Has anyone had any luck with the Mr Beer brew kits? I'm working on my second now after a dismal failure. I think the first failed due to use of well water and perhaps not being able to keep the fermenter at the optimum temperature.
Currently working on the recipe 'Cherry crystal dream' and it tasted ok prior to lagering but not great. Not what I expected but perhaps after another 2 weeks success will be had. Or not.
What made the first brew a dismal failure? What did it taste like and what style was it supposed to be?
_Randal
The most common problems I've seen:
1 - not keeping everything clean - [sour taste] 2 - too high ferment temp - [fruity flavor, bad taste, bad smell] 3 - pitching yeast while wort is too warm - [yeast dies, flat NA beer] 4 - bottles not clean - [bad taste, bad smell, excess head]Have no idea if any of these apply. Well water should not be a problem, but chlorine and water softener can be.
It was supposed to be cowboy lager but it tasted like vinegar. Tried with their crystal cherry beer, being ever so careful with cleanliness. It tasted only slightly better but still that vinegar taste.
Cleanliness or sanitary? Vinegar sounds like an infection to me. Everything needs to be clean & sanitized. Star San works great as a sanitizer.
_Randal
Me, too.
FWIW, questions regarding brewing are more topical in the rec.crafts.brewing newsgroup. There you will find many people to answer your questions. The first answer will be "toss out your Mr. Beer stuff and buy some basic real homebrewing gear."
This week it is actually drinkable. Perhaps it just requires more lagering time.
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