Brewing Mr Beer Howling Irish Red Ale

[Patrick Barnwell]

Good evening All, yesterday I started a batch of Mr Beer Howling Irish Red Ale in the Beerdroid I started with the basic ingredients supplied with the recipe and added a pack of mr beer brewmax booster since we are using a full 10L of water instead of the 8.5L that the recipe calls for , also the water I used was tapwater that had chilled in the fridge for a week and I replaced the provided yeast with SAFALE US-05 DRY ALE YEAST and just used the standard ALE setting on the BeerDroid.. so were off and running.. I got the Fermentation Start detected at 25 hours after brew start.. ill keep ya'll updated as we go..

 

Barney

[Captain 3 Droids]

15 minutes ago, Patrick Barnwell said:

ill keep ya'll updated as we go..

Thanks Barney, will be interested in the result.

[Dustin Frothman]

30 minutes ago, Patrick Barnwell said:

Good evening All, yesterday I started a batch of Mr Beer Howling Irish Red Ale in the Beerdroid I started with the basic ingredients supplied with the recipe and added a pack of mr beer brewmax booster since we are using a full 10L of water instead of the 8.5L that the recipe calls for , also the water I used was tapwater that had chilled in the fridge for a week and I replaced the provided yeast with SAFALE US-05 DRY ALE YEAST and just used the standard ALE setting on the BeerDroid.. so were off and running.. I got the Fermentation Start detected at 25 hours after brew start.. ill keep ya'll updated as we go..

 

Barney

Sounds great Barney.

I had a really nice Red Ale from a local brewery at a pub yesterday and it reminded me that I'm due to brew one again soon. I'll be keen to hear how this one turns out.

[Patrick Barnwell]

BTW For anyone that’s interested Mrbeer.com has a Sale going right now Buy any Two recipes and get a third for free , also in the U.S. (not sure down under) free shipping for orders over $75

[Patrick Barnwell]

Alrighty Now I got the EOF about 4 days ago then left in Kegging over night then first thing the next morning I put it n store mode to cold crash the Batch this afternoon I Kegged it into a 3 Gallon corney keg and hooked it up to the C02 to get the carbonation going , I’ll try a sample some time next week

[Captain 3 Droids]

4 minutes ago, Patrick Barnwell said:

Alrighty Now I got the EOF about 4 days ago then left in Kegging over night then first thing the next morning I put it n store mode to cold crash the Batch this afternoon I Kegged it into a 3 Gallon corney keg and hooked it up to the C02 to get the carbonation going , I’ll try a sample some time next week

I note you are kegging at 40F (4C), did you chill the keg first or it filled ok without doing this?

[Patrick Barnwell]

3 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

I note you are kegging at 40F (4C), did you chill the keg first or it filled ok without doing this?

It filled fine without pre chilling , I just insert one end of a line into the spigot and put the ball lock connector end in the OUT connector on the keg which flows the beer into the bottom of the keg , I also put a open gas connector on the gas in connection of the keg to vent , also to begin I put a few gallons of water with star San in the keg and compress with C02 to force the liquid out 

[Thagomizer]

Patrick,

Augmented two-gallon Mr. Beer recipes work very well in the droid.  In addition to their Booster packs, Mr. Beer has these 250g (8.81 oz) SoftPacks (not hopped) of liquid malt extract: Robust, Golden, Pale and Smooth.  A judicious selection of those can really enhance a brew.  I usually add one or two of them to a Mr. Beer recipe brewed in my droid at 10 liters.

Also, I think you are right to use a better pedigreed yeast than what is packaged under the lid.

One question:  Do you still boil as per the Mr. Beer instructions?  Until recently, I boiled and then needed to chill the wort with ice or a chiller to achieve a suitable temperature for throwing yeast.  With extracts which are supposed to be sterile, there should be no need for boiling as long as the fermentation vessel is properly sanitized - this is the very concept of the BrewPrint.  I have made several liquid-extract recipes (even with a few dry ingredients) without boiling; and they were successful.   I will admit to a little stirring with a mash paddle to help the liquid extracts dissolve more quickly before adding the dry ingredients, but this is probably unnecessary

Partial or full-grain recipes are an entirely different matter - but they also ferment very well in the droid.

Happy brewing. 🙂

[Captain 3 Droids]

31 minutes ago, Thagomizer said:

Do you still boil as per the Mr. Beer instructions? 

