The Brew Times
What is Cold Crashing?
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="mZiIRQL6sd8" video_title1="What is Cold Crashing? " video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} This is a term that is thrown around a lot. It's very popular in our Facebook group and a lot of people talk about cold crashing their beer before bottling or kegging. Personally, I don’t do cold crashing, I just like to brew with as little steps as possible but that’s me. Okay, so Cold Crashing is basically using the cold to drop all that sediment out of your beer. If you want to get a clearer beer you should use this method. So, if your brewing a lager or pilsner or even a super hoppy IPA and you went commando with all those hops this would help make sure all that gunk settles to the bottom. In order to do this you only need 1 thing, a fridge, its super simple to do. What you will want to do is once your beer is done fermenting and is ready to bottle, you will want to put your fermenter in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours for the cold crash. When you are getting ready to bottle you will want to sanitize all your equipment and get everything ready to go, then take your fermenter out of the fridge and get to bottling. If you let your fermenter sit back out at for room temp too long before bottling, you can start to undo the hard work you did by putting your fermenter in the refrigerator. What cold crashing does it that it gets the remaining yeast that is left over after fermentation to flocculate or in simple terms, they will clump together and fall out of suspension and settle to the bottom of your fermenter. This will help reduce the amount of trub and all that stuff that can get into your bottles during bottling. A little separate tip, a lot of people do this here in the office, but if you prop something under the front of your fermenter all the yeast will settle towards the back which will help keep the spigot clear during bottling. Okay so some quick FAQ answers. You can cold crash any style of beer, does not matter if it is an ale or a true lager fermenter with lager yeast. The cold does not kill your yeast, it just helps it go to sleep. That is why we always harp on the proper fermentation temperature so your yeast will be the most active. Your cold crashing will not affect your carbonation process. You will still want to leave your bottles at fermentation temp for carbonation.
Read moreThe Brew Times
Dry Hopping 101
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="WLkh87K4oxg" video_title1="Dry Hopping " video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} To expand a little more on our hop series we wanted to talk about the “hot topic” when it comes to hops. dry hopping. It is a term that is thrown around a ton in the craft beer scene. We wanted to break down, what it is, what it does and the best way to do it. What exactly is dry hopping? To put it simply, Dry Hopping is the process of adding dried hops into your fermenting beer, usually during the later stages, also known as secondary fermentation. The term is believed to be derived from the dry hop plus that were added to barrels of beers in the early days of “commercial” English brewing. Dry hopping is what you do when you want the flavor and aroma from the hops but not the bitterness associated with adding hops in the boil. Does the term dry-hopping refer exclusively to adding hops or can it also be other things? Like spices, fruit, etc? or is that something different? Technically yes, BUT brewers use the term dry hopping to refer to adding all sorts of things to the secondary stage of fermentation. Chances are if you say “I am dry hopping with coffee beans” most homebrewers will understand what you mean. Are there certain beers that are best for dry hopping? Dry hopping is simply a technique that you can apply to any beer that you want. That being said, there are definitely styles that are synonymous with dry hopping. IPA’s are probably at the front of most people’s minds, specifically NEIPA’s and anything that identifies as “hazy”. But you can technically have a dry-hopped, “anything”. What are some of the most popular hops to use for dry hopping and what beers would you pair them with? For dry hopping, you will more than likely be selecting hops from the “Dual purpose/aroma” category. Some popular choices for dry hopping are Citra, centennial, cascade, Simcoe, Hallertau and tettnanger. Of course, there are MANY more than that available and it just really depends on what you are looking for. As far as pairing them with a beer style, personally I love to add aroma and dual-purpose hops to a good juicy NEIPA. At the end of the day you are the brewer and what you choose to dry hop is up to you. When you are designing a recipe what are some of the go-to hops that you like to pick for dry hopping? I think I have said this a million times but an old faithful for me is citra and simcoe. I love how the dank herbaceous character of simcoe, plays with the citrus of the citra hops. I also LOVE lemon drop hops, the lemon aroma hey give is truly delicious in citrus-forward beers. Are you a hopsack or commando kind of brewer? For me it really depends on what I am making and how much hops I am adding. Usually, my boil hops will go in sacked and my dry hops will go in commando. I like commando on a dry hop because it increases the surface area of the hops that get exposed to your brew, giving you more flavor and aroma IMO. Dry hopping commando also helps reduce the risk of infection because you are not adding a foreign body into your beer like a hopsack. What are some tips that you could give someone who might be doing a dry hop for the first time? Use fresh hops that smell good and haven’t been exposed to oxygen. This means if you have some oxidized hop pellets laying around, those are not what you would want to use to dry hop with. You also want to make sure you are dry hopping at the right time. Doing it too early may rob you of some of the finer aromas and flavors associated with your hop choice. We generally advise our brewers to dry hop no earlier than day 7 or 8 of fermentation. On heavily dry-hopped beers it can also be a good idea to perform something called a diacetyl rest. This prevents something called “hop creep” which is when your hops create a butter flavor in your beer. This rest is very easy to do on the Mr. Beer scale. Basically, it consists of raising fermentation temps a few degrees the last 2 days of the fermentation process. This gives the yeast the metabolic energy to clean up its own output. And last, Be creative! Don’t be afraid to experiment with different hops. Always start small if you are not sure how much to add. If you have never dry hopped before, .5 oz is a great amount to start with. Remember you can always add but you can’t take away.
