Did you start with a Mr.Beer kit?

[Tommy1858]

I have been reading alot of post that mention Mr.Beer kits and thats where i got my taste buds wet! So i was just wondering who else started there?

 

[Hammy71]

No, although, I have tried a Mr. Beer brew before. Kinda what got me to buy a full sized beer kit. Tasted like crap. Course, I suspect it had more to do with my friends ability to follow directions than the Mr. Beer kit itself.

 

[Daybis]

I started with a Mr. Beer kit. My wife bought it for me for Christmas. I did a pale ale recipe that turned out pretty good.

 

[Clann]

Yup. 1 out of 5 came out not cidery. Quickly moved up to 5 gallon batches. no cider since. Well there was 1 cider but it was made with apple juice:cross:

 

[BryceL]

I started with Mr. Beer. I did 3 or 4 batches and they all turned out terrible...my fault though. I would mindlessly dump things like honey our extra sugar into it, not knowing what it would do. I gave up and about 2 years later the subject came up with a buddy and it took off from there. I now make some damn tasty beer!

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Nope, I remember watching my dad homebrew when i was a kid, so i knew to skip the mr beer kit.

 

[player2ma]

Got a Mr. Beer kit as a present, made the couple kits that came with it, and then moved up to 5 gallon batches. The beer was drinkable enough to get me into brewing.

 

[djt17]

I did; the first batch was nasty. Then I found mrbeerfans.com, & was able to make 5 batches of decent beer. Then 5 batches using DME & Specialty Grains. It's been AG ever since.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Started with one... it was not good. Stopped brewing for a few years. Now I have between 4 or 5 fermenters bubbling away at 1 time lol

 

[frazier]

I started with MrBeer. First batch was the kit that came with it. The next 5 were recipes I found at HBT, scaled down. Then I got the Better Bottle. It was an easy way to learn the process.

 

[BrewerinBR]

I started with a MR Beer kit I got for Christmas 2010 from my SWMBO. I did the first batch (Cowboy lager) Dec 27 2010 and dumped it down the drain. By February 2011 I had a 3 gallon all grain setup and did a spiced black steam beer (Wyeast American lager yeast fermented at ale temps). Was really good. I then used the second can of hopped LME from the kit to do a partial mash and make a brown ale that turned out really good. From there I built a brew room and moved to 5 gallons. Now I am seriously looking at going to 10 gallon all electric. The 5 gallon proved to small as well. Just cant keep the pipeline up... with 2 brothers and 3 BIL it just don't last and I just cant brew it fast enough. I have 20 gallons fermenting now... and after the last weekend when family was over the beer fridge is empty.

 

[steelerfanatic7]

I started with a Mr. Beer kit and the first one i made was very cidery and didn't have much flavor (west coast pale ale), nothing pale ale about it. The second one i did was the blonde ale and it wasn't nearly as bad. So i have a red ale from mr beer carbonating now. Through all of this i got a real brew kit for christmas and have been brewing with that also.

 

[spaceweaseal]

Last night I had my first bottle from my first home brew. It is from a Mr Beer pilsner kit. I only let it frem for a week and it has only been in the bottles for a week but it really is not bad at all. After a couple more weeks in the bottles, it should be pretty good. I now have a carboy and brew buckets so I have 10gal's of brew, (5gal of true brew Octoberfest and 5gal Coopers ipa) fermenting and another batch going in the Mr Beer. The Mr Beer is not a bad little kit and is great if you have limited space/equipment to brew.

 

[SasquatchSmith]

I did. I did 3 or 4 batches...they came out OK aside from my latest one, and Oktoberfest which is FAR too carbonated and just doesn't taste very good. My first more serious extract batch was just bottled this weekend, a Brewers Best kit IPA

 

[JonK331]

I did as well. My buddy got a kit as a gift and gave it to me because his controlling SWMBO wouldn't let him make it. Ha Ha

 

[PassionForThePint]

I also started with one too. My experiment was more like a soda with some beer to it, but it got me hooked on brewing. It wasn't long after that I did my first extract batch.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I started with Mr Beer, a gift from SWMBO this Christmas. I have made 2 batches so far and love it, but I drink it faster than I can make it so I am upgrading to a bigger setup. Mr Beer is a decent fermenter and their ingredients aren't bad if you use the premium kits. You are better off peicing together your own recipes from your LHBS as their ingredients should be less expensive.

