The Mr. Beer Hate?

[kh54s10]

Brewed a Mr. Beer this evening. Not much to it. Kind of uninspiring really.

This was why I skipped right past the Mr. Beer kits - it seemed too much like mixing up a batch of Kool-Aid.

 

[rmchair]

Not sure anybody answered the question but, use distilled bottled water, replace corn sugar in main recipe with dried malt extract, sanitize the entire area around mr beer with spray bottle, make dark beers, use carb drops instead of sugar for bottling.
Git busy brewing.

 

[kh54s10]

Not sure anybody answered the question but, use distilled bottled water, replace corn sugar in main recipe with dried malt extract, sanitize the entire area around mr beer with spray bottle, make dark beers, use carb drops instead of sugar for bottling.
Git busy brewing.

Distilled water is OK with extracts, mineral additions to distilled could make the beer better but that is more advanced.
Replacing the corn sugar with DME is not necessarily a 1 for 1 switch.
You don't need to sanitize everything in the room. Only what touches the wort.
What if you don't want a dark beer.
Why drops instead of priming sugar? I don't do Mr. Beers but I prefer batch priming to the drops.

But yes, get to brewing.. Which I need to do....

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Kits (including Mr Beer) get us started, discussion (including how to add brewing salts to extract-based recipes) moves us forward.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

This was why I skipped right past the Mr. Beer kits - it seemed too much like mixing up a batch of Kool-Aid.

Yes it is. I just finished my second Mr. Beer. American Porter. Granted it does simplify the process to mixing Kook-Aid but as noted it does allow many to try brewing. However, it is not very instructional on what is exactly occuring to make beer.

 

[rmchair]

Distilled water is OK with extracts, mineral additions to distilled could make the beer better but that is more advanced.
Replacing the corn sugar with DME is not necessarily a 1 for 1 switch.
You don't need to sanitize everything in the room. Onl

Distilled water is OK with extracts, mineral additions to distilled could make the beer better but that is more advanced.
Replacing the corn sugar with DME is not necessarily a 1 for 1 switch.
You don't need to sanitize everything in the room. Only what touches the wort.
What if you don't want a dark beer.
Why drops instead of priming sugar? I don't do Mr. Beers but I prefer batch priming to the drops.

But yes, get to brewing.. Which I need to do....

.

Okay you dont do Mr Beers.

 

[kh54s10]

Okay you dont do Mr Beers.

Just pointing out some misinformation or incomplete information previously given.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

like mixing up a batch of Kool-Aid.

.... oh yah! Kool-Aid! good friends, good times, good memories

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Mr. Beer hate comes from the perception that it is a product for beginners and gatekeepers.

My first beer did not use a Mr. Beer kit but did have many of the problems that are mentioned and associated with the kit. I had old yeast didn’t have solid sanitation practices and my process was less than robust, if not downright bad. My first beer was magical to me because I made it.

I am confident that if I made a Mr. Beer kit now, it would be delicious and my first step would be to throw out the yeast, hops, and LME. There though is the rub. A beginner needs simplicity to get that first beer behind them after that they will exponentially grow their knowledge and experience. The beginner should have the option of dumping ingredients into a saucepan to get started. The easier the better.

O gatekeepers, thrust aside your arms and lay them down. Welcome the weary travelers into your kingdom and share thy spoils. Tear down the walls and see the opportunity of the horizon. It is the gate you guard that limits your own potential.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Brewed a Mr. Beer this evening. Not much to it. Kind of uninspiring really.

Well, made two Mr. Beer kits this weekend. Both are actively bubbling after 24 hours. So there is that. No doubt the kit does what it is designed to do. Get people interested, make beer and grow a hobby.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

One week past and my Mr. Beer American Porter is not visibly fermenting any longer. Mr.Beer Barvarian Wheat is still actively bubbling! Letting them go another 7 days.

 

[bwible]

Mr. Beer hate comes from the perception that it is a product for beginners and gatekeepers.

My first beer did not use a Mr. Beer kit but did have many of the problems that are mentioned and associated with the kit. I had old yeast didn’t have solid sanitation practices and my process was less than robust, if not downright bad. My first beer was magical to me because I made it.

I am confident that if I made a Mr. Beer kit now, it would be delicious and my first step would be to throw out the yeast, hops, and LME. There though is the rub. A beginner needs simplicity to get that first beer behind them after that they will exponentially grow their knowledge and experience. The beginner should have the option of dumping ingredients into a saucepan to get started. The easier the better.

O gatekeepers, thrust aside your arms and lay them down. Welcome the weary travelers into your kingdom and share thy spoils. Tear down the walls and see the opportunity of the horizon. It is the gate you guard that limits your own potential.

I remember when the first BIAB kits were being sold. They were like a burlap sack full of grains. Everybody (including me) scoffed at the idea.

There is a large kitchen store near me going out of business and everything is 20% off. They had a Mr. Beer kit and I looked at it. But it was $69 and 20% off still wasn’t enough for me to buy it. Maybe if it went to 50% off and its still there. Definitely something I do not need but it would be another toy to play with.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Well, made two Mr. Beer kits this weekend. Both are actively bubbling after 24 hours. So there is that. No doubt the kit does what it is designed to do. Get people interested, make beer and grow a hobby.

Absolutely. Great way to get involved in the hobby, it's how I started out 15 years ago. I don't do extract anymore but for my first 10 years all I used was my Mr. Beer barrels. I even used my 2 Mr Beer barrels to ferment with after doing small batch all grain. Until I got a kegerator this year, my small dedicated half fridge would only fit a Mr. Beer barrel for lagering. I sometimes still use them both as bottling buckets. And I just bought 2 kits for 2 old army buddies to introduce them to home brewing. Using Mr Beer kits is like when a kid starts riding a tricycle, then a bike with training wheels then as you gain experience on to a Schwinn 10 speed. Great way to go from just starting to your journey into all grain and kegging...my 2 cents on Mr Beer. [emoji482] Cheers

 

[seanjwalker1]

I remember when the first BIAB kits were being sold. They were like a burlap sack full of grains. Everybody (including me) scoffed at the idea.

There is a large kitchen store near me going out of business and everything is 20% off. They had a Mr. Beer kit and I looked at it. But it was $69 and 20% off still wasn’t enough for me to buy it. Maybe if it went to 50% off and its still there. Definitely something I do not need but it would be another toy to play with.

Wal-Mart was selling Mr Beer IPA kits last week for $23. Might still be on sale

 

[bwible]

Wal-Mart was selling Mr Beer IPA kits last week for $23. Might still be on sale

I was talking about the Mr. Beer equipment package. The plastic barrel fermenter and whatever it comes with.

 

[seanjwalker1]

I was talking about the Mr. Beer equipment package. The plastic barrel fermenter and whatever it comes with.

Yep. The kit was the 2.5 gal pladic barrel, 1 can of IPA mix, 1 pk no rinse sanitizer and a pk of carbonation drops.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Yep. The kit was the 2.5 gal pladic barrel, 1 can of IPA mix, 1 pk no rinse sanitizer and a pk of carbonation drops.

I just checked walmart site looks like they are all gone. But Target is showing the same kit for $23. Don't know how long it will last

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

One week past and my Mr. Beer American Porter is not visibly fermenting any longer. Mr.Beer Barvarian Wheat is still actively bubbling! Letting them go another 7 days.

Took a gravity reading of the American Porter. 1.02 after 8 days. Never did take the OG. Tasted find with some bitter after taste. I will let it go a few more days.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Took a gravity reading of the American Porter. 1.02 after 8 days. Never did take the OG. Tasted find with some bitter after taste.

It's only finished fermenting. Yeast still need to finish cleaning up byproducts. Give it another week. 15 years of brewing my rule of thumb is 3 weeks I don't care what style it is. 3-7 days ferment, 10-14 days to clean up, 3 days extra if a diacetyl rest is needed. Leaving a beer in for 3 weeks works wonders on the maturity.

