Getting more out of your Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit

This week is beer week here at +Make Your Own! If you haven't checked out our Facebook page yet, hop on over and see what we've been posting! We're sharing recipes, brewing techniques and even brewing videos this week!

Right now, let's focus on getting more out of your Mr. Beer home brew kit. The Mr. Beer website has tons of great recipes that you can try out. If you haven't read our recent blog posts about the Mr. Beer home brew kit you can check them out using the following links: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 and Part 4. Each part takes you through the brewing process step-by-step! 

Recently, we made a Raspberry Wheat that turned out amazing and is perfect for warm evenings or an afternoon BBQ! 

This recipe is available on the Mr. Beer website, but we made a couple slight changes from their original recipe. How you brew yours is up to you!

Ingredients:

1 Bavarian Weissbier Refill (You can find that here)

1 Packet Dry Wheat Brewing Yeast (included in refill pack)

13oz Corn Sugar (You can find corn sugar here)
1 Can Red Raspberries in Heavy Syrup
Cleanser (You can find that here)

You Will Need: 
Blender

3 quart stock pot

4 cup glass measuring cup

Instructions:

First, follow instructions for cleaning and sanitizing all of your equipment and any instruments that will be coming into contact with your beer. Cleaning and sanitizing instructions came with your Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit or you can view Part 1 of our Brewing with Mr. Beer series. 

Puree raspberries in a sanitized blender and set aside. Remove the yeast from under the lid of the Weissbier can and set the can into a bowl with hot tap water. (This helps the syrup in the can melt slightly so it's easier to pour.)

Using your sanitized measuring cup, pour 4 cups of water into your clean stock pot. Slowly, add the corn sugar, stirring to prevent clumps within the water. Bring the water to a boil, stirring frequently. Once a rapid boil occurs, remove from heat and add the can of Weissbier, stirring thoroughly to mix. 

Add 4 quarts of cold tap water to your keg. (Look for the 4 quart mark on the back of the keg.) Pour your mixture (wort) from the pot into the keg and top the keg off with cold water up to the 8.5 quart mark. Add the pureed raspberries and stir thoroughly to combine. Sprinkle the yeast packet in the keg and screw on the lid. 

Store your keg out of direct sunlight and in an area that has a consistent temperature between 68 and 74 degrees. The raspberries in this mixture can cause quite violent fermentation. Make sure to keep the keg out of direct sunlight AND make sure the room temperature is consistent. Place the keg on a rimmed cookie sheet and check it daily for leaking. If it does leak, remove the lid and wipe clean with a paper towel dipped in sanitized solution then replace lid. 

Fermentation should take about 7-14 days. Follow the directions that came with your Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit for bottling or view Part 4 in our blog series. 

The Mr. Beer website describes the Raspberry Wheat in this way:

This framboise style brew combines the tart qualities of both raspberries and wheat to produce a deep red, cloudy, crisp and fruity beer that will make anyone a believer in home brew. A refreshing summer drink that fits well as an after dinner pairing with light tart tasting desserts.  

Have you made any special brews with your Mr. Beer Home Brew kit? If so, let us know! We love to try new recipes out! 

Happy Beer Week!