better.

Fusel Alcohols

Unfortunately, the Witty Ging is barely drinkable. It’s not completely terrible, but it’s not something I would want my friends to try either. The bad taste can be attributed to the major temperature swings during fermentation. The summer heat crept up pretty quickly and the fermenter was showing readings of warmer than 80 degrees. Anything over 80 degrees is way too high and it most likely led to fusel alcohols being produced. I now have a cooler that will help control temperatures and am going to try and brew the Witty Ging again. I have to find a mini-fridge big enough to fit two fermenters at once so I can get my pipeline back on track!

New Labels

New bottle labels! These are slightly different than one I made in Word a few months ago. My brother works for a printing company and he was able to get the labels designed and printed. The labels are 4" X 5" and almost wrap around the entire bottle. There is about a 2" gap of exposed bottle in the back which I think looks good. Hopefully the labels will stay on through a sanitation phase before they are filled.

Big Mistake

I noticed some mold growing around the lid of the fermenter when I went to take the final gravity reading on my Irish Red last night. I have been keeping the fermenter in a cooler and adding ice every day to maintain a constant temperature. I took off the lid to see what the beer looked like because I assumed it was contaminated. At the time, I saw what I thought was a big chunk of mold floating in the beer. I immediately brought the fermenter to the sink and starting pouring it out. It turns out it was just one of the hop sacks... (Ugh). The beer most likely was fine. I now know that most of the beer is salvageable even if there is mold actually in the fermenter.

I just put the first test bottles of the Pilothouse Pilsner and Witty Ging to the fridge. I only have a cooler big enough for one fermenter at a time, so the pipeline will be diminished after these two batches are done.

Cold Crash

I took a gravity reading of the Pilothouse Pilsner on Friday that came in at 1.012. The 1.012 reading was perfect, but the beer was extremely cloudy. I decided to "cold crash" the beer before I bottled it. Cold crashing is as easy as just putting the fermenter into your refrigerator. Some people do it for a couple days, some at least a week. The drop in temperature makes a lot of the yeast fall to the bottom of the fermenter, ultimately making a clearer beer. I only cold crashed for two days and definitely noticed an improvement when I bottled. With a final gravity of 1.012 the beer has an ABV of 6.0%.

Irish Red

Steeping the roasted barley and crystal

I brewed an Irish Red extract recipe that included specialty grains last night. It was the first time I brewed using any kind of grains and it was actually very simple. Using specialty grains adds certain flavors and/or color to the beer that you cannot get from using extracts. The only downside, which is true with steeping any grains, is that the entire brew process takes longer. I purchased a 20 Quart Pot because I was tired of boil overs! If I ever decide to start brewing 5 gallon batches, this pot is big enough to handle it. I bought the pot for $59 on Friday and the price already rose to $67! The pot is perfect for pouring the wort into the fermenter as well. Here is the Irish Red recipe:

3 lbs. Golden Light Dry Malt Extract (DME)
2 oz. Light Roasted Barley (30 minutes)
8 oz. Crystal 60L (C-60) (30 minutes)
1/3 oz. Fuggles hops (60 minutes)
1/3 oz. Willamette hops (60 minutes)
1/3 oz. Fuggles hops (15 minutes)
1/3 oz. Willamette hops (15 minutes)
1/8 tsp. Irish Moss (15 minutes)
1/3 oz. Fuggles hops (5 minutes)
1/3 oz. Willamette hops (5 minutes)
Safale US-05 dry yeast

The recipe might look complex, but the bulk of it is 1 oz. of Fuggles and Willamette hops each broken down into thirds. I put the specialty grains in a ziplock bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. This method worked fine, but

2 of the 3 hops bags that I used

I will have to come up with something better if I ever use larger amounts. I started brewing with 2 gallons of water. I could have used 1 gallon, but some people recommend an "as close to full volume boil as possible" so I gave it a shot. I added the C-60 and light roasted barley for 30 minutes while maintaining a temperature between 150°-160°. After 30 minutes, I removed the specialty grains, added the 3 lbs. of DME, and brought the wort to a boil. Once boiling, I restarted my timer for 60 minutes and added the first hops bag containing 1/3 oz. Fuggles and 1/3 oz. Willamette. I added the second hops bag and irish moss at 15 minutes, and the third hops bag at 5 minutes. The original gravity was 1.056. Even though it didn't look red at this stage it still smelled great!

