Customer Reviews

Mr. Beer 3-Beer Mix Variety Pack American Series

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been brewing with the Mr. Beer keg for a couple months and I am very satisfied so far. Amazon.com is definitely the best place to get the refills because of the free super saver shipping and the 4 for 3 option could be good too. I read the other reviews before I made my purchase of the variety pack so I expected to get the Blonde Ale, Golden Lager, and the Linebacker dopplebock, which is exactly what I got! I received my beer mixes three days after ordering and the box and beer mixes are in great condition. They look new to me, and the cans of malt extract say use by 2012.

My first batch of Mr. Beer was the west coast pale ale which came with the brewing keg, and I used tap water filtered with a brita filter. This resulted in some off flavors, an "antiseptic" like flavor which went away after about 2 weeks of cold conditioning, and so I would recommend using store bought filtered water because it doesn't have the chlorine which will make your beer have off flavors.

I also recommend being creative and using some herbs like coriander and you can add honey which I am pretty excited about. I have bottled a batch of bewitched red ale with a can of pale malt extract, a cup of honey and a teaspoon of coriander, which could potentially bring the alcohol content to 7.2% and I think the coriander will add a nice spiciness. It might be a bit sweet, and in retrospect I think I should have added some more hops. I would definitely use the Mr. Beer extracts as a starting point, but I wouldn't stop with just the hopped malt extract and booster because it results in a pretty weak beer in my opinion.

Okay, this is the bare basic of the Mr. Beer mixes, but if you just want plain ol' beer without buying and playing around with Unhopped Malte Extract (UME) or fancy yeasts and hops--then you've got yourself 6 gallons of beer at the cheap Amazon price of 30 bucks (do the math, your paying $1.25 for a quart of beer--but you made it yourself!). It's typically free shipping at that price.
Here's some advise, follow the directions precisely, especially sanitization, but double the fermenting period to 2 weeks and the carbonation period to 2 weeks, store the bottles in your Mr Beer box during carbonation (or another closed box). After that, let them sit in the fridge for another 5-7 days (the longer the better). It will be just right and fizzy and clean. Don't add extra sugar to the wort, the "booster" is your sugar. It will turn out sweet & cider-like if you do.

If you never wanna buy domestic beer again, get another set of Mr Beer bottles (you can use soda bottles, but I just don't trust them).
Keep making beer and rotating your stock--you'll save money and no returnables!

If you ever get bored with your beer, there are literally thousands of different ways to experiment, but with this refill kit, regular old American beer is just fine with me!Mr. Beer 3-Beer Mix Variety Pack American Series

Not much to say. Its just great beer and so easy to make. Alot of fun and my family and friends love the beer.

I am sure the beer will be fine. I ordered this because I the description states "Includes Whispering Wheat Weizenbier, High Country Canadian Draft, and Octoberfest's Vienna Lager flavor beer mixes, 3 ea." however, I received the three different refills. This is not what I wanted and the item description or picture need to be corrected to reflect what is actually received. I received Cowboy Golden Lager, Classic American Blonde Ale, and Linebacker Dopplebock. The item picture shows Cowboy Golden Lager, Bewitched Red Ale, and Classic American Blonde Ale. Who in the heck knows what you are going to get. I Guess that is why it is a "variety mix".

I picked up a Mr. Beer kit on Craigslist for $10 and didn't expect much. I ordered the 3 - Beer Mix to play around with it. I watched several videos on Youtube to learn to brew and I selected the Red Ale for my first batch. I let it sit in the fermenter for 12 days before bottling and let 2 bottles condition for 7 days before chilling and drinking (I am going to let the other bottles condition for an additional 7 days before refrigerating). I tried the first bottle today and I'm very impressed! It's a little sweet since I opened it a little early but it's still way better than the beer I had last night at a restaurant! I have read online that it should ferment for 2 weeks in the keg, 2 weeks in the bottle, and 2 weeks in the fridge so I am going to try that for the remaining bottles. I also went to Mr. Beer's website and ordered UME and hops to make other recipes with the other refills. I also ordered 2 more kegs and 2 cases of bottles so I never run out of my homebrew!

