Beer REDUX

[Kim323]

I've been spending tons of time going through past months of General Freewheeling Chit-Chat posts and threads and tons of laughs doing it, too. I saw a thread dealing with favorite beers and even home brewing came up. Has anyone here tried the Mr. Beer brew kit? I've done it for some time, and have three of their two gallon kegs going at once nearly all the time, staggered so as to have my own bottles at my beck and call. I have a suspicion that the Mr. Beer system is tantamount to blasphemy among home brewers, but I will give it a hearty recommendation. For me, ease is the hallmark, and it's fun, too. Many recipes and combinations, including adding pureed fruits to the "wort," result in some very fine tasting brews for me. I've never had a batch go wrong. All sorts of subtle flavors that I truly savor. Granted, you are sort of chained to the Mr. Beer cans of Hopped Malt Extracts, but if you buy from Amazon (and especially if you are a member of Amazon Prime; worth it if you order a lot of books) you can get good deals with the product and with shipping. I just buy my own Oregon Fruit Company cans of fruits at Winco or Walmart when I want to make a fruity recipe. For me Mr. Beer is the way to go for the simplicity in the process, with enough "creativity" built in to make it fun. Of course, even the name "Mr. Beer" makes me to some degree cringe in humiliation but I'm too old to let that bother me.

 

[mike]

I havent heard of the brand name here, but we do have some beer making machines that im guessing are similar.

I use a pair 25 litre carboys or vats and like you stagger them so im not washing 50 bottles at a time
I brew draught and lager with honey as an additive, and when my lemons and limes are in season, brew a lemon/lime lemonaide (again with honey)which is my favourite drop on a hot day. Ive actually planted a few more lemons and limes to allow me to make more of this recipie.

Its a lot more work than a canned wort mix, even with an electric orange juicer, and i pour off any excess juice into ice cube bags and freeze them.

Ive often remarked to myself though as i lug a 25 litre vat just filled from the rainwater tank to the garage where they do their stuff, that there will come a time when i will have to find a less labour intensive way of doing things when im older

Cheers

 

[dyingsun]

The booze-hound that I am, highly interesting. Always wanted to 'home-brew', but things got in the way.Please continue

 

[Kim323]

Wow, Mike, you are really into it! And, dyingsun, booze-hound that you are, I think you couldn't go wrong with Mr. Beer. The initial brew kit is under thirty bucks. You basically sanitize with the included "no rinse sanitizer," dissolve the "booster" pack in four cups cold water, bring it to a boil, stir in the can of HME (Hopped Malt Extract), then pour this "wort" into the spigoted keg (makes two gallons) in which you've already put cold water (to lessen the thermal shock of the hot wort), fill it up with more cold water (there are markings on the keg), stir, sprinkle the provided brewers yeast on top, let it sit five minutes, stir again, screw on the lid and put it in a safe place out of direct sunlight (I use my walk-in pantry shelf). Let it sit seven to fourteen days (or longer, but my experience is at least fourteen to up to say twenty days), then use the spigot to bottle it in plastic bottles (I use the reuseable Mr. Beer one liter bottles) to which white granulated sugar has been added (two and a half to three teaspoons per bottle for the one liter), cap, let sit another seven to fourteen days for further enhancement and carbonation, and I promise you a great brew, with a superb head of foam. Full directions included, but you could go with just what I've written and it's that simple. Different recipes with different ingredients are available. I found a recipe with honey as an additive, so thanks, Mike, for that lead into a new heavenly experience. And, speaking of booze-hounds, if you truly like the taste of beer (and my homemade are equal or beat any I've tasted commercially, certainly the Buds, etc., most commonly available) can you do any harm to yourself if you drink one can (12 ounces) of beer per day average? And, generally, the home brew with Mr. Beer is about 3.7 alcohol by volume, the standard, though with added ingredients you can bring that up. Worrier that I am, I asked my doctor that question and she said, "Well, Kim, I'm going to suggest that you have one can three times a week." Gee whiz, I remember when I first started teaching an old mentor said, "Kim, don't ever ask a question you don't want to hear the answer to." Any opinions on that advice? I mean, really, maybe with my sons or friends, I might have two or three, but it's an average of one can a day. I truly savor its taste. I don't drink wine and can't stand hard stuff. Even when I lived in Korea I took it easy on their makkoli liquor, a national treasure. Am I headed for self-destruction?

 

[mike]

I use carbonation drops instead of sugar when bottling, it reduces the risk of bottle bombs

Coopers Carbonation Drops

On the question, yeah the Dr is never going to give you a happy answer re daily intake.

For men. No more than four standard drinks a day on average, with an occasional maximum of six standard drinks. One or two alcohol-free days a week.

Thats the local advice, and its no doubt sound medically speaking

I also subscribe to the "everything in moderation, including moderation" theme
ie: its ok to let your hair down once in a while

I'm also looking at buying some hop rhizomes to plant this year to experiment with

 

[Kim323]

Thanks, Mike. A great website, and I'll be exploring it thoroughly. I know what you mean about the bottles. As mine carbonate I can feel them harden. Mr. Beer warns of that risk, and I have been mindful of the sugar. What a mess to find when I open the pantry door. I'll try those drops!

 

[mike]

I use glass bottles, so avoiding the bottle bomb is crucial, though i undertand the PET ones can take more pressure.
I get my drops at the supermarket, the two dominant chains here both have a home brew section in the drinks isle. And the local Kmart stores do too.
Well worth a try, good luck

The price at that website is a bit steep, i pay about $2.95 for that same packet at the supermarket