MR.BEER Home Brewing System

The MR.BEER start-up system included the barrel shaped two gallon fermenter, one beer kit, and eight re-usable plastic bottles with screw caps. The overall appearance of the system seems pretty basic with only the tap system having to be installed to allow for the making of beer. This is removable to aid in the cleaning process which is very important in the brewing process.

What is nice about the MR.BEER Home Brewing System is that each beer kit includes all the necessary ingredients required to make a two gallon batch of beer with an approximate 4.7% alcohol content. The overall process takes only 14 days from start to drinkable product. The beer kit includes the hopped malt extract (HME), dry brewing yeast, Booster™ and One-Step™ sanitizing cleanser. Additional kits can be purchased at several retail locations as well as online at http://www.mrbeer.com.

The process is four steps. Sanitizing, Brewing, Bottling/Carbonating, and Conditioning. As mentioned before sanitization is very important in the process. The One-Step™ sanitizing cleanser is used at two separate occasions to prevent contamination. First half is poured into the fermenter and all the utensils you will be using are placed into the sanitizer, including your can opener.

Brewing consists of following the easy 8-step process and letting the beer to rest out of direct sunlight to ferment. I aid this by covering the two gallon fermenter with a dark towel. I also place the fermenter in our bedroom where the temperature is more controlled than in the basement. It is recommend that the fermenter be kept at a consistent temperature of between 68° and 76° F.

Bottling/Carbonating first begins with the cleaning of the bottles and caps with the remaining One-Step™ sanitizing cleanser. One sanitized, sugar is added in the amounts determined by your bottle size and then filled with the beer from the two gallon fermenter. To avoid cloudy or excessive particles in your bottled beer you need to take caution to not stir or shape the fermenter during this process. The left over wort mixture settles to the bottom during the 7 day resting process. Again avoid direct sunlight and temperature again needs to be between 68° and 76° F.

Conditioning consists of being very patient while the carbonation process takes place. This can be done in one of two ways. You can condition the beer in warmer dark area with temps between 50° and 70° F. However I prefer the other method of storing the bottles upright in a refrigerator for two to three weeks before serving.

Overall I would highly recommend the MR.BEER Home Brewing System for anyone who wants to try their hand at making their own beer. I have found that nothing beats opening up that first bottle and sampling what you have created with friends.