Mr Beer Range

[Farlow]

Hi all,

Just looking at Mr Beer on the coopers site. It doesnt say whether to use the unhopped malt extract satchels in the tin description (where as all the coopers tin descriptions say use 1x enhancer 2 etc etc)

If i get some of the mr beer tins do i need to get the UME satchels as well? and how do i know which one to use with each can? https://www.diybeer.com/au/brewing-extracts/craft-series.html

 

(side note -  I also notice all the recipes that use mr beer have a satchel listed, as well as other ingredients)https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/zaphod-s-ipa.html

 

Cheers

[Instigator]

You can happily brew the Mr Beer cans on their own if you want. You will notice the recipes that use the extras have an increased %ABV, and the extra liquid malt also adds something to the recipe such as colour and flavour. That, plus some extra hops changes how the base can tastes. It's completely up to you how far you want to go.

[Shamus O'Sean]

46 minutes ago, Farlow said:

Hi all,

Just looking at Mr Beer on the coopers site. It doesnt say whether to use the unhopped malt extract satchels in the tin description (where as all the coopers tin descriptions say use 1x enhancer 2 etc etc)

If i get some of the mr beer tins do i need to get the UME satchels as well? and how do i know which one to use with each can? https://www.diybeer.com/au/brewing-extracts/craft-series.html

 

(side note -  I also notice all the recipes that use mr beer have a satchel listed, as well as other ingredients)https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/zaphod-s-ipa.html

 

Cheers

You do not have to use the UME in the Mr Beer kits.  A Mr Beer kit on its own brewed to 8.5L will come to around 5% ABV.  Any of the Coopers 1.7kg kits brewed to 23L without any extra fermentables will finish around 2.5% ABV.  Therefore the Mr Beer kits are pretty good on their own.  Whereas the Coopers kits on their own a pretty weak and really need more fermentables.

I believe that Coopers bought the Mr Beer company at some stage.  So Coopers were not involved in designing how the Mr Beer kits needed to be mixed/brewed.  Because Mr Beer customers were used to brewing a certain way, I am guessing Coopers saw no need to change that method for risk of loosing customers.

Of course you can add the various UME pouches to the Mr Beer cans for different recipes and beer styles.  The ABV goes up to about 6%, which is more in the "craft beer" range.

The same can be said for using different dry and liquid extracts with the regular Coopers cans to create different styles.  The Coopers system allows you to do that without significantly upping the ABV, beause you need the fermentables anyway.  The "flavour" is completely up to your imagination.

The following link is a good resource for looking up the different recipes; sorting for ABV, bitterness (IBU), volume, etc; and filtering for specific cans types.  But I am biased because I keep the spreadsheet up to date.

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

@Instigator answered this much more succinctly than I could 

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by Shamus O'Sean

[Instigator]

On 4/12/2020 at 1:42 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

@Instigator answered this much more succinctly than I could 

 

I often find myself thinking that about your posts.

[Shamus O'Sean]

4 hours ago, Instigator said:

I often find myself thinking that about your posts.

What can I say.  I am a detail guy.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Shamus O'Sean

[Thirsty Jim]

I actually bought one of these kits for giggles because it was $32 on ebay and the bottles and pale ale can are worth $28 retail so for $4 extra why the hell not ?

The dinky plastic barrel didn't fill me with confidence and when the tap broke on first use (snapped at the threads) I was ready to throw it out but I happened to have a tap off an old Stefani water filter that fit perfectly so I brewed the Pale Ale and it brewed fine.  Then I brewed an Amber Ale without any dramas either. 

It is a 2.5 gallon (8.5L) fermenter, same as the Coopers craft fermenter but its configuration is more squat - it is longer than it is high and it fits on the top shelf of my brew fridge over the top of the Coopers craft fermenter so I can brew split batches at once which is really interesting and taste testing the same beer with different variations is a lot of fun.  I don't regret the purchase, despite the bad tap.  I just wish it was a little more robust - it has a sticker on it warning me not to put hot (60ºC) water in the barrel without first adding 4 litres of cold water  because of 'thermal shock' (i.e. it might crack open and spill hot wort everywhere).

