possible tp make a super high abv beer with mr beer?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by eckstg, Dec 25, 2012.

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  1. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I'm guessing OP will care once he tastes it. But he and his buddies will choke it down, get smashed, declare that homebrew sucks, and never brew again. It's how our hobby gets a bad reputation.
     
  2. brewsader

    brewsader Initiate (0) Dec 7, 2012 New York

    you forgot about the splitting headache
     
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  3. HerbMeowing

    HerbMeowing Maven (1,271) Nov 10, 2010 Virginia
    Trader

    Look...the brewer is new to the sport.
    Unless the goal here is to drive away new folks...maybe y'all could cut him a little slack.
     
    RyanLigeia, fuzzbalz and Jimjohson like this.
  4. Hotmetal1

    Hotmetal1 Initiate (0) Feb 28, 2012 Mississippi

    I did the same thing (I read in my off time while in Afgahistan) and I am finishing off my first batch of homebrew, only have 5 bombers left, it turned out a lot better than I expected. I did a partical mash IPA. I stumbled a couple of times but I'm really proud of my first batch.
     
  5. mnstorm99

    mnstorm99 Initiate (0) May 11, 2007 Minnesota

    Wow, look at what I was missing.
    I started on a Mr. Beer with little knowledge, and poured my first "attempt" down the drain. I took the pale ale kit that came with the fermenter and added ginger...as if I was cooking and measuring was not very important. Needless to say I brewed 4-5 batches on the system and the rest were drinkable or even good. I made one more Mr. Beer ingredient kit to their specs and it was just ok. But the LBK fermented the other batches just fine when I used unhopped extracts and better yeast (all Nottingham at that point). I then grew tired of 2 gallon batches and moved on. I did revisit it later that first year for an all grain chocolate chile stout that I wished I had done 5 gallons of.

    The help from this site and some reading is what helped me, but I also have gone through a lot of trial and error to get there.

    To the OP, saying you don't care what it tastes like is never going to get you very far on this site as we do take our craft pretty seriously. We are generally helpful, but the tone was set quickly with what appeared to be disregard for the respect this site asks of our favorite beverage.

    With all of that said the mixture of an Oktoberfest and pale ale sounds disgusting, but it just might work. I brew a vast majority of session(able) beers (<5% ABV, many under 4%), and think you may find how complex and wonderful they can be if you open your mind.

    Good luck, and welcome to the hobby.
     
    barfdiggs, fuzzbalz and hopsandmalt like this.
  6. Jimjohson

    Jimjohson Initiate (0) Dec 26, 2012 Georgia

    API IPA
    this is on mrb site claims 8.7 abv. double up on this
     
  7. marquis

    marquis Pooh-Bah (2,301) Nov 20, 2005 England
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Flash back to when I began homebrewing. When I told people about it their only question was "How strong is it?".......for a long time homebrewing was associated with pretty awful stuff made strong for the sake of it.
     
  8. hopsandmalt

    hopsandmalt Initiate (0) Dec 14, 2006 Michigan

    I get that constantly.

    "Is it really strong?"
    "Is it really dark?"
    Or my personal favorite "I can't drink homemade beer, I tried one that my brother in law made once and it was way too thick?" WTF does that mean?
     
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  9. eckstg

    eckstg Initiate (0) Aug 15, 2012 Alabama

    well i was taking a shot in the dark when i made this thread. i was excited to have received the mr beer kit and after reading the directions surprised with the ease of use and brewing beer in general but was clueless with how easy better yet hard it is to brew somethin as strong as i asked about. for all i knew it was simple and i just put this thread out there before reading more about it in hopes it would be simple and get replies on how exactly to do it.

    well now it appears anything over 6% abv is a little difficult in less than 6 weeks time (meaning the 2-2-2 rule)? still surprised and happy to learn making good craft beer doesnt seem to be very hard other than brewing hops like tea and dissolving malt extracts in water and adding yeast to the mix to ferment is all it takes to make decent beer.

    now i know great beer is like makeing great chili and is alot more difficult. could anymore provide me with links on how to make good basic belgians and ipa's that should be as nice as some or maybe most you buy in local stores? i dont mind waiting 9-12months for it to mature as long as its worth it but i dont wanna get very sophisticated at this point either.

    i saw a gret video on youtube on making a 90 minute ipa that seemed simple enough but not sure where the abv usually ends up. i just ordered a hydrometer and test tube. when i made my mr beer wort i put roughly 8oz of it in the fridge before pitching the yeast in hopes that when i received my hydrometer later i could still get the og from it. can i still get the og from that 8 oz?

    my house is not well insulated and the cooler i have been keepink the lbk in since i made the wort has been in the upper 50s. all the days it has been sitting at that temp should i disregard and not start counting toward the 2 weeks fermentation until it stays in the high 60s? i did add 2 packs of booster to this batch along with 2 lme cans and 2 packs yeast. should i expect it to be sweetand not all convert to alcohol?
     
