The end of an era

FedoraDave · Post by **FedoraDave** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:01 am

Today I'm bottling my last Mr. Beer recipe. Lincoln's Liberty Logger.

It's an HME/LME recipe with a hop addition. The original recipe came with lager yeast, so it was one of the few true lagers in the MB house. But I didn't have room in the lager fridge for it, so I used ale yeast instead.

I bought this back in the summer of 2013, I believe, and never got around to making it. But as this particular brew day approached, I realized I didn't have time to get to the LHBS, and didn't have ingredients on hand other than this, and I also figured I should brew it before the expiration date.

I'm pretty much done with kits, then. I used to use Mr. Beer recipe kits for every 2.5 gallon batch, which is two out of three weeks when I'm brewing regularly. But I prefer AG, even for small batches, or at least extract with specialty grains. Even the latter gives me more control. And now I'm confident enough that I can put together really simple but tasty recipes almost on the fly. Either that, or make a beer I've made before and just refer to the original recipe.

Everything changes, and for me, Mr. Beer didn't change for the better while I was changing into a more mature homebrewer. I'll always have a fondness in my heart for what Mr. Beer was when I began this obsession, though. It's just something of a shame that our paths diverged too widely to continue the journey together.

ScrewyBrewer · Post by **ScrewyBrewer** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:30 am

I hear that. I stopped brewing Mr. Beer and other kits years ago and got rid of all the related PET bottles and LBKs when I moved last December. Somehow I felt bad about it because it did get me started with beer brewing but we all knew going in Mr. Beer wasn't setup to support advanced brewing. I love all grain brewing but the fan that stoked the fire was Mr. Beer and the great bunch of brewers in the forum who were willing to share what they learned with others.

John Sand · Post by **John Sand** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:51 am

Well said, both of you. I have no more MrBeer, nor any plans to buy. I started with them after the Coopers take-over, and never was completely satisfied with my results. Having now brewed 10 AG batches and perhaps 5 extract+, I no longer find the HME interesting enough. But I'm very glad that MrB and BrewDemon are out there, bringing a simple introduction to brewing.

braukasper · Post by **braukasper** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:55 am

Same here. Will always have a warm spot for the old MR B. Never could warm up to the Cooper's version of MR B. Glad that fine folk of the ole forum found a new home

Chuck N · Post by **Chuck N** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:57 am

braukasper wrote:Same here. Will always have a warm spot for the old MR B. Never could warm up to the Cooper's version of MR B. Glad that fine folk of the ole forum found a new home

Here!

Thank you, Louie!

Rebel_B · Post by **Rebel_B** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:23 am

I have one last Mr Beer refill (seasonal Saison) I may fire up on Monday. I've been super busy doing a spring remodel at home (just finished painting first & second floors at home and putting in some new light fixtures) and the pipeline is beginning to get a little thin. I won't rule out doing extract beers, but when I have the time, my co-workers, friends, and I always prefer the results of my all grain brews.

jhough · Post by **jhough** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:13 am

Well said Dave and Vince . I also could never warm up to the new MRB as Dag helped me turn to the AG way of brewing . I don't think that I have brewed an extract batch in 2 years.

mashani · Post by **mashani** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 12:54 pm

Rebel_B wrote:I have one last Mr Beer refill (seasonal Saison) I may fire up on Monday. I've been super busy doing a spring remodel at home (just finished painting first & second floors at home and putting in some new light fixtures) and the pipeline is beginning to get a little thin. I won't rule out doing extract beers, but when I have the time, my co-workers, friends, and I always prefer the results of my all grain brews.

Time is why I still keep them in my rotation, although in general I don't brew them straight up. At the very least I toss in some hops. I'd do BIAB all the time if I had the time all the time, but that is not my reality. I do tend to buy them only when I can get them at steep discount - IE last time I ordered I got the seasonal 4 pack at 60% off (around $10/can including good quality yeast), which was quite worth it. I can make good beer out of those, turn some into 5 gallon batches as a base/bittering addition substitute and "enhance" them, etc.

I'm not a "hater" I will use whatever I can get to make beer as long as it makes good beer at a reasonable price.

EDIT: And I should mention that Mr. Beer is NOT what got me into brewing. It just happened to be something that was convenient enough that I could start brewing again after a many year hiatus.

FedoraDave · Post by **FedoraDave** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 1:07 pm

Vince put in more succinctly than I did. Well said.

I still do extract batches; in fact, I was at the LHBS today and bought about 11 pounds of grain for a fiver I'm brewing tomorrow, and the ingredients for a 2.5 batch of Lime Cerveza for next Sunday's brewing. And that's just some DME, 1/2 pound of Carapils, and the hops and yeast. Quick and easy, but it's a really nice beer. Nothing wrong with extracts. But, as braukasper said, I find the new MB recipes disappointing, and don't really have an interest in the BrewDemon recipes.

They're both great introductions to homebrewing for guys like me, who were interested but intimidated. I learned I could make beer in my kitchen, and it gave me the confidence to continue and pursue the beer I really want. Thing is, that beer can pretty much only be made with AG.

Tabasco · Post by **Tabasco** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:20 pm

FedoraDave wrote:Today I'm bottling my last Mr. Beer recipe. Lincoln's Liberty Logger.

It's an HME/LME recipe with a hop addition. The original recipe came with lager yeast, so it was one of the few true lagers in the MB house. But I didn't have room in the lager fridge for it, so I used ale yeast instead.

I bought this back in the summer of 2013, I believe, and never got around to making it. But as this particular brew day approached, I realized I didn't have time to get to the LHBS, and didn't have ingredients on hand other than this, and I also figured I should brew it before the expiration date.

I'm pretty much done with kits, then. I used to use Mr. Beer recipe kits for every 2.5 gallon batch, which is two out of three weeks when I'm brewing regularly. But I prefer AG, even for small batches, or at least extract with specialty grains. Even the latter gives me more control. And now I'm confident enough that I can put together really simple but tasty recipes almost on the fly. Either that, or make a beer I've made before and just refer to the original recipe.

Everything changes, and for me, Mr. Beer didn't change for the better while I was changing into a more mature homebrewer. I'll always have a fondness in my heart for what Mr. Beer was when I began this obsession, though. It's just something of a shame that our paths diverged too widely to continue the journey together.

I hear ya. I haven't even ordered MrB the last few times I got emailed about sales. AG is a lot of work, my methods are not the best, but it is more fun. I rarely bottle any more either. I have a 6 5gall corny keg pipeline. If I ever "get ahead" and don't have an available keg, I'll bottle, but I pretty much have it down. I brewed a 2.5 gal "ultra light" batch AG in a MrB keg for my Dad for last Christmas, which I bottled. I'm so glad I did. He had some of them, and said he loved it. He passed away before they were gone, though.

FedoraDave · Post by **FedoraDave** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:48 pm

That's a touching story, Tom. I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you got to give your Dad a special gift.

Tabasco · Post by **Tabasco** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 4:15 pm

FedoraDave wrote:That's a touching story, Tom. I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you got to give your Dad a special gift.

Thanks, Dave. It was the only batch I ever labelled. My mom saved a label and framed it for me.

"Poppy's Ultra Light". Actually, it was dry ... as it fermented down low, so it was pretty light, but it had some alcohol and hops.
5%, hoppy.

FedoraDave · Post by **FedoraDave** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:12 pm

Tabasco wrote:
FedoraDave wrote:That's a touching story, Tom. I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you got to give your Dad a special gift.
Thanks, Dave. It was the only batch I ever labelled. My mom saved a label and framed it for me.

"Poppy's Ultra Light". Actually, it was dry ... as it fermented down low, so it was pretty light, but it had some alcohol and hops.
5%, hoppy.

Wow. I hope he had a chance to enjoy some of them.

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