To be honest I haven’t come across a Mr Beer recipe requiring boiling of the extracts and this process is not needed nor recommend. 

31 minutes ago, Thagomizer said:

 I will admit to a little stirring with a mash paddle to help the liquid extracts dissolve more quickly before adding the dry ingredients, but this is probably unnecessary

By pouring it into the 10l of water in the droid have you found traces of extract in the tap when ready to keg or bottle? 

[Thagomizer]

Captain,

I had no traces of extract in the tap.  However, after your previous question on whether I had dissolved the extract, I had doubts and started stirring the water after adding the liquid extract.  The first time I omitted boiling, I did not stir the wort and everything was fine.  It dissolved on its own.  But it would be prudent to take the precaution of stirring.  Here is my (conservative) recommended protocol for non-boiling liquid extract recipes for the droid:

• Fill the droid to about 8 or 9 liters of filtered room-temperature water.
• Add the liquid malt extracts.
• Stir with a sterilized (plastic) mash paddle (if you want to be sure the extracts are dissolved).
• Top up the droid to ten liters.
• Throw the yeast.
• Add the dry ingredients, if any.
• Start the droid program.

This works for me.

Thanks for your attention to details.

Happy brewing. 🙂

[Captain 3 Droids]

5 minutes ago, Thagomizer said:

Captain,

I had no traces of extract in the tap.  However, after your previous question on whether I had dissolved the extract, I had doubts and started stirring the water after adding the liquid extract.  The first time I omitted boiling, I did not stir the wort and everything was fine.  It dissolved on its own.  But it would be prudent to take the precaution of stirring.  Here is my (conservative) recommended protocol for non-boiling liquid extract recipes for the droid:

• Fill the droid to about 8 or 9 liters of filtered room-temperature water.
• Add the liquid malt extracts.
• Stir with a sterilized (plastic) mash paddle (if you want to be sure the extracts are dissolved).
• Top up the droid to ten liters.
• Throw the yeast.
• Add the dry ingredients, if any.
• Start the droid program.

This works for me.

Thanks for your attention to details.

Happy brewing. 🙂

Thanks, you’re saved me a pre- dissolving step using hot water, requiring the sanitisation of a pot, cooling, transfer to the Droid and pot clean up. You beauty.

[Thagomizer]

57 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

To be honest I haven’t come across a Mr Beer recipe requiring boiling of the extracts and this process is not needed nor recommend. 

Captain,

I hadn't looked at details recently at Mr. Beer, but just checked out a few of the Instruction files on their recipes.  The three recipes I detailed all called for boiling the wort.  Based on what we now know, maybe they should rethink their instructions.

This is kind of an epiphany for me.  For decades the beer making mantra was boil, boil, boil. or your beer would be spoiled.  The BrewArt concept of trusting the ingredients to be pure - albeit: be sure to sterilize the implements - was/is a refreshing concept.  Other suppliers will realize this.

Life is good. 🙂

[Captain 3 Droids]

24 minutes ago, Thagomizer said:

maybe they should rethink their instructions.

Well I found this from Mr Beer, perhaps they should update their recipes.

https://www.mrbeer.com/blog/post/why-you-should-not-boil-hopped-malt-extract

Cheers

[Thagomizer]

Captain,

I viewed the video.

It looks like a paradigm change at Mr. Beer.  Apparently, they need to upgrade/edit their instruction files.  I sympathize with their web-page editors.  It will require guidance from brew-smart people to get it right.  

All those instruction files to be edited.....

They are a good outfit.  They will get it right.

All will be well. 🙂

[Captain 3 Droids]

2 minutes ago, Thagomizer said:

They are a good outfit.  They will get it right.

Yes it is a good product. I’m not sure if your aware but Mr Beer is now owned by Coopers Australia. They saw the value of the product and will get it right.

[Thagomizer]

3 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

Yes it is a good product. I’m not sure if your aware but Mr Beer is now owned by Coopers Australia. They saw the value of the product and will get it right.

Absolutely.  I was aware of that, and it gives me confidence.

 

[Patrick Barnwell]

3 hours ago, Thagomizer said:

Patrick,

Augmented two-gallon Mr. Beer recipes work very well in the droid.  In addition to their Booster packs, Mr. Beer has these 250g (8.81 oz) SoftPacks (not hopped) of liquid malt extract: Robust, Golden, Pale and Smooth.  A judicious selection of those can really enhance a brew.  I usually add one or two of them to a Mr. Beer recipe brewed in my droid at 10 liters.