Read moreLevel Up Your Brewing with Mr. Beer Recipes
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="Uyh-sRPJsnM" video_title1="Level Up Your Brewing with Mr. Beer Recipes" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} Looking to take your brewing game to the next level? We have setup our recipe selection to help walk you through the process, to increase your brewing knowledge and expertise.
Read moreDifference Between LME & DME
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="qq9rn_vqPrk" video_title1="Difference Between LME & DME" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} This is a question we see and get quite often, so I thought would be good just to break it down so you know what the difference is and what would work best for you if you are wanting to make your own recipe. The main noticeable difference between this is obvious, one is liquid, and one is powder. Now you will use them a little bit differently. LME is pretty simple to use, it’s just like brewing with your Hopped Malt Extract but it offers a little more versatility since it is unhoped. You are able to do a hop boil with LME. You just want to make sure that it is fully mixed before you do your boil and note that boiling LME will cause it to darken a little bit. When using a DME there are a few things you will want to know. The fist is that if you dump the DME into boiling water it will get gummy and clump together, so you always want to add your DME as your water is coming up to a boil to help prevent this. You will also want to add a little at a time, just dumping the whole bag in can create some issues when trying to mix it up. Also, if you are using DME for your hop boil, you will want to make sure that you are waiting for the hot-break before you add in your hops. You will want to keep mixing the DME as it boils to keep the foam from rising too high and spilling over your pot. Once you hit the hot-break you will see the foam subside and it will just look like a regular boil. So, make sure to pay attention when doing this, if you have ever had a boil over, then you know that it is a sticky mess that is a pain to clean! Pro Tip for you, if you keep a spray bottle of clean water handy you can spray the foam when it gets to high and it will help keep it down. That is the difference in how you use each one, a few other differences between the two are.. Color affect, using DME will usually help preserve the lighter color in your beer. So if you are wanting to brew a light lager, pilsner, pale ale etc, you may want to go with a DME in this instance. LME is much easier to use, so if you are new to brewing or just want to get in a quick easy brew go with the LME. As far as flavor goes there have been some that said LME creates a more pleasant flavor in your beer vs DME. DME is more concentrated, so it can kick up your ABV with less. In the end it just comes down to your personally preference and what you are brewing and the process that you feel like doing or recipe you want to create.
Read more6 Common Off Flavors in Your Homebrew and How to Fix Them or Prevent Them
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="Qy7nm7bUH3M" video_title1="6 Common Off Flavors In Your Beer & How to Fix them or Prevent Them" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} If you are new to brewing or have been brewing for a long time you are bound to get some off flavors in your beer from time to time. This just happens, you can take all the precautions to prevent them from happening, but no one is immune. We wanted to discuss the 6 most poplar ones and what you can do to either prevent them from happening and how to fix them if it does happen if possible. The first off flavor we will discuss is Acetaldehyde, which seems to be the most poplar off flavor that brewers get. This is probably one of the most common off flavors you hear about with homebrewing. It’s usually described as green apple, twangy, cidery or like rotten apples in severe cases. Acetaldehyde is something that occurs naturally in the brewing process and is a chemical created by yeast. Usually it is converted to ethanol alcohol, but sometimes beers with very high gravity or beers that are under pitched, it can come out more and have a harder time going away. It can also be exacerbated if you are brewing at temps too high or in some cases, too low or if your yeast has a very slow start. A strong taste of rotten apples can mean a bacterial infection as well. The second off flavor, which can also be very common is Diacetyl. Ah yes this can be a tough one to relate to brewers who have never experienced it before but once you get it, you’ll know it. Usually it comes across as butter, buttered popcorn or butterscotch. Diacetyl is another compound that is naturally produced by yeast but is usually re absorbed into the yeast cells. This butter flavor can have a few causes. Weak or mutated yeast can be the cause, over or under oxygenating, extended low fermentation temps (like with lagers) and weak or short boils. The other cause of a butter flavor in your beer can be from old, outdated high alpha hops. We call this “hop creep”. Hop creep can happen with fresh hops too if you rush the Dry hopping process and don’t give your beer enough time to clean up after you make your hop additions. You can avoid this flavor by treating your yeast well, making sure it has all the nutrients it needs for high gravity wort and making sure you are not shocking the yeast when you pitch it with temperatures that are too far on one end of the extreme. Make sure you aerate well and don’t rush your fermentation process. Another off flavor that brewers can get is kind of that Skunky flavor. So, this is an interesting one. There are quite a few beers out there that people have come to love that have this flavor as almost a benchmark of the brand…. It is usually described as skunky or “catty” or sometimes like rubber. This comes from hops being exposed to UV light. We call this “light struck”. The alpha acids in hops break down and react with the hydrogen sulfide that the yeast produce. This creates mercaptan which is the same chemical that skunks spray when they are frightened. In commercial beers, you will usually find this flavor within clear or green bottles because they do not protect the beer from UV light. Avoid this flavor by protecting your fermenter and bottled beer from light. One of the flavors that a lot of new brewers can get is from Oxidation, how can that be prevented? Oxidization usually tastes stale or old or like wet cardboard or paper. Oxidation occurs mostly when an excessive amount of oxygen is introduced to the wort when it’s still very warm or after fermentation is complete during bottling or kegging. But also, not aerating your wort before pitching can cause it too. So, it’s a fine balance. You can dodge this off flavor by avoiding excessive splashing or fermented beer and being careful when you do any kind of transfer. Also remember, warm liquid will always absorb oxygen far easier so lower the temp or your wort before being too rough with it. A sour flavor, is also a type of off flavor, unless you are brewing a sour beer, what causes that and how can it be prevent or fixed? So, this is often described as vinegar or acrid. Except for in sours this flavor is out of lace in other styles and is usually a sign of bacterial infection or wild yeast infection. When this happens, you will usually get a strong smell of vinegar as well. This is very disappointing when it happens and there’s nothing that can be done to save a beer that has been infected in that way. The easiest way to avoid this is to SANITIZE! This becomes even more important the more you have used your equipment many times. Also, it’s important to use clean water, and be aware that pathogens can often travel through the air so make sure to not open your fermenter lid unless you must. The last one we will discuss is a sweet taste in your beer. Where does that come from and how is it prevented? This one is self-explanatory in what it tastes like. If you are tasting your wort at the end of fermentation and it’s cloyingly sweet the cause of that is likely “under fermentation” This means the beer did not fully ferment all the available sugar into alcohol. Now the exception to this can be if you have added something like lactose sugar, this sweetness will never ferment out. If under fermentation is your issue, try waiting a few days and checking the temperature to make sure it is warm enough. Temperature issues are usually the cause of most stalled fermentations when it comes to Mr. Beer.
