Who started this hobby with a Mr. Beer kit?

I am curious about how many home brewers here got their start with a Mr. Beer kit.
If you did start with a Mr. beer tell us about your experience and what you are doing now.

Back when I started I didn't even know if they had those kits. After reading Charlie P's book I went straight to the LHBS and bought my 5 gallon starter kit.

No Mr Beer Kit for me! I actually started making wine, and got tired of waiting around for 12-18 months for it to be drinkable. And I like beer better anyway.

5 gallon starter kit here- Xmas gift from SWMBO.

Meeee!

I'm thinking in just a month or two the Mr Beer kegs are gonna be relegated to apfelwein (sp?) fermenters.

Sure did. Thanks Mr. Beer, I didn't really make any good batches with you, but you got me going on the right track.

Your standard Ale Pail starter kit here.

I started with Mr. Beer as a Christmas present for 2005. Within a month or two, I came across a Craigslist add from a guy who wanted to sell his whole 5 gallon setup for $50. 3 buckets, 3 glass carboys, numerous airlocks, tubes, big-ass stirring spoons, a jet washer, flip top bottles, etc. It was a great deal and I went right into an easy LME/hops and dry yeast recipe. Next was an extract and grains recipe. I started to brew some all grain batches about a year ago, I guess.

As for Mr. Beer, I still use the keg for small, low grav extract batches.
I gave a mr. beer to a friend, not too long ago...but with it I gave him 4 small cans of pale LME, some fresh Cascade hops, a little Crystal, and US-05. I told him to make the mr. beer mix as a first batch, then follow the directions I gave him for an extract and grains pale ale. He liked "his" beer much better than mr. beer's.

All in all, I like the little setup, but the mixes are kinda lousy and definitely overpriced. I know that most people could easily go straight to 5 gallon extract/grains batches, but there must be a mental hurdle that keeps a lot of people from trying it first. The only bummer in my experience was that I got very excited at the beginning and bought 5-6 mr. beer "mixes". These were not very good at all, I found. I wish I hadn't wasted the cash on them.

I started with a Mr. Beer. I made an English Nut Brown Ale the first time and it was great. I was hooked. It was my first good batch, and on my first try! Being perhaps too confident, I then proceeded to invite some friends over a few weeks later to try my second batch, the West Coast Pale Ale. And, as the beers were passed around and opened, I learned just how important sanitation was...

It was perhaps the worst beer ever created. I hadn't been very thorough and so each bottle was varied slightly from "tastes a little like pee" all the way up to "I'm pretty sure this IS pee". The stuff was so foul we could barely make the toilet drink it...

I guess that is what I got for trying to show off. But I did learn that sanitation is key, and that humble pie goes well with beer. Anyway, I had my fun with it for a while before moving on to bigger and better things.

I jumped in both feet first. Dropped the cash on 3 carboys, bottling bucket and all the accouterments! Kegging about 2 months later.

I didn't actually start with a Mr. Beer kit. A friend who knew I used to brew bought me one years ago as a Christmas gift to get me back into it. I used it once and got myself re-equipped with a proper set up.

Mr beer.....but I didn't buy it. It was a gift. The crappy beer I was able to make with it pushed me headlong into the brew store where I bought as little as possible to still be able to make beer 10X better than mr beer.

I got Mr. Beer as a birthday gift. Brewed with it for almost a year. I had some trouble with their fermenters when I stopped using their cans and started doing 5-gal batches with steeping grains. Figured it was worth the cash for some extra equipment and have been going strong for about 6 months. More beer, more pleasure. I still have my 2 2-gal Mr Beer fermenters and am trying to think what to do with them. Being that they aren't equipped with an airlock, I'm wondering how I can best utilize them, if it makes any difference.

Definitely making better beer now, but Mr. Beer showed me the way. Thank you sir.

Silviakitty said:

Meeee!

I'm thinking in just a month or two the Mr Beer kegs are gonna be relegated to apfelwein (sp?) fermenters.

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That's a helluvan idea! There's a lesson here- don't throw away your outdated brewing stuff-chances are there's a new use for it!

Steiner said:

Being that they aren't equipped with an airlock, I'm wondering how I can best utilize them, if it makes any difference.

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Can you use it to make Ed Wort's Apfelwein? :cross: Beat me too it!

You got to love the name of the product... Mr. Beer. I wonder if it's called Senor Beer south of the border.

Something's wrong with good 'ole Mr. Beer???

I still occasionally make a MRB Beer. I use my own hops and amp up the IBU's

I make fairly decent beers however they are only made with extract. None of them are made with "corn sugar & maltodextrine" thats in the booster pack.

Many people compliment me on them and they are surprised as to how good they are after tasting them. Most if not all are shocked when they learn its from a MRB kit.

Most if not all MRB beers fall into the session style category. Usually less than 20 IBU's and under 6% ABV

On the equipment side of things, I don't use the keg as a fermentor. I use 3 gal carboys fitted w/ an airlock and do the 1-2-3 thing. (1-week Primary, 2 week secondary, 3 week bottle) The MRB keg is relagated strictly to bottling duties. I also follow up 1-2-3 thing w/ cold conditioning my beer for 3 months before drinking them.

My MRB brewing fills in my supply gaps as it takes less time to make them.
I will say that I have made more so-so beers in the 5 gal size than I have with MRB. The root cause has been from mistakes in developing my own recipes or buying 5 gal kits with old & lousy ingredients.

