Yes, Santa supprised me w/ a Mr Beer Kit! Looking to brew my first batch. Using 1 can HME & 1 can UME and want to use some Wyeast liquid yeast (145 grams), but do I use 1 pack or two??

Also, should I throw the Booster in there for a higher Abv??

Thanks for the help, and sorry if these are covered somewhere already.

One pack of Wyeast is more than enough for a Mr Beer sized batch.
You could use the booster to up the ABV but you are thinning out the malt and could cause some cidery flavors.

And reading this post http://www.mrbeerfans.com/ubbthreads/ubb...html#Post207387 might be of assistance to you.

Great, thanks Banjoman!

Well, if he's got 2 cans of malt, and a full pack of Wyeast Activator, he's shouldn't get cidery flavors if he has anything resembling good temp control and aeration, just by adding one package of booster.

Nor is he really "thinning" out the malt...he's just adding more fermentables (and unfermentables...remember, booster is 20% dextrins). With enough malt and yeast; and good aeration, sanitation and temp control, adding a package of booster to an already good recipe will do very little other than add some extra ABV. The flavors will only very slightly change, and it may need a bit more conditioning time.

The problems with booster almost universally arise when using it INSTEAD of malt...like using it with just one can of HME and nothing else. That WILL result in a thin beer. But if you add it to a recipe with TWO cans of malt, and pitch enough yeast, you'll end up with an excellent beer that isn't any thinner than the recipe would have been if you hadn't added the booster!

Oh, and welcome to the forum! Don't hesitate to introduce yourself over in the welcoming center.

Thanks Jon.. I may try my first batch w/ two cans of malt, and then another batch w/ 2 cans of malt and the booster to compare.

Oh and I'll be sure and stop by the welcoming center. Thanks again to you both.

Sorry Banjo but I totally agree with Jon. I think the main difference will be the buzz factor (more alcohol).

Well I just bottled my first batch last night. My recipe was one can West Coast Pale, one can Pale Export, one bag booster, some Wyeast German Ale liquid and fermented for 15 days. I tasted the brew prior to bottling and tasted a non sweet flat beer like flavor with a slight plastic taste. Will this plastic taste dissipate during the carbonation or conditioning period? Also, the brew was not 100% clear more reminiscent of a Hefeweizen.

It's not uncommon for the beer to not be clear at bottling. During carbonation as the yeasties carbonate and go dormant some will drop out and clear the beer, but it also depends a lot on the yeast used. Wyeast German Ale is #1007, and they list it as low flocculation, so yeah, I wouldn't expect the beer to get terribly clear on its own. Ones that claim high flocculation are more likely to go clear without intervention.

The plastic taste could be from a number of things, including possibly the water you used. Did you use tap, filtered, bottled, or distilled water?

The taste may condition out. Guess it's best to wait and see.

I used Ozarka bottled spring water.

The plastic taste is probably some slight phenolics from the yeast, which may chande with some conditioning time.

What was your fermentation temperature?

Oh, and expect cloudy beer at bottling. It'll clear some while it carbs and more when it's in the fridge.

Yeast was pitched at about 73. Fermentation temp ranged from 66 to 68.

So my temps are ok? I am carbing at 66 to 68 as well.

You will want to pitch your yeast at or slightly below your fermentation temp for best results

Your fermentation temps are fine, are those temps ambient or from the LBK? As the LBK will be higher during primary fermentation

Ah, so my pitching temp was a little warm. How will this affect things? Does this explain the plastic like taste?

The fermentation temps are ambient. LBK?

LBK is the Little Brown Keg--the Mr. Beer fermenter.

The activity of the yeast during the initial burst of fermentation will usually warm the wort a few degrees above ambient.

There are many different phenols that are produced by yeast. Some are desirable in certain strains like Hefes and Belgiums. Others are caused by stress on the yeast. Your pitching temperature may be the cause. Chlorine can also mix wih yeast and create a medicine/band-aid flavor.

Well thanks for the feedback everyone. Now that I know that "LBK" is the fermentor.. the temps listed above were in fact from a stick on thermometer on the LBK so not ambient.

I will do a better job of cooling the wort down to a lower temp before pitching the yeast next time. Maybe this batch will still be good w/ some time after all.

Btw, JSSTRB.. I used the provided No-Rinse Cleanser upon sanitizing and used bottled spring water as previously mentioned so I wouldn’t think that I would have any chlorine in my batch, but who knows.

You should be fine as far as chlorine, then. I'll bet you're just tasting young beer. It's AMAZING how much beer can improve with just a little time.

Sorry if I overlooked information that you already provided. I was just trying to brainstorm on some possible causes of off flavors.
Jon is probably right. Give it some more time and let us know how it is.

No worries, I certainly appreciate everyone’s help.

One week into conditioning and I broke down, I had to try it. I opened my first pint and it tasted great! It was well carbonated and had a great head. A little light on flavor for using two cans of malt I thought, but what do I know.. this is my first batch. Super excited though that it turned out well. None of the plastic phenol taste from tasting the young beer was present.

Awesome, congrats. Shows you the wonder of what conditioning can do. Maybe with a little time some more of the character will come out that you were expecting.

Congrats, you made beer, give it some more time and see how it improves

Ok, I opened another one last night.. and it seemed a little flat. What gives?

how long did they carb for? carbing can be uneven at times...some seem more carbonated than others. also, if you added the sugar directly to the bottles, it can be uneven that way as well as each bottle wont get the exact same amount of sugar.

Carbed them for two weeks and now conditioned for two weeks. Had two more pints this weekend which both were fine. I am thinking the one that seemed flat was filed toward the end of the batch from the fermentor and had a small ammount of sediment. Could this be the cause? I also handled that bottle a few times during conditioning.