Witty Ging bottles

I bottled the Witty Ging on Monday night, which free'd up the fermenter for this Irish Red recipe. The final gravity settled at 1.014, meaning the beer has an ABV of 6.2%. I'm very excited to see how this one turns out because it was my first brew that was not based from a Mr. Beer kit!

Another Success!

I just opened up a bottle of the Sticky Wicket after conditioning it in the refrigerator for two days. The head dissipated rather quickly, but can most likely be attributed to the short time spent in the fridge. The beer tastes just like an oatmeal stout should. I prefer oatmeal stouts to be a little more creamy, but overall this is a delicious beer made from a Mr. Beer recipe. I put most of the remaining bottles into the fridge, but left a few out to see if more time in phase 2 will improve the beer at all.

I also put the remaining Witty Monk bottles into the fridge. The Witty Ging and Pilothouse Pilsner are almost done fermenting. I have to come up with more empty beer bottles in order to move them along!

Not quite ready?

This wasn't the best picture, but there wasn't much to see anyway. I put one Witty Monk in the refrigerator to condition after 14 days of carbonating. The head quickly dissipated, and the beer seemed a little watery. The overall flavor was awesome. It had a distinct orange taste much like a Blue Moon. I am going to let the rest of the bottles carbonate for a total of 21 days to see if that changes anything. The beer was good, but I wish it had a little more body to it.

Hot Break

This is a picture of my boiling pot (from Sunday) and what is called the "hot break". The hot break is foam caused by proteins in the wort that coagulate due to the rolling action of the boil. The wort will continue to foam until the protein clumps get heavy enough to sink back into the pot. The hot break is a good thing! It only becomes a problem when it boils over and messes up your stove (happened twice to me...). If you are adding hops, some people recommend waiting until the hot break finishes before adding the hops and starting the times.

This picture shows part of my set up on brew day. There are really only five things to note here. All the way on the left, you can see the two cans of Mr. Beer Hoppe Malt Extract (HME). They are soaking in hot water so they are easier to pour into the wort (they are still very sticky, but it helps). Before I add the HME cans, I replace the warm water with the sanitized solution from the

fermenter. I dip the opened can into the hot wort to get any remaining extract out. The fermenter is sitting next to the HME cans and is just filled with a gallon of the sanitized solution. In the back, there is a measuring cup covered with foil. That is what I use to rehydrate the yeast in one cup of water. To the right of the fermenter is another measuring cup filled with sanitized solution. I keep utensils (can opener and spatula in this picture) in there until I use them. The last thing is a small plate with the whisk. The plate has a little bit of the sanitized solution on it so I can continually put down the utensils without the risk of picking up any unwanted nasties.

Pilothouse Pilsner

Yesterday I brewed a batch of the Pilothouse Pilsner from Mr. Beer. Like the Witty Monk and American Devil IPA, I added one pound of dry malt extract (DME) (Pilsen DME for this recipe). The original gravity came in at 1.058, which is a little lower than what I was anticipating (also just like the Witty Monk). The Pilothouse Pilsner was the last of the Mr. Beer ingredients that I have, but I will definitely be buying more in the future considering how well the American Devil IPA turned out.

Taste Test

The American Devil IPA turned out fantastic! As you can see, my fiance Devin thinks so as well! The beer was very hoppy and I think the taste is extremely similar to Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. This beer is also sporting a 6.7% ABV, and is definitely something I will brew again. Since the beer has only been in the fridge for 5 days, I am looking forward to seeing if the taste gets even better after a full 14 days of conditioning.

