Mr.beer first batch

I'm about to start my first batch using a Mr.beer kit, any words of caution or tips for the first step.

P.S. I will probably come here for advice before each step.

Thanks in advance.

please please please do a search or just look through and read through some of the many other Mr Beer threads.

Loads of info.

It depends how good you want your beer to be.

Welcome to the forum.

Get some unhopped (wet or dry) malt extract to use instead of the booster.

Really, really, really take the sanitation seriously. We've had several people post here saying "Mr. Beer sucks! I'm getting into some REAL homebrewing!" then after some questioning, it turns out they didn't sanitize well and the beer was infected. Mr. Beer isn't the greatest, granted, but you will make some decent beer and learn a lot if you sanitize well, switch LME or UME for the booster, and follow the directions.
Good luck!

Monk

P.S. Oh yeah, and leave it in the fermenter for at least 10 days, maybe two weeks. Trust me. It's worth it. If your beer isn't done fermenting when you bottle (due to cold temperatures, slow yeast, etc.) it will be "bad news for the brews".

thanks for the tip and replies

I did take look around and saw a lot of good info, but some stuff I didn't understand. I guess what I was looking for is, how will the beer turn out if I follow those directions exactly? I'm not expecting it to be great, but any easy little tips to make this batch decent would be appreciated.


Thanks again

I wrote this response before seeing Monk's reply, thanks, these replies are exactly what I was looking for.

The Beer will turn out Better than Miller etc.

The Booster Pack is sugar and sugar can/does cause a cidery taste. You have a drinkable beer. I was impressed when I did it but if you're not happy with it, don't think that that is typical. You can make really good beer with a little knowledge and effort.

Do a couple of standard batches, then maybe one or two all malt brews.
By that time you'll know if you're happy sticking with Mr. Beer methods or are ready to move forward to more conventional brewing methods.

i started with the mr.beer kit .... still have it just to remind me where i came from.

if you follow the steps it will make beer. it won't be terrific beer or even great beer. but it will be drinkable and if you are serious in your endeavours to make beer it should spur you on to bigger and better things.

i know a lot of people throw down on the mr beer kits. i will say this, i wished i had of found my lbhs sooner and not wasted the 40 bucks i spent on the delux mr beer - but in a way it is what got me started on my long journey to great beer so i don't complain about it too much.

i say - enjoy it, and if you're serious consider a better starter kit that includes a 5 gallon bucket and a secondary glass carboy.

from there - sky's the limit.

Bottled my first batch with Mr. Beer today. Ended up with about twenty one bottles worth of beer instead of the expected twenty. So, that last bottle of beer got poured into a glass and sampled.

And even though it was flat, I still enjoyed it; could be just the time and effort I put into it. We'll see in about three weeks.

I've never tried a Mr. Beer kit, but I know someone who has used one for quite awhile and is extremely happy with it.

As happy as I am with my True Brew plastic bucket kit, I wish I had been able to find a starter kit more along the size of the Mr. Beer. Yes, I know that it takes just as much time & effort to brew up 5 gallons as it does 2.5, but screwing up a 2.5 gal batch is cheaper on the pocketbook! Also, hubby & I don't drink a lot of beer, so these 5 gal batches are going to last awhile. I have two batches of beer tying up all my bottles and beer storage space. Short of buying another fridge, I'm not going to be able to brew again until we empty some of these bottles.

Although I'm not tempted to buy a Mr. Beer, I AM tempted to see what I can do with the 3 gal cake icing buckets I picked up at the bakery. Unfortunately the lids don't snap on real tight, and the buckets are too small to accept the lids I can get from the LHBS.