Mr. Beer brew kit

martymcg43

is this a good start up brewing kit? never brewed beer before. thinking about giving it a go... any suggestions?

Amos_Umwhat

My sister gave me one of these, and, to be honest, I haven't opened it yet. I used to brew brew a couple of decades ago, and it was an enjoyable and rewarding hobby, now you've got me thinking, I need to take a look at this thing.

Vulchor

Its VERY simple, and very average. Certainly fun, but not the best tasting.

Ken_Light

Don't do it!  It'll work and all, but...

If you have a homebrew supply store anywhere near you (you'd be surprised, you probably do!!) they can almost certainly hook you up with a "kit" that will blow the Mr. Beer away for not much more $$.  Plus then you'll likely be brewing better beers with better quality ingredients, not just canned extracts.  Plus that silly brown keg things doesn't re-use very well so the stuff will last you longer.

martymcg43

i went ahead and bought the fermenting keg, 8 of the 1 liter bottles, and the Canadian/mellow amber deluxe beer. for 47 shipped... if its junk. its junk... oh well. my mom told me that she saw a beer brewing kit for about 100 while she was out the other day not sure what it was. she's getting it for my brother and myself for christmas. so for now i might have a crappy case of beer for 47 dollars. but later i'll be needing everyones help as to what the hell i do with whatever i get...

zoom6zoom

You can get a starter kit for around eighty bucks, and an extract recipe kit starts around $17 depending on what you want to brew. Unlike the Mr Beer, this is going to make a five gallon batch. The yeast in the Mr Beer kits is often out of date or substandard. http://www.northernbrewer.com/ is a good site to check out.

Andrew_Dzikoski

Yes find a local place you can get a nice 5 gal set up for not too much. It can be a pain to sanitize evrything but its also alot of fun. If you can buy the book the joy of home brewing.

Ken_Light

I think the best piece of information I got from that book was that it takes beer to brew beer.  I never brew without a brew in hand.  I get too twitchy otherwise.

These Filthy Hands

I'm on Homebrewforums.com. It's an awesome place to gain knowledge. Knowledge is half the battle.

Goldy

I have a beer kit but I have never had great success with it. In my opinion its better to get some glass carboys and do it the old fashoned way. Its almost just as easy and gives better results.

Bobbo2009

It's not a bad kit to start with.  I got one for christmas a few years back.  I really enjoyed it.  Some of the brews I bought and brewed where not that good, but others have been great.  I have invested in a "true" kit (5 gal buckets, no can extracts, etc).  With the Mr. eer kits you can get a feel for brewing and if you enjoy it you can always go the route of better brewing in the future.  Some people knock the beer from Mr. Beer but I still order a few certain kinds every few months.  They do have some good beer.  Enjoy the brewing!!

zoom6zoom

Here's another book you can read online, great for first timers; http://howtobrew.com/