 

[bracconiere]

calcium blocker = a dense, solid calcified bone dome isolating @fatslob 's brain from reality by blocking any information from entering.

i thought that was gangsters and high school kids?

edit: @IslandLizard sorry, i had to skip over almost an entire page to post that.....went back and started trying to catch up....

 

[bracconiere]

This was why I skipped right past the Mr. Beer kits - it seemed too much like mixing up a batch of Kool-Aid.

i kind of had to catch myself from tripping, my first batch was a mr. beer, but it wouldn't ferment.....so naturally at ~18 years old, and not being able to buy beer, i went straight to all-grain...think i already said that here though.....

My first beer was magical to me because I made it.

well, see above, but my second batch was...but i hated bottling it, so i had my mom buy me a keg...lol, but i bought the fridge for it! kept it in the shed out back....

i remember how good those 44oz plastic big gulp cups were! and i owe it to jimmy, and mr beer!

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

It's only finished fermenting. Yeast still need to finish cleaning up byproducts. Give it another week. 15 years of brewing my rule of thumb is 3 weeks I don't care what style it is. 3-7 days ferment, 10-14 days to clean up, 3 days extra if a diacetyl rest is needed. Leaving a beer in for 3 weeks works wonders on the maturity.

Most definitely sitting for another week plus.

 

[Soulshine2]

Starsan contains calcium blockers and sulfuric acid.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/sulfuric-acid/default.html

STAR SAN is a blend of phosphoric acid and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid. This synergistic blend provides a unique killing system that is unaffected by excessive organic soils. STAR SAN is also a self-foaming sanitizer. It can be applied through a foamer to produce self-adhering sanitizing foam for external sanitation.

this is NOT sulfuric acid

 

[kh54s10]

Even if there is a trace amount of sulfuric acid in there. After dilution to proper amounts there is no danger from it. Then you rinse the items you want to sanitize and let the excess drip off. What very little is left on the equipment then gets diluted in the wort or beer. The concentration is now almost nonexistent.

You probably are exposed to worse using one of those disinfectant wipes on your counter.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Can't really say I hate Mr. Beer. Bottled an American Porter one week ago. Out of my usual lack of patience I opened one. It is quite good. Even warm. Call me crazy.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Second Mr. Beer Barvarian Weissbier bottled just a week. Yeah, my curiosity again. I think it is good with just a week conditioning. There is not much to not like about Mr. Beer. It makes beer. Outstanding gold winning beer? Not so much but I think it gets people into the hobby. Mission accomplished.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Second Mr. Beer Barvarian Weissbier bottled just a week. Yeah, my curiosity again. I think it is good with just a week conditioning. There is not much to not like about Mr. Beer. It makes beer. Outstanding gold winning beer? Not so much but I think it gets people into the hobby. Mission accomplished.
View attachment 671068

Also the thing about Mr Beer is you can easily add more extract or even use additional grains. Mr Beer extract can just be used as a base. Mr first partial mashes years ago started with Mr.Beer extract and grains. Can even add dry extract for added ABV and taste. I rarely make any beer other than all grain now but Mr.Beer started me off down that road 15 years ago. Mr.Beer isn't world class gold medal but it's decent especially for just starting out.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Good point. The extract can be the base. Hmmmm....got me thinking now.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Good point. The extract can be the base. Hmmmm....got me thinking now.

And there it is! You're are taking your first steps to home brewing Nirvana Grasshopper!

 

[Bobby_M]

The thing about Mr. Beer is that it really isn't anything of substance. It's built around a tiny novelty molded plastic barrel that doesn't seal enough to use an airlock properly. The rest of it is a recipe catalog and you never know how long that junk has been on the shelf.

I'm not knocking the idea of experimenting with small batches but at least start at 1 gallon and just use a small bucket or gallon jug that can accept a propper airlock and is easy to clean. Look for scaled recipes built upon dry malt extract instead of syrups and skip the glucose/dextrose additions. Also, good homebrew shops refrigerate their hops and yeast for better quality. I doubt Mr. Beer ingredients have EVER been cold.