Read moreAroma Hops
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="nPzp3i-LCds" video_title1="Aroma Hops" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} In our 24th episode of BrewTalk with Mr. Beer we hop back into..hops! We discuss Aroma hops, what they do and provide some tricks for picking the best ones for your brew. As we continue our hop series, we are getting into aroma hops. These types of hops and just this term seem to be more prevalent today especially with rise of NE IPA’s and these aroma IPA’s that have less bitterness and more aroma hops. What does the term aroma hop mean? What do these hops do? Well it’s straightforward. Aroma hops are hops with strong and forward aroma and flavor that work especially well for late additions and Dry hopping. These hops can have high or low alpha acid contents, but the most important characteristic is the amount of flavor and aroma they provide. When would you add hops for aroma in your brew? Can you do it to early or too late? That really comes down to what you are trying to accomplish. Now if you are using aroma hops, it would make sense that you are probably after them for their aroma and not as much their bittering. So usually those are hops you’ll add later like flameout or in a dry hop. So exactly when, really just is dependent on your desire for the final product. What are some of the more popular aroma hops that we see today? Well there are a lot. And some dual purpose hops are also sometimes classified as aroma hops. Some of the more popular varieties of classified aroma hops are Crystal, Fuggle, El dorado, Pacifica, Zythos and many more! Could you use any of the aroma hops you listed as bittering hops also? In a simple answer, yes. As I have said before, all hops are bitter if they are boiled. Some are more bitter than others. It’s important to take into consideration that not all hops bitter with the same flavor. So just like the aroma the hop is adding you have to make sure you enjoy its bittering characteristics as well if you plan to use it both ways. What are some of the aromas that you will get from some of these popular aroma hops? That can be varied but some of the aroma descriptors you will hear often are Citrus, Floral, dark fruit, tropical fruit, dank, or herbal. The flavor profile you choose, depends on the aromas you wish to highlight. Are there other beer styles besides IPA’s where aroma hops can be put to good use? Absolutely! I have had heavily dry aroma hopped golden ales, Belgians, lagers etc. If you want a heavy hop aroma in your finished beer you should do it. Aroma hops can also be great in unexpected styles like stouts. If someone was picking out some hops to use as aroma hops for the first time what advice or suggestions would you give them? As I always say, you really need to think about what you want your finished product to be. Once you have a good idea about that, SMELL THEM. Does the aroma give you what you are looking for? Does the aroma you get from smelling them enhance or compliment the other ingredients you are using ? I would also recommend trying commercially available beers that have that hop in them as an aroma addition. This can give you a lot of inspiration and insight.
Read moreYeast Flavor Profiles
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="UbmpnsRxrnA" video_title1="Yeast Flavor Profiles" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} We did our basic topic a few weeks ago to just cover the different styles, etc. Now we wanted to look at how different yeasts can add certain flavors to your beer. So we are going to go through the styles of yeast that we sell on the website and I’ll let Zach explain the type of flavor you can get out of the yeast so you can start to experiment with different yeasts if you want to. So we will start with the go to yeast which seems to be US-05, tell us a little about that one. US-05 is a staple because of how “clean” it is. By that, I mean the lack of flavor it contributes, the high flocculation, its high attenuation, and all-around solid performer. It’s especially good for IPAs because it allows the hop flavors to really come through. What about US-04? That seems to be similar to the US-05. US-04 is actually better suited for malty, UK-style beers. This yeast leaves behind some of the complex sugars that are created during the mash, making beers with more malt -forward qualities. A great choice for English Pales & Bitters, Porters & Stouts, Irish Reds, or anything else where the malt is the major player. WB-06 seems to be an awesome yeast to use with wheat beers, tell us a little about that one. This yeast is great for wheat beers because it adds slight fruitiness, but more importantly, a clove-like spiciness. The hotter you ferment it, within reason, the more of that citrus and clove you’ll get out of it. You’ll even get banana if you get close to 78-degrees, for those of you who enjoy that sort of thing. I don’t know much about this one, what about S-33 yeast? S-33 is supposed to be a Belgian-style yeast, great for wheat and Trappist ales. It’s marketed as a low attenuating yeast that leaves behind big malt flavors, but it doesn’t have a big following. It ferments well but takes a long time to clear and won’t bring big ABV to the table. Great for historic style beers that were low in alcohol and big on malt. Let’s get into some funky yeasts T-58 seems to have unique characteristics to it. T-58 is a more traditional Belgian-style yeast, it brings a lot of peppery, spicy flavors. Great for Wit beers and other things you want more spicy notes in. Lets get into Lager Yeast, S-23 seems to be a popular one for lager styles, tells us a little about that. This lager yeast is actually used by a lot of Western European breweries. It will provide you with a clean, dry lager taste when used at 48F-59F. This yeast will perform alright at ale temps, but will produce more fruity esters. Okay and the last yeast we will talk about W-34/70, how is that different from the S-23? The W-34/70 is derived from the Weihenstephan strain, it ferments cleanly (meaning lower esters) and noticeably malt forward. A great yeast for Bohemian lagers that value bready, biscuit like malt flavors and spicy hop aromas.
