The Brew Times Homebrewing Blog
Welcome New Brewers
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Essential Tools for the Mr. Beer Brewer
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="VK_ORXqNruI" video_title1="Essential Tools for the Mr. Beer Brewer" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} What are some of the brewing tools you keep around? We wanted to tell you some of our favorites to make sure you have them in your setup.
Read moreIs It Better to Use Plastic or Glass Bottles for Your Homebrew?
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="SDWQIXyOisg" video_title1="Is It Better to Use Plastic or Glass Bottles for Your Homebrew?" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} Is it better to bottle your homebrew in plastic or glass? We settle the debate once and for all, and our answer will surprise you!
Read moreWhy Brewing with Malt Extract Makes your Beer Darker?
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="idkPHc-Idkc" video_title1="Why Brewing with Malt Extract Makes your Beer Darker?" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} We were having a conversation in the office about why using malt extract tends to make your beer darker. So, we thought it would be a great Brew Talk Episode and we just did it on the spot! So please bear with our rambling thoughts in this episode of Brew Talk with Mr. Beer.
Read moreWhy Does Mr. Beer Not Use Airlocks?
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="uBC60wDTiLs" video_title1="Why does Mr. Beer Not Use Airlocks?" 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 get quite often, why does my fermenter not have an airlock? Well, we break it down for you in this episode of BrewTalk with Mr. Beer.
Read moreHow to Customize Your Own Mr. Beer Kit
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="i6sIjgnvZlM" video_title1="How To Customize Your Own Mr. Beer Kit" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} Looking to customize your own Mr. Beer Kit or a kit to get someone into brewing? Well, we let you know how you can customize your own kit with Mr. Beer.
Read moreHow to Keep Your Fermenter Warm During Winter?
{{widget type="Solvature\VideoSlider\Block\Widget\VideoSliderWidget" video_embed1="J3A7xrVWn8g" video_title1="How to Keep Your Fermenter Warm During Winter?" video_cta_color1="white" video_cta_color2="white" video_cta_color3="white" video_cta_color4="white" video_cta_color5="white"}} Winter is getting closer, and the cold temperatures are coming! With that comes the issue of how to keep your fermenter warm during the winter. We provide some helpful items and tips to keep you brewing all winter long.
Read moreWhat 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 moreDry 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
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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.
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