Don't laugh!

[fretlessman71]

Well, I saw it, and the price was right, and SWMBO actually wanted me to have it (go figure!), so I got it......

A MR. BEER KIT. :eek:

So now I'm ready to do 2 gallon batches, but I'm not sure if I should just make the recipe that they have here (with the "booster" pack, full of maltodextrin), or be brave and modify it with a few other things, or throw it out altogether and start from scratch. Thoughts?

[YamahaXS]

what price?

[wortchillergoal]

I don't know which is more tempting, A thread awaiting an insult or this one that says don't laugh. The pressure, the pressure.

[kevin]

I thought you were already making beer, didn't you make a porter?

Mr Beer Kit does it come with a Mrs Wine Kit or is that sold seperatly?

[ray m]

Originally posted by kevin:

Mr Beer Kit does it come with a Mrs Wine Kit or is that sold seperatly?
________________________________________

LMAOROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That made my morning!

[HogieWan]

I say make the exact recipe that came with it - just to see if it's any good. I'm sure we've all wondered about those Mr. Beer things. I'm quite curious if it's boxed with the capacity to make a good tasting brew.

[newportstorm]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! :p

C'mon, you kinda asked for it. Cheers and good luck!

[fretlessman71]

I got the kit because it was $30 for the whole thing, and that included a Mr. Beer baseball cap! :D

What I really liked about it is that I'll be able to do really small batches a lot easier. Space is at a premium in our current place of residence, and besides that I don't have time to enjoy two cases of homebrew, and really you guys are the only people I talk to on a regular basis that even DRINK beer. So I'm kind of on my own with this stuff around here. All of our friends are wine drinkers. So smaller batches it is.

Not that I want to just use the recipes that Mr. Beer gives out, but it's worth the experimentation for fun. I want to be able to practice on a smaller batch, too: I managed to do something wrong with each of the 3 beers I made with the larger kit, and I'd like to get my technique down before I start ruining 5 gallons of brew.

Oh, yeah: The Mrs. Wine kit must have been sold out - didn't see one.... (see, everyone here's a wine snob or a swill drinkker! You'd think that in the Front Range.... ah, well...)

[fretlessman71]

On a final note... I just might be able to fit my Mr. Beer fermenter into the small fridge I got recently, and this means I could make LAGERS down the road! :)

[Otis_The_Drunk]

ROTFLMFAO, giggle *snort* *gasp* *gafaw* (wiping a tear from my eye and had to go change my pants after laughing so hard)

Just kidding fret, I would go with doing your own recipes in small batches, I have had the dis-pleasure of a friend giving me a beer from one of the Mr. Beer kits and to tell the truth, these people have to be getting their extract from a less than reparable source.

I do like the concept behind the Mr. Beer kit, but their recipes and the crappy plastic bottles leave a lot to be desired.

I would say that the option that comes from the knowledge of homebrewing would be in order, down size your recipes so that they would work on that small of a scale.
Doesn't Wyeast make small yeast smack packs? I would think that those would work nicely.

[MrMethane]

Originally posted by kevin
I thought you were already making beer, didn't you make a porter?

Mr Beer Kit does it come with a Mrs Wine Kit or is that sold seperatly?

Actually the people that make MR.Beer do also have a wine version.

Mrs. Wine (http://amos.shop.com/amos/cc/main/catalog/pcd/6407320/ccsyn/260/_x_/Spilsbury-Make-Your-Own-Merlot-Wine-Kit)

Back on topic.....ahahahahahahaha. Fret you have over 3000 posts here, your the last one I expected to buy a Mr.Beer. The thing is made of plastic FFS. If you had $30 burning a whole in your pocket you could have bought a 3 gallon carboy and a can of extract, which would allow for small batches and probably be much better than what you can make in Mr.Beer.

Anyways, good luck with all that. I'm sure you can actually make a fine beer with Mr.Beer as long as you don't do anything their instructions tell you to. I had a girlfriend who's brother made beer with Mr.Beer. It came out tasting like flat Budweiser mixed with apple cider. For the love of all thats good in the world, please make up your own recipe and don't condition your beer in the plastic bottles with the soda caps that come with the kit.

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

I'm gonna be nice but I'm all for smaller batches. I wouldn't use their recipe ( or the maltodextrin ) but that's me. Heck, 2 gal, all-grainers ( yes I know you mentioned extract but ....) would be sweet IMO. Enjoy and I'm sure you'll keep us updated ( at least I hope you do ). Oh yeah, no plastic bottles. ;)

P.S. Took a while but I love SWMBO !!!!!!!! Rumpole.

[HogieWan]

I hadn't heard anyone mention what the beer tastes like from these kits. Hearing the response - I change my mind - use your own recipe.

[fretlessman71]

...mine didn't come with plastic bottles, or any bottles for that matter. I fully intend to bottle these in the traditional way, with used clean sanitary beer bottles and my trusty capper. Basically I wanted to see what this would do, and I like the shape of the fermenter. I suppose I could even punch a hole in the top, add a rubber grommet, and use my airlock, right? And the hat alone is worth $10, right?

Brewdog made this post (http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&postid=64686#post64686) regarding another member's first attempt, so I'm going to take his advice and make this beer in that manner, although I'm not sure what he means by "1 can" of extract. Isn't it something like 3.5 pounds? Is that about right?

With the small fermenter, and the fact that it's plastic, I ought to be able to pick the whole thing up and shake the snot out of it to aerate (unless someone with experience can tell me that it's a disaster waiting to happen).

I'm going to have FUN with this, and the small batch is going to help me to RELAX AND NOT WORRY, so I can HAVE A HOMEBREW later on. Say what you will; when I'm making good beer with this, just think what I'll be able to make with my bigger kit! (And then I'll have something more to trade! :D)

[chazwicke]

Do they still sell those BEER BAGs? I'm thinking of getting one for Fret. LOL! Sorry Fret.

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Do they still sell those BEER BAGs? I'm thinking of getting one for Fret. LOL! Sorry Fret. Hey, if you get me one, I promise (threaten?) to make Pruno and send half the first batch your way! :D

[chazwicke]

LOL! I don't think they make them anymore. My ex Mother In Law thoughtfully gave me one as a Christmas gift back about 1990 or so. I think all you did was add water and wait. I made it and when it was done I drank one small glass and poured the rest out. It was some sort of concoction that had maly and yeast all in one bag. there was no racking or anything. so I guess the yeast just sat oin the bag and decayed after the fermentation. I remember it sure tasted like cider. Yuck!

[fretlessman71]

Sounds perfect for Pruno, then! :D

[BrewDog]

I'm not laughing.

You CAN make good beer with it. Just use all malt extract, and give the thing time (2 weeks is NOT ENOUGH). You can steep specialty grains. You can boil the whole batch and hop it all yourself. You can dry hop it. The biggest thing is that you don't want to use sugar (or the Booster).

[BluesHarp]

What's next:

"Easy Mash Lauter Tun" ?
"My first Brewpot" ?
"Li'l Kegger" ?

:D

[fretlessman71]

I'd buy the Easy Mash Lauter Tun, but only if it came with "Sgt. Sparge"! :D

[slimshaky]

i got a mr. beer kit before i knew anything about brewing. i did shake the snot out of the fermenter over and over again. actually, i shook it for about 3 weeks straight every day. what i didn't know was that i was oxygenating it. the pale ale tasted like a garbage pail. we ended up giving it to my friend's doorman who was begging to taste it and he loved it. after reading on this board we made another batch with mr. beer that was actually decent. since then i've moved up to 5 gallon batches, but i'm glad that i learned the hard way with only 3 gallons of ruined beer.

oh yeah, if you wanted to make an airlock for it, you might have to first find a way to put a seal around the cap. i think the threads in the cap are cut a certain way to act as an airlock. i still consider using it for experimental batches, i hope you post your results. good luck.

[fretlessman71]

Hmmm... good point. Now, what is it that tells you when it's done fermenting without a standard airlock?

[slimshaky]

yeah, exactly. i guess you gotta make sure it's at the correct temperature and leave it sit. i bet that's why they suggest using their plastic bottles, no bottle-bombs.

[fretlessman71]

I guess I could do gravity readings to make it work, right? We've got an Ionic Breeze GP running 24/7, so maybe I'll be okay...

[slimshaky]

the bad thing about doing gravity readings with mr. beer is that you lose too much beer for a 3 gallon batch when you take a sample.:(

[fretlessman71]

Yeah, but it might be the only way to be sure, you know? Besides, the who reason I got this thing is so I could do small batches, so I'm really not that worried about it...

[fuji6100]

Fret,

I did my first batch on a Mr. Beer (before converting to better equiptment) also and I'll tell you from personal experience. Don't shake it!

Look for the 2 notches cut in the top where the lid screws on. Those are there to let out excess air pressure and when you shake it, you will get some drips down each side (the holes are relatively small when the lid is put on, but you don't want sticky wort all over your bucket.)

THough I tossed all the booster and crap that came with the Mr. Beer, I still use the little keg shaped fermenter from time to time, and I did do my first lager in one. The only complaint I have is that once co2 production has basically halted, it lets air in really easily. I wrapped the lid of mine in saran wrap to cover up those little holes when I lagered in it.

I also plan on using it as a "bottling bucket" when my 1 gallon batch of mead is ready (oh, say 6 months from now).

[fretlessman71]

OK, so how do you know for sure (other than taking a reading) when it's ready to bottle?

[chazwicke]

Congrats Fret! you're in the 4000 club!

[fuji6100]

fret : I just used the 1 - 2 - 3 method and didn't brew anything high gravity (for ales). For the lager, I fermented primarily for 2 weeks and then lagered for 5 (OG - 1.050... I just used the "rule of thumb" for lagers for 1 week for every .010 of OG)

[fretlessman71]

Thanks chaz! But don't look over your shoulder... :D

[PCaravan]

My wife bought me a Mr. Beer kit before I knew anything of brewing (or even there were stores that specialized in such things... I'm glad I didn't know this in my college days... I would have been dangerous). I used the ingredients that came with it for a California Comman and we thought it was pretty good. I didn't want to pay shipping all the time to get the stuff made for the thing though and that's how I found or LHBS. For a while I made due by modifying traditional kits from the LHBS for the size of fermenter. First I would divide canned kits between two batches, them being typically designed for 5-6 gallon batches with an additional can of malt or certain amount of sugar. But I found better results by throughing out the directions for these kits and just using a full can of the kit (with nothing else for the most part) for each batch. Then I got tired of the ity bity batches and scrapted the thing for a 5 gallon set up from the LHBS that cost about the same as the Mr. Beer kit did and left the kits behind and started designing my own extract recipies at the same time. Now I only do the kits when someone buys one for me.

For me, Mr. Beer was a good way to start since I didn't even know where to go... or even that there was a place to go. I haven't thought of using it for small batches to put in the fridge for lagering... I just may have to get it back off the shelf. That sounds like a good idea as I don't have enough room in my beer fridge to but a 5 gallon fermenter in.

[ZAPP168]

Ahhh Mr. beer. I got Mr. beer about a month ago as a gift. I knew nothing about beer except that a little is too much and a lot is not enough...Anyway I had not even finished my first batch and I already had gone out and found a brew shop, got better equipment a "boxed" batch kit, and have been reading this site so if I do post I do not sound too stupid (my first post said " I got the glass 5 gallon container, the process looks cool"). My first Mr. beer batch has just well....finished? It makes noise when you open it, it has head when you pour it, and it bubbles....the taste....well......I can drink it. I am just impressed that hey LOOK AT ME I MADE BEER. I hope my second batch tastes a little better. I am happy with Mr. beer for getting me interested and excited about the whole process, and I hope you all stick around to hear about my mistakes until I get better, and don't laugh too hard at me......

[SoxyinMO]

Hey Zapp, welcome! We'll usually only laugh WITH you! Everyone here was a beginner once, but what's nice is that everyone is on a different level, so there's always something to learn, and always someone to help you learn.

Good luck and happy brewing!

[HarkJohnny]

i made some bottle bombs with this kit... before i was even twenty-one (oops, did i just incriminate myself?) and the ones that didn't explode tasted like sugar water.

[ZAPP168]

HEY an update....I left the MR BEER west coast I made in the frig a week now and it is much better.... pretty good actually, the cider flavor is almost gone(still has a slight cider odor). I have read alot on here about giving beer time, well I guess I would have to agree. It may not be too popular an opinion, but the kit seems to work. I am brewing my second batch, this one a "real" recipe with "better" equipment the kit was from "Brewers Best". I will try in my EXTREMELY limited pallette to compare the two.

[SoxyinMO]

The very first beer we tried to make was very cidery, too. It used a liquid malt and corn sugar. Always wondered if it was the corn sugar that made it cidery? It was okay, but you couldn't drink more than one a day unless you REALLY liked spending time on the toilet.