Any brewers here?

[cg2112]

I don't see any mention of brewing in all these threads. Surely I can't be the only one.

[smashweights]

If you count a Mr. Beer kit as a brewer than yes. Maybe a Junior Brewer? I'd love to get into the big stuff down the road!

[cg2112]

Mr. Beer is how I started out. Some say that Mr. Beer kits aren't real brewing, but I disagree. Mr. Beer is responsible for getting a lot of people into the hobby, and as far as I'm concerned, it's real brewing, just on a smaller scale.

[smashweights]

I think of them as comparing baking a cake from a Betty Crocker cake mix vs. from scratch. I have two Mr. Beer kegs right now and they're about perfect for me since I dont drink enough beer to brew 5 gal at a time. When I have the time and space, I'd love to get the keg setup like you have!

[redkow97]

Mr. Beer is how I started out. Some say that Mr. Beer kits aren't real brewing, but I disagree. Mr. Beer is responsible for getting a lot of people into the hobby, and as far as I'm concerned, it's real brewing, just on a smaller scale.

It's also a good way to try new stuff on a small scale so you don't spend a bunch on 10 gallons of mistake...

I need to buy a proper 5 gallon fermenter and equipment to force-carbonate. The primer sugar gives all of my batches the same strange aftertaste. It's still decent beer for cheap, but I would really like to start making IPA clones of bear republic and la gunitas.

[smashweights]

It's also a good way to try new stuff on a small scale so you don't spend a bunch on 10 gallons of mistake...

I need to buy a proper 5 gallon fermenter and equipment to force-carbonate. The primer sugar gives all of my batches the same strange aftertaste. It's still decent beer for cheap, but I would really like to start making IPA clones of bear republic and la gunitas.

I've noticed just about all the recipes I've made tend to have this same very faint underlying flavor, like something green apple that bugs me.

[2talltim]

Too much work for my lazy ass, I have a keg fridge and i'm too lazy to go pick up a keg and keep it clean..lol

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[cg2112]

If your priming sugar causes any taste change, just let the bottles condition longer. The longer it sits in the bottles, the more the yeast eats up the sugars and anything else that might cause an aftertaste.

I agree, the Mr. Beer keg is great for small test batches. It makes things a lot cleaner, and no need to move from fermenter to bottling bucket.

I force carbonate when I use the kegs, but you don't have to - you can also use the CO2 to slowly carbonate. I've heard it's better to do that than to force carb (force carbonating is injecting CO2 into the keg at a rapid rate, causing the gas to be absorbed into beer over the course of 10 minutes or so), but I've never been able to tell any difference.

[cg2112]

I've noticed just about all the recipes I've made tend to have this same very faint underlying flavor, like something green apple that bugs me.

A green apple taste almost always means that fermentation was stopped before it was completed. There are a few reasons for this. Too little yeast was used, there wasn't enough oxygen in the mix when the yeast was added (you really need to stir the crap out of the wort before adding the yeast - for Mr. Beer, make sure the cap is on tight, and shake it really vigorously for 5 minutes or so ), and more likely than anything else, the beer was bottled too early.

How long do you let it ferment for? There's no harm in letting it go longer than the instructions say. Mr. Beer kits say to go two weeks. Personally, I don't think that this is long enough at all, I'd say go four weeks. You can also place the fermenter somewhere a little warmer (but not too warm, just a few degrees warmer), and it will get the yeast going a little more.

[smashweights]

I usually let it got for 2 weeks at minimum, then however long it takes me to get around to bottling. My last batch came out poorly when I let it sit a month, had way too much yeast cake overgrowth and blocked the outlet. Also tasted a little spoiled. I think my Safale was too old.

[Gixxus Christ!]

I've been brewing on and off for ten years or so, have all glass two stage 5 gal batch fermenters and use the 5 liter mini kegs with co2 tap. Haven't done a batch in well over a year, actually have a batch of porter that's been sitting in a carboy waiting to be bottled for over a year. I was all into it for a while, doing a batch a week then I got bored with it again.

[flipwicked]

ide love to get brewing down i can do wine easy and well and vodka... any tips on how and what all i need