A while back, I tried my hand at a pretty simple home brew kit, Mister Beer Bottle Brew.
Toss a yeast pill in a bottle of fresh beer mix and in a couple of weeks, you have yourself some delicious suds.
Except, it didn’t go as well as hoped. Kind of flat; not very flavourful.
But after some backlash from fans of the product and some positive PR from the company president, I gave Mister Beer another try.
The results? Mixed, but much better.
Mister Beer sent a selection of all of their beers, Red, Blonde, Cerveza, Pilsner, and Brown. Fellow Scoundrel Shawn Logan gave the Brown Ale a try, while honorary Scoundrel and Beer lover Dave Naylor, a fan of red and copper beers, was giving the Red Lager a try.
I took home the Blonde, the Cerveza and the Pilsner. And I liked them in that order as well.
Knowing that 14 days in my cooler-temperature townhouse wasn’t enough, I let all of them sit four full weeks fermenting. It may have been overkill, but I didn’t want results similar to my previous attempt.
In addition to the yeast pill, the Pilsner came with a “hop flavouring” capsule. Thinking “I love hoppy beer,” I opted to give it a try.
When it was finished, the beer had a clean, crisp taste, and a decent bitter note on the finish, but left almost a metallic aftertaste that, after sampling the other two varieties, I can only assume is from the hop pill. Were I to buy this one again, I would opt against the additive if I tried it again.
The Cerveza was serviceable, a decent drinking beer, with a frothy head, light amber in colour and a crisp finish. Not my favourite of the bunch, but it was OK.
The Blonde, meanwhile, was the standout. More flavourful than I expected for such a light-coloured beer, with lemon notes, even a little apple, the right amount of sweetness and a crisp finish. I’m glad I opted against the lime flavouring pill that came with this one too, given how the hop pill turned out for me. Even if it didn’t detract from how the Blonde presented itself, I don’t think this one needs any help. This would be my recommendation, and one I’d buy in the future.
But I still think the directions could be a little more clear, to indicate, that if you want your beer done in the two weeks, it needs to be kept at 25-28C and if you keep your house at 18-20C, as do a lot of people, it could take upwards of four weeks.