Find a Local Home Brew Store (LHBS). They will be able to help you and get you additional supplies and ingredients as you progress.

1) Don't use Booster. Use another can of plain light unhopped malt extract (UME)instead. This can either be dry malt extract (DME) or liquid malt extract (LME). In either case, it will be better than using Booster or Sugar. Either your LHBS or the Mr. Beer web site can supply it for you.

2) If you can get some better yeast, your beer will turn out much better. I highly suggest using name brand yeast, such as Fermentis Safe-Ale, Danstar Nottingham/Windsor, Munton's, etc.

3) Rehydrate your dry yeast in a cup of pre-boiled then cooled under 80 degree (F) water before you pitch it. This will allow the cