Frequently Asked Questions

General questions



1. How do I log in?
To log in simply click the link in the top right corner of the website. If you don't know your login information you can have it sent to you via email by clicking here.


2. When will my order arrive?
For more detailed information about delivery times please visit the Shipping Policy section of this website.

3. How do I use my gift card?
For more detailed information about how to purchase or redeem a gift card please visit the Gift Cards help section of this website.

4. How do I apply my coupon code?
In order to redeem a coupon code first browse our site to find the items you wish to buy and add them to your Shopping Cart. On the Shopping Cart page enter the Coupon Code in the "Enter Coupon Codes:" box. If your order does not meet the requirements of the coupon, it will not be applied to your order.

5. What is your return policy?
Before deciding to return an item, please contact a customer service representative to discuss other possible resolutions to your situation. You'll find that often times returning an item will not be the best possible course of action. If you do decide to return an item, MR.BEER® will issue a refund for the full purchase price of the item. However, MR.BEER® will not refund any shipping charges associated with the initial order or the return costs.

6. Can I purchase kits and mixes locally?
MR.BEER® products are carried by many fine large and small retailers across the country. To locate the retailer nearest you, please visit the Store Locator section of this website.

7. Our keg is made from food grade PVC that is certified by the FDA as food safe.
There is concern about a chemical called Phthalates that is used to make PVC soft, typically in toys. Our PVC keg is rigid and does not contain Phthalates.

Brewing procedure questions



1. I lost my printed brewing instructions - can I download and print them?
Absolutely. You can find a printable versions of all the MR.BEER® brewing instructions under the "Instructions" tab on each applicable product page.

2. Where is my yeast?
Underneath the plastic lid of every MR.BEER® beer mix you will find 1 packet of dry brewing yeast.

3. How long does it take to brew beer?
It takes just two weeks to brew the standard MR.BEER® recipe, which contains a Beer Mix and Booster™ Pouch. When you begin brewing recipes that contain additional ingredients, more brewing time may be required. Some of the most complex recipes can take up to 6 months before they are ready to enjoy.

4. What do I need to make beer?
Brewing beer is an amazing hobby because there are so many different methods you can use to make your home brew. Whether you are using a 2-gallon fermenter and naturally carbonating in 1-liter bottles or you are using a 10-gallon fermenter and force carbonating 5-gallon kegs, the end result should always be great tasting beer. With MR.BEER® you need only a few things to make some of the most amazing beer you have ever tasted.

1) Brew Keg -- The brew keg is where fermentation occurs, turning sugars into alcohol.

2) Hopped Malt Extract (Beer Mix) -- MR.BEER® Beer Mixes contain all the essential ingredients needed to make beer- malted grain in extract form and hops.

3) Booster™ or Unhopped Malt Extract (UME) -- These ingredients add the additional sugars needed to create the appropriate amount of alcohol. Booster™ simply adds the required sugar, and UME's add the required sugar and additional flavor.

4) One-Step™ Sanitizing Cleanser -- The most important key to making great beer is proper sanitization. OneStep assures a sterile environment every time you brew.

5) Bottles -- In order to carbonate, store and serve your beer you will need bottles. MR.BEER® sells 1-liter PET bottles that are perfect for bottling your beer.

When you purchase a Home Brewing Kit from MR.BEER®, all the essential ingredients you will need to make your first batch of beer will be included along with a brewing guide that contains much more detailed information of the beer making process.

5. Why isn't my Booster™ dissolving very well?
Booster™ is best dissolved in cold water. It will take several minutes of stirring to fully dissolve.

6. What is the "green stuff" in the American series mixes?
These are particles of fresh hop cones added during canning to give each beer its distinctive flavor. They will settle out in the fermentation, and if some happen to get into the bottle at bottling time, they will settle out during bottle carbonation.

7. How do I brew with hops?
When brewing with hops, it's best to place them in a sanitized muslin hop sack to minimize hop particles in your finished beer. Tie off the open end of the sack, and place it in your boiling water just before removing the heat. Proceed as usual, leaving your hop sack in the fermenter for the entire fermentation, unless your recipe directs you otherwise. Just throw it away after bottling your beer -- it's not reusable.

Fermentation questions



1. Is it okay to open the fermenter during fermentation?
No. You can easily introduce a rogue organism that may sour the beer. The best thing to do is trust that your yeast is functioning perfectly. If you want to check on the activity level of the beer, shine a strong flashlight on the outside of the keg to see if fine bubbles are still rising, or if there is yeast foam still floating on the beer.

