I recently became interested in brewing my own beer at home. Meaghan's store was selling the Mr. Beer kits and I had to have one! I got the kit about a month ago, so I've been having to wait all this time to finally get to try it. The kit came with a 2.5 gallon keg in which you ferment the beer for a minimum of one week but I personally recommend waiting a little longer, its especially harder to do with your first batch because you just can't wait to try it! The kit also included a packet of one-step sanitizer, a packet of "booster" which is just a form of dextrose to add body and alcohol to the beer. Also a can of hopped malt extract called "West Coast Pale Ale" was included with a small packet of dry brewer's yeast (not the kind you buy at the grocery store). I add to purchase bottles as well to bottle the beer but some kits come with bottles.
You start out by fermenting all your utensils in the keg with half of the sanitizer packet. After that sits for ten minutes you drain with no need to rinse. Then fill the keg to the 4 qt. mark with cold water. Next you mix in the "booster" with 4 cups of water until it completely dissolves then bring it to a boil. After that you add the hopped malt extract, give it a stir and pour the mix into the keg. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit for 5 minutes then stir vigorously. After that it's waiting time! Place the lid on the keg and let sit in a dark, cool place for at least one week.
When it comes time to bottle you need to prime with sugar to help carbonate the beer. Depending on what size bottles you use you will add different amounts of sugar. I used the 1 liter Mr. Beer bottles that are re-usable. I added 2 1/2 tsp. of sugar to each bottle and then filled them. the batch makes approximately 8 liters of beer. Then its more waiting! Again with another week of waiting for carbonating then its on to conditioning. I warm conditioned my beer since there is not much room in the fridge so its been sitting for about 3 weeks. I put two bottles in the fridge on Thursday so after 2 days of getting cold and lagering they would be ready to try tonight! I will post pictures of my first brew at the bottom of the post!
When I opened the first bottle I was reassured with a nice psshhhtt sound that carbonating drinks make, therefore I knew that the necessary processes had taken place. The beer poured nicely with a golden yellow color and a light ring of head at the top of the glass. It tastes like a good standard micro brew, with a particularly "mouthy" feel to it, a hard term to describe but beer drinkers will know what I mean. The alcohol content is rated at 3.7 for this batch but I've read that a level of 3.7 of a home brew is a little more than the standard 5% that you find in a Bud or Miller and keep in mind I am in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM comparing my beer to a domestic, Bud and Miller and good for what they are but nothing beats the satisfaction and taste of drinking your own home brew!
I have already started on my second batch which is the Classic American Blonde Ale. I even added a third of a cup of honey to boost the alcohol content another .3% to be right at 4%. It should be bottled sometime next week as it will have sat in the fermenter for about 3 weeks then. I am pleased with my first attempt and cannot wait to try more recipes in the future!
Visit this site to catch the bug: www.mrbeer.com
Prost!
Brother!!
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