New here with Q's

[Tag]

Hi guys (and gals)
I am looking at learning to brew but am only looking at small batches, so my first question is, can you get a good brew with the Mr Beer kits? Is there anything I can get to go along with the kit (Some sort of secondary or something along those lines) to improve my batches? Is there anything to do different from their instructions that will improve my beer right from the start? I see most, if not all beer batch kits seem to be set up for 5 gallon batches, can you split this up to make less?
I'm sure there will be more later but that's all for now.

Thanks
Tag

 

[Tophe]

Just make 5 gal. batches. You'll end up wanting to, so might as well start now, so you dont have to upgrade later.

Never used mr beer kits so i have no answer to your question, just my recommendation.

 

[Bobby_M]

Mr Beer kit = 2 gallon fermenter, PET bottles, and inferior ingredients.

Take that same money and buy two 6.5 gal buckets (one with a spigot), some tubing, a capper, some caps and some sanitizer. Then get an extract + steeping grains ingredient kit.

 

[Kayos]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=24905

 

[Brew4Kicks]

Greetings!

BasicBrewing.com has great audio and video podcasts. For small batches look at the video podcasts on their mead experiment and their "six-pack porter and brewing gadgets (November 29, 2006)." In both these they brew 1 gal. batches -- primarily for recipe tweaking.

Both podcasts are worth subscribing to. Great information, especially for beginners.

Take care!

 

[Brewing Clamper]

If you want to do small batches just save yourself the money and trouble and get a 5g setup. You will inevitable kick yourself in the ass if you don't because you WILL want to go bigger soon. You can still ferment 2.5-3g of beer in a 5g setup, and when you're ready to go big you have everything you need.

 

[Pumbaa]

Hi guys (and gals)
I am looking at learning to brew but am only looking at small batches, so my first question is, can you get a good brew with the Mr Beer kits?

Sure you can make good beer. It may not be the best beer you could make but it definetly can get worse then Mr Beer.

Is there anything I can get to go along with the kit (Some sort of secondary or something along those lines) to improve my batches?

A secondary isnt really needed. 99% of the function of a secondary (for most of us) is acting as a clearing/aging tank.

Is there anything to do different from their instructions that will improve my beer right from the start?

Anytime Mr Beer says to add sugar sub in light or extra light dry malt extract (DME). You can get it at your local home brew store and will give you a much better end result.

I see most, if not all beer batch kits seem to be set up for 5 gallon batches, can you split this up to make less?

Yes and No . . . it depends. If the grains that are comming with the kit are mixed you probably could just mix them up so you have a nice even distibution then cut the pile in half but I dont think I would. If each grain is packaged individually sure then take each amount and half them and you'd be fine. Just remember to split the malt extract in half too

 

[EmptyH]

I'm assuming that you only want to make small batches because you don't drink much? That actually works to your advantage. Beer gets better as it ages, so as you are slowing working on the two cases of beer you made it gets better and more complex. From what I have read after a few months the taste is really great. I wouldn't personally know because my batches don't last that long

.. just food (or drink) for thought

 

[MashStirBrew]

My friend started out with a Mr.Beer and his first batch was pretty horrible, drinkable but horrible. Then it broke,(after his first batch) and he invested in good equipment and now brews excellent Beer. I have not heard many good things about them but I am by no means an expert.

 

[BarryNL]

I quite like to do smaller batches - I normally brew up a 2.5 - 3 gal batch every weekend and that's still faster than I can drink the stuff - or even give it away in a country where people only want stuff that takes like Heineken.

 

[Steve-oh]

I started with a Mr Beer kit about a month ago. Haven't tried the finished product yet, but I got sick of the idea of having to wait so long for the ingredients to come in the mail so I wen tout and bought a 5 gallon kit.

I'm still probably gonna keep the 2 gallon one just for kicks, but I like the idea of having 5 gallons of beer at my disposal.

Plus, it's hard to find recipes for a 2 gallon batch.

 

[b767fo]

To be honest Mr Beer is more of a dorm room kit. Many of the things that can spoil a good batch of brew (oxidation, light, etc) are just about guaranteed with a Mr Beer. If you just want to brew a few bottles of your own beer to impress your buds, then MB is ok. But if you want to take the hobby a little more seriously, get a decent starter kit. Your LHBS will have one for about $70. And BTW, 5 gal translates to less than one beer a day for two months. In real terms you could do 6-8 brews a year for half the cost of what you would pay for an equivalent amount of decent microbrew.