Mr. Beer...I don't get it...

[Shooter]

I'm not buying the infection thing either. I made a batch of apfelwein and used my Mr. Beer. I forgot about it and it's been sitting in there for over a year and isn't infected. If beer is infected, you are going to know it.

There are many things, besides infection, that can cause off flavors. One thing that no one has mentioned is the age of the extract. I noticed when I did Mr. Beer in college, that the extract can be quite old sometimes. It is always best to get the freshest extract you can. That's why so many people order from Midwest, AHB and the other big online stores. They go through so much extract, you are guaranteed to get fresh extract.

I think the age of the extract is a lot of it. My Mr. Beer batches always had at least a touch of this soy sauce flavor to them. Even Mr. Beer batches I made after I was making very drinkable five gallon extract batches still had the taste. I think getting a really fresh can is key. I have since used the Mr. Beer fermenter to make my one extract recipes and they turn out just fine.

 

[SKMO]

I've made probably over a dozen Mr. Beer recipes using Mr. Beer HME, UME and different dry and liquid yeasts. Out of all those beers, I would say 1 or 2 have turned out drinkable.

At the risk of sounding like an A-Hole or cynical, a 1:6 success ratio is the inverse of Russian Roulette, where you have at least a .833 chance of succeeding. A beer or two "drinkable" where you do not retch and spit it back out is hardly a success story. You do exhibit determination.

Sounds like you want to brew, I'd move on quick to a process where your beers will be "good", not just drinkable.

 

[ButcherBrew]

I've had some of the best beer from my MB kit. I don't know, maybe it's just me.

Really? Not my experience at all so I guess I was really doing something wrong. I too agreed, as did some of my friends, that most of the MR. BEER kits tasted very similar to one another. Fast forward to today.......The Partial Mash recipes I have completed are LIGHT YEARS ahead of MR. Beer in quality, color, carbonation, taste, etc.

To give it some credit, the Mr Beer kit definitely exposed me to the craft brewing world and got me familiar with sanitizing, fermenting process, etc. I appreciate what it taught me and how it led me to where I am now!

 

[ButcherBrew]

Then either the people making it had ****ty practices or you did. I had many tasty beers from my Mr Beer stuff, I stuck with their recipes section and stayed out of the refills section.

Maybe thats where I went wrong......Their Canned kits are horrible....

 

[Bithead]

I still use my Mr Beer fermenter for 2.5 gallon batches. Sometimes you just need to loosen the cap a little more to let the krausen overflow. Tighten again when primary fermentation slows down. I only made maybe a handful of batches and never had Worcestershire off flavors.

 

[cbauer210]

I have deff had some ok drinkable beers from my mr beer kit. Often time the cans I would get would be looooooong expired though. I blame allot of the nasty beers on that factor. However, I have nothing but love for mr beer. If it wasn't for that kit, this board would be much, much, much, much less populated. As many of you....it is how I got my start in home brewing. Got that little kit, got so excited about the thought of making my own beer, then saw how easy it could be....I never looked back. Tasting those slightly off tasting beers only made me want to make better and better tasting beers.

 

[sjbeerman]

Many of you may not know, but I read that's how Jamil got started.

 

[DannPM]

I got started with a Mr. Beer kit a little over 2 years ago. In those 2 years, I've made probably over a dozen Mr. Beer recipes using Mr. Beer HME, UME and different dry and liquid yeasts. Out of all those beers, I would say 1 or 2 have turned out drinkable. My wife describes the off taste that the Mr. Beer beers always have as Worcestershire sauce like? I can never quite put my finger on the off taste myself. I make 5 gallon extract w/grain batches that mostly turn out good and definitely better than MB. I just opened a double brown ale that was fermented in November and bottled in late December, it has this same off taste. Does anyone have any insight into this? I've used Star San to sanitize everything including bottles, I fully take apart the Mr. Beer keg to clean and sanitize, I try to ferment cool (around 65F). I don't know if its is just me or is this a Mr. Beer thing that I just don't like?

Is it possible that Worcestershire sauce is somehow being added to the beer in a step you're overlooking?

 

[Hang Glider]

Is it possible that Worcestershire sauce is somehow being added to the beer in a step you're overlooking?

by the underwear gnomes, perhaps?
(they're always in search of profit)


sorry for the - back to our Mr. Beer discussion...

 

[DannPM]

by the underwear gnomes, perhaps?
(they're always in search of profit)


sorry for the - back to our Mr. Beer discussion...

Yeah sorry I just had to post that up! Couldn't resist!

I got a Mr. Beer for Christmas, just this last one. It got me into making beer with a kick. I just did my first all-grain a few weeks ago!

It's a decent/ok product but it's a great way to get into beer brewing.