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Levers101 · 05-28-2007, 07:19 PM

So I have a huge ethical dilemma on my hands. My roommate wants me to recommend a Mr. Beer kit for him to get his dad for Father's Day. As a serious brewer, can I even ethically recommend one of these things? He says his mom would have a fit if his dad were to boil hops in their house (my roommate has a fit on my brew days because the hops "smell so bad"). Do all Mr. Beer kits use sugar in lieu of malt extract?

homebrewer_99 · 05-28-2007, 07:26 PM

I'd tell him just that...as a brewer I can not recommend a Mr. Beer kit...the product is subpar and the experience is not as enjoyable as the marketing people would like you to believe...you'd be better off buying him a 6'er/case of something he likes...

bobbydigital · 05-28-2007, 07:30 PM

i used mr. beer. ... it doesnt really make any odor.... and you only boil a packet of stuff..
but the beer tastes terrible.....
they have u put it in soda bottles.....

and then directly the kitchen sink is where mine went.. NASTY.

**AnOldUR** · 05-28-2007, 07:52 PM

I made about ten Mr. Beer brews before upgrading. Except for priming the first couple of batches with sugar, never used sugar in the ingredients. They are all liquid malt and when hops are used they tell you to dry hop. After a while, I was boiling the hops along with the LME and made some pretty tasty beer. But with a little patience it comes out fine without boiling.

Take a look here:
http://www.mrbeer.com/recipesall.php?menu=sub4&mactive=3&subactive=1

Trashing Mr. Beer seems to be a favorite pass time of some here. Rather then do that you may want to recommend one of the kits from the link above and give him some brew tips like not drinking green beer and finding a container to use as a secondary.

I had good luck using this as a secondary:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Gallon-Polycarbonate-Water-Dispenser-Bottle-w-Handle_W0QQitemZ140114517443QQihZ004QQcategoryZ320 2QQcmdZViewItem

You can make bad beer in a 5 gallon carboy just as easy as with a Mr. Beer. It’s all about learning how to use the tools you have.

The quote above "they have u put it in soda bottles....." is pretty silly. You would only do that out of ignorance. Tell him to pick up some Grolsch bottles or buy a capper, so that he know better.

Drunkensatyr · 05-28-2007, 07:59 PM

He needs the kit that comes with 1 glass carboy, an Airstopper, A Bottling setup and at the VERY least a Coopers Kit. *Grin* Another dilemma averted!

Levers101 · 05-28-2007, 08:25 PM

Reading more into it, it must just be the "Booster" that is made out of corn sugar. I use sugar to prime for carbonation in all my beers, so that's no sweat to me--I'm too impatient with the longer carbonation times for DME, and haven't seen any ill effects from sugar.

I tend to shy from making the recommendation just because if his dad is serious about getting into brewing its a better idea to buy equipment that has more use down the road. I also hate to think of someone being turned off of brewing if Mr. Beer gives you sub-par results... But I agree, if you go into Mr. Beer knowing how to do it right, I suppose you can do okay. In fact, I'm tempted to buy a completely off the wall kit and brew it just to see what it is like.
I have co-worker who does no-boil or minimum boil brewing with her fiance , but then again, I've never actually tasted her beer, so I don't know how it turns out. I assume its okay because they still do it.

**Yuri_Rage** · 05-28-2007, 08:41 PM

I'm not gonna say anything about Mr. Beer kits...I have no experience with them.

However, if the aroma of boiling hops is objectionable to someone, that person should not brew beer. Period.

mward · 05-28-2007, 08:53 PM

This is the same price as one of the upper level mr beer kits and it'll make much better beer. If the misses has a trouble with hop smell tell her to take a hike! Or he can brew outside. I have used both mrbeer and beermachine and both make regrettably bad beer.

http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=15910

**DeathBrewer** · 05-28-2007, 08:59 PM

do hops really give off that much of a smell?

my apartment always smells like malts...i hardly notice the hops, even when they're boiling.

**Yuri_Rage** · 05-28-2007, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathBrewer

do hops really give off that much of a smell?

my apartment always smells like malts...i hardly notice the hops, even when they're boiling.

Given your recent brew history, that's no surprise - mostly malty brews with relatively little hops. Brew an IPA or APA and your opinion on the aroma of the boil will change considerably.