BeerBorg

If you knew what you now know about brewing. Would you start the same way?
Me......... No I would start with all grain. The best thing I can say about starting with Mr B is having meeting you guys the BROG!!!!!!!!

I actually sort of when forwards then backwards. When in college I started with extracts then moved to all grain and shortly after, stopped. I started up again thanks to my friend who was gifted a Mr. Beer kit and he tweaked his first recipe and it was pretty good. I tried it but soon moved back to all grain in the LBK then back onto larger AG. The difference between my beginning and now is that I now do BIAB exclusively. Having done both, I just find it easier and a bit quicker for me.
One thing I would change is to start off with a dedicated brew area from the beginning. It's much harder to make changes later.

I would have built a different brew stand. The 3 tier sounds and looks cool but is a PITA to use some times. I would have done a flat stand and bought pumps earlier. That is about all I would change.

braukasper wrote: The best thing I can say about starting with Mr B is having meeting you guys the BROG!!!!!!!!

100% agree

Hindsight is always 20/20. Of course, I prefer AG now, and after that, extract with specialty grains. I don't use HMEs or kits anymore.

But I don't think I'd change anything about how I would start. I was interested in homebrewing for a few years, but didn't know where to start, how to do it, or anything. It seemed very complicated and arcane to me, and didn't think I'd be able to do anything without a Masters Degree in Chemistry and about $4,000 in equipment.

Then SWMBO got me a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas. I was excited and intimidated, but fortunately I found the Mr. Beer site (and the Borg) before I'd even brewed a batch. I know I wouldn't have progressed as quickly as I did without the online tutelage of the more experienced brewers there.

I absolutely would start the same way I did.

I had tasted some homebrew and it was one of the best beers I had ever had at the time.

I had a friend that did a little homebrewing and I watched a couple of his brew sessions. I didn't have any idea what was going on with the grain and sparges and boiling. This same friend received a 5 gallon HME for Christmas and one day when I was there he plopped the HME into some water and put it in a bucket. Now that looked doable.

I googled brewing from a kit. The two most likely candidates were Mr. Beer and Coopers. The Mr. Beer kit was smaller, less expensive and seemed to be as usable for any sort of small batch brewing as a larger kit. My concerns were if I could actually make beer and if I would be interested enough to continue making beer. So, yeah, I actually made beer, WOW! I was almost a year brewing various Mr. Beer based brews, about a year brewing 5 gallon extract (with steeping grain and hop boil), and then on to all grain.

I enjoy brewing whatever I want now-a-days. I started with Mr. Beer on purpose and I do not regret it.

Hard to say. I don't think anything could be simpler than MrBeer, though I never made better than "okay" beer with it. I think I would do extract+grains, but it would have been a harder climb, or at least seemed it. I know a few guys who were gifted more advanced kits, but have been afraid to start. (I have offered to help) I think as an introduction to brewing, MrBeer and BrewDemon are ideal.

I think I would start the same way I did, which was with a MB kit. I then went to a modified BIAB method. Which was a BIAB with a fly sparge over top of the grain bag. Then I went to all grain with a mash tun. The things that I learned with the MB kit and the BIAB method were invaluable. It made the jump to AG in the mash tun very easy. And I believe it payed of in the quality of the beer when I made the jump also.

I wouldn't change a thing. Starting with a Mr. Beer kit was a perfect introduction, helped me build confidence and get my methods down pat. I've done 3 AG brews so far now, and they are great, but definitely take a lot longer on brew days. And for me and where I am in life, time is often more valuable than money so a quick HME brew still has value to me to keep the pipeline filled. I still think the deluxe HME's with some extra hops that I make are better than BMC.

But luckily, I did a *lot* of reading when I started, so I planned for the future and bought pots, and chillers, etc. that I knew I would still be using when I went to AG.

I would start the same way. MrB kits were a super quick and easy way to make beer. My motivation for switching to all grain brewing was knowing that I could make more tasteful beers at home to share with others. The comments I get from people when I share my all grain home brewed beers is way more positive than comments I get from the extract brews. Starting with all grain brewing would have been more stressful.

I wouldn't change a thing. I probably would not have gotten hooked on brewing if I had tried to dive right in to AG. Hell, I've still never done an AG batch. I just don't have the time or inclination at this point in my life. But the easy MR Beer kits were such a great introduction to the craft, and then I gradually branched out into extract brewing, hops boils, creating my own extract recipes, etc. It was the right progression for me and I wouldn't change it!

Same way for sure. MrB helped me to learn the various steps and how they contribute to the final product, and how moving on to AG can deliver a much better, tailored end product. I still do some HME batches, but that is a time constraint as can kick one out from start to finish in 15-20 minutes. It keeps the pipeline full. The only beer I buy anymore are either strictly for research (singles, mixer sixers, variety packs), or Old Millwaukee for mowing the lawn and stuff like that. MrB also allowed me to see if I really enjoyed MY homebrews and the process before dumping a bunch of money into it and deciding either the beer was poop (which it could have been starting out full force) or I didnt enjoy spending a couple of hours making beer (that could have been poop). It also showed me I could bounce between HMEs, extract with grains, for full grain depending on my time. Ive perfected some darn good extract batches that I can kick out in a pinch with no qualms from the peanut gallery when I server a pitcher or three.

The only thing I would have changed would have been to buy a ranch style house with a full basement, but I didn't have this little hobby then.

Other than that, I'm glad I started with MrBeer and really glad I ran across all y'all.

I think I still would have started this way with the MB kit, it kind of instilled the clean and sanitary mindset in me. The venturing into HME w/extracts, then extracts w/steeping, kind of turned into the natural progression, but for me it was quick about 4 months into AG! Definitely did my research from MB Forum, the finding my brewing Family here as it progressed!

FedoraDave wrote:Hindsight is always 20/20. Of course, I prefer AG now, and after that, extract with specialty grains. I don't use HMEs or kits anymore.

But I don't think I'd change anything about how I would start. I was interested in homebrewing for a few years, but didn't know where to start, how to do it, or anything. It seemed very complicated and arcane to me, and didn't think I'd be able to do anything without a Masters Degree in Chemistry and about $4,000 in equipment.

Then SWMBO got me a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas. I was excited and intimidated, but fortunately I found the Mr. Beer site (and the Borg) before I'd even brewed a batch. I know I wouldn't have progressed as quickly as I did without the online tutelage of the more experienced brewers there.

This.

Exactly.

Dave, Are you sure you're not me? Or that I'm not you?