Witty Ging

Last night I brewed a witbier that was my first non Mr. Beer recipe. I picked up the ingredients from Corrado's Home Beer Center and everything cost about $20. The good news is that I have some coriander and orange peel leftover for another batch since the recipe only called for half an ounce. I crushed the coriander using a rolling pin and plastic ziplock bag. I am calling this beer a Witty Ging:

3 pounds Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME)
.75 oz. Hersbrucker (50 minutes)
.5 oz. Coriander (15 minutes)
.5 oz. Bitter Orange Peel (5 minutes)
Safbrew T-58 Yeast

As you can see in this picture, I clearly need a bigger brewing pot. I have only used 1 pound of DME before this recipe, and the amount of volume that 3 pounds took up was a little surprising. This was also the first time I used a hops bag for the boil. It was a little surprising how buoyant it was even after it was completely saturated (If you are using a hops bag, remember to sanitize the bag before you put the hops in it). The volume eventually decreased as water evaporated, but there were a few close calls with boil overs (luckily the stove top escaped unscathed).

The beer turned out a LOT darker than I was expecting. My hydrometer reading came in at 1.061, which is a lot higher than my expected 1.050 that QBrew estimated. This just means that the Witty Ging will be a higher ABV than I thought!

Witty Monk Bottling

I bottled the Witty Monk after three consecutive days of a steady final gravity (FG). Although the FG was higher than I was hoping for (1.016), the ABV will be around 4.9%. The FG was actually right in line with what QBrew estimated, the original gravity was what came in very low (1.053 instead of 1.065). The beer seemed a little light and "watery" at this point, but that can all change after it carbonates and conditions the rest of the way.

I got 16 - 12 oz. bottles and 3 - 32 oz. bottles. I bought a lot of different color caps last week so it will be easier to differentiate between beers. I used a gold cap on the last bottle because some trub found its way in. It will be my firs test bottle after the carbonating is done.

Fallen Friar Follow-up

Great success! I fermented this beer for 21 days and bottled when the final gravity reached 1.010. I let the beer carbonate in the bottles for 14 days before I threw a test bottle into the fridge. I condition the bottle for two more days and it was delicious! I was surprised that these bottles only needed 14 days to carbonate. This was my third brew, and it is definitely something I would purchase if it was sold in stores (unlike my first bud light imitation!). It was also promising to produce such a good beer with only using Mr. Beer
ingredients. I also added a bag of booster to this recipe. Since my estimated OG for the Witty Monk I just brewed was too high, I didn't want to use the estimated OG for the Fallen Friar from QBrew. The original Fallen Friar recipe has an ABV of 4.5%, and since booster adds 1.3% ABV, I can safely assume that this beer is a solid 5.8% ABV.

Corrado's Home Beer Center

Today I took a trip to the other Local Home Brew Store (LHBS) in my area. Corrado's is a well known food market, but I never heard of it having a beer and wine center. Unlike The Brewer's Apprentice, Corrado's does not have an online store where you can shop around and see their inventory. I have to say, I was completely blown away by Corrado's and it was a little overwhelming at first. The store is much bigger than The Brewer's Apprentice, and they have numerous aisles where you can just browse around for what you want. The Brewer's Apprentice was smaller and I needed to ask for most things that were stored in the back. I walked around and picked out every ingredient I need for my next recipe (which is going to be a witbier).

Sticky Wicket

I wanted to try a regular Mr. Beer Premium Refill without adding anything to it. Most people suggest trying the recipe the way it is intended, and make changes based on the outcome and what you want to improve. I started adding to recipes and making changes starting with my second brew. Unfortunately, I paid for my over eagerness in a few instances (Whispering Wheat mishap) over the past few months. Therefore I brewed the Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout 100% in line with the recipe and directions (well about 99% actually). I wasn't worried about making a mistake; I am just a huge fan of Oatmeal Stouts. I wanted to see how the Mr. Beer recipe turned out and gradually make improvements with future batches. I pitched three Mr. Beer yeasts instead of just the two that came with the cans of Hopped Malt Extract (HME). I had some extra Mr. Beer yeast lying around and it won't have that much of affect on the outcome, if any at all.

