Home Brewers - Mr Beer?

[Bobgorilla]

Is Mr. Beer a good place to start? Any other suggestions?

[Rob]

How 'bout
http://www.realbeer.com/,
http://morebeer.com/,
http://www.brewyourownbrew.com/,
http://www.beer-wine.com/

Also check with your local college campus. We offer a degree in Fermentation Science for the beer and wine industries.

[dmb90260]

It is a good start like back yard sheet tents are a start in camping.
You should be able to make drinkable beer from it but you can do much better if you can find a brew supply store close by or on the net.

You can start with canned syrup and make some very nice beers but eventually most will move to more grains and then all-grain. Check out Zymurgy magazine at this site http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/zymurgy.html It is aimed at the home brewer of all levels and will have ads for equipment and supplies.
I started with a 3 gal pan and malt syrup but you can make a decent beer with a 5 gal brew kettle on your kitchen stove and a plastic bucket fermentor. Just keep everything clean with a bleach solution, there are lots of wild yeasts out there that can spoil your beer.

The biggest bore is cleaning all those bottles every time you empty them. I finally moved to a 5 gal corny keg fermentor and a 3 gal keg in the fridge, no more bottles. But that leads to the dreaded "I only drink half glass at a time" syndrome. A half glass here and a half there and one more because it is never a full glass and you end up wearing it.

I shut down and passed all my equip on to my nephew, Pat, now head brewer at North Coast, Fort Bragg CA. He makes much better beer than I ever thought of and I get it for birthdays, Christmas and special occasions. A much better solution and no bottles or equip to clean.

When you are ready, ask me for the recipe for Imperial Raspberry Stout, beer for the gods.

[Loader]

Austin Home Brew is a great store to shop at, (austinhomebrew.com)and they will answer your questions. Have to admit, I did use a Mr Beer, and like already stated, you can do much better for a little more investment.

Good luck in your brewing!

[BrwBier]

Mr. Beer sounds interesting enough that I would like to try one, BUT, their are ways almost as easy. Put "home brew clubs in FL" into google and you should come up with about 14 clubs in Florida. That is the best advise I could give you. Or find a home brew store, they almost all will give brewing lessons, they want customers. If you want to brew because it seems like fun then go for it. If you want to brew to save money then run, run fast, it aint gona happen. Like any hobby, the farther you get in it the more it costs, to a point. I've been brewing for about 13 years now and would never think of giving it up. I make good beer and give away almost as much as I drink, it's easy, its fun and I will always have that.
Brwbier

[BILLYL]

MrBeer is just a gimmick. You can produce a much nicer beer with just a small investment in equipment. I agree - check for a local homebrew club and if there is a homebrew supply store in your area make a visit. Also check for a brewpub - great source for yeast and advice.

And the most important advice - Have fun with the new hobby

Bill

[rbeemer]

If you are thinking about getting in to homebrewing but not sure, check into stores around your area that allow you to use their equipment. There is a cost to this but it will be cheaper than buying the equipment and only using it once.