Old MB HME Recipes

[JimH]

Well, I wasn't sure whether to put this under MB or BD, but here is the scoop. I have come into possession of some old MB cans of HME. I have:
4 cans Black Tower Porter
2 cans Witty Monk
1 can Bewitched Red
1 can Cowboy Golden
1 can Classic Blonde
1 can High Country Canadian

I have been browsing the BD site looking at their recipes trying to get ideas, and I have looked over the old MB recipes thanks to the spreadsheet that some of you had in your signature over on the MB forum. Not sure if anybody still has the link to that spreadsheet anymore, but if you do that would help as well. I know some of you out there have been with MB for a while before the buyout, so maybe you have some better idea of how these will work out. So, in the meantime I was hoping to spruce up these cans a bit. A while back the Nong recommended to me to add a pound of DME to the recipes and it would be just right. I was also thinking about steeping Carapils in them for added head retention. Most of them also need new yeast, so a suggestion there is appreciated. So far this is basically what I have:
2 cans BTP + 1/4lb Carapils + 1/2 lb DME (since there is two cans I wonder if I need a full pound) + yeast (suggestions?) Since I have 4 cans, I can do 2 batches of this, and I hear the BTP was a favorite, so it should be a good winter beer!
2 cans Witty Monk + 1/4lb Carapils + 1/2 Wheat DME + WB06 + Saaz at 35. I based this off of Leigh's Twisted'r Monk recipe he posted a while back. Everyone seemed to really like the Witty Monk, especially the "Deluxe" two can version.

As far as the other 4 cans, that seems to be the hard ones to figure out. Are they good enough stand alone to just steep some Carapils, maybe honey malt, add in some light DME and new yeast?

[RickBeer]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... mR3c#gid=1

http://web.archive.org/web/201004301742 ... egory_id/8

Louie also posted a modified sheet where he put in the Brew Demon recipes, but they are the same as the first link.

[Brewbirds]

I would ask how old they are since you say they will need new yeast.

If they are very old they may end up tasting soapy, so before you spend money on ingredients to add to them you may to pick one and do it straight up first just to be sure they are still good.

[RickBeer]

I did my second Bewitched Red with a lb of LME, 8 oz of Crystal 60 and 4 oz of Carafoam. Came out very nice. I'm drinking them slow. I hope the Mackinac Island Red I just made comes out similar.

[JimH]

Thanks for the link Rick! And I might try your input for the red!

Thanks Brewbirds. I might have to try one. Some of the cans I got from my friend are a few years old. Maybe 5 years! Those are the BTP, and maybe the Witty Monk, too. The rest I got not too long ago. A guy over on the MB forum bought them just before the big merger, and gave them up because of family commitments.