Hello,
I am wondering if anybody knows where I can by Mr Beer refills for a cheaper price than on the mrbeer.com website? I am on my 4th batch and decided I like beer produced by the deluxe refill packs much better than the standard packs.

I searched the forum and saw you can buy Mr Beer at the following stores/websites:

-Bed Bath and Beyond - only seasonal though and don't know the price
-Target - They had standard packs, but they are priced more than mrbeer.com at 15.00-16.99.
-Wal-mart - same as Target, but priced 14.99
-homebrewsource - This seems to be out of business as the links go to webdirectbrands.com and there is no mention of homebrewsource anymore.
-Amazon - Good prices and 4 for 3 deal, but only standard packs.
-mrbeer.com - prices are not terrible, but they overcharge for shipping.

My order on mrbeer.com was for 3 deluxe refill packs and they wanted $15 dollars for shipping UPS ground. I know if put the order in the Brew Club I can get 5 dollar shipping, but then you can't apply coupon codes to the order. Currently I have a coupon for 3 dollars off deluxe refills. So if I just place the order I save 9 bucks, but pay $15 in shipping or use the Brew club and pay more for the refills but save on shipping. If you do the math the price comes out to be very similar.

I am almost tempted to bite the bullet and buy over $99 dollars worth of refills to get free shipping.

Any ideas on how to get the deluxe refills or buy the UME from a different source? Any info would be greatly appreciated. If I can find the UME from a different source then doing the amazon 4 for 3 with free shipping sounds like the way to go.

Since I am on a roll, here is another question. How long do the refill packs last? The labels of the refill packs on amazon.com are different than the ones from mrbeer.com. Are these older refill packs and maybe have a limited lifespan?

Thanks for all the help. I don't post a lot, but this forum is full of great info!!!!

I buy the Coopers cans from Austin Homebrew supply:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_45_198
I can get two or three batches out of one can by adding
dry malt extract. It's bittered for 6 gallons so you can
third it up and brew it as intended or for a bigger stronger
beer, just brew up 2.5 or 3 lbs straight up. You can also
steep grains with it and more.

MrB kits are pricey to begin with...even before adding in the high cost of shipping heavy cans of extract. HatchetJack is doing what many end up doing - buying their extracts from other suppliers at much lower cost and getting better quality to boot.

If you're buying from MrB...the lowest cost option is the $99 minimum.

BlazingBeer, you do not mention your location but if you have a LHBS that might be the way to go. No shipping charges and here in Michigan no sales tax as beer ingredients are considered food. My LHBS even carries Mr. Beer Refills but at full retail or a little more. So basically I'm in agreement with Herb and Hatchet.

One other option is to wait for a Mr. Beer sale or even when you don't order for a few months they will e-mail you with a 20 or 25% off offer.

If you're set on using Mr. Beer products, try using Amazon and their four for three deal...they do have some deluxe refills (two cans of HME),and the international series and american series three packs (which can be used to make some great recipes).

Alternatively, you can save significantly on shipping by joining the brew club...there are no drawbacks to it, really...as long as you order more than $30, you get $5 shipping. And if you pause your order right after you make it, you won't have to worry about any automatic shipments. And on the second order, you get a free brerwtensils package, which is actually pretty useful.

I'm in Mr. Beer's Brew Club. It's free, no obligation, etc. You pay $5 shipping on orders over $30. So i just wait til they have a sale then stock up. Works for me.
Amazon has a lot of Mr. Beer refills also.

As many have said if you want Mr. Beer refills your best option is the brew club. I have pretty much out grown Mr. Beer refills, however, I ALWAYS take advantage of BBB's after Christmas markdowns
combined with BBB coupons you get refills for a fraction of the regular cost.

+1 to that. I got 2 sets (6 refills) for under $30, and that's without any coupons.

I haven't been making them as is, but using them as the base for other recipes (adding UME's, grains, etc, etc). One certainly could use them as is, for some cheap, perfectly viable beer. It's a good deal however you slice it.

Thanks all for the advice. I think I will start looking at the cooopers. I will have to look around for some recipes as I have been using the recipes off mrbeer.com with some favorable results. I will keep my eyes out for sales as well.

Thanks Again

+100
I have been using said refills with the booster in PG recipes
with outstanding results.