MRB is not a bad start. The thing I like the best about them is the size 2.25 gal. I'm really the only drinker in the house and I don't drink very often. 5 gal batches last too long for me. I get tired of them.

I think MRB gets bad press mostly from people who are ignorant to proper sanitation and aging requirements. Not to mention brewing water quality.

That's just my opinion...



Ignorance example: I had somebody ask me why my beers are always carbed good and their's were not. I asked them about how much sugar they used. Answer: 3/4 cup. Not 5oz. They were measuring out a 3/4 cup out of the 5 oz pack then throwing the rest of it away that came with the kit.

Another duma$$ example: My BIL made a MRB Beer fermented it for a week then went to bottle it. Before bottleing, he said it tasted like crap, so he dumped it down the drain. He also commented that it was kind of flat!!!!

Often ignorance is what makes bad beer!

Started with a Mr. Beer for Christmas in 1999. HATED the results...too sweet, very cidery. In Feb 2000 SWMBO made up for it by paying for me to take a few "classes" from the local homebrew club...the rest is history as they say.

I did, it was a gift. I asked for a beginner kit and got Mr. Beer instead, so I already knew I would be upgrading. 5th batch was AG.

Saw the good eats episode, looked up a brew shop that night, went shopping the next morning

I won a Mr. Beer Kit 5 years after I started brewing. I haven't used that little barrel yet.

Sure, I started with Mr. Beer kit about two years ago. Used it for may be 10 batches. Learned how to do grain steeping, PM and eventually decoction with it. I think it is/was a good starting point. Gave it as a gift to a friend of mine...

I started with the "usual" 5-gal ale-pail kit...can't remember what inspired me, or where I got it.

A couple years ago (after I was well into AG brewing) my somewhat clueless in-laws got me a Mr Beer refill kit for Christmas. Not having the MRB equipment, I just let it sit.

Earlier this year I tried to "rescue" it by brewing it as a basic extract recipe (with better hops and yeast). It was foul. I suppose MRB works better if you (a) have the actual equipment (b) follow the directions and (c) don't keep the kit on the kitchen shelf for 2+ years

I did one batch with a Mr. Beer about 7 years ago and it really sucked. I dumped it all and threw the kit away.

Thank goodness I decided to get back into it and did it the right way.

I started with Palmer, found this site, then bought my equipment - all glass carboys with 2 stage fermentation. I did two partial boils before getting a bigger pot and moving to fulls.

Started with All-Grain. I like challenges. =)

-D

Was given two mr beer sets by a friend whose wife was making him quit drinking. I've never used them, they are still in the garage. But I like the idea of making cider in them.

So far about 1/3 of the people who voted started with a Mr Beer kit. That is a significant number. We like to dish these kits but they serve a good purpose. Many a home brewer would not have been exposed to the hobby without them.

I needed to check the sort-of option! My brother bought me a Mr. Beer Kit for Christmas and a little lightbulb went on in my head and I said now I will brew beer. Well I immediately started ammasing my AG setup and the kit sat on a shelf in the basement until after my third batch or so when I decided to use it up. Haven't looked back since So I guess it did propell me forward!

I think there were Mr. Beer kits around when I got started, but that's not what got me started. I had been fortunate enough to actually go to a very good LHBS in Houston and see what all there was out there. I got the idea, then, that's what I should do. Then, once I was of brewing age, I went to an okay LHBS in Nashville, got my stuff, and went from there.


TL

I have a kit, got it for my bday last week.. I plan to make the west coast pale ale that came with it, then its dedicated to apfelwein.. I need to save some $, the immediate brewing equipment isn't a problem..its the kettle/burner.. Looking at a total of 300 bucks to get into it right..since ordering online I don't want to make multiple purchases and get raped on shipping..

My first brew was all grain. I skipped right over all the "pseudo brewing" techniques.

Lil' Sparky said:

My first brew was all grain. I skipped right over all the "pseudo brewing" techniques.

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We're all happy for you lil' sparky, and I am AG myself, but there are people here who make good beer from extract and take pride in the things you refer to as "pseudo" brewing.

cheezydemon said:

We're all happy for you lil' sparky, and I am AG myself, but there are people here who make good beer from extract and take pride in the things you refer to as "pseudo" brewing.

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Relax. Just an EAC joking around.

Brewers Best Red Ale was my 1st

I started off with a Mr. Beer kit as well. It took about a month of use when I finally bought a real kit from AHB.

I started with a Mr. Beer a long time ago, got it as a gift. It turned out terrible, most likely due to sanitation issues (based on reading this forum). I didnt try again for years, until about a month ago when i got a whole kit from my LHBS. First beer was tested out after about two weeks in the bottle, and people can't wait for more. Mr. Beer is definitely good to get people, but I think ultimately it just acts like a catalyst... if they like that, then the real deal isnt far away for them. This hobby is addicting, and this forum is an extremely valuable resource for anyone who wants to get better at it.

My story is very similar. I received a Mr. Beer kit in 98-99 for christmas. Made it and forgot about it for about a year. it turned to vinegar. Didnt try again until a year and a half ago. Its been great ever since!

Asked for one for X-mas but never got it.

Finally got a house suitable for brewing in 2005. Wife was preggo, I was home and bored a lot. Found a LHBS and bought an ale-pail kit. First couple of batches were crap, but then had my first hallelujah brew. All grain and kegging set up now.

december of 04 a northern brewer ale pale kit showed up at my door, courtesy of my little bro, who at the time was in the navy. haven't looked back since.