2. Does the brew keg have an airlock?
The MR.BEER® brew keg does not have a traditional "airlock". However, the Brew Keg has been specially designed to automatically release built up gases and create an airtight seal between the inside of the keg and outside contaminants. This is done through the two notches in the top of the brew keg's neck.

3. Can I use an airlock?
We greatly discourage modifying the brew keg to hold a traditional airlock. Years ago, the brew keg did come with a standard airlock, but we worked hard to develop a method that would no longer use a traditional airlock. Traditional airlocks, or bubblers, have a tendency to bubble over into the brew and contaminate it.

4. The fermentation has stopped after just a few days. Can I bottle it now?
Our yeast normally works quite quickly. But you will want to leave it for a minimum of seven days to ensure complete fermentation and to allow the sedimentation phase to improve the clarity of your bottled beer.

5. It has been seven days and it is still bubbling. Should I bottle it now?
Hold off just a little longer. Sometimes the fermentation takes a little longer than expected. Cooler fermentation temperatures, high fermentable content and older yeast are all common causes of longer fermentation.

6. It has been seven days and my beer is still cloudy. Is it ready to bottle?
When we say "clear," we mean not cloudy like it was when the beer was fermenting. It will never be completely transparent because it is rich in protein. Put a light source at the back of the fermenter and if the beer glows, it is ready to bottle.

7. My beer has been fermenting for several weeks. Is it still good?
Once added to the wort, yeast will stay alive for several months. Your beer is probably fine. Go ahead and pour a little out of the tap into a clean glass and taste it. If it tastes fine, bottle it. If the beer is extremely clear, you may have trouble carbonating your beer. If this is the case, try filling all your bottles to the neck bottom or 3/4 level, then beginning with the last bottle filled, fill each bottle within 2 inches of bottle top working back to your first bottle filled. This will even out the amount of suspended yeast and insure proper carbonation of your bottles.

8. What is the stuff floating at the top of my fermenter?
The floating matter is foam and yeast that has not settled. If you are using fresh hops or the American series mixes with fresh hops, it might be some hop particulate. This is also normal and will settle out during bottle carbonation.

9. What is the stuff floating at the bottom of my fermenter?
It is mostly inactive settled yeast with a protein and tannin sediment called the trub on the bottom (pronounced troob). This is perfectly normal.

10. I brewed yesterday, but forgot to add the yeast. Is it too late to add?
You have nothing to lose by adding the yeast. If your sanitation was impeccable, the beer may turn out fine. Otherwise, the beer may sour, but you will not know until you conduct the fermentation. Add the yeast, then after about a week give the flat beer a taste. If it doesn't taste like vinegar and is not sweet, bottle it!

Carbonation questions



1. How do I know when my beer is carbonated and ready to drink?
If you are using plastic PET bottles, pinch the mid-section of the bottle and when it is rock hard like a soda, the bottle is fully carbonated and ready to drink. If you use glass bottles, you will have to allow them seven days or more at room temperature (between 68-76°F), then try one and see.

2. Can I reuse the MR.BEER® bottles and caps?
With the appropriate care and cleaning you can reuse your bottles and caps many many times. You should always check your bottles for internal scratches that can harbor unwanted bacteria, and always make sure the caps' threads are not stripped or damaged in anyway. As long as you take care of your bottles and keep a close eye on their condition, you should never have any problems reusing them.

*PLEASE NOTE -- The ring that snaps off of the MR.BEER® caps the first time they are used is a tamper proofing ring for commercial use, it will not affect the seal of future batches.

3. What are PET Bottles?
PET bottles are the same plastic bottles used for the commercial bottling of soda. PET is an abbreviation for PolyEthyleneTerephthalate, the type of plastic used to make the bottles.

4. Why is my beer flat?
One possibility is that you accidentally omitted the priming sugar when you bottled. If this happened, go back and add the appropriate amount of sugar (page 20). Or perhaps you refrigerated them too early. If this is the case, try taking them out of the fridge and leaving them at room temperature for a week.

5. A few of my bottles exploded… what happened?
Yikes! Hope you're okay. There are a few reasons this may happen:

1) Adding too much priming sugar can cause this to occur.

2) If you prematurely bottle your beer this can occur. To prevent this from happening next time, make sure your beer is done fermenting before you bottle it. Sometimes old yeast can act slowly. To check the activity level of the yeast, shine a strong flashlight on the outside of the keg. If fine bubbles are still rising, or if there is yeast foam still floating on top, don't bottle it yet.