Now, a confession.  As I was basically mucking around I cold crashed the fermenter in the fridge, pulled off a bottle and force carbonated it using a Soda King (like a Sodastream but Chinese rather than Isreali).   It worked a treat but as I drank my suds the thought did cross my mind that I would get thrown out of the union if the boys on the forum got wind of it  

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

5 hours ago, James of Bayswater said:

pulled off a bottle and force carbonated it using a Soda King

All good JoB! How the hell do you think I get an early taste of my brews!

I’ve actually heard of a few guys doing it in different FB groups.

[Thirsty Jim]

It works.  No problem.... except that as a lazy brewer I am inclined to just leave the fermenter in the fridge and draught off it.  When I finally got around to bottling I only got 6.  The other five had been Soda Kinged.  

[jamiek86]

does the mr beer kits have good flavour to them if just use can and brew pouch or whatever they are. seems little expensive for such a small amount when for small amount more money you could add extra malt and hops to normal kit and brew 20 to 23 litres (craft beer) must be for people who don't know any better

[jamiek86]

Although I must say the smaller fermenter would come in handy for mini all grain batches where only have a 15 litre pot.

Edited November 24, 2020 by jamiek86

[John E Miller]

13 minutes ago, jamiek86 said:

Although I must say the smaller fermenter would come in handy for mini all grain batches where only have a 15 litre pot.

Yeah, the little tins are a bit of a rip off, but I find the small fermenter handy for small batches.

I have only tried the Bewitched Amber Ale that came with the fermenter, and it was nice, but you are right - just spruce up a normal kit and get way better value.

Edited November 24, 2020 by John E Miller

[jamiek86]

if they adjusted the price for less volume wouldn't be to bad might almost consider one just for the fermenter assuming same tap size?

[John E Miller]

1 hour ago, jamiek86 said:

if they adjusted the price for less volume wouldn't be to bad might almost consider one just for the fermenter assuming same tap size?

Yep, same tap size. I got one on sale for $30 at Aldi, so was easily worth it for me. I saw at BCF they were $40... don't know if that is still up 

 

[jamiek86]

already have 2 of the 30 litre fermenter so I suppose shouldn't go too overboard but if I see them cheap enough local it might be an OK idea 

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, jamiek86 said:

already have 2 of the 30 litre fermenter so I suppose shouldn't go too overboard but if I see them cheap enough local it might be an OK idea 

The American Mr Beer kits come with the amber coloured barrel looking fermenter.  The Coopers Craft kits, that have a Mr Beer can in them, come with a 10L (maybe 13L full to the brim) mini-Coopers clear fermenter.

I bought two un-used secondhand Craft kits.  The cans make a perfectly fine beer.  I find the fermenters great for splitting a batch.  I have the pair going at the moment.  A Fresh Wort Kit split in two.  One naked, as is, and the other with an El Dorado hop steep.  Plan to keg on Friday.  The Craft fermenters fit snugly in my fermenting freezer too.

[jamiek86]

@Shamus O'Sean so do you keg them both seperate so have one hopped and one not or just so not as heavy to lift in and out if split in 2?

[Shamus O'Sean]

7 hours ago, jamiek86 said:

@Shamus O'Sean so do you keg them both seperate so have one hopped and one not or just so not as heavy to lift in and out if split in 2?

Yep, I will keg separately.  A slightly different beer in each fermenter/keg.  I like to do side-by-side taste tests.

The weight thing is a bonus though.

The down-side is needing two keg spots in the fridge for basically two half full kegs.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Shamus O'Sean

[jamiek86]

5 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Yep, I will keg separately.  A slightly different beer in each fermenter/keg.  I like to do side-by-side taste tests.

The weight thing is a bonus though.

The down-side is needing two keg spots in the fridge for basically two half full kegs.

yes that would be a bit annoying assuming a half keg would gas faster and cool down faster though one upside.

[Shamus O'Sean]

8 hours ago, jamiek86 said:

yes that would be a bit annoying assuming a half keg would gas faster and cool down faster though one upside.

I like your thinking.