BeerBorg

Hello, I'm a real rookie at brewing. I got a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas and have made 2 batches so far with decent success. My question is I have 2 cerveza refill kits but don't really like cerveza. I was wondering if I could turn them into something more like an IPA? Anyone have any suggestions on how I might go about this?

The simplest way to turn it into an IPA/pale ale type of brew would be to pick up 2lbs of dry malt extract (or liquid extract) from a homebrew store, and 1oz of two different hops that you want to try out. I'd suggest simcoe for one if you can find it...

Bring a gallon and a half or two gallons to a boil, remove from heat, CAREfULLY stir in one lb of extract, return to boil CAREFULLY, add 1/2 oz of hops, boil for half hour, remove from heat, stir in one can cervesa, chill to 70*, add top off water to 2.33 gallons, pitch with yeast in LBK. After 7-10 days of fermentation, remove lid and toss in the other 1/2 oz of hops.

Repeat the process with the other lb of extract and oz of other hops.

That's the super simple way... If you feel more ambitious at this point, you could also look into steeping grains and try something along the lines of 1/2 lb carapils and 1/2 lb Chrystal 60, super easy, a million options to customize the brew to make it your own unique personalized brew. Have fun with it, that's the key to all of this.

I'd concur with this.

I'd probably recommend a cold crash before bottling, though, if you are going to go commando with the hops.

rlbthree wrote:Hello, I'm a real rookie at brewing. I got a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas and have made 2 batches so far with decent success. My question is I have 2 cerveza refill kits but don't really like cerveza. I was wondering if I could turn them into something more like an IPA? Anyone have any suggestions on how I might go about this?

I did something very simple with the Cevasa that came out great.
Boil gal water
Added 1 lbs of pale DME, stir till dissolved, add Zest of 1 lime, 1 Ozs of Cascade
Removed from heat, add 1 can of Extract, 4 Ozs honey, stir till dissolved.
Add to cold water in LBK, top off with water, pitch yeast, and let it sit in there for 3 weeks.

It was not a light Cervasa , but came out great, still one of my favorites.

I brewed a cerveza with a MrB robust LME. imo it tasted a lot like a Negra Modelo

Thanks for the help guys.

Bluejaye, what is a cold crash and what does it do?

rlbthree wrote:Bluejaye, what is a cold crash and what does it do?

Cold crashing is putting the fermentor in the fridge for 3 days before bottling. What it does is it makes some of the heavier particles fall down to the bottom, and firms up the trub so you get less/none in the bottle.

Since BradyFumbled's post talks about throwing hops in during the boil, and dry hoping, commando-style this is something you might want to consider. Now, just to make sure incase you don't know what I mean by commando-style, that just means without using a (sanitized) hop sack or appropriately sized tea ball. When those hop pellets hit liquid, they break apart into tiny particles.

Now, none of this is required, but it will give you a much clearer beer, as well as possibly not gunk up your bottling wand.

That Cerveza refill is pretty weak by itself, so I definitely agree that you should add some more malt to it, and it tends to need to condition for a lot longer than most. Adding more hops is at your discretion, but since you stated you were looking to make something like an IPA it would be a good idea. Brady recommended Simcoe, but any of the "C" hops are usually good for an IPA. You'd want a "bittering" hop for the first part where you boil it, and an "aroma" hop for the dry hop late addition.

You may find this link helpful: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/101/hops/

Thanks for all the help guys, this is what I ended up with...

1 can of Aztec Cerveza
1 lb of light dme
1 oz simcoe hops

In the fermentor for 2 weeks
cold crash over night

After 2 and a half weeks in the bottle I opened my first one (I couldn't wait any longer). I'm very happy with the results, there is plenty of hoppy flavor. Admittedly not the best IPA I've ever had but I like it a lot and will be making this again though I may try steeping some carapils like Brady suggested just to fine tune it some.

Thanks again for all the help.

I'm glad that it worked out. See how fast you grow? You've already contributed to brew-knowledge.

Quick note, all good advice, but I would do 3 weeks in fermenter and 4 weeks in bottles at room temp to condition and carb. I've done the recipe you are doing. It makes a good beer.

Monty