Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: A brief encounter with Mr. Beer

  1. #1

    Default A brief encounter with Mr. Beer



    Foreword: For those that don't know, Mr. Beer is the Easy Bake Oven of brewing. No boil required, just open up packets and toss it in. I am not trying to look down on anyone who uses Mr. Beer as i think it's an excellent product to get people interested in brewing.

    So a client of my Dad's "brews" beer. Has been at it for a year. His wife appeared at my Dad's office to offer some homebrew. He told her that I also brewed and showed some of my labels. He brought it home and I see the Mr. Beer caps on top. I was excited to try this as I've always wondered how they turned out. The beers were Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Stout and Blue Lightnin'. She said the Stout came in at 9% ABV, but further research showed that it should come in around 7% ABV. I'm pretty sure a hydrometer isn't included in the kit.

    We poured the beers and noticed immediately a very "yeasty" smell. Almost so much that I didn't want to drink it. Then the chunks appeared. We found out that they added fresh fruit to the bottles. Not all of the chunks were from fruit. Some of them just looked like ingredients that had not been mixed well. *see video below

    This stuff was undrinkable. If my first homebrew had turned out like this, that would have been it for me. This guy's been doing it for a year. It was so over carbonated that one of them just exploded when we opened it, and the little that I did drink had the mouthfeel of a Sprite.













    I told my Dad to tell the guy to come sit in on a brew day with me. I would like him to at least work up to extracts. I brew All Grain so I offered to let him use my equipment and he can just order an extract kit and I'll walk him through it. He's paying the same prices at Mr. Beer for 2 gallon batches when he could be making 5 gallon batches that are drinkable.

    Hopefully this guy will accept and I can get him on track to making some good (read drinkable) beer. I'm sending him a beer from every batch I've done to help with the conversion.





    I found this video on youtube where Andy Dick drinks some Mr. Beer and asks what the "crustaceans" are in the glass. The other dude is such a tool. Notice when he says it's been in the bottle for a week and this was the last one.

    Video

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,786
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Yuck. That looks disgusting. "Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Stout" sounds really disgusting.

    Besides, it is the time of year to make cider!
    Last edited by craig; 10-30-2008 at 03:25 PM.
    Craig
    Ahhhhhhhhhhh Cigar Jesus just wept - kevin7
    A cigar storage primer | Basic Cuban cigar info

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    19 58.7N 75 49.4W
    Posts
    1,893

    Default

    Are those "sea monkeys" in there. I don't know how you brought yourself to drink that. It looks like what comes up after you have one beer to many.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Rhineland-Palatinate
    Posts
    2,390
    Blog Entries
    6

    Default

    I know it's Halloween and all...but is the BEER supposed to be scary also?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    North Myrtle Beach, SC
    Posts
    664

    Default

    Woof, looks like something that came out of me after some bad mussels.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    38° 59′ 26″ N, 77° 1′ 35″ W
    Posts
    1,476

    Default

    So the Mr Brew kit isn't all that good then? For someone who wants to get into homebrewing, that wouldn't be the answer?
    The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done." -unknown

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Cabaiguan Juan View Post
    So the Mr Brew kit isn't all that good then? For someone who wants to get into homebrewing, that wouldn't be the answer?
    Well, I know a lot of people get started with Mr. Beer then advance from there. Most people start with extract kits and then advance if they want to. Extract brewing is more hands on than Mr. Beer. It's easy and fun. Should take around 2-3 hours start to finish.

    Here's some videos so you can see what's involved with each one.


    Mr. Beer

    Extract Brewing: Part 1

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    New Iberia, LA
    Posts
    484

    Default

    The second picture, looks like my homebrew right after pitching the yeast!!

    Rich

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Surprise, AZ
    Posts
    260

    Default

    Hopefully he'll take your invitation and you can show him the light. Don't let him toss out the Mr. Beer kit. Those come in handy for small experimental batches.
    Wild

    On Tap -

    1. Red IPA
    2. Extreme Red

    Secondary - Mesquite Bourbon Mead

    "The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind." - Humphrey Bogart

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Granger, Indiana
    Posts
    1,393

    Default

    Mr. Beer type brewing typically turns out like this. My bro did it once for fun with similar results. Chunky, yeasty, carbonation all over the place, etc. I gave my father and other brother one of my extract homebrews. They had a "oh no, not again!" look on their face, but after pouring it they looked completely surprised. After trying it, they said "You MADE this? It's clear, it has a head, and it tastes pretty good!".

    The problem is that Mr. Beer gives very shallow and simple instructions on beer making. If you want to do it right, you have to read up.
    "some people are like slinkies, they're not really good for anything but they can bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." –Unknown


    "He did for bullshit what Stonehenge did for rocks." -Cecil Adams

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •