Mr. Beer Kit Review: Good Home Brewing Kit
So you want to brew your own beer? It’s easier than you think with a Mr. Beer Brewing Kit
The first two requirements are critical, but if you want a good, clean, tasty beer after spending the time to brew it, you need to exercise patience. Yes, you can have home brewed beer in two weeks, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND You wait Four Weeks. Well, at least three and a half, that’s how long I waited to try mine. 
First, let’s run through the brewing process and check out the ingredients, instructions and equipment provided with the Mr. Beer kit.
My first Mr. Beer batch was the West Coast Pale Ale
The Boil…
The Mr. Beer brewing process will last approximately 15 minutes once the water is up to temp. Begin heating the water and as it warms stir in and dissolve the Booster™, once it reaches a boil you can turn off the heat and begin stirring in the malt extract (what they call the “beer mix”) until it is fully dissolved.
Why such a short boil? In extract brewing where raw hops are added a full 60 minute boil is required so the brewer can introduce specific amounts of hops along the way to achieve the desired effect. In the case of the hopped malt extracts included with the Mr. Beer kit this step is already done for us, there is no need to do anything but fully dissolve the fermentables so the yeast has something to munch on to produce the alcohol.
Once the sugars are all dissolved what you have is called the wort, pronounced “wert.” Next you will add your wort to the 4 quarts of cool water already in the Mr. Beer keg fermenter (follow the Mr. Beer directions). Add more cool water to bring it to the 8.5 quart mark. I suggest filtered tap water that has been cooled in the fridge, stir it up good. I put the cap on and sloshed it a bit back and forth too, but be careful, the cap is not air tight. Which brings us to…
Fermenting Mr. Beer… No Airlock?
Why is there no airlock on the Mr. Beer fermenter? I’d like to address this because it may raise concerns among some budding brewers as an open door to contamination. Two small notches in the lip of the fermenter allow carbon dioxide gas to escape, which creates a positive flow of of gas outward from beneath the lid, for most of the fermentation process. The big lid which screws onto the lip of the fermenter provides adequate protection from foreign material and any microorganisms that could potentially take up residence in the fermenting brew.
Microorganisms don’t fly around looking for stuff, and they aren’t going to slither up the side of your fermenter looking for a way in. If you’re work area is clean, the fermenter is clean, you didn’t get any nasties onto the lip of the fermenter, AND you leave it covered for the duration of fermentation, you’ll be fine. NO PEEKING!
If you want to see what’s going on in the fermenter, scale up and buy a glass carboy. The Mr. Brew fermenting keg is dark brown for a reason, yeast works better in the dark. To make your yeast happier yet, keep the fermenter in a dark location, and at a relatively consistent temperature, between 68-76 degrees F according to the Mr. Beer kit directions. Though I have successfully fermented brews at 65°, right around 70° is the standard. A slight drift high or low, by a couple of degrees, will not mess things up.
Bottling…
Leaving your beer alone for at least two weeks in the fermenter is critical to allow as much settling as possible. You will bottle a clear beer, but there will still be enough yeast remaining to produce sufficient carbonation.
As a result, after two weeks in the bottle you will see a very light layer of sediment. The sediment was so miniscule in my final brews, literally just a dusting, that I was able to enjoy a beer right out of the bottle! Of course, to fully appreciate your home brewed ale you should pour it into the proper glass.
Brewing with liquid extracts in general results in a very clear beer, with a fine layer of sediment at the bottom. If you’re seeing a thick bed of white schmutz on the bottom of your bottle, wait longer before bottling next time.
I used standard 12 oz. pop-top bottles that I save when I buy my favorite micro-brewed ales, but you can pick up a Mr. Beer Deluxe Bottling System
The Result…
My final beer weighed in at around 3.3% just prior to bottling. At first I thought something had gone wrong but Mr. Beer states that the final ABV should be around 3.7%, under optimum conditions. So I was close.
The beer pours a nice pale golden color, has a nice malty nose and a smooth mouthfeel before giving way to a pleasant hop bitterness at the end. As it sat in the glass it became a little fuller in flavor, given some time to “breathe.”
It did have that mild homebrewiness to it, but I find that maximum time in the fermenter keeps that to a minimum by reducing the amount of trub the beer will sit on in the bottle.
One dissapointment was the rather short lived head. I had to pour rather aggressively to acheive one in the first place, and it only lasted about 15 seconds. The carbonation is a bit inconsistent due to the addition of priming sugar to each bottle, in dry form, prior to bottling.
A typical priming situation involves dissolving dry malt extract or corn sugar into a small amount of water and stirring that solution thoroughly into the fermented beer before bottling, which results in more consistent carbonation.
One suggestion for priming with a Mr. Beer set up would be to dissolve no more than 3/8 of a cup of priming sugar (you can use confectioner’s corn sugar) into 1 pint of hot water. Let it cool then divide evenly among the bottles before bottling the beer, just about 1/2 ounce per bottle should do it. This will help you get an even amount of priming sugar into each one, resulting in even carbonation. Better this than adding the dry sugar to each bottle and hoping it all dissolves into the cool wort.
You can estimate how much to add by measuring a 1/2 ounce of water and seeing how far up it goes in the bottle, then just add this much of the sugar mix to each bottle before adding the wort. It will mix as the wort flows in, but feel free to swirl it a bit as it fills. By the way, you can trust my measurements, I did the math.
In Conclusion…
Mr. Beer makes a good beginner home brewing kit, and it is a great kit to keep around and reuse, even for the more advanced brewer. The Mr. Beer kit offers a quick, convenient, and virtually hassle-free way to make very good tasting beer over and over again. I highly recommend it for anyone who’d like to give home brewing a try, but doesn’t know where to start. This is a great way to get your feet wet, and learn the basics of the home brewing process.
