© Copyright 1997-2024 , thelittlevillage.com, ross computer group inc. Making beer is unquestionably easy. That is, if you have a Mr. Beer. The good folks at Mr. Beer have taken all the mystique out of the process and hit you with a simple, goof-proof way to brew your own great-tasting batches of beer. The instructions below pretty much follow the Mr. Beer instructions but in my own words. At the bottom of the page, I have added my own 2 cents about the way I do certain things. Get yourself a Mr. Beer and enjoy making your own homebrew. Instructions First things first, make sure everything is sanitary and clean. You do this by mixing an incredibly complex formula of ingredients together to get your sanitary solution (2 tbsp of household bleach to 1 gallon of water). Then you rinse your Mr. Beer barrel with this solution making sure to open the valve at the bottom to get some in there. Then you rinse out with clean water and dry. Now get a big pot and put 6 cups of water in it. Empty your beer mix (from Mr. Beer) into it and stir it until it dissolves. Go ahead and put it on the stove and start to bring it to boiling point. Now you add the amount of sugar (or honey) that the recipe calls for. Mr. Beer's package contains a book of recipes and I'm sure you can find at least one that turns you on. Bring the mix (this is called wort) to a boil and remove from the stove. If you want a fruit flavored beer (my personal favorite), this is where you add it to the mix and let it steep (sit there) for 5 minutes. Just get a 16 oz. can of the preferred fruit (raspberries, blueberries, cherries, etc.) and put it all in a blender to puree (you can do this while the mix is coming up to boil). After it is pureed, pour the fruit mix into the wort and stir it around good. If you don't want fruit beer, then you just let it sit for 5 minutes anyway. © Copyright 1997-2024 , thelittlevillage.com, ross computer group inc. While this is sitting for 5 minutes, fill the Mr. Beer barrel with normal water up to the 4 quart mark. You now pour the beer mix into the beer barrel. Then fill it up to the 10 quart mark now (the directions say the 9 quart mark but I do it this way). Mix it up real good and let it sit for 5 more minutes. This is to let the different temperatures blend together. Normally (in real beer making) you would have to measure the temp of the beer to make sure it was just right before adding the yeast. But amazingly, as Mr. Beer's scientists have been able to figure out (very sarcastic huh?), mixing all of this together like this produces the CORRECT temperature?!?! Now sprinkle the yeast that comes with the Mr. Beer mix on top of the wort mix and ... let it sit for another 5 minutes. Stir the mix in the barrel vigorously and screw the lid on. Sit the barrel in a dark cabinet where the temp will stay around 70 degrees (room temp if you're normal). It can be a little warmer but don't let it get cooler or the yeast won't react. You'll want to check on the barrel for the next week and make sure nothing went wrong. What could go wrong? Well, one time I had the gas escaping contraption on the lid (some models don't have this, they just have the lid) explode and beer got everywhere. But even though that happened, the batch still turned out great. Wait a week and then you bottle the beer in bottles. There's a handy guide provided with Mr. Beer of just how much sugar to put in the bottles when you bottle the beer. A normal 12 oz bottle (Corona bottles work best) takes 3/4 tsp of sugar and the Mr. Beer barrel makes about 20 of them (2 gallons). Also, make sure you sanitize your bottles the same way you did your beer barrel. Then let the bottles sit for 1 week in a dark cabinet as the yeast reacts with the sugar to form carbonation in the beer. I then put the bottles in the refrigerator for 2 more weeks. This kills the yeast and then 'lagers' the beer. I personally think it tastes better this way. Once you refrigerate, don't unrefrigerate (word?). That's bad bad bad for beer. After this 4 week process, pop open a beer and enjoy!! Other Tips From Me Instead of adding sugar to the wort, I add 16 oz. of pure honey. This boosts the alcohol content and makes for an extraordinarily smooth beer. If you want a champagne tasting beer, add a tad bit more sugar to the bottles when you bottle the beer. And I mead a tad. If you get too much sugar in there, the carbonation could cause the bottle to explode. The increased carbonation will make more bubbles which in turn, makes it taste like champagne. I made a blueberry batch like this once and it was awesome! You'll probably want a small funnel when adding the sugar to the bottles, makes it a lot easier. You can use any type of PET plastic to bottle your beer in also. This means 2-liters or 20 oz soft drink bottles. NOTE: This does not change the taste of the beer. Brewing afficianados say it does but simple chemistry says it doesn't. PET plastic is inert which means it does not react with anything. Thus you can use the bottles without worry. If you'll notice when you make your first batch, there is a sediment that settles at the bottom of each bottle. This is pure Vitamin B and is actually good for you (woohoo beer is healthy). The sediment is the by-product of yeast reacting with the sugar and if you shake the bottle too much, it will make the beer cloudy. If you're taking your bottles to a party or giving them as presents, do this: Bottle the beer in a 2-liter or 3-liter bottle to begin with. Then after sitting in the fridge for those 2 weeks (make sure the fridge is especially cold), open the bottle and slowly pour the beer into the bottles you want it in (don't add sugar this time). If you do it right, you won't disturb the sediment or carbonation. Then immediately bottle the beer. Of course, you can always leave the beer in the 2-liter bottle, stay home, and have a real party!!