Read moreOktoberfest
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="wlKVjWqC2K8" video_title1="Oktoberfest" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} We wanted to keep it simple this week so we thought, why not talk about Oktoberfest!! It starts this Sunday and there is no better way to celebrate than with a nice cold homebrew, Cheers! For those of you who do not know Oktoberfest starts this Sunday the 21st. It’s an awesome time of the year for anyone who loves beer. It seems that in most cities there is some type of Oktoberfest event going on, which is awesome because you can go try all kinds of good beers and food. What I wanted to do with this episode was just explain what Oktoberfest is really quick to get everyone ready to celebrate. So this will be a nice short episode. Also keep an eye on your inbox this week for possibly some new recipes. Every year Oktoberfest is held in Munich, Germany and it is the worlds largest beer festival usual puling in around 6 million people over the deration of the event. It is estimated that over 1.9 million gallons of beer are consumed during the event, that is about 950,000 LBKs!!!!! The event has been going since 1819. The only beer that is served at Oktoberfest has to conform to the German purity law which states that beer can only be brewed with water, barley and hops. The main style of beer that is served is what is considered a Marzen style of beer. These are kind of full body beers which a dark brown color to them. Okay so if you are wanting to brew some Mr. Beer Refills or Recipes to celebrate here are few that you can brew. Our Oktoberfest Lager Standard Refill is a sure choice to brew. Also if you wanted to get a little higher ABV and get a more malty full bodied flavor brew the deluxe refill. Zombie Fest Lager is also a good beer to brew. That beer is a true lager, so if you can brew at the colder temperature then you should brew this. Our Oktoberfestivus German Amber would also be a good beer to brew. This one brews as an ale so if you cant brew the lager then you should brew this guy. I am also going to put our Munich Malt Monster Dopplebock in this list. It would not really confirm to the traditional style served at Oktoberfest, but its just a darn good beer and perfect for this time of year. Really though if you are just brewing your favorite beer and enjoying the process and the beer and sharing your beer with friends and family then your celebrating cuz that is what I think it is all about.
Read moreDual Purpose Hops
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="Q59e4fmkeGI" video_title1="Dial Purpose Hops" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} Love Hops? We do too! In this episode of Brew Talk with Mr. Beer we discuss Dual Purpose Hops and what they are and what they do! I think this topic can be a little confusing for people so we thought it would be great to have our hop expert, Ashley, to discuss this topic and maybe make it a little easier to understand. What are Dual Purpose Hops? The simplest way to describe Dual purpose hops is that they are usually hops that can be used for both their bittering and their aroma characteristics. We have this categorized on our site, but how would someone know what is a Dual-Purpose Hop or is there really no way to know without just knowing? Generally speaking, dual-purpose hops are going to have a moderate to higher Alpha acid range as well as a lot aroma and flavor throw in its non-isomerized sate. One of the first things I do when I am trying to decide how to purpose a hop, is I smell it. And not just one sniff, I really smell it several times to get a good idea of what kind of flavors it might carry as a flameout or dry hop addition. Between this and knowing the AA content of that particular hop, You can pretty safely determine whether that variety will express well both ways. A lot of that comes down to your preferences too. What are some of the most popular hops that are used? I would say more hops can be used in a dual purpose way, than not. They may not be categorized that way, but it does not mean they can’t be used in that manner. But some varieties that you’ll often see used both ways are Galaxy, El dorado, Simcoe , Azacca, Mosaic, Citra And many more. Out of the Dual Purpose category of hops are there some that are just better for bittering and some that are better for just aroma or does that just depend on a person’s individual taste? You know, I think the answer to that question can really depend on who you ask. Me personally, I think it depends on what you are making and the expectation you have for your final product. Say you wanted to create a beer that was single hopped but you wanted it to have a lot of bitterness as well as aroma, you would be better off selecting a dual purpose hop on the higher end of the AA spectrum rather than using a whole bunch of a lower AA variety. If someone was brewing with a dual purpose hop for bittering would they be better off just selecting a bittering hop since that is what they are made for, or no? Not necessarily. At the end of the day, all hops are bitter to some degree when boiled. That’s what hops in general do for beer. There’s certain occasions when a brewer will want to showcase all the finer points of one particular hop. This is where it makes sense to select a dual-purpose hop that will really shine on both levels. What are some of your favorite dual purpose hops that you like to brew with? OOhh I love any thing super citrus or super dank. It’s hard for me to ever pick favorites because I love them all! Citra and simcoe are the two I probably use the most both ways. But I am also a big fan of really experimenting with all kinds of different hops in different ways and often outside of their mainstream recognized purpose. Brewing beer is all about the finished product and half the fun is experimenting and learning new things about what you enjoy drinking.
