home brewing
 

Anyone ever try to brew their own beer? I've always wanted to try it out so I picked up this [URL="http://www.mrbeer.com/category-exec/category_id/181"]kit from Mr. Beer[/URL]. Seems pretty easy, I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihR98IrYhGI[/ame]

Re: home brewing
 

I actually never brewed my own, but I had a close friend who did for a while with a kit really similar to what you ordered. He made a few totally decent beers. It's nothing earth shattering, but you can definitely brew some really drinkable varieties with those kits.

Re: home brewing
 

I have Mr Beer. It's fun and the beer tastes pretty good as long as you are meticulous about keeping your stuff clean (just follow the kit's instructions to a T).

Some recipes are really good, others are gross. It's about personal taste.

One thing that kinda sucks is that it's tough to keep your beer free of particles. I don't mind a little yeast cloud in my beer (lots of vitamin B), it tastes alright. But the hops particles drive me nuts. There is probably a way to filter it during the bottling step though.

Matty, if you like a pale ale, take the canadian draft + pale extract + a full package of cascade hops. Let it brew for 6 weeks. Comes out very crisp and hoppy.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Schneed10;529022]I have Mr Beer. It's fun and the beer tastes pretty good as long as you are meticulous about keeping your stuff clean (just follow the kit's instructions to a T).

Some recipes are really good, others are gross. It's about personal taste.

One thing that kinda sucks is that it's tough to keep your beer free of particles. I don't mind a little yeast cloud in my beer (lots of vitamin B), it tastes alright. But the hops particles drive me nuts. There is probably a way to filter it during the bottling step though.

Matty, if you like a pale ale, take the canadian draft + pale extract + a full package of cascade hops. Let it brew for 6 weeks. Comes out very crisp and hoppy.[/quote]

I love a good pale ale, I'll give that a try.

Re: home brewing
 

I have the same kit but I have never tried it out. Maybe sense your getting one I'll give it a try and we can compare notes on what work and what tast good. My friends brother brews his own beer and has a honey beer that is very good. I did save about a dozen glass bottles to use with twist tops which seem better (thats my thinking) then the plastic ones in the kit.

Re: home brewing
 

I have a Mr. Beer and I really enjoy just throwing things into the mixes to see what does/does not taste good. I believe on Friday I'm going to brew a Mint Chocolate St. Patrick's day Irish Stout

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;528990]Anyone ever try to brew their own beer? I've always wanted to try it out so I picked up this [URL="http://www.mrbeer.com/category-exec/category_id/181"]kit from Mr. Beer[/URL]. Seems pretty easy, I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihR98IrYhGI]YouTube - Mr Beer Beer Kit Review[/url][/quote]


This is great it! It has been a white elephant gift for five years running in my office, all of the cans of yeast are out of date. I am currently the holder of it. Makes a nice "foot rest" for under my desk.

Re: home brewing
 

Good to hear the positive reviews. I just wanted to get my foot in the door with home brewing and this kit seems to be a pretty good way to do it.

Re: home brewing
 

Does anyone that have it think it's cost effective? There's a guy that works here at W&L who has a serious home brewing operation going that he says pays for itself in about 1-2 years..

Re: home brewing
 

Matty, you have inspired me and when I get home I'm going to pull out the directions and give this a try. I've had this thing for a year I guess I need to check if its contents expire.

Re: home brewing
 

Just got my kit yesterday, I'm looking forward to getting started. Funny I was just talking with a guy at work and he loves this thing. He's got two of them going. He told me about this website too

[URL="http://www.mrbeerfans.com"]Mr. Beer Fans[/URL]

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;530118]Just got my kit yesterday, I'm looking forward to getting started. Funny I was just talking with a guy at work and he loves this thing. He's got two of them going. He told me about this website too

[URL="http://www.mrbeerfans.com"]Mr. Beer Fans[/URL][/quote]

That is funny and I'm laughing so hard I canoot tpe a rely.