 

[markmc40]

I started with Mr. Beer as well. It is a nice way to discover you can make decent beer and it's not rocket science. In the end, their pricepoint is way off to serve a pipeline. Their kits cost more to make 2 gallons than I spend on 5 gallons of all-grain now and my beer is a heck of a lot better, Plus, I don't run out :rockin:

 

[Sippin37]

Sure did start with one, never made a beer that I was really proud of but I drank them with friends nonetheless. Cheap way to get started!

 

[Spintab]

Yep. First batch was terrible. Ordered an oatmeal stout kit that came out ok so I bought a whole new kit with the intentions of rotating batches. The second pale ale attempt was equally terrible. I did all the usual newb things wrong though so it's possible they could have come out better. Moved up to 5 gallon extract, then soon to all grain. I still have my Mr. Beer kegs and use them occasionally to split 5 gallon batches in two.

 

[StittsvilleJames]

Mr Beer started me on this hobby too. I didn't make one, but saw one, did some research online, and bought a starter equipment set and an extract kit instead.

Thanks Mr Beer!

 

[annasdadhockey]

I got a Mr Beer kit back in 97, made 1 batch, then put it in the attic. 10 years later, I found it, took it down, and fired off 2 or 3 batches. Then decided to go bigger

 

[swackattack]

Got a coopers kit this christmas...Got me hooked. 3 fermenters going now...2 bottle conditioning!

 

[joeybeer]

I did - the cowboy lager.. It turned out pretty terrible, but the concept was awesome. about a year later I made 5g of cider that turned out great, and I headed right into 5g all-grain !

 

[bkorver]

I started with a Mr Beer kit several years ago. 4 expensive batches that left me less than impressed drove me away from the hobby for a couple years. Now I have a fermentation chamber that will hold 3 buckets, and have at least two of them going at any given time. I even have my 2nd all grain batch fermenting as we speak. As my dad would say, "You grew up so fast..."

 

[firebirdude]

I did. Perfect way to introduce people into the hobby.

I think the kit gets a bad rap because everyone who uses it is a brew-newbie. They make newbie mistakes such as sanitizing, impatient timing, wild experimenting, ballpark measurements, etc etc.... then blame the bad beer on the Mr Beer kit. "After I researched some more and switched to a 5-gallon all grain setup, the beer was so much better." Well no duh. Don't think many can argue the ingredients Mr. Beer offers are terrible, they're just basic. And aside from the ingredients.... it's just a plastic jug. It's a cheap kit that does exactly what it's suppose to. Don't expect the world from it and don't put it up against $400 worth of other brew equipment.

 

[psymonkey]

Yep, that was my gateway drug.

 

[Transamguy77]

I started with it last year, it was a gift from a friend from the previous Christmas. I made about 3 batches and then bought a 5 gallon starter kit.

It definately was a nice intro into brewing and yes the beer tastes like crap if you follow the directions, but at that time it still tasted better than the BMC I was drinking at the time. Now I make good beer and don't think I could drink the Mr Beer or the BMC!

 

[JollyMon]

I just switched to 5g AG after 1 year with Mr Beer. It was a good intro to the hobby. Taught me things like patience, temperature control, and RDWHAHB. Is it great beer? No. Is it an acceptable way to get started in this ridiculous hobby? Yes. Will my first AG batch be far superior to my last Mr Beer batch? I doubt it. But I enjoy this hobby just like all of you who are reading this. And as such I expect to get better with experience. Mr Beer was just step one in the learning process. Not good, or bad, just another step in my opinion.

 

[kurtism]

no kits for me.

i started with a bag of apples, some juice and a dream in September. only a few months later and i'm all grain and a few brews deep. if i only had more space but its hard to brew in a new york city apartment.