I am not sure why there is all this hate for Mr. Beer. Are these people hating because they grew up brewing beer? Was there never a time when they were new to home brewing? Did they wake up one day and say, "Hey, I am going out and spending several hundred dollars on fermenters, kegs, bottles, mashing stuff, 55 pound bags of grain, ...."
I have to know why these people are hating on it. We all had a calculator before we bought a laptop. We all rode a bike before we drove a car. And we all looked at tranny porn before moving on to bestiality. . . Wait I may have gone too far.
I never had a Mr. Beer. But I know people who got started that way. And most of my money is spent on things that MIGHT lead to a new hobby, which is what a Mr. Beer kit is.
*applauds*