read if you use MR BEER kit

[bpgreen]

I started out using the Mr. Beer kit and never managed to turn out a decent batch of beer. I finally said 'Screw it!' and went over to the Michigan Brewing Company's homebrew supply store in Webberville Michigan (they've been out of business for awhile now...that's a story in itself as to why they went under) and bought a Brewer's Best Homebrewing kit and two cases of glass bottles. After getting several decent batches under my belt, I went back to MBC and bought a glass carboy and a few other odds and ends to add to my brewing equipment. My Mr. Beer set has been slowly gathering dust on top of the cabinets above the kitchen counter for several years now.

The problem wasn't with the equipment.

I was going to post more, but then I saw that this thread started more than a decade ago, so I deleted the rest of my response and kept the reply to be amused when this necro thread keeps arising from the dead.

 

[slym2none]

Back in 2004, I imagine Mr. Beer kits were not great. Small cans of hopped LME, instructions to add sugar, and a tiny, tiny pack of yeast. I'd bet a lot of sub-standard beer was made from that. But, 4 years ago, Mr Beer was bought out by Cooper's and lots of things got better. I started on Mr. Beer not a year ago. Of course, I only brewed one batch straight-up, and it still was not good. Steeping grains & extra hops are needed to make decent beer out of them.

Now, I just use the LBKs because they literally fit my brewing lifestyle. Otherwise, I am an AG brewer.

 

[carloscede2]

My friend got a BS mr beer kit for 99$. I mean seriously? You cam buy a decent setup for 99 bucks! Even those damn so called refills are like 26 bucks each and its not enough to make good beer, you can buy 3 lbs of dme for 11 bucks and some hops for 4$ and it will probably be better than mr beer!

 

[slym2none]

If he actually paid $99, someone is laughing & taking some money out of the till.

Please don't think I am defending them, I got far away from those products in less than a year - however, your info is a bit off. Refills start at $17, the craft & seasonal ones (that use a larger can of hopped LME) are the ones that cost over $20.

*EDIT* Pardons, I was going by the US dollar, not the Canadian one. My prices above are definitely off, that way. /EDIT

As I mentioned above, though, they aren't worth it - none of them. To make decent beer, you end up spending more money & using the same amount of time as an AG batch.

 

[carloscede2]

If he actually paid $99, someone is laughing & taking some money out of the till.

Please don't think I am defending them, I got far away from those products in less than a year - however, your info is a bit off. Refills start at $17, the craft & seasonal ones (that use a larger can of hopped LME) are the ones that cost over $20.

As I mentioned above, though, they aren't worth it - none of them. To make decent beer, you end up spending more money & using the same amount of time as an AG batch.

Plus taxes is like 99 or something. I dont think these kits are worth it at all.

View attachment 1456464897113.jpg

 

[slym2none]

Pardons, I didn't know we were talking Canadian dollars.

 

[Altrez]

Mr. Beer oh how I love the LBK's. To make a good beer you need to have a dedicated fermenting chamber with temperature control monitoring and logging plus several PH meters / hydrometers / refractometers and a few spectrometers.

Thermal imaging to make sure you can see the gradient temperature of the LBK and a dust free environment with hepa filtering.

And also you need to make your own water. Make sure you test your water with a TDS meter. best bet is to buy a distiller.

I am still trying to get the green apple taste to go away from my Mr. Beer kits. I plan to send a sample to a lab for analysis.

Just my .02

-Altrez

 

[Murphys_Law]

Mr. Beer oh how I love the LBK's. To make a good beer you need to have a dedicated fermenting chamber with temperature control monitoring and logging plus several PH meters / hydrometers / refractometers and a few spectrometers.

Thermal imaging to make sure you can see the gradient temperature of the LBK and a dust free environment with hepa filtering.

And also you need to make your own water. Make sure you test your water with a TDS meter. best bet is to buy a distiller.

I am still trying to get the green apple taste to go away from my Mr. Beer kits. I plan to send a sample to a lab for analysis.

Just my .02

-Altrez

The green apple taste won't go away until you buy a better Ti camera.

 

[ImNoExpert]

Yay! This thread!

 

[worlddivides]

Mr. Beer oh how I love the LBK's. To make a good beer you need to have a dedicated fermenting chamber with temperature control monitoring and logging plus several PH meters / hydrometers / refractometers and a few spectrometers.

Thermal imaging to make sure you can see the gradient temperature of the LBK and a dust free environment with hepa filtering.

And also you need to make your own water. Make sure you test your water with a TDS meter. best bet is to buy a distiller.

I am still trying to get the green apple taste to go away from my Mr. Beer kits. I plan to send a sample to a lab for analysis.

Just my .02

-Altrez

Not sure if you're serious or just being sarcastic. :cross: I was leaning towards you being a shopaholic, but now I'm leaning more towards the troll hypothesis. :fro:

 

[Altrez]

Not sure if you're serious or just being sarcastic. :cross: I was leaning towards you being a shopaholic, but now I'm leaning more towards the troll hypothesis. :fro:

I am no troll! I have all of that equipment on hand with notes / pictures and postings of my Mr. Beer brewing.

-Altrez

 

[worlddivides]

To make a good beer, you need thermal imaging equipment, to test your water with a TDS meter, use a distiller, make your own water, use refractometers, spectrometers, have a dedicated fermentation chamber, and on and on and on? Yet you still have excessive acetaldehyde in your beer and use all that equipment on Mr. Beer kits?

If you're not a troll, I hope you don't believe that you need all that stuff to make good beer. You can get all you need to make excellent beer on $100 to $200.

 

[lschiavo]

He is a master troll with a tricked out Mr. Beer kit.

 

[JordanKnudson]

To make a good beer, you need thermal imaging equipment, to test your water with a TDS meter, use a distiller, make your own water, use refractometers, spectrometers, have a dedicated fermentation chamber, and on and on and on? Yet you still have excessive acetaldehyde in your beer and use all that equipment on Mr. Beer kits?

If you're not a troll, I hope you don't believe that you need all that stuff to make good beer. You can get all you need to make excellent beer on $100 to $200.

If you liked that sample, you're going to LOVE the full version: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=579792

 

[daytraitors]

I got a mr beer for the form factor. I live in an apartment and don't have space for all the gear. half the size, don't need a big pot, no place for a propane burner anyway...

Mr beer is great. Fits in the fridge next to the milk and pizza. Even a 1 gallon glass jug with bubbler doesn't fit in my fridge.

 

[JohnSand]

That's how I started. Even when I went to BIAB, I used that modest Little Brown Keg.

 

[SkyChild5]

I use Mr. Beer because I wanted a simple way to try beer making. It allows me to try different recipes without a lot of hassle. I want to experiment but I want the beer to come out as beer. I figure with a simplified kit I have the best chance of success.

 

[daytraitors]

Unlike most posters, I actually "upgraded" to the LBK from glass carboys. I sold those old school space wasters, 3 for $50. I kept the 3 gallon boiling kettle, perfect size for a mr beer LBK brew. There's no room in my apartment for a kegerator, and 5 gallons of beer is like filling my fridge with 5 gallons of the same damn beer.

I recently brewed a 2.5 gal BIAB AG tripel without hot breaking. No one here has the balls to do that. But hey, I got a small batch setup that fits in my regular fridge. I have no clue how it will turn out, maybe a little proteiny, but this could substitute my muscle milk shakes. If it sucks, I'll just dump it.

 

[daytraitors]

Why can't I do 1-2-3 in a Mr beer keg?

 

[Yooper]

Why can't I do 1-2-3 in a Mr beer keg?

Because for "2", it means racking from the Mr Beer keg?