Overall I am very impressed and will continue to try more Mr. Beer products!

for all of first buying Mr. Beer you need 7-10 day fermenting beer then at least 2weeks for conditioning beer . I recommend buy extra bottles to make second batch right after bottle first....
I'm on third batch and love it refills are sorta expensive check meijer,and walmart etc.websites for cheaper refills......

I am really new to beer making but each batch has turned out really good. I followed the instructions and used tap water filtered through a Walgreens pitcher with a Culligan filter in it and there were no off odors or flavors. Each variety has its on characteristics but I cant decide which I like best as they are all good. One batch I allowed to condition longer (2 weeks) in the fridge and the longer it sat the better it got. At Amazon s price this is a great deal and makes a smooth, drinkable beer.

One of the cans was severely damaged, however, the box wasn't damaged at all. One of the cans was practically folded over because it was dented in so far. It's almost as if the can was damaged before packaging.

I read all the reviews about receiving different items than listed. I was hoping to receive the American Series 3 pack: Red ale, Blonde, and Cowboy Lager - and that's exactly what was sent. I'm guessing the problem has been addressed now, and I wanted to let others know my experience. Now, I just hope the beer turns out (I brewed the 1776 ale recipe from the Mr. Beer website)

With the majority of online reviews being positive, decided to give MR. BEER a try. With the first keg arriving Dec., 2010, here's a review with results from using both the Premium & Premium Gold Kits to brew the 3-Beer Mix Variety Pack American Series.
Procedures used were: - strict adherance to the sanitizing process - exclusive use of Spring Water (not tap) - fermenting temp. observed above 65 deg. F - minimum bottling temp. 70 deg. F - careful to use all the ingredients (spatula to get every drop from the canned contents) - use of exactly measured plain white sugar for bottling - fermenting and bottling gestation done in complete darkness - used the recommended 2 week interval between all 3 stages.
This is the first time to brew and unlike other reviewers, am no expert but enjoy drinking beer when watching NFL football games.
The results:
3-Beer Mix Variety Pack American Series
- Classic American Blonde Ale - Being the first brew, the anticipation had me opening the 1st two bottles after 1 1/2 weeks of cold lagering. Clear golden color, good carbonation, good head retention, a tad sweet but extremely tasty. My favorite beer.
- Cowboy Golden Lager - Clear golden color, good carbonation, good head retention, pleasing bitterness w/ nice hoppy aroma. My second favorite beer.
- Bewitched Red Ale - Perfect deep color, good carbonation, excellent head retention, this is the best tasting of this American Series Pack. Enticing aroma and a smooth, tasty beer. 3rd favorite beer.
(The above ratings also include results from brewing the 3-pack International Series plus a West Coast Pale Ale)
Preferring American style light (Coors, Bud, Miller) beer, the quality from all the Mr. Beer brews I've made are all tastier. Published alcohol content may be less, but the actual "hit" is very smooth. Don't know were some of the reviewers got their "watery" taste and no "head" opinions. More likely, these sub-standard results were due to their using less than ideal sanitazion conditions, using tap chlorinated water, and/or rushing the brewing process.
Got a lot of good tips from various online reviews, which minimized/eliminated mistakes. When one batch of beer is ready for bottling, reserve yourself 3 hours to bottle starting from a fully fermented keg, then re-clean, re-sanitize and have another brew batch inside the keg to start re-fermenting. My greatest advise would be to take your time in all aspects. It will result in a home made beer you can be proud off. Am using 3 fermenting kegs to get brewing into full production. Saving money is one thing, but drinking terrific tasting beer is the all-important consideration. My days of buying retail beer are history thanks to Mr. Beer and Amazon's great service.