Re: home brewing
 

Just made my first batch of [URL="https://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/101/nm/American_Devil_IPA/section/flavor_profile"]American Devil IPA[/URL] yesterday. The whole process was very easy, so easy in fact I ordered up another kit with some [URL="https://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/99/nm/Sticky_Wicket_Oatmeal_Stout/section/flavor_profile"]Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout[/URL] - yum.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;535346]Just made my first batch of [URL="https://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/101/nm/American_Devil_IPA/section/flavor_profile"]American Devil IPA[/URL] yesterday. The whole process was very easy, so easy in fact I ordered up another kit with some [URL="https://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/99/nm/Sticky_Wicket_Oatmeal_Stout/section/flavor_profile"]Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout[/URL] - yum.[/quote]
Well I pulled mine out the other day and its still sitting in the garage but I'm going to give it a try. Let us know how your works out.

Re: home brewing
 

We have 4 people at work who have Mr. Beer Kit now. We've all brewed a batch late last week and should be ready to determine who gets the office Mr. Beer Award two Fridays ($20) from now.

Keeping stuff sanitized is a psychological pain in the ass...hope my batch turns out OK.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=saden1;535360]We have 4 people at work who have Mr. Beer Kit now. We've all brewed a batch late last week and should be ready to determine who gets the office Mr. Beer Award two Fridays ($20) from now.

Keeping stuff sanitized is a psychological pain in the ass...hope my batch turns out OK.[/quote]

Nice, what kinds are you guys brewing?

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;535501]Nice, what kinds are you guys brewing?[/quote]


This is a trial run for all of us so two people are brewing Classic American Blonde Ale and the other two Cowboy Golden Lager.

Re: home brewing
 

I can't wait to try this stuff. At first I thought Mr. Beer was more of a novelty but the more I read about it I guess it can actually produce some very good quality brews. Of course some of the die hard home brewers stick their nose up at it, but most seem to agree it's a good way to break into the hobby of home brewing.

Re: home brewing
 

Last night on the DIY Network the show BackYard Crashers were they meet someone in a hardware store and go home with them to work on their yard. They went home with this one lady and her husband had the whole back yard filled with beer making equipment and they ended up building him a bar and a brew area. He used kegs for brewing and had several of them and stuff all over the place. Here is a link if you want to check it out. Its more about doing the yard then his beer brewing but I thought of this thread when I saw the show. Funny the guy who does the show was joking and said "Is This Even Legal" he had so much stuff.
[url=http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_dycr/episode/0,3194,DIY_31156_62149,00.html]Shows A - Z : Yard Crashers : Backyard Brewery : DIY Network[/url]

I got mine out and now I just need to brew soem up.

Re: home brewing
 

Well I got my kit out and brewed my first batch yesterday so now I'm just waiting to see how it turns out. I hope that my ingredients were still good as I got this kit back more then two years ago. The yeast packet had a 2010 experation date so I'll have to see if it turns out. Matty your brew should be pretty close to done.

Re: home brewing
 

I'm doing the [URL="http://www.mrbeerfans.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.MrBeerFAQ"]2-2-2 process that I've read about[/URL]. 2 weeks fermenting, then 2 weeks of carbing, then 2 weeks of cold conditioning.

I'll be bottling it up this Sunday and starting the carbing process.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;537202]I'm doing the [URL="http://www.mrbeerfans.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.MrBeerFAQ"]2-2-2 process that I've read about[/URL]. 2 weeks fermenting, then 2 weeks of carbing, then 2 weeks of cold conditioning.

I'll be bottling it up this Sunday and starting the carbing process.[/quote]

I'll try the same thing. Have you even tasted it yet as they say to do in the directions to see if its ready? I'm saving up glass bottles to use instead of those plastic one that come in the kit. My buddy ownes a company that makes and prints lables and said if its good he will make me up a fancy lables to put on the bottles.

Re: home brewing
 

I haven't tasted it yet, I was going to wait til the end of this week right before I bottle.

Re: home brewing
 

You guys are tempting me into this. I love making things. Beer would probably be no different.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=FRPLG;537229]You guys are tempting me into this. I love making things. Beer would probably be no different.[/quote]

It was actually pretty easy and most of the work is cleaning everting really good before you make the brew. Why not wait to see how our brew come out before you buy a kit.

