No need for you, with MBU!

[RickBeer]

Mr. Beer University seems to be a reorganization of their already existing help info, along with a "textbook" that is ~20 pages long and basically is a restatement of info that already exists on the site. Similar to "ebooks" that people "publish". I see no "course".

http://www.mrbeer.com/info-exec/display/help

[BlackDuck]

The title was meant to be sardonic! I can see how it was confusing, but what I was trying to comment on is the fact that Mr. Beer would rather try and get people to brew their way than allow a thriving and dynamic community offer its help.

That's the message I figured you were conveying

That's what I thought too....thanks for clarifying for me. And if I came across a little brash in my first post, I apologize for that!

And like RickBeer mentions, I don't see much of a "course" either. That textbook they are offering looks like an updated version of the book that was packed in the kit that I received some time ago. And the other links are just the instructions that come with each batch and an updated instruction video.

[Wings_Fan_In_KC]

I always wondered if it didn't chafe them a little that we would tell nOObs, "Yes you CAN make beer in two weeks but it's going to suck." This way they can brainwash their minions without the Borg's interference and sell more product.

The flaw to that is once people taste "2 week beer" they are going to quit homebrewing or try alternate methods thinking MrBeer sucks.

Basically, I say "F*ck 'em."

[jimjohson]

Wings they are now saying to leave it for a total of 4weeks on the shelf

[monsteroyd]

Yes for me, the advice to ferment for 3 weeks, and carb + condition for 4 weeks, was the fundamental thing I learned, that and CAL just can not be any good no matter what you do. But seriously, this may have made the MB people angry, because they were selling 2 week beer, but since I changed to 3+4, like after the first batch, that one little piece of information is still the critical thing, I think, in my subsequent success. So I don't see how you can sustain the business, when you feel that 2 weeks start to drinking, is the way to make money, since statistically most beer made that way with their HME, will not taste very good. Especially when your target constituency was raised on perfectly lagered light colored beer. How is your 'green' ALE going to compare to that? So you may get some sales from curious people, or impulse buys, or 'guy' gifts from relatives, but nothing sustainable, UNLESS you get them to like your beer. And even then, once you get into it, one of the things a MB customer learns is they don't like POR hops. So I can see Cooper's mgmt panicking a bit after spending that much money on Mr Beer.

Monty

[jimjohson]

and CAL just can not be any good no matter what you do.

Monty

Ain't that the truth?

[RickBeer]

And if I came across a little brash in my first post, I apologize for that!

I like my duck braised, not brash.

[BlackDuck]

And if I came across a little brash in my first post, I apologize for that!

I like my duck braised, not brash.

Good one!!! Makes me laugh!!!

[Wings_Fan_In_KC]

Wings they are now saying to leave it for a total of 4weeks on the shelf

I see. I would not know that as I don't go to "that" site anymore. Thanks for the info. At least they won't continue to lead people astray.

[DaYooper]

Of course they wont get too much into (if at all) things like steeping grains, PMs, etc, as that is basically opening the door to let people out of the fold when they realize that with not too much more effort and a small investment in time they can do the same thing with DME/LME and a boil. So that would be counter productive unless they get off their butts and start integrating the Coopers family of products and equipment into their lineup that will allow people to grow as a brewer. I still use MrB for a quick brew here or there or during weeks of below zero temperatures when I just dont feel like standing outside like a fool but want to keep the pipeline flowing, but mostly have moved on. So will be brewing a fire sale MrB kit INDOORS whilest we get another pounding of snow and cold.

[BeerRust]

Yes for me, the advice to ferment for 3 weeks, and carb + condition for 4 weeks, was the fundamental thing I learned, that and CAL just can not be any good no matter what you do. But seriously, this may have made the MB people angry, because they were selling 2 week beer, but since I changed to 3+4, like after the first batch, that one little piece of information is still the critical thing, I think, in my subsequent success. So I don't see how you can sustain the business, when you feel that 2 weeks start to drinking, is the way to make money, since statistically most beer made that way with their HME, will not taste very good. Especially when your target constituency was raised on perfectly lagered light colored beer. How is your 'green' ALE going to compare to that? So you may get some sales from curious people, or impulse buys, or 'guy' gifts from relatives, but nothing sustainable, UNLESS you get them to like your beer. And even then, once you get into it, one of the things a MB customer learns is they don't like POR hops. So I can see Cooper's mgmt panicking a bit after spending that much money on Mr Beer.

Monty

I would bet that the majority of the people that purchase or receive the MR.B kit never go to the website, let alone visit the forums.

[FedoraDave]

The thing is, though, that such a philosophy doesn't exactly hold true, Yooper. Take me, for instance.

I started with MB. Quickly moved to MB with steeping grains to add body. Shortly moved to DME and hop boils, making my own recipes, and from there, started making five-gallon AG batches. All within about a year.

Even so, I continued to buy MB advanced recipes, because, like you, I wanted to keep my pipeline full and diverse, and I didn't want to do AG every doggone week. So I had three beers fermenting at all times; one AG fiver and two MB LBK batches. I was quite pleased with them. They made good beer, and although I naturally preferred my original AG recipes, I felt there was really nothing wrong with the MB recipes, given what they were. And the ease of preparation was a real plus.

If Cooper's doesn't integrate other ingredients and provide instructions for "advanced" brewing, but rather makes it a point to keep their customer base at a beginner level, they're just cutting off their nose to spite their face. Eventually a lot of these customers are going to look around, read things, join a homebrew club, or whatever, and drift away from the kits. It just seems to me that few people are going to be content to do HME brews exclusively.

[RickBeer]

Dave, the key in Marketing is to know your customer, their purchasing behavior, how they use the product, etc, and then try to insert yourself into that as much as possible, maximizing what's called customer lifetime value. One of the things that Coopers COULD do would be to grow Mr. Beer buyers into Coopers buyers for example.

To do this means you need a great database, solid email marketing program, and content that allows you to help the customer learn. Mr. Beer, like many companies, does a crappy, half-assed job at this. I often go into a client like them and within a week they're going "golly, gosh, that's a crap load of opportunity we have" followed by "but doesn't that mean we have to spend money to make money" which is followed by "we're not going to do that".

So you're right, Coopers should be doing a lot of things with Mr. Beer that they aren't.

[duff]

Ya the new Mr. Beer seems to be focusing a lot more one the quick purchase decisions like holiday gifts instead of retaining customers.

[haerbob3]

Ya the new Mr. Beer seems to be focusing a lot more one the quick purchase decisions like holiday gifts instead of retaining customers.

I did not see any MR B kits for sale around here this year at all. They used to be all over the place at Christmas time. This past Christmas we had small batch kits from different breweries but no MR B.