3) If you fermented and primed your beer according to the directions and the beer has a foul or sour taste it may be infected by a rogue organism such as an acid-forming bacterium. While not harmful to health, soured beers can continue to ferment in bottles long after the yeast stops. This additional fermentation produces more CO2 and ultimately may rupture the bottle. In any case, keep the rest of your beer in a refrigerator until consumption or empty the remaining bottles to prevent any more from exploding.

6. My beer gushes out wildly when I open it… why is that?
First of all, read the answer above this one to see if any of those possible explanations could apply to your beer. If not, the best thing to do is make sure the beer is very cold when you open it. Then pour it very slowly into an icy glass.

7. Can I prime using Booster™?
Booster™ is not entirely fermentable, which is why it gives your beer better body. This means if you use it for priming you will have an inadequate level of carbonation. You should only use white granulated sugar for priming. In the small amounts required, it won't contribute any off flavor to the beer.

8. Are "cold conditioning" and "lagering" the same thing?
For our purposes, yes, they are equivalent terms. "Lager" comes from the German word for cold storage, but to some brewers it means fermentation that takes place at cold temperatures. The standard MR.BEER® recipes ferment at warm (ale) temperatures and may then be stored in a cold environment to meld and mature the flavors.

9. What does conditioning really do for the beer?
Storing the carbonated beer at cold temperatures for several weeks allows some of the undesirable flavors of immature beer to fade away while allowing the sought-after hop and malt flavors to come to the foreground. Try cold conditioning some bottles for several weeks and compare the flavor to when you first bottled.

10. Can I filter my beer?
Beer filtration is a tricky thing for the home brewer, requiring pressurized cylinders and high pressure filter plates. Filtering through coffee filters or cheesecloth will only produce aerated beer and cause spoilage. The easiest way to get the clearest beer is to give the beer ample time to settle in the fermenter and do not disturb the fermenter during bottling.

Off flavor questions



1. Why does my beer tastes bad?
Well, if you were sick, wouldn't you tell the doctor where it hurts? To understand if there's anything wrong with your beer, you've got to be a little more specific than "bad." Common unwanted flavors detected in beer include: cidery, vinegary, fruity, bitter, skunky, musty, molasses, burnt, buttery, stringy, solvent-like, and medicinal (band-aid or plastic-like).

2. Why does my beer taste like cider?
Cidery flavors are due to the excessive use of white granulated sugar, also called cane sugar (sucrose). When yeast ferments sucrose, a green apple flavored compound called acetaldehyde is produced. Acetaldehyde is not particularly hazardous, it just doesn't taste that good in your beer. MR.BEER® recipes should not have this flavor.

3. Why does my beer taste vinegary?
Vinegary beer is caused by one or more acid-forming bacteria that live in dirty fermenters, dirty bottles, can openers, peoples' homes, and kitchen sinks. The critters produce acetic acid and lactic acid - both are harmless but are not usually appreciated in beer. To avoid this problem, wash all brewing supplies (fermenter, tap assembly, mixing spoon, bottles, funnel, etc.) with warm water and a mild detergent and rinse well. Then sanitize in a solution of OneStep™ before any brewing activity. Avoid opening the fermenter during brewing.

4. Why does my beer taste fruity?
Fruitiness is common in ales, and is typically not found in lagers. When we say fruitiness, we are usually talking about low levels of fruit flavor, not the big fruit flavor you get when making a fruit beer. Moderate amounts of flavors such as apple, apricot, pear, strawberry, pineapple, and banana are desired in ales, but may be disliked by regular lager drinkers. To avoid fruitiness, ferment your beer around 72°F, no warmer. Also, allow the beers to lager in your refrigerator for several weeks after carbonation is completed.

5. Why does my beer taste bitter?
Grapefruit rind, unsweetened chocolate, and overly strong tea are three bitter things. Hops are bitter, too. They provide an essential bitterness to balance the sweetness of malt. Bitterness is different from sourness. For some drinkers, even a little extra bitterness is offensive, while for others (we call 'em "hopheads"), there's no such thing as too many hops. Besides bitterness, hops also contribute to flavor and aroma. Our MR.BEER® mixes with the least bitterness are Bewitched Red Ale, Whispering Wheat Weizenbier, and Octoberfest's Vienna Lager. Of these, the two with the lowest hop flavor are the Bewitched Red Ale and the Whispering Wheat Weizenbier. Our more bitter products include West Coast Pale, Englishman's Nut Brown Ale, Cowboy Lager, Linebacker Bock, and St. Patrick's Irish Stout. The Englishman's Nut Brown Ale and the St. Patrick's Irish Stout also have a kind of bitter/dry flavor due to the presence of roasted barley malt.