Witty Monk

I brewed a slightly suped up batch of Witty Monk today. The only changes were the addition of 1# of Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME) and Safbrew T-58 yeast instead of the two Mr. Beer yeasts that came with the cans of Hopped Malt Extract (HME). I tried re-hydrating the yeast for the first time. I didn't "proof" the yeast or anything; I just let it sit in the warm water for about 20 minutes before pitching. My original gravity (OG) reading was 1.053, which was a lot lower than what QBrew estimated (1.065). I double checked everything in QBrew and it looked correct. I'll just have to hope for the best and see where the final gravity lands. My best guess is that the Witty Monk HME can's are no properly designated in the database, but who knows.

The Witty Monk had an amazing orange-y smell. There were also little pellets in the HME cans. At first I thought it was something bad, and thought the cans might have been expired or worse (infected). I did some research and they were probably just a few coriander seeds! Coriander is a popular ingredient in wheat beers. In fact, coriander is nothing more than a dried cilantro seed. Who knew!?

Dry Hopping

The keg on the left is the American Devil IPA and the keg on the right is the Fallen Friar. The American Devil IPA has been fermenting for 18 days. I dry hopped the beer, which just means adding hops that are not boiled. It is done towards the end of the fermentation period and enhances the aroma. The Fallen Friar has been fermenting for 21 days. I tasted the sample all 3 times and it was great, I am very excited about this beer! I would put it on par with a Sierra Nevada. I took the following three hydrometer readings:

Day 18: 1.018
Day 20: 1.011
Day 21: 1.010 - Bottline time!

My estimated ABV for this beer was 5.8%. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the original gravity (OG) reading when I brewed it. Calculating ABV using the estimated OG from QBrew and my third final gravity (FG) reading, the ABV for my Fallen Friar is 6.56% (estimated).

Whispering Wheat mistake

I messed up using the booster as priming sugar... I was re-reading a thread yesterday about using booster as the priming sugar and realized I did not put enough in! Since booster is only 80% fermentable sugars and 20% dextrins, I should have used 25% more of the booster in each bottle. I put one bottle in the refrigerator yesterday. I opened it today and it was noticeably under carbonated... I read this thread before I used the booster too, it just completely slipped my mind.

Bottle Labels

Since my obsession with home brewing keeps growing, I figured the next logical step was to create bottle labels and create a "company" name for my beers. I decided to go with Booya Brewing, and the logo is a a picture of a owl with creepy eyes. This is something I put together in Microsoft Word. Magsvmi from Mr. Beer Fans sent an awesome step by step walk through on how to make a label in Word. I decided to omit type or name of the beer on the labels so I could use any bottle with any beer. I have been looking into ordering colored bottle caps that will make it very easy to tell the beers apart. I am not that close to printing these, but here is my first attempt:

How To Brew

How To Brew is a fantastic book written by John Palmer. I decided to purchase the latest version of the book from Amazon, but the first edition can be read online for free on his website! The book details the entire brewing process, as well as explaining key terms and the basics of brewing. Even though the book walks you through all-grain brewing, I highly recommend reading the book if you are just using Mr. Beer kits or extracts recipes. The follow excerpt is taken from the first paragraph of the introduction section of How To Brew:

There are many good books on home brewing currently available, so why did I write one you ask? The answer is: a matter of perspective. When I began learning how to brew my own beer several years ago, I read every book I could find; books often published 15 years apart. It was evident to me that the state of the art had matured a bit. Where one book would recommend using baking yeast and covering the fermenting beer with a towel, a later book would insist on brewing yeast and perhaps an airlock. So, I felt that another point of view, laying out the hows and whys of the brewing processes, might help more new brewers get a better start.

American Devil IPA

I just finished brewing my "suped-up" version of the American Devil IPA. This was my first attempt at making big changes that deviated from the Mr. Beer recipe. I added everything except the 2 cans of Hopped Malt Extract. I also forgot to buy muslin bags, so I went commando (added the hops without the bag).

American Devil IPA:
2 cans American Devil IPA Hopped Malt Extract (HME)
1# Amber Dry Malt Extract (DME)
1 oz. Cascade hop pellets @ 5 minutes
1 oz. Centennial hop pellets @ 20 minutes
S-33 yeast.

Directions:

Sanitize utensils and everything that will come in contact with the brew

Put the 2 cans of HME in lukewarm water

Add the Amber DME to 1 gallon of water and bring it to a boil. (2 notes about boiling water with DME: 1. Be careful and watch it the whole time. I turned around for 2 seconds and it was boiling over onto my stove. 2. It smells. I think it smells fantastic, but my lovely, amazing, patient, and understanding fiancé begs to differ)

Add 1 oz. of Centennial hops and set a time for 20 minutes (I constantly stirred while the hops were in there)

Add 1 oz. of Cascade hops when the timer has 5 minutes left

Remove the pot from heat, and add the two cans of HME

Cool the wort to 80 degrees and add to fermenter

Add water until the volume reaches 8.5 quarts, aerate with a whisk, and pitch the yeast

The wort was 162 degrees after all was said and done and needs to be cooled down before it is added to the fermenter. You want to get the temperature of the wort below 80 degrees before you pitch the yeast. I did not have enough ice to make an ice bath, so I added it directly to the wort. Most people frown upon doing this because the ice may be contaminated, but the ice is made from the same water that I add to the fermenter anyway.

The hydrometer for my beer came in a little lower than the estimate on QBrew. My estimated original gravity (OG) was 1.069, my actual reading was 1.063. I am attributing the lower reading to the loss of DME when the wort boiled over.

Fallen Friar

My much anticipated Mr. Beer order arrived with the hops I needed for my next brew! The Fallen Friar was the first recipe I made that requires the addition of hops. The hops were not boiled. They were added after the wort was boiled and everything was ready to be poured into the fermenter. I used the 2 packets of Mr. Beer yeast that came with the cans of Hopped Malt Extract. I am planning on doing a 3-2-2 or a 3-3-2 for this brew since I added the booster to increase the ABV. I have read that the increase in sugars will require a longer fermentation period with only two packets of the Mr. Beer yeast. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the original gravity (OG) reading with my new hydrometer (I was actually really excited about doing this too...). I will just have to use 1.060 as the OG that was estimated in QBrew. Since I now have a second fermenter, I am going to try and brew the American Devil IPA this weekend!

Local Home Brew Store

A Local Home Brew Store (LHBS) is a great place to pick up additional brewing supplies. In central New Jersey, there are 2 LHBS that are equidistant from where I live. Corrado's Family Market in Clifton and The Brewer's Apprentice in Freehold are both about a 40 minute drive each way.

Today I took a trip to The Brewer's Apprentice and picked up some extra beer ingredients for some upcoming recipes. In addition to adding malt extract to improve a Mr. Beer recipe, it is said that using better yeast will result in a better beer. I purchased:

1 lb. Amber Dry Malt Extract (DME)
1 lb. Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME)
2 oz. Cascade Hops
2 oz. Centennial Hops
1 Safbrew S-33 Ale Yeast
1 Safbrew T-58 Ale Yeast

The Amber DME, hops, and S-33 yeast are going to get added to the American Devil IPA recipe and the Wheat DME and t-58 yeast will be used with the Witty Monk.

Today was also bottling day for my Whispering Wheat Weizenbier since it passed the taste and color test (just like clear and flat bud light again). I have been saving

as many beer bottles as possible over the past few weeks. The labels of Sam Adam's bottles are extremely easy to remove after soaking them in oxiclean. It is recommended to use 1 plastic PET bottle each time so you can give it the "squeeze test". You know the bottle is carbonating if it is firm.

QBrew

QBrew is an easy to use recipe calculator that allows you to easily modify and create any type of recipe. The program automatically calculates the gravity, bitterness, and color of a beer based on the ingredients you plug in. The database includes many different styles, grains, hops, and other miscellaneous ingredients.

There is an upgraded database that includes Mr. Beer ingredients and can be found here with simple instructions on how to get yourself set up. Below are 2 QBrew screenshots of the Fallen Friar recipe I inputted. The first screenshot is the exact recipe from Mr. Beer. The second screenshot is the same recipe with an added bag of booster. I added the booster because I wanted to increase the ABV of the beer to 5.8%. Notice the difference in Original Gravity (OG) and Final Gravity (FG) between the recipe with booster and without. The OG and FG are used to calculate the ABV for the beer. You also want to make sure you edit the batch size. Since I am using the Mr. Beer fermenter, I sent the batch size to 2.13 gallons (8.5 quarts). I am going to brew the Fallen Friar recipe with the booster as soon as my Mr. Beer order arrives!