Read moreBrewing with Specialty Grains
If you want to take your brew to the next level specialty grains are a great addition to add something extra to your brew. We use these in all our partial mash recipes. In our 20th episode of Brew Talk with Mr. Beer we discuss some of the basics around using specialty grains on your brew day. We use these in what we call our Partial Mash recipes and Zach has been an all grain brewer for a long time we thought it was best to get him to talk specialty grains and just grains in general. The first question I have for you is brewing with Specialty Grains has to vastly differ from brewing with all grain. Could you elaborate on some of the differences between the two methods? The differences might be less than you think. When brewing all grain recipes, you still need specialty grains for the roasty, sweet, or biscuity flavors. The major difference comes from the base malt, since we use extract, we don’t need to make a sugar rich wort from grains, Cooper’s has already done that for us. How can the volume of grains that you are using for steeping affect the beer? Is there such a thing as too many grains or too little for steeping? Yes, since we’re using the grains for color and flavor it is possible to add too many making your amber into a brown or your brown into a porter or adding too much crystal and having too much sweetness (among other problems). What would say is the most common type of grain that could be used with a lager, a porter, etc.? The most common types in lagers would be the biscuity malts. Since most lagers are light in color, the ones you find most often are Pilsen, Vienna, Biscuit, and the like. Things that may add a small amount of color, but mostly add flavor. For a porter you’re looking not only for roasty or burnt toast flavors, but also that classic dark color. These are your Chocolate, dark Crystal, and Black malts. What would be the base grain for someone to use if they wanted to like experiment with different hops in a boil? In an all-grain “SMaSH” beer, Single Malt and Single Hop, you’d use any of the base malts grains; 2-row, 6-row, Pilsen, Maris Otter, and the like. To try that with Mr. Beer, you’d have to try something more along the lines of starting with the unhoped BrewMax DME or LME’s to get to that pure starting point. After that, you can play with steeping different grains to see what interesting combinations you can create. Is there a certain type of grain that you prefer to use when you are brewing certain styles? Like, Lager, IPA’s, Stouts Again, it all comes down the style. Malty English styles love Maris Otter, Biscuit, and even Rye. With lagers I start with Vienna, Pilsen, 6-Row, light malts that have biscuit or toast flavors. With IPA’s I dig the clean 2-row, palest malts because it’s all about the hops. Things like crystal malt can mess with that and even lead to some oxidation-like flavors.
Read moreBottling With Different Adjuncts
Want to add different adjuncts during bottling? Check Out Our 19th Episode of Brew Talk With Mr. Beer where we talk about a few of our favorite and how to best use them. This is a question we get asked often and it is something that we included in some of our recipes. Adding different things during bottling time to impact the flavor of your beer. Some of these can be used in place of carbonation drops others can be used in conjunction with them to add flavor to your beer. If you have questions, contact our customer service team. Zach and Ashley have a ton of knowledge and can help you with any question you may have. Dextrose The first thing I wanted to talk about was dextrose. This would be used instead of carbonation drops or table sugar. The dextrose is an extremely fermentable sugar so it will help boost carbonation in your beer and get that crisp taste. If you are brewing a lager this would be something that could add a different dynamic to it. You will want to use the same amount as you would sugar when bottling. Honey or Maple Syrup Honey and Maple are something that you can use to replace the sugar when bottling. It will add some sweetness and some unique flavor to your beer. Honey tends to pair best with the lighter style beers and maple syrup with the darker ones, but you can mix and match how you like. When using honey or maple syrup when bottling you will want to make sure that you are using a freshly open bottle, you don’t want something that has been sitting around for a while. The ratio for honey or maple syrup to sugar is 1 to 1. So in our 740 bottles we use 2 teaspoons of sugar you would use 2 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup. You just add it right into the bottle then fill it up with beer. Vanilla Extract Most vanilla extract does contain alcohol so there is no need to pasteurize or sanitize it. During bottling time, you will want to add 1-2 teaspoons depending on how much flavor you want from the vanilla. Always make sure to use a sanitized measuring spoon and for this one you will still need to add your priming sugar or carbonation drops. Coffee We have a few recipes that call for adding coffee or expresso when bottling. For this mixture I would do it the same as you would the vanilla, 