Just gotta ask about this

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I think lots of people start with that. But from what I have tasted it's no good. Pre-hopped extract and adding table sugar = poor beer.
 
I lasted 1 session with it and it was horrible. I threw it out and switched over to a standard kit. Don't waste your money.
 
I do extracts, just saw that and all I could think is "Yummy cheap beer with the flavor of plastic through every batch. " HAHAHAHAHAHA
 
I am not as against it as other people on here, but you cannot be nearly as creative, and it is not going to be as good as a homebrew. And in reality, a five gallon bucket has just about as much footprint as the Mr. Beer Keg. Obviously it is more vertical, but it takes up about as much floor space.

If you do decide to go that route, a couple of things...
Dont use plain white sugar. Buy some DME and use that instead.
Also, dont use the yeast that comes with it...buy some good fresh yeast.
Lastly, age longer than it says. If I am not mistaken it says two weeks in keg, one week in bottle. I would go with no less than three weeks in the keg and three weeks in the bottle.

If you follow those steps, you can make a decent brew. But I have to ask, if you are buying extract, and buying yeast, and the 5-gallon bucket has the same footprint...why not just homebrew?
 
If you got one as a gift and weren't sure if you were going to like the hobby or not, I'd say give it a shot. If not, buy a cheap started kit; they're not much more money.
 
NO NO NO...

Just saw this on ebay and was LOLing......

I got about $600 into my brewing stuff already
 
I also started with this. I made one batch that physically hurt my stomach (too much carbination) and switched to extract brew with a bucket after that.

The problem with the Mr. Beer setup IMHO is that it teaches you nothing. I can now guess what is in each of those cans, but they don't tell you. They make it out to be some mystery to keep you coming back to them for products. It's unfortunate their "included" product tries to replicate Bud. I think.
 
My favorite:

The fresh flavor and hand crafted quality of your beers will compete with the most famous and expensive beers throughout the world.

Look, if you can make beer that competes with the best in the world from a Mr. Beer kit, then you must be motherf*ucking Gandalf or something.

I'm so glad I learned to brew from scratch from a friend, rather than starting with some stupid kit. I've never bought a kit, Mr. Beer or other, and rarely have I used recipes that aren't of my own creation. This Mr. Beer kit thing seems like homebrewing's version of mixing up a batch of Kool-Aid.
 
I had a Mr. Beer and the end product was horrible. It took me about 7 years to finally take the plunge on making real home brew. A year later I am All Grain, kegging and serving from my DIY kegerator. :ban:
 
I have a friend who's been using Mr. Beer for several years. She likes the beer she gets out of it. I never turn one down if we're at her house, but really it isn't very good. The hard cider she made, though, tasted great- until the bottles on top her refrigerator blew up. She's still using the Mr. Beer and is happy with it. I bought a beer machine ages ago and made two batches and gave it up. I think it has to do with your expectations and what you consider "good".
 
I got one as a gift. Gave it 4 weeks to ferment and another 4 in the bottle. Wasn't a bad beer for the first time out, but not nearly as good as my first hefeweisen using a real "starter" kit. For a few bucks more you can get a decent setup that will allow you to do so much more (read "How to Brew" first, though).
 
does that little keg hold pressure though? could be a cheap part pig type of thing.
 
I got one for X-mas from a buddy. I am going to use it to make a 2 gallon batch of Apfelwein soon. I have made one beer with the kit. Not bad but not great. It will get you buzzed but they do seem to be over-carbed.
 
It is what it is, something that gets you to a destination without regard for the journey. It's rather like one of those 200 to 1 Electronic kits from Radio Shack...you can make lots of cool stuff, but who really knows how or why?

I started this way, only because it was a gift...and I didn't really learn anything from it. If you have one, use the ideas and skills learned from experienced brewers and apply it to your Mr. Beer kit...and using DME and better yeast is a really good first step.
 
I learned using a Mr Beer. Got it as a gift. At least you will learn how to clean bottles, sanitize, bottle, etc.

Here is a few things I learned:
Never make a batch from one can from a Mr. Beer kit, always use the booster and an additional can of malt.

Use other canned kits, like from Coopers. Don't use the whole can, only as much as in a Mr. Beer kit.
 
This would be a fun contest.
User a cheap beer kit like Mr Beer or Coopers and see who can make the best beer with it. HAHAHAHA
 
i got mr.beer as a gift,drank one then chunked everything in the rubbish.
 
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