What's the Best Beer Kit for First Time Brewers?

By now you've probably done some of your own research on various beer kits that are available for first time brewers. I've tried and seen several and without a doubt the best beer kit for a first time brewer is the Mr. Beer kit.

Here are a few reasons why I think it's the best. The fermenting keg was so easy to use. It's got a wide mouth for adding the wort easily with no spills. The bottom of the keg has a little "recess" (actually it's the reverse of a recess...I just can't think of the name!). This area collects the yeast sediment in one place as it settles out of the fermenting brew.

During the fermentation stage, the screw on lid for the fermenting keg keeps bacteria and molds from the air out of the brew, but it is also vented along the bottom to allow gasses to escape. With this setup, there is no need for an "air lock" used in other kits that can be difficult to set up.

When it's time for bottling, the Mr. Beer keg has an easy to use spigot on the end that lets you fill bottles without additional funnels (although if you use one it's a little bit easier). With the small spigot, it's very easy to start and stop the bottling process without the need for a siphon.

The entire kit comes apart easily for cleaning and dries quickly for storage...although if you are like me, you'll have the beer keg constantly brewing!

So here it is...check it out and look at all the beer kits that Mr. Beer offers. My suggestion to start with is the Premium Kit. But if you want be prepared to make additional batches of home brew without having to buy more ingredients, then you may want to check out the Pro or Ultimate Kits as well.




If you want to learn more about home beer making, check out my squidoo lenses all about Home Beer Making!

Beer Making Ingredients - Organic Home Brews?

Beer making ingredients are pretty simple, and I'm sure that you can find organic versions of each of them, and probably some organic beer brewing kits as well.

With home beer making, you have total control over what goes in the brew.

The ingredients for beer making are:

• Barley
• Hops
• Yeast
• Water

Really, that's it, it's that simple! I'm sure you can find organic versions of these if you look around a bit. If you've found them, please leave me a comment so we know where to go!

Beer Making Time - How Long Does It Take?

The total time it takes to make beer when learning how to homebrew can be as little as two weeks, or as long as a month or more. It takes at least a week to ferment the initial wort which is the process that produces alcohol. Once the fermentation is done, it takes at least one more week to finish the bottling, or carbonation phase of brewing.

So if you start tonight, in two weeks, you'll have a whole batch of great tasting homebrew!

Beer Making - No Bubbles Leave You Feeling Flat?

Two phases of home beer making involve bubbles. And if you are missing the bubbles on either phase, you could be headed for trouble with your brew. Depending on when you disover the problem, however, all is not lost.

The first phase is during fermentation. After pitching the yeast into your wort and letting the fermenter sit for at least 24 hours, you should begin to see foam collecting on the surface of your wort. Depending on the marterial in your wort, you may see a true flurry of bubbly activity inside the fermeneter!

This bubbly goodness is created by the brewing yeast that is added to the wort after cooling it. Always check the expiration date on the yeast packet before hydrating it, and if it's expired, toss it and use a new one, even if you have to "steal" it from another can of malt.

If you don't see any bubbles forming in the fermenter after 24 hours, your yeast may be bad. At this point you could try hydrating another packet of yeast and tossing it in. At best you've saved your beer! At worst, it was going to be bad anyway.

The second phase where you might see bubbles is during bottling. However during bottling, the caps are fastened tightly, which keeps the carbon dioxide produced dissolved by pressure within the beer....the bubbles are not actually seen until the cap is removed, which releases the pressure, bringing dissolved bubbles out of the beer...what we know as carbonation!

I hope this helps you solve some of your "no-bubbles" problems!

How much beer can you homebrew per year?

One of the benefits of a home Microbrewery Kit is the amount of money you can save as compared to buying cases of beer, or even more expensive...buying microbrews in a bar.

But what makes your home brewery different from a microbrewery? Can you start selling your brews to your friends and neighbors? Do you know how to homebrew beer? And exactly how many bottles of beer are you allowed to keep on the wall?

Homebrewing was made legal in the US under the following restrictions...first, you have to be 21 years old. secondly that the beer is not sold, and lastly, you are limited to 100 gallons of homebrew per year if you live by yourself, or 200 gallons per household, regardless of the number of adults who live there.

Assuming the minimum amount, 100 gallons per year, this is equivalent to brewing 1 batch of Mr. Beer Home Beer Making Kit every week of the year, with 1 week off for Christmas and one week off for the 4th of July. (Pick your own holidays if you like).

So what are you waiting for? Get started with one of these homebrewing kits...they've got everything you need for making beer at home!

3 Ways to Sterilize Your Home Brew

If you haven't been taught this by anyone else yet, sterilizing your home brew is the single most important step you need to take! If you don't properly sanitize your equipment and wort before the fermentation step, you risk ruining your beer!

Give your brew a chance and do one or all of the the following things to sterilize your home brew!

• Boiling
• Sodium Percarbonate
• Bleach Water

We'll take these one at a time. Boiling is a necessary step in preparing your wort, even if you use a home beer making kit like Mr. Beer or Coopers. Why? it's the boil that kills any bacteria or mold spores that may have made their way into the ingredients of your beer. This is especially true if you are adding fresh fruit like blueberries, cherries or apples to your wort.

Sodium Percarbonate is an environmentally friendly cleaner/sanitizer for home beermaking equipment. It is as effective as chlorine bleach, without the problematic residue of bleach. Sodium Percarbonate devolves into water, oxygen and natural soda ash.

Bleachwater is probably the last choice, albiet an easy one for sanitizing your homebrew supplies. It's easy because bleach is easily purchased in any grocery store, unlike the sodium percarbonate. However it can leave a chlorine residue and requires rinsing your equipment before use.

Mold Growing on the Surface of My Beer ?

What do you do if you find mold growing on the surface of your home-brewed beer? This is an easy one...toss it.

Let's talk a little bit about how beer is made...

When you brew your wort, you are creating a rich environment for yeast to grow and ferment, and in turn, produce alcohol. This same rich environment for your brewing yeast is also a perfect environment for any airborne yeasts, mold spores or bacteria.

If your brewing environment is not as sterile as you can possibly make it, the chances of a wayward organism overtaking the yeast is high. The results can be varied, but include the following home beer making problems: ...

• Beer that doesn't ferment properly
• Beer that turns into vinegar
• Mold growing on the surface of your beer

There is only one (sad) solution in each of these cases, and that is to toss the beer, resterilize everything and start over. Both Mr. Beer and Coopers sell beer brewing sanitizer that can make the process of sterilizing your equipment easy and painless!

And impecible cleansing is the single most important part of home beer making!