1-2 teaspoons depending on how strong you want the flavor. If you are using expresso you will want to make sure that it is at least room temperature when adding to your bottles. You can also use cold brew coffee concentrate as well to get those coffee notes out of your beer. This is great for stouts, porters just dark beers in general. We do recommend using the cold brew method as it just has a smoother taste and will pair better with your beer. Whiskey If you want to get really wild with it you can bottle your beer with some whiskey. You will want to add a shot or less to each bottle depending how strong you want the flavors. You do want to be carful though, adding too much booze to your bottle and the yeast will not be able to carbonate, so nothing more than a shot per bottle at most. Monin Flavor Syrup Comes in a ton of different flavors and they can all be found on Amazon. They have sugar-free and sugar sweetened ones. If you are using the sugar-free styles you will need to add your priming sugar just like you normally would. If you are using the ones that are sweetened with sugar, then the ratio would be 1 to 1 just like with the honey and syrup. Just add it to the bottle and then fill it with beer and your good to go. Those are just some of the adjuncts that you can add during bottling to get some unique flavors out of your beer. Depending on how much you add that will alter the impact of that particular flavor and always make sure everything is sanitized. If you have any questions about this topic just comment on the post or you can get it touch with Zach or Ashley by emailing us, giving us a call or using the live chat on our website.
Read moreGluten Free Brewing Tips
In out 18th Episode of Brew Talk With Mr. Beer we talk about Gluten Free Brewing tips! Since we launched out Gluten Free Recipes a few weeks ago we thought it would be great to share some tips to make sure you get the most out of your brew day. As you may or may not know we launched 4 new Gluten Free Recipes about 4 weeks ago. The first, of many to come, gluten recipes on our site. This are all just amazing beers. Even if you can have regular beer I would recommend brewing these. One thing about brewing Gluten Free is that the experience can be a little different that what you would normally have when brewing a regular beer. So we wanted to give some times on brewing gluten free. The first part we have to cover real quick as it relates to everything brewing, Sanitation! Sanitation is always priority #1 when it comes to brewing of ANY KIND. Sanitation is that much more important when you are brewing GF beer for 2 primary reasons. The first is to limit the potential for cross contamination so that you are not making yourself or someone sick but exposing them to passive forms of gluten. The second reason has to do with your yeast health. Gluten free wort can sometimes lack the nutrients that yeast requires to thrive and this can sometimes make it more vulnerable. There are easy ways to bolster your yeast, that we will talk about in a minute. Okay now that we got that out of the way lets talk about hops and some ways to help heavily hopped gluten free beers not get funky flavors. Off flavors from heavy hopping can occur in any beer BUT I have found that certain yeasts can bring out Diacytal (Butter or butterscotch flavor) in your beer in conjunction with sorghum. There’s two primary ways to avoid this. The first is making sure your yeast is in good health (fresh, right temp pitch and nutrients especially in high gravity worts), Healthy happy yeast cleans up after itself and produces fewer off flavors. Using fresh hops is also very important. You always want to avoid Dry hopping with hops that you have had sitting open, exposed to oxygen. The 3rd preventative measure is patience. This means not rushing your beer out of the fermenter before it’s had a chance to fully complete. I like to wait at least 4 days more after dry hopping whenever possible. It’s also important to let your bottles condition for at least 3 weeks. If you are worried about hop creep in your beer, you can pull a sample from your fermenter and place it into a sanitized mason jar, close the jar and refrigerate overnight. Taste the next day, if you get butter flavors. let your beer hang out longer in the fermenter and test again in 2-4 days. If someone wanted to increase the mouthfeel or body in their Gluten Free Beer how would they do that? You’ll notice that some of our recipes contain maltodextrin. This is a 100% corn derived maltodextrin called “Clintose 10”. We have you adding Malto at 4 ounces but more or less can be used to increase this. The oats in our Stout recipe also help to increase body and mouthfeel. In one of our recipes we have something called amalayse enzyme included, what is that and how does it help your Gluten Free Beer? For the most part gluten free Grains and extracts are what we call “non-diastatic” This means they don’t produce any Enzyme activity. That means if you steep grains, there are no enzymes present to help convert starch to sugar that your yeast has the ability to ferment. Enter amalayse enzyme. Fun fact this same enzyme is also found in human spit! By adding this