Beer Forum

Just thought I'd mention how I got started in homebrewing... In August of 2003, my sister bought me a Mr. Beer kit for my birthday. For the first 6 months or so, it worked great for me. It taught me the basics about sanitation, fermentation, natural carbonation, and lots more.

It didn't take long for me to meet the DOZE group over at the county fair in Antioch, where they told me about 5 gallon extract brewing kits, and invited me to their monthly meetings. I bought my first kit from Beer, Beer and More Beer (B3), and I was definitely hooked.

I still use my Mr. Beer kit, but it only makes about 2 gallons, and doesn't quite reach the quality of the ones from B3. But, it was a great way to get started, and it was still better than any commercial beer I knew of.

I'd recommend it to anyone interested in casually trying out the hobby, without breaking the bank to get started. http://www.mrbeer.com

that's how I started..

I did the mr beer kits, then went to the lhbs and bought 2 lbs of DME, and made a stout, the beer was so good (my own concoction) that I realized.. "work smarter, not harder" - so 5 gal extract batches.. now i do 5-10 gal All Grain... and am thinking about doing some experimental batches in the mr beer thingy. I read something about a mountian dew ale.. hmm.

I too stared with Mr. Beer. It is a good starting point as long as the beer comes out decend. If it's crap it may discourage you from brewing in general, but the same could be said if you buy a starter kit to do 5 gallon baches.