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  10. eckstg

    eckstg Initiate (0) Aug 15, 2012 Alabama

    API IPA
    MAKES APPROX. 2 GALLONS OF BEER IN ABOUT 3 WEEKS.
    OG: 1.075 (approx.) -- FG: 1.010 (approx.)
    Suggested lager time is 2 to 4 weeks.

    For all you techies out there hunched over a keyboard for hours on end, taking your dreams to a Wozniakian level (at least in your own mind), here's a great quaffable ale that will allow you to scale the potential of Moore's law with each hoppy swallow. Compile this tasty brew quick and effortlessly because with Mr.Beer, you never have to Debug.

    RECIPE INCLUDES:
    1 Can American Ale HME
    1 Can Diablo IPA HME
    1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast (under lid of standard HME)
    1 Packet Craft Series Dry Brewing Yeast (under lid of craft HME)
    1 Packet Centennial Pellet Hops
    1 Packet Columbus Pellet Hops
    1 Muslin Hop Sack
    1 Packet No-Rinse Cleanser

    is mr beer full of bs with this kit? if not i wonder what items would be needed to buy from midwestsupplies.com to clone this kit at a better bargain?
     
  11. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    www.howtobrew.com

    You really need to understand the information there before anyone can tell you anything about brewing specific styles that will be useful to you. Otherwise, everything will be out of context.
     
  12. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,274) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Halloween beer idea... carmel apple and razorblade stout...
     
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  13. kjyost

    kjyost Initiate (0) May 4, 2008 Canada (MB)

    To me this looks like it should do a decent job, but the Dead Ringer IPA kit form Northern Brewer makes a good beer similar to Two-Hearted. The nice thing is that with a Mr. Beer you only need to split it in half.

    I agree you should fully read "How to Brew", but if all you do is buy that kit, follow the directions and keep the fermentation temperature under 70F, you'll make a good beer. You can dry hop in your Mr. Beer, but should buy an extra pack of US-05 yeast for your second half batch. Maybe making a batch or two will make you want to learn more about the science & art of brewing.
     
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  14. Jimjohson

    Jimjohson Initiate (0) Dec 26, 2012 Georgia

    T
    That would mean the brother in law grabbed the wrong bottle that was the syrup. :wink:
     
  15. Jimjohson

    Jimjohson Initiate (0) Dec 26, 2012 Georgia

    I've been wondering how that worked as the northern brewer recipes are 5gal and my mrb lbk is 2gal16oz. Was going to run a couple mrb kits then move up in the world but the lbk solves a lot of space problems. Will a straight split work or will it be to much?
     
  16. kjyost

    kjyost Initiate (0) May 4, 2008 Canada (MB)

    From what I have read here and my knowledge of brewing a straight split will be fine.
     
    Jimjohson likes this.
  17. HerbMeowing

    HerbMeowing Maven (1,271) Nov 10, 2010 Virginia
    Trader

    Simply split the 5G kit in half.

    The MrB LBK can ferment a 9-L batch size (2.4G)
    Ignore the 8-L fill line.
    Rack from your kettle until the volume reaches the bottom of the second 'stave' which is close to the top of the QUART marking.
     
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  18. Jimjohson

    Jimjohson Initiate (0) Dec 26, 2012 Georgia

    Like you I am not well insulated but I'd just leave a 40watt bulb on in the closet and make sure to cover the lbk so the light won't get to it. this should supply enough heat to keep you closet slightly warmer than the room. Like you this is my first batch and I think it got cold enough it might be done carbonating, but I'll wait the 2 weeks . Next batch I'm trying this, worth a shot. Put thermometers in the closet to monitor.
     
  19. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    I'm not a Buddhist, but am starting to feel I haven't suffered enough because I by-passed the Mr. Beer phase
     
  20. Jimjohson

    Jimjohson Initiate (0) Dec 26, 2012 Georgia

    Everybody's gotta start somewhere.
     
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