Mr. Beer Order

I am officially obsessed. I placed a decent sized order today from Mr. Beer. I used a 10% coupon code that was mailed with a free stick on thermometer after I registered on the website. I found a Fallen Friar recipe that I want to do after the Whispering Wheat is done. I already have the two cans of Hopped Malt Extract from my previous variety pack and just need to order some additional hops. I will elaborate on some items, but here is a complete list of what I purchased:

Hand Bottle Capper
Metal Bottle Caps (Qty 144)
Spigot and Wand Assembly
Hydrometer & 10" Sample Tube
BrewTensils Package
2 Gallon Fermenter (Beer Keg)
Premium Refill 4 Pack
Muslin Hop Sack
Sterling Pellet Hops

I purchased the bottle capper and caps (Qty 144) because I wanted to start using 12 0z. glass bottles. I don't think there is anything wrong with the 1 liter plastic Mr. Beer bottles. I just wanted to have the option of bottling my beer in smaller quantities.

Without getting into too much detail right here, a hydrometer is used to measure the gravity of the beer. The ABV can be determined from calculating the difference between the reading taken before the yeast is added and the reading after fermentation has finished. It will be very helpful when I start doing all extract brewing.

I ordered the Premium Refill 4 Pack instead of the standard refills. Each refill has 2 cans of Hopped Malt Extract and no booster.

1 American Devil IPA
1 Pilothouse Pilsner
1 Sticky Wicket
1 Witty Monk

Problem Solved

After 1 more week at room temperature and only 1 day in the fridge, it tastes like a beer! The extra carbonating time at room temperature was all it needed. I'm eager to see how much it improves after more conditioning time.

Since the West Coast Pale Ale (WCPA) was a success, I just brewed the Whispering Wheat Weizenbier! I did not notice a cidery taste in the WCPA, so I used the booster per the instructions again. I will probably utilize a 2-3-2 rule this time around, allowing for that extra week of carbonation time.

Finally!

Disappointment... I was able to taste my first beer after a long awaited 6 weeks. Which turned out to be subpar. It was sweet, like a beer with a ton of sugar added to it (which essentially is what I did). It would have been much better suited for Edgar from Men in Black. In addition to the sugar sweet taste, it was also under carbonated.

I went to Home Brew Talk and Mr. Beer Fans to try and find where I went wrong. I did not find a lot of discussions that closely fit my situation, but there were a few posters who talked about temperature and how it affects the carbonation phase. Since my heat goes off during the day, the temperature in my apartment can drop down to 60 degrees. The yeast has a very hard time doing its job at this temperature. I posted a thread on the Mr. Beer Fans forum to see what they thought. The recommendation was to remove the bottles from the fridge for a week, then put 1 bottle back in for a day and then test it.

It was a relief being told that the beer wasn't ruined and that it probably just needed more time. I drank the rest of the sugar beer regardless. I had to, it was my first one!

14 More Days

My West Coast Pale Ale was in the fermenter for 14 days, and it just finished (i hope) carbonating for the past 14 days. The bottles are very firm which is a good indication that they are carbonated enough. Better yet, there were no bottle bombs! Now it is time to move the bottles into the fridge where they will condition for 14 days. During the conditioning phase, all of the CO2 that was produced in the carbonating phase is absorbed by the beer. You can try a beer after a few days conditioning, but everyone says the best results come from waiting the full two weeks (which I plan on doing).

