Price: $19.99
Pros: Simple, ease of use, raises interest in the hobby, inexpensive, decent beer
Cons: lack of control and variety, small batches
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I bought the kit to get a foot into the hobby. It is small so doesn't take up much floorspace in an apartment or small house. The premade Mr. Beer kits make the process very easy and it doesn't take much time to have beer fermenting. The quality of the ingredients is good, but not great. It is easy to modify the recipes, but you can only go so far with the liquid extracts available from Mr. beer. In the end the simple kit will get you home made beer but it will never be up to the high standards of a homebrewer with a more elaborate setup.

The low cost, small size, and simplicity make these kits great for introducing someone to the hobby, but it won't take them very far once they start exploring the possibilities.

Price: $39.99
Pros: Great little starter, Easy entry into home brewing, low cost, simple to use, relatively quick and painless
Cons: Small batch size, Unable to see Krauzen and fermentation, no provision for an air lock (future mod?). Low ABV from kits
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I found this kit at a great Ebay price and figured that even if it was an epic fail I was only out some pocket change. The kit arrived well packaged and complete. The initial brew was very easy and took very little time. I deviated from the directions in several ways. First I pitched the yeast in a glass of warm water and added a bit of table sugar to rouse the little yeasties to go to work while I analy sanitized and re-sanitized everything. Second I waited a bit longer to bottle (2 1/2 weeks against 1 week) and finally I am ageing the brew for an extended period now. All in all a 5 star little kit to pique an interest and start the brewing addiction. Since my kit arrived I have found a brew store locally and added to my equipment to increase my capability to do 5 gallon batches. Definately worth the 39.00 Bucks and I will give the kit to a freind to start there addictions too.
Bob

Price: $39.95
Pros: Simple to use Small size Perfect for entry level brewing
Cons: Oversimplifies brew process (claims you can make 2 gallons of beer in 14 days). Refills can be pricey
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Kit comes with everything needed to brew a basic beer minus bottles. Great kit and very easy to use. The directions included with the kit can be problematic. The kit claims 7 days to ferment, then 7 days to condition and your beer is good to go. This can lead to very disappointing batches and discourage future home brewers. If the brewer does a little bit of research prior to their first brew, however, this is a great entry level kit for a relatively cheap price.

Price: $39.95
Pros: Simple to use Small kit for 2 gallon batch of beer Prefect for entry level brewing
Cons: Oversimplifies brewing Does not include bottles Brewing with kit directions can discourage future brewing
Recommended? Yes

Comments: This is a great kit to give as a gift to anyone looking to get their feet wet and start home brewing. This kit is inexpensive and comes with everything you need to make a very easy and simple home brew (minus beer bottles). The only major downside of this kit is the directions. The directions included with this kit oversimplify the brewing process and can lead the brewer to believe that beer can be brewed and drank in as little as two weeks (I personally take a minimum of two weeks just for fermentation). This lack of time can lead to a bad tasting brew and scaring away potential beginning home brewers. While there are certainly more inclusive brew kits available, the simplicity and size of this kit is it's greatest value. Only thing I would modify is the directions the kit comes with.

Price: $50.00
Pros: Compact fermenter. Premium kit comes with everything needed to make first batch. You can find it on sale (or at rummage sales) for less than the $50 price tag.
Cons: Mr. Beer refill kits can be a little expensive.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: First off: I have the Premium Edition, not the Deluxe. (Deluxe was the only option available to review.) The Deluxe doesn't come with bottles. The Premium - and the two "Editions" above it - do.

If you are unsure whether you will like home brewing, this might be the way to go. It's relatively inexpensive and takes up little space. The premium edition comes with a recipe kit, sanitizer, and plastic bottles and caps. So, short of a 3 quart pot and some priming sugar, you have everything you need to make your first batch of beer. You can be up and brewing in a matter of minutes after opening the box.

The main reason I like it is it's compact size. The LBK's (Little Brown Keg) fit nicely on a shelf in the pantry. I just don't have the room for a full 5 gallon set-up.

As I stated in the "cons", the Mr. Beer refills tend to be a little expensive when compared to 5 gal extract kits that are available from many on-line and mail order places. But if you have 2 LBK's, you can buy those 5 gal kits and save some money. I found two more LBK's for cheap at a rummage sale. As of this writing, they also sell them on Mr. Beer's web-store for only $10. So now I can make 5 gal batches, and have a spare keg for experimenting. And I have still spent much less than buying a typical 5 gal brewing kit.

That being said, they have some very good refills available for very reasonable prices. And the majority of them still cost less than buying a case of craft beer at your local liquor store.

Bottom line: If you aren't sure if you will like this hobby, or if you know you want to brew but just don't have the room for a 5 gal pail/carboy-type set-up, Mr. Beer is for you.

Price: $39.99
Pros: Complete Kit, Simple, Easy to use, Company resource, Customer Service
Cons: Small size
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I have the Mr. Beer kit. Made my first batch and I was surprised. It was actually drinkable. I am so happy that I can do my own thing.

