newbie

Hi I'm new to brewing.... And have been wanting to brew since I tasted my first craft beer 5 yrs ago..... I've purchased a Mr. Beer kit to play around with so I can learn and experiment before I go big and.buy the heavy duty stuff.... My gf suggested that I do that.... I plan on getting more into it, but that's a.great place to start right?

I have never used a Mr. Beer, but I am also a Newby, having only 2 brews under my belt. I would recommend trying out a regular extract kit.

The hardware needed is easy to find and not very expensive. Chances are, you already have some of what you need. The directions that come with extract kits are very easy to follow and self explanatory.

I got lucky because my dad had all the buckets needed from years ago, so my capital costs were non-existent but I have seen everything needed at low costs.

I started with Mr Beer and it was like a gateway drug... It is a good place to start in my opinion. Read through the Mr Beer thread, lots of good suggestions there on how to make the best of their ingredients. It's a great way to get the basics and process down. I only made 4 batches in my Mr Beer before jumping into 5 gallon all-grain batches, but I still use the little keg for small batches of wine and other "test" batches. Welcome to the obsession!

Thanks for the advice.... I like that lil later be able to use it for small experimental brews.... Im gonna do my first batch on thanksgiving.... Im excited and nervous.....

I started out with an extract kit with specialty grains that the LHBS was selling. That's what got me hooked. And the fact that my great-grandfather would do it during prohibition times He'd call it "Putting the Hens to Nest" when he and my grandfather and uncles would get together to brew up some beer. Kind of weird but hey, I wasnt there.

Putting The Hens to rest i can dig that.... Maybe u can do a specialty beer in honor of ur gpa and Call it that.....

I thought about that. Maybe once I finally get a good grasp on building recipes I can do that. My g-pa said that most of the stuff they made was low hopped, super malty, and just a tad on the sweet side.

That could work..... Id try some... I just named my beer... Lol and.on.accident to....and it.hasnt.even bene.brewed yet.....

Make sure when you buy your first kit that you buy StarSan and use it. It really sucks to go through all that mess of making the beer just to have it get a bug in it and you have to dump it out.

Thanks for.the heads up..... The Mr Beer kit came.with one.... Im.gonna order more...... I read that sanitizing is one of the key things

What all does the Mr. Beer kit come with? I've never used one.

À 2 gallon.keg 8 bottles and the ingrédients for.it beer... And the keg and.bottles are reusable

kowboyup13 said:

Thanks for the advice.... I like that lil later be able to use it for small experimental brews.... Im gonna do my first batch on thanksgiving.... Im excited and nervous.....

Click to expand...

I started with the Mr. Beer kit. Made 1 batch and was hooked and moved up to a 5 gal kit. My Mr. Beer batch came out excellent, probably because of the advice of my LHMS owner. He suggested a fresh pack of yeast. There was no expiration on the yeast pack that came with my Mr. Beer kit so who knows how old it was. I brewed a Cali Pale Ale and steeped some crushed orange peel and did a 15 min boil of 1/2 oz of cascade hops. Like I said...I thought it came out great. The yeast pack was less than $5 and was well worth it. Have a blast and welcome to the addiction

Was gonna do.it today but circumstances are preventing it.... Ggggrrrr.... But like i Saïd im.ready for.it..... I need go.do it..... Lol.... Ill do it after thanksgiving......

I started with Mr Beer.

You can make great all grain beer without buying heavy duty equipment. I brew 3 gallon batches with a 5 gallon good quality stainless steel pot, a few glass carboys, a decent (not POS) electric tempered glass stove, and an unconverted 5 gallon Home Depot cooler with paint strainer vinyl mesh bags.

I still use my mr beer keg to cold crash with although it seems more unnecessary with each passing batch.

Anyway. My point is you can go as far as you want even if you don't spend $10k. But--there is still a big difference between cheap old Mr Beer and the full blown hobby (of any batch size).