non spit form, you can improve the efficiency of the oats you are using, You also help to protect the shelf life of your beer by using them when you steep GF grains. Let’s talk about yeast, when brewing using Gluten Free ingredients how can that affect the yeast and what are some ways to help it out? As we mentioned earlier, sometimes in GF wort your yeast can benefit from a little extra nutrients just like we benefit from taking a multi vitamin. I always advise that every gluten free brewer Keep a few key things on hand Yeast nutrient or energizer and or old yeast packets that you don’t mind boiling. If you don’t have access to yeast nutrients then you can easily feed your yeast by boiling a half a packet of old yeast in your wort so that it dies off and provides B vitamins and food for you viable yeast. I HIGHLY recommend doing this, especially for the higher gravity beers like our stout. When it comes time to bottling what can you tell us about residual sweetness you can get when brewing Gluten Free? It has been my experience when brewing GF beers with larger amounts of Candy sugar being used, sometimes you can get residual sweetness that does not seem to ferment out. This can be confusing. This is why I recommend checking with your hydrometer and making sure are waiting at least the full 14 days if your gravity is continuing to fall. If you are brewing up a recipe for a friend that is gluten free are there any precautions that you need to take with your equipment, bottles, etc. If you are brewing this beer for someone who has celiac or needs to avoid gluten for some other reason, you need to think about what you have brewed with your equipment in the past. I would not recommend using an LBK that has previously been used to brew a gluten containing beer. You also need to consider your environment… Do you have sources of gluten on or directly around your preparation area? Have you touched gluten with your hands? Has there been gluten in your plastic bottles? These are all things you need to consider. Trust me when I say you do not want to be responsible for making a friend or even yourself sick. I cannot stress enough when it comes to steeping oats you need to purchase certified gluten free oats.
Read moreYeast- The Basics
{{widget type="Magento\Cms\Block\Widget\Block" template="widget/static_block/default.phtml" block_id="149" type_name="CMS Static Block"}} In this 17th episode of Brew Talk with Mr. Beer we kick a new video series, Yeast! We discuss the basics around the different options and styles to choose from. So, we thought it would be good to start a new series about yeast. They are a ton of different styles and varieties out there and we wanted to start diving into them a little bit. So, we are starting our Yeast series. Today will be a brief overview then in future episodes we will get into some deep content. What are the different types of yeast? Well, from a top level, most homebrewers will see either dry packets or liquid packets. What are some of the benefits and downsides to liquid yeast? Liquid yeast are a great option for high gravity worts, since they have more active living cells than the dry packets. On the downside, they don’t store very long and need to be kept at optimal temperatures our they can die out. What are some of the benefits and downsides to dry yeast? The benefits to dry yeast are their shelf-life longevity and the cost, both in price and for shipping. They are also “typically” gluten-free. Downsides are they are limited in varieties and they aren’t as powerful when sprinkled into the wort. You can make a yeast starter to make it equivalent to the liquid yeast, but it does take a day for it to be ready. Is there one that you prefer to use over the other when doing your brews? Liquid yeasts are great when you are looking for a very specific type of yeast strain or if you have a high gravity wort that needs something with an extra kick. A little shopping around will most likely find a dry equivalent though and with the ease of making a starter, I prefer the dry in most situations now. What are some of the different characteristics or flavors you can you can get from yeasts? That will depend on the strain of yeast. You got your two primary styles; ale and lager. Lager yeasts are great for clean, crisp flavors but require cooler fermentation temperatures. Ales will give you fuller body and “fruitier” esters, but there’s a lot of styles that ferment cleaner than others. Then there are styles like saison that will give you those funky, farmhouse styles. There a whole host more, but more than we can cover today. When you are brewing up a new creation how do you decide what yeast to use? When I’m brewing for Mr. Beer, I will pick yeast by it’s characteristics which are all listed by the various manufacturers. I always pick dry yeast for the convenience of shipping and storage, but I’ll see what flavor characteristics that yeast might be known for and decide whether I want those flavors or if I want to shake things up a little bit. After all, the experimentation is part of why I love to brew, so nothing is really off limits until I try it in a brew.
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