Re: home brewing
 

I look forward to hearing your stories. I think I will buy one after I graduate.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=firstdown;537255]It was actually pretty easy and most of the work is cleaning everting really good before you make the brew. Why not wait to see how our brew come out before you buy a kit.[/quote]

That's my plan...plus I want to know what to make. I like certain types of beer and dislike most others. I'd hate to make something I don't like right off the bat.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=FRPLG;537264]That's my plan...plus I want to know what to make. I like certain types of beer and dislike most others. I'd hate to make something I don't like right off the bat.[/quote]

It's fun and easy, give it shot. If you don't like the beer that comes with the kits they have a pretty wide selection of refills you can buy, from stouts to IPA's to american style lagers.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=FRPLG;537264]That's my plan...plus I want to know what to make. I like certain types of beer and dislike most others. I'd hate to make something I don't like right off the bat.[/quote]
I would think that we are going to have and try different typs to see what we do and do not like. With this thread we can post our results and compare what we made to something that is on the market so people can get an idea of what they might like or dislike. I'm not a dark ail person but my first brew is an ail that came with the kit. I have plenty of friend who enjoy a good ail so it should not go to waist. I'm saving all my bottles that have screw on caps that I can use.

Re: home brewing
 

Anybody done? I'd like to try this too. Hey, something to do right?

Everytime i see a Sam Adams Commercial it makes me want to pack up move to Boston (or whereever it's brewed) and get a job making beer. Everybody can dream right?

Re: home brewing
 

I bottled mine up last weekend, got 4 weeks to go :(

Re: home brewing
 

Mine will be ready for bottling this weekend so I guess I need to drink a few more beers so I can use glass. Did you use glass or those plastic bottles and did you tast any? My wife has finally stopped asking me to get that little keg out of the kitchen.

Re: home brewing
 

Yeah gave it a taste, tasted like warm flat beer, but the flavor is definitely there. I used the plastic bottles it came with.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;528990]Anyone ever try to brew their own beer? I've always wanted to try it out so I picked up this [URL="http://www.mrbeer.com/category-exec/category_id/181"]kit from Mr. Beer[/URL]. Seems pretty easy, I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihR98IrYhGI]YouTube - Mr Beer Beer Kit Review[/url][/quote]

I've done the Mr. Beer thing before and it's not bad, but a "true" homebrewer will look at you like you just took budweiser and poured it into your own bottle.

I have a friend that typed out a pretty good DIY homebrew equipment and directions list if you're interested, it's kinda long so I didn't wanna just throw it right in here.

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=firstdown;537224]I'll try the same thing. Have you even tasted it yet as they say to do in the directions to see if its ready? I'm saving up glass bottles to use instead of those plastic one that come in the kit. My buddy ownes a company that makes and prints lables and said if its good he will make me up a fancy lables to put on the bottles.[/quote]

another friend of mine did this to gross us out at a party

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/Bakudai/00/IMG_4174.jpg[/IMG]

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;539509]Yeah gave it a taste, tasted like warm flat beer, but the flavor is definitely there. I used the plastic bottles it came with.[/quote]
Well I gave mine a try on Sunday morning around 8am and it tasted pretty good for flat beer. I guess if flat beer tast good at 8am in the morning when it becomes carbonated and drank after 1pm it should tast much better. Matty, did your brew have any sediment in the bottom of the kag?

Re: home brewing
 

Oh yeah the bottom of the keg is nasty

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=Mattyk72;540630]Oh yeah the bottom of the keg is nasty[/quote]
When you filled the bottles did most of that stuff stay in the bottom of the keg?

Re: home brewing
 

[quote=firstdown;540642]When you filled the bottles did most of that stuff stay in the bottom of the keg?[/quote]

Yeah it's mostly sludge at the bottom of the keg, it won't get into your bottles

Re: home brewing
 

For anyone interested. I have no idea if it is even a good price but usually Woot is.

[url=http://www.woot.com/]Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM)[/url]