Next Recipe

A couple of weeks ago I purchased the variety pack from Amazon that has 3 standard refills (Meaning 1 can of Hopped Malt Extract and 1 bag of booster). After reading so much about the potential negative affects of booster, I want to wait until I taste the West Coast Pale Ale before I brew one of these recipes. Also, I don't have any other bottles to use and do not want my next batch (leaning towards the Whispering Wheat) to linger in the fermenter for a couple extra weeks. The 3 recipes in the variety pack include:

Whispering Wheat Weizenbier
1 Can Whispering Wheat Weizenbier HME
1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast
1 Pouch Booster
1 Packet No-Rinse Cleanser

High Country Canadian Draft
1 Can High Country Canadian Draft HME
1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast
1 Pouch Booster
1 Packet No-Rinse Cleanser

Octoberfest Vienna Lager
1 Can Octoberfest Vienna Lager HME
1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast
1 Pouch Booster
1 Packet No-Rinse Cleanser

Bottling Day

It looks like beer, and it even tastes like beer! Just like a warm, flat bud light. It even smells like an old bud light as well. The flat beer taste and clarity of the sample means it is time to bottle. If it tasted sweet or still looked cloudy, the beer would still need more time in the fermenter to let the yeast do some work.

I used the Mr. Beer directions again and watched a YouTube video to get an idea of how the bottling process should flow. The 1 liter PET bottles that came in the kit need 2.5 teaspoons of sugar each. I am using regular table sugar to do this. Putting less than the recommended amount of sugar will result in under carbonated beer, while putting too much sugar in a bottle can result in a bottle bomb. The steps to bottle your beer is fairly simple. I sanitized my bottles, caps, and measuring spoons. A funnel is used in the YouTube video, but I did not have one and had no problem bottling without it. I filled each bottle with the 2.5 teaspoons of sugar before filling any of them. The tap flows a little slow, especially when the fermenter is almost empty. It took about 45 minutes from start to finish. I took my time and made sure I did everything correctly, and now I have 8 of these bottles carbonating for the next 14 days!

Recurring Themes

I've noticed two things that are continuously discussed on the forums. The first thing is known as the 2-2-2 rule, which everyone uses (contrary to Mr. Beer instructions) and whether or not you should use the booster as a brewing ingredient.

2-2-2 Rule: Each "2" in the 2-2-2 Rule refers to how many weeks the beer should stay at each stage. 2 weeks fermenting (which my West Coast Pale Ale is doing right now), 2 weeks carbonating in bottles at room temperature, and then 2 weeks cold conditioning in the refrigerator. The Mr. Beer directions state that the beer should ferment for at least 7 days, but 14 days is better. Given the low alcohol content (approx. 3.7% ABV) in the batch I have, it is possible to be done fermenting in 7 days, but unlikely. I am going to let it ferment for 14 days total (only 3 more) before I take a sample. Leaving it in the fermenter a little longer than necessary won't hurt anything, the general consensus is that it can only help!

Booster: The use of booster seems to be an ongoing debate. Some people hate it and will never use it again. While others will use it depending on the recipe, especially if they already have it on hand. Booster is made form corn syrup solids and is used as a brewing adjunct. Adjuncts are unmalted grains, such as corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat. Each pouch of booster adds about 1.3% abv per batch. Contrary to the Mr. Beer website, most forum members agree that booster slightly thins out a beer and can produce a cindery taste.

Refill Pack

I decided to order one of the standard refill variety packs because I am still unsure what type of beer I want to brew next. I found it on Amazon for only $30 ( and free shipping with amazon prime!). It is also an incredible deal since each standard refill is $15.95 + shipping on the Mr. Beer website. I want to try a few more of the basic recipes before I start adding hops or using various forms of extracts.

This variety pack should be delivered just in time to bottle my West Coast Pale Ale. I will need some of the no-rinse cleanser in the pack to sanitize my bottles and caps since I accidentally used it all during the brew stage.

Forums

Unfortunately, there isn't much to do while you wait for your beer to ferment. I found two great forums that are loaded with information and helpful members. I bounce back and forth between Mr. Beer Fans (for quality) and Home Brew Talk (for volume).

Home Brew Talk
Pro: The forum is huge. It seems like there is already a topic for everything. I've learned a lot from reading through questions that people have already asked.
Pro: A list of threads from the forum is always atop google search results.
Pro: There is a "Similar Threads" table at the bottom of each discussion, pointing you directly to other topics if the current thread you are viewing didn't have all your answers.
Con: Most members are not "Mr. Beer" friendly. Everyone starts somewhere, and not everyone wants to jump in to 5 gallon batches and steeping grains.
Con: There are membership costs. There is a free membership option, which allows you to post. There are two membership upgrades that you must renew annually. Upgraded memberships allow you to use an avatar, post pictures, search members, delete posts, and other various customizations. I don't see a reason to pay for a membership to any forum.

Mr. Beer Fans
Pro: Obviously, the forum is Mr. Beer friendly. Even though not every member still uses the Mr. Beer fermenter or ingredients, they support those who do.
Pro: It is free! Any member can post, upload pictures, have an avatar, etc.
Pro: I love the recipe section on this forum. It is divided into sub forums based on recipes with different ingredients (Mr. Beer ingredients, extracts, or all-grain).
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First Brew

The kit arrived just in time for the weekend! I put the bottles, caps, and sticker labels away since I do not need them today. In addition to the supplies that came with the kit, I laid out a can opener, measuring cup, spatula, whisk, and a large pot to boil the water. Now its time to brew the West Coast Pale Ale! The online version of the Mr. Beer directions that came with the kit can be found here. Before starting, I read the directions to make sure I had everything I needed. I actually read them twice (and still managed to mess up early on).

Step 1: Assemble the fermenter. This is as easy as attaching the spigot. Be careful not to over tighten the spigot in this step. I read some reviews cautioning about this because it can crack the fermenter, but you obviously want it tight enough so it will not leak!

Step 2: Sanitize. I have been reading a lot more of the forums this past week and everyone stresses how important it is to sanitize your equipment. The directions say to Sanitize all equipment that comes in contact with your beer.

The kit comes with a simple no-rinse cleanser. I was wary the "no-rinse" aspect would affect the beer, but figured it couldn't have negative implications since it was included with the kit. The directions tell you to fill the fermenter to the 4-quart mark on the back of the keg and add 1/2 the pack of no-rinse cleanser, I dumped in the whole pack... You need the other half to sanitize the bottles, caps, etc. when it comes time to bottle the beer. I will just have to pick up another sanitizer before then. I added an extra 4-quarts into the fermenter to make the sanitizer to water ratio correct. I placed the utensils into my boiling pot and added half of the sanitized solution since I had "extra" and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Brewing. I broke the brewing process into a few substeps.

3.1 After you have emptied out all of the sanitizer, the next step is to fill the fermenter to the 4-quart line again with water. I just used tap water since mine tastes great. The directions suggest using bottled spring water or charcoal filtered water if your tap water is undrinkable or has a bad taste/smell. The yeast is shipped under a plastic lid on the can of Hopped Malt Extract (HME). Remove the lid and yeast, and place the can of HME into a bowl of lukewarm water. This will loosen the syrup making it easier to poor and get out of the can.

3.2 Mixing in the booster can be a little annoying. Constantly stirring the water is key, while slowly pouring the booster powder. The powder crystallizes immediately. I started using a whisk to dissolve the booster, but switched to a rubber spatula for two reasons. I didn't want to scratch the bottom of my pot and it was easier to mash the booster crystals against the side, allowing them to dissolve easier.

3.3 Once the booster is fully dissolved, bring the pot to a boil, then remove it from heat. Open the can of HME and pour it into the water. It’s really sticky, but try and get as much out as possible using the spatula. Once the HME is added, the mixture is now called the wort.

3.4 Pour the wort into the fermenter. Bring the volume of the keg to the 8.5-quart mark by adding more cold water. I used the whisk to stir vigorously (as described in the directions) and mix the wort. Sprinkle the yeast into the fermenter, and let it sit for five minutes. Then, stir vigorously and screw on lid (this is called pitching the yeast and begins the fermentation process).

That's it! I placed a piece of cardboard underneath the fermenter just in case it leaks. The directions say to place the fermenter out of direct sunlight, in a location with a consistent temperature between 68°-76° F. The heat my apartment goes off during the day, so I hope the temperature drop doesn't negatively affect the outcome of the beer.