Hi, a buddy and I started brewing with Mr. Beer just recently. We have never done anything like this before, but we both enjoy many varieties of beer. So far we have brewed 4 batches. The West Coast Pale ale (w/ booster), he had a Pilsiner Light from a "BeerMachine" that we used. We went through all the steps and the beer came out ok. I think the Pilisner light has some potential with maybe some nutmeg and cinnamon for a winter beer in the future. I thought the West Coast Pale Ale was ho-hum. We just bottled a Linebacker Bopplebock w/ creamy brown (HME + UME) and a Cowboy Golden Lager w/ booster. Those last 2 won't be ready for a few weeks yet.

I just picked up a three pack refill kit, High Country Canadian Draft, Whispering Wheat Weizenbier, and Octoberfest Vienna Lager, all with booster. I am just trying to learn as I go and not spend too much money at this point. Any suggestions for anything I should add to any of these refills to make them better? I would certainly like to have the alcohol content higher than the standard 3.7%. There is a store in town (Toledo, Ohio) that has all kinds of different things. A friend told me they have their own unhopped malt that I could buy by the pound and add to any of my recipes.

Any suggestions, or do some of you like any of these recipes just the way they are with the booster? Ideally, I would make them the way they are, then decide for myself what I should add, but I would also like your opinions.

Thanks.

your friend is on the right track, unhopped malt, either dry or liquid is the best way to raise ABV. honey, sugar, molasses and other things like that work but can sometimes cause an undesirable taste.

I'm not a fan of booster. Used it on my first batch and never touched it again. I use UME, LME or DME on my extract batches.

welcome!!

You can basically substitute DME (dry malt extract for booster to get the equivalent of a Mr. Beer HME + UME refill. Alternatively, you can keep the booster in the recipe to end up with something closer to 6% ABV.

Additionally, you might want to use different or more yeast with each refill to get a beer closer to style.

Oh, and DME comes in different varieties as well. Usually there's Extra Light/Pilsner, Light/Golden, Amber, Dark and Wheat.

So, here's what I'd suggest for each recipe:

Whispering Wheat: Use the WWW HME with 1 lb wheat DME, and a liquid wheat yeast, like WLP300, WLP380 or Wyeast 3068.

Octoberfest Vienna Lager: Use the OVL HME with 1 lb Amber DME and a clean ale yeast like Fermentis Safale US-05, Danstar Nottingham or, use Fermentis Saflager W-34/70 and ferment as cool as you can (though it will still give pretty good results up to 65° or so).

High Country Canadian Draft: Use the HCCD HME with 1 lb Extra Light/Pilsner DME and all 3 Mr. Beer yeast packs. What the heck, you may as well use them for something. Alternatively, follow any of the yeast recommendations for the OVL.

Oh, and don't forget to head over to the welcoming center and introduce yourself!

yup. avoid the booster when possible. spend a few bucks at the LHBS (or from dmemart.com) to get some more malt extract to combine with the HMEs... it'll taste a lot better than using Booster + HME.

Thanks for the quick input, this helps alot. Now, a newbie question, if I use a DME, how do I go about mixing it in? I'm used to putting the liquid extract into the boiling water, then into the keg. Anything special I have to do? Thanks again.

like this:




just use one pound of DME in place of the can of UME.

you can mix and match DME with the HME... like amber DME with the HCCD for a light amber beer... or you can stick with like DMEs with like HME... like wheat DME with the WWW HME. have fun and experiment. if you have an idea about what you're recipe is going to be, feel free to post and shared!

Welcome to the hobby! Chase flavor, not ABV, and you'll be happier with the results.

Thanks for the video, I did this with the batch of HME and UME that I made a couple of weeks ago, just didn't know if it was the same for a DME. Thanks.

Good point Jacylrin.

Jon, I can get most of the stuff you mentioned at my local shop. If I make one of your suggestions, would you recommend using the booster or not? How much does it change the flavor?

Booster will not really change the flavor, only raise the abv
and thin the beer out which could be a good thing on a really
malty beer but bad on small/ mediuim beer.
The # 1 and 2 things new brewers get wrong is lack of fermentation
control and not enough quality yeast. MB yeast is a one yeast
fits all which leaves something to be desired on the final
product and there is really not enough of it. I would use
3 packs at the very minimum if that's all I had but a good
brew store can fix you up a nice packet of dry yeast for
just about 3 bucks or so. Let us know what you plan to brew
first and we can help with a yeast choice.

Like HatchetJack said, the booster won't change the flavor much. However, it may mean you need more conditioning time before the beer is at its best.

Be aware that DME likes to clump up like crazy when exposed to steam or really any moisture at all, so it may take a while for it to dissolve fully, but it will get there. You might want to pour it in a big bowl before adding it to the water to make it easier.

I'd suggest this recipe (or a modification) for the HCCD and OVL. A nice modification is a 1 lb malt extract addition (DME or LME) and boil the hops with the extract for 5 min. (Do not boil the HME).

You can make a nice American Wheat from the wheat HME. Add 2 lbs malt extract and boil with 1/4-1/2 oz cascade hops for 5 minutes.

So from the LHBS get 3 lbs light (dry or liquid) malt extract, 1oz Sterling hops, 1oz cascade hops (and if you want to try a nice yeast two of whatever American ale yeast they have.)