Also, I think you are right to use a better pedigreed yeast than what is packaged under the lid.

One question:  Do you still boil as per the Mr. Beer instructions?  Until recently, I boiled and then needed to chill the wort with ice or a chiller to achieve a suitable temperature for throwing yeast.  With extracts which are supposed to be sterile, there should be no need for boiling as long as the fermentation vessel is properly sanitized - this is the very concept of the BrewPrint.  I have made several liquid-extract recipes (even with a few dry ingredients) without boiling; and they were successful.   I will admit to a little stirring with a mash paddle to help the liquid extracts dissolve more quickly before adding the dry ingredients, but this is probably unnecessary

Partial or full-grain recipes are an entirely different matter - but they also ferment very well in the droid.

Happy brewing. 🙂

Thanks I’ll try out the no boil method on my next no Grain recipe.. I’ve also started adding a Carpilis malt in the boil prior to adding the booster and extract which I’ve heard enhances the head..  trying to fine tune just two or three recipes so I can repeat them…. I’m always looking for brewing tips.. also love the service. Get from mr beer , usually delivered within 48 hours of ordering 😎👍🏻

[Patrick Barnwell]

Ok I’ve got to add a hearty thanks here Guys this kind of discussion is exactly why I signed up for this forum, Great exchange of ideas from folks that are actually working this hobby 😎👍🏻

[Thagomizer]

Patrick,

I must say that I love your droid's name: Laughing Leprechaun.  As someone with historic ties to Ireland, I can appreciate the humor.  My handle for this forum, Thagomizer, is also my droid's name.  This was invoked from a Far Side cartoon involving a cave man giving a Powerpoint presentation about a spike-tailed dinosaur.  Also, my bride calls me Thag whenever I do something crude or boorish - so it is a familiar term in my household.

Life is good. 🙂

[Patrick Barnwell]

Well Gentleman .. I may have OVER Carbed it just a little but I'm sure I can settle that down over the next week, Other then that it Tastes REALLY Good I'm a Happy camper..

[Thagomizer]

On 08/04/2022 at 8:57 PM, Thagomizer said:

Captain,

I hadn't looked at details recently at Mr. Beer, but just checked out a few of the Instruction files on their recipes.  The three recipes I detailed all called for boiling the wort.  Based on what we now know, maybe they should rethink their instructions.

This is kind of an epiphany for me.  For decades the beer making mantra was boil, boil, boil. or your beer would be spoiled.  The BrewArt concept of trusting the ingredients to be pure - albeit: be sure to sterilize the implements - was/is a refreshing concept.  Other suppliers will realize this.

Life is good. 🙂

Captain,

I just revisited Mr. Beer's website.  Each "refill" recipe Instruction file I examined now no longer recommends boiling.  In fact, they now suggest using filtered water chilled to 65^oF to dissolve the liquid HME's and LME's.  They recommend stirring until the liquid extracts are dissolved.  They also have a lot of new recipes involving partial grains - these do involve steeping.

I am delighted that Mr. Beer caught up to the paradigm change so quickly.  They must have been hustling.  Although the BrewPrint approach is elegant and simple, I will continue to occasionally use Mr. Beer recipes with augmentation for the BeerDroid - especially their new partial grain recipes.

I still think BrewArt could profit from offering 10L partial grain BrewKits.

[Patrick Barnwell]

Thanks for the Info, I hadn't looked at the updated recipes .. I'm running off recipes that were avaiable when i Purchased the ingredients ( I Stock up during Good sales) ... think ill send a suggestion to Robert who makes thier instructional Videos to add this as a subject.  

[Thagomizer]

2 hours ago, Patrick Barnwell said:

Thanks for the Info, I hadn't looked at the updated recipes .. I'm running off recipes that were avaiable when i Purchased the ingredients ( I Stock up during Good sales) ... think ill send a suggestion to Robert who makes thier instructional Videos to add this as a subject.  

Yes.  Sales are a good way to economize.  But I overbought just before getting my Droid and still have a backlog of 2-gallon kits that I am adapting to the Droid.  The yeast under the lids is overaged so I am supplying my own.  And I now store my yeasts and hops in the fridge until I use them.

I am looking forward to trying some of the new Mr. Beer partial grain recipes in my Droid as soon as I finish off the recipes I have on hand.  My brewing ratio is that I make several BrewPrints per every Mr. Beer adaptation.

Life is good. 🙂