American Ale 2 Gallon Homebrewing Refill, Red/Black

I've had a Mr Beer kit for several years, and was very pleased with the Irish Stout refill. I took the beer to my local fermenters/homebrewers club, and everyone said it tasted good. It's an easy way to brew your own beer, while you're learning the ins and outs of homebrewing. There's one bottle left, and when that's gone I'll be getting ready for my next batch. I look forward to enjoying my next batch.

Easy way to make beer, tastes great.

This is the 2nd Mr Beer refill that wouldn't bottle condition. I've followed the instructions exactly which is easy to do as there's not much to it. I'm not new at this. Been brewing for quite a number of years. All the other refills from Mr Beer have done exactly what they were supposed to. This one just refuses to carbonate. This won't stop me from buying Mr Beer in the future it's just something I'm beginning to think happens with them. I've never had this problem with any other brand or with all grain recipes. I don't know what causes it.

I currently have a batch of this finishing the final aging step. I snuck a coke bottle with some and put in a carbonation drop. It gained a lot of pressure in the fridge so I snuck a taste a little bit early. It is quite "hoppy" like an ale and tends to leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste. That may change after the 2 week sitting in the bottles and getting refrigerated. I am not into the experimenting stage yet, but now in knowing what I know now, I would have lover to have added about a 1/4 cup of honey to the fermenting stage!

I added a pound of DME to this and at secondary fermentation I added 4 ounce of expresso coffee grinds in a hop bag for a week then kegged it in a mini keg and force carbed it and Just WOW, Very smooth with a creamy head with a nice hint of chocolate and coffee it is outstanding. Will make this again. I didn't think a mr beer extract would taste this good.

It came and went just like it was supposed to. Less expensive direct. No booster in this bundle, but very drinkable. Good shelf date on mine.

Ordered 3/12/2015 and was promptly shipped and was very fresh. The expire date was 1 year and several months out. This was my 4th Mr Beer brew and my best so far.This kit does a great job, no issues and I will be buying again soon I'm sure.Modifications -I wanted a little more ABV so I added an additional 1lb 2.4 oz Briess Amber LME (I was shooting for 1lb) and also added 1oz Hallertau hops to balance the additional malt. I used a glass carboy instead of the Mr. Beer keg since I had a carboy available.Recipe -I brought ~1.5 gallons of spring water to a boil, added the 1 lb 2.4 oz Amber Briess LME and the hops, boiled for 20 minutes. Burner off. Added the Mr Beer hopped extract, cooled in ice bath. Added spring water to about 2+ gallons for an OG of 1.054. I aerated the wort (shook the glass carboy for several minutes) and pitched the dry Mr. beer yeast. Fermentation took off within 8 hrs, the yeast did a great job and active fermentation tapered off within 5 days.I left it in the carboy for 4 weeks to finish. FG was 1.007, which is ~87% attenuation and ABV ~6.3%.I kegged straight to a corney keg, and forced carbonated.Taste-Malty and smooth, great head that sticks around. Nice finish and good ABV level.Additional thoughts -Mind your sanitation, I'd recommend getting some Star San and use as directed.Oktoberfest technically is a lager recipe but this kit is intended to be fermented at ale temperatures and does so very well. I would recommend keeping the fermentation temp on the low end ~68. My first few batches fermented warmer than ideal and you could tell.Also, do not be in a hurry! Let this sit for a few weeks at least. Dark ales should be 3-4 weeks. Green beer is not good!Summary -This kit was fresh, yeast performed well, the extract was tasty, and I ended up with a great brew.Will buy again!Update -That 2 gallons did not go far, the keg kicked tonight. :o(That was a really nice brew.I already have my next brew lined up but I'm very tempted to jump on the Mr. Beer website's 30% off sale and grab some for some double batches... that sale is going on for a few more days.(I gave in - double batches of Oktoberfest, Voodoo, and Dark Forest Stout are on the way :o)

My normal beer is an American Lager, without mentioning the brand, so when I got interested in home brewing ,I gave this a try! Pretty close to my normal choice!