The primary issue I have is that I would prefer to brew my own than buy at a store. But the 2 Gallon fermenter is not enough to keep enough beers going. I've elected to purchase 2 of the kits and now maybe I can have enough beer to keep me satisfied until the new stuff is done brewing.

Mr. Beer advised a 2-2-2 format (2 weeks in fermenter, 2 weeks in bottling, 2 weeks in the fridge. But the fact of the matter is that most beers are gonna need a bit more time than that. Nearly everything the have tends to indicate that longer brew times produce better results. And if that is the case, then 8 1 litre bottles of beer AIN'T gonna last 6 weeks or more. For pete's sake...it might not last 3 weeks, much less 6 or more. So, going with 2 kegs at a time (at least) is probably what I'm going to end up doing.

Price: $34.00
Pros: Small and compact, no need for additional equiment like siphon, airlock, racking tube, etc
Cons: The tinted brown plastic makes it difficult to observe whats happening during the fermentation
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Small and compact kit ideal for a beginner to play around and see if the he/she would be interested in the long run. Futher there is no need for additional equiment like siphon, airlock, racking tube, etc. Definitely, a good starting point at a good starting price.

Price: $50.00
Pros: Great kit to start learning the "Art" of brewing beer. This is a great beginners kit, it got me very much into the home brewing scene.
Cons: Fermenter only brews roughly 22-24 beers. Not a fan of the plastic twist off bottles, definitely look into a better bottling route.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Other than the small cons this is a great beginners kit to see if you really like brewing your own beer!

Price: $29.99
Pros: Easy to Use Convenient for smaller homes
Cons: 8L Capacity Difficulty to view wort inside
Recommended? Yes

Comments: This is my first home brewing kit and I enjoy it tremendously. Easy to setup, easy to use. The only additional con would be that it is sometimes difficult to clean and pour into since the cap opening is so small.

Price: $35.00
Pros: Simple and user-friendly intro to brewing.
Cons: Makes very small batches
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Mr. Beer is a great starter kit that will teach you the basics of making beer at home without overwhelming the newbie with too much information too quickly.

Price: $20.00
Pros: cheap
Cons: waist of money
Recommended? No

Comments: These things look like cheesey pieces of ****. The makers of these products are about making money and only people who dont know how to brew buy these things. Obviously you cant make good beer with something like this.

Price: $25.00
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Not a bad product for introducing beer making to the general public, I very quickly out grew mine and had to start the 5 gallon batches.

Recommended? Yes

Comments: It will work for now. The kit is a good intro for beginners, but i think it would be a little better with an airlock instead of just vents. But, till my new equipment gets here, it will work for brewing up my batch's, scaled down of course.

Pros: Quick and Simple
Cons: Small batch
Recommended? Yes

Comments: This is a great kit for the beginner. I received one as a gift for Christmas and brewed 3 batches and then got a second fermenter. After about 6 batches I realized a larger fermenter would be better for me. If you can read directions you can make excellent beer with Mr. Beer. There are a large number of kits available online and even at a few retail shops. Kits are reasonably priced around $12.00 for a standard kit and up to $17.00 for premium.

Pros: Amazingly Simple, Low Cost, Excellent extract choices to make a large variety of beers.
Cons: Almost too simple, needs an air lock for a visual indication of completed fermentation. Too easy to bottle too early.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I started this way and I feel its a good starter kit. Success is determined on how well you follow the instructions. Having patience helps with this kit too. Too often newbies pass judgement on the beer quality before it has carbonated properly and completed the conditioning phase. My 1st batch was so so at 3 weeks but awesome after 3 months! 2nd & 3rd batches were very gratifying and worth the wait.

This kit gets a lot of harsh criticism from brewers that I feel is truely unjust. It prooves how poor people can be at following instructions. I have yet to make a traditional beer that I didn't like. That doesn't mean I didn't make a beer with kit I did not like. The fruit beers were aweful. I came to the conclusion that don't like fruity beer. My wifes friends liked them though!

Pros: It proves how easy it is to make good beer
Cons: Costly to brew with the kits supplied.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: This thing got me started in brewing. You can brew with this and normal kitchen equipment for minimal start up costs and time/space investment. I'd say get it, try it and then move on. Give the kit to someone else to try. I don't think anyone would really stick with it if they want to do more than a couple of brews.

Pros: Simplicity; quick start; ease of use
Cons: Somewhat limited flavor variety in the complete kits; less brewer control
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Personally, I find the more complete, from-scratch kits intimidating and just too much effort. This product is perfect for me. I recommend it for anyone who doesn't want to mess around with the number of steps and moving parts in a typical from-scratch process. The Mr. Beer kits have all the ingredients pre-canned, so mostly what you need to do is boil water. The kits make two-gallon batches, which is also a good size for me, since I'm the only beer drinker in the house.