From what I have read Mr. Beer is somewhat frowned upon by the serious home brewers, but I'm not a serious home brewer. I'm just looking to have some fun and kill some time, and it would be nice if what I brew is drinkable. Has anyone used Mr. Beer before and have any pointers for a first timer or liked / disliked any of their recipes?
If you got it as a gift, use it. If not, don't waste the money. If you use it, don't expect brewery quality by any stretch.
there are 1 gallon kits offered at Northern Brewer. get one of those instead. make some beer, its worth the effort and will greatly increase your appreciation for beer. what people have told you about Mr Beer is correct. it is a half ass way to make half ass beer. except for cost, which isn't even that great, it is not worth the investment in time and money. not much more to say that hasn't already been stated a thousand times before. discussing the nuances of Mr Beer is pointless. Cheers.
If you want to brew, skip any of their recipes and junk. You could get buy using their little keg vessel to ferment in, if thats what you have. Past that.. junk, unless you goal is to waste time. I'd get a 1 gallon kit online somewhere. It's cheap, easy, and quick for the most part. You can play around and make a couple gallons of different stuff and see what you like for about the same price.
The Mr Beer keggle works fine as a fermentation vessel for two gallon batches. I'm starting to use mine again for mini-batches at my house (I brew at my bro's house). However, I wouldn't bother with their ingredients kits. I get my own ingredients from the LHBS, use my own hops my own procedures etc. The NB 1 gallon kits are probably your best bet if you're not wanting to go five gallons right off the bat.
Point of order...Mr. Chairman. The LBK is rated for 2.125 G (8L); however...it's large enough to ferment 9L (2.45G).
I have seen people pile on Mr Beer in these forums. I'm not one of them. I started with a couple of Mr. Beer recipe kits. It introduced me to the brewing process and gave me chance to obtain a collection of brewing equipment. I still use the Mr. Kegs as fermentation vessels because I like the 2 gallon batch size. The Mr Beer brews were drinkable, but that's about all you can say for them. I moved beyond Mr. Beer quite quickly, and started ordering 2 gallon kits on-line which included specialty grains, dry malt extract, and required 60 minute boils. At that point I felt like I was "really" brewing and those beers are much much better. But like I said, Mr. Beer was a good entry point for me. I wouldn't go back to them, but it was a good place to start, and helped me decide if I wanted to move ahead with this new hobby.
First thing to ask, would be what kind of beer to do you enjoy drinking? Make something to style that you enjoy.. Pale Ales, Blondes, Porters, IPA, Stouts? I'd highly suggest starting with something you might like style wise, and something that isn't a huge beer. Something lower gravity/lower abv. These will be easier to make, and more forgiving to your lack of skill/experience in the hobby. They will also be ready faster, as a new brewer, time isn't your friend until you've learned the hard way.
IPAs, Stouts, and Belgian Strong So I guess it would be wise to start with IPAs and Souts. Do you have any easy receipts for either of these that don't take too terribly long?
I bought some 2 gallon kits from Home Brewer's Outpost out of Flagstaff, AZ. http://www.homebrewers.com/category/alpinebrewkits.beerkits_85/ Unfortunately a lot of them were/are out of stock so I have been buying ingredients and and developing my own recipes lately. The 2 gallon kits did give me some perspective on amounts for a 2 gallon batch size, but I can also do the math on 5 gallon recipes. Happy Trails!
I have 3 LBKs from Mr. Beer, I use them as my fermentation tanks. I only do ~2 gallon batches, so for that purpose, they are good. I wouldn't really use any of the beer kits themselves, though. Find some recipes online that you want to try, scale them down to 2 gallons, and give it a shot. You'll be surprised at what you can make with a little effort and planning.
It is pretty easy to scale recipes once you get into it. Most recipes are written for 5 gallons, and if you buy the ingredients it would be as simple as scaling back to 2/5ths. Two gallons is just too small for me, but I have used the Mr. Beer fermenter a few times (even with all grain).
Remarkable why anyone would brew a 2G batch in their LBK when the fermentor will easily handle 2.45G?