Happy Brewing! Feel free to share your results with the Mr. Beer kit, or comments and questions, in the comments section below. For more information on Mr. Beer visit the Official Website at MrBeer.com
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Why is the alcohol so low with Mr Beer? Can I add additional extracts to boost it, or try a different yeast?
Mr. Beer does offer ingredient kits for some styles that have a higher ABV. For example, their Black and Booberry Bock is designed to reach an ABV of 6.6% and their Old Uncle Arnold brew is designed to max out at 8.3%. Incredibly, they also offer a barley wine called, interestingly enough, Novacaine, which can achieve 11.5%! Look out! So, yes, you can make a higher alcohol beer with a Mr. Beer Kit, but there are a few things to keep in mind, and it is for these reasons that I recommend you step up to higher ABV using one of the Mr. Beer kits (if you’re new to brewing especially!) instead of just adding your own adjuncts, fruits or alternate yeast varieties.
I’m sure just adding an extra can of extract couldn’t hurt, but remember, you aren’t just increasing the sugars, if you use a second hopped extract you’ll also be boosting the hops characteristics, and that could make the beer too bitter. Using alternate yeasts with Mr. Beer ingredients can pose a problem if you use a yeast that is not matched with the style originally intended. But there is one other thing that can happen when you start mixing up yeasts, adding sugars, or even using yeast starters to improve fermentation. You run the risk of blow-off (the result of a very active fermentation during which the foam and preasure increase and escape the airlock), which would create a rather nasty mess if steps aren’t taken to contain the situation before hand.
Plus, if the lid on the Mr. Beer fermenter clogs due to blow-off it could skyrocket into your ceiling, spewing shmutz all over the place, I’ve had it happen. The fermenting beer will be exposed to potential contamination if you have to open it to clear the blockage, or if it blows its lid and sits for awhile.
So, if you want to boost the ABV and experiment on your own proceed with caution and do your homework. I would recommend trying one of the higher ABV beer kits first. In fact I think I’ll be picking up an Old Uncle Arnold refill pack to try out as I continue to put my Mr. Beer kit to the test.
Have you added anything to your beer? I’m thinking about how fantastic it would be to add orange peel or blueberry to home brewed beer. I think I may purchase a Mr Beer kit. I’ve always been curious about it. Thanks for the review!
Hi Holly! Yes, I have added additional flavors to my beers. I’ve used lime zest and lime juice for a lime wheat beer I brewed once, and have added raspberry flavoring to an ale. The trick is to add those kinds of flavorings, orange peel, zest, fruits or juices, to the secondary fermentation, or in the case of some concentrated fruit flavorings, at bottling. Mr. Beer does offer some ingredient packs that have additional fruit flavors. Check those out. You’ve just given me a great idea to write an article on flavor additions for Cryptobrewology! Thanks. Happy brewing!
Hi! My boyfriend received a kit yesterday and started brewing a batch right away. He, however, didn’t let the yeast sit in the mixture before stirring everything together. Will this affect the fermentation?
The beer should be fine as long as the wort was in the proper temperature range for the yeast and everything was stirred vigorously. Keep an eye on it. You should see signs of fermentation (which I call “blooping” as C02 escapes from the airlock) within 6 to 12 hours after adding yeast. You will notice a developing bed of whitish-tan colored material along the bottom of the fermenter, that’s normal.
Good luck with it! By the way, what style of beer did he brew?
I had heard about using a dried malt extract in place of the “booster” as the booster is really just a corn sugar mixture. I had also heard that soaking the yeast before pitching. Do you think that doing those things would significantly improve the final product?
Hey Tyler, how’s it going?
You’re talking about rehydrating dry brewer’s yeast. So yes, if you’re using dry yeast it is recommended by many experienced homebrewers to “proof” the yeast before adding it to the cooled wort.
Just proofing (or soaking, as you mentioned) the yeast in warm water, like you might do if your making homemade pizza dough or something, is a little better than just pitching dry because it prepares the yeast.
If you’re using liquid yeast you definitely DO NOT want to proof it. Liquid yeast is prepared so you can just shake it up and stir it into the fermenter.
Another, and some may say better, option is to make a “starter.” I do it everytime, and it helps to acheive a quicker onset of fermentation in many cases, and also increases your chance of having a more complete fermentation with the desired, expected result.
For example, if you brew a recipe that is supposed to result in an ABV of about 6%, then you’ll improve your chances of seeing that result if you use a starter.
To prepare a starter you would dissolve some malt extract in hot water, let the water cool, trasfer it to a small jar, like a 1/2 gallon growler, pitch the yeast, swirl it up to mix it, and pop a stopper and an airlock on it. It is recommended to do this at least 6 or 12 hours before you brew. I do mine the day before.
In that case you basically have a little batch of beer fermenting, allowing the yeast to proliferate. You then stir that fermenting starter into your cooled wort in your large fermenter. You will see a more complete fermentation using a starter. Thanks for asking, because now I’m going to write a nice little blog post on how to prepare a yeast starter, and the benefits of doing that.
Using malt extract instead of the provided “booster” for the beer will result in a thicker beer, and potentially sweeter, depending on the malt extract you use. The sugar “booster” is an adjunct used to boost the alcohol level without altering the desired flavor and body of the beer based on the recipe.
If you substitute malt extract it won’t hurt the beer, but it can potentially thicken the beer and throw off the flavor a bit from what was originally intended. If you want to taste what Mr. Beer had in mind for the recipe, then use the booseter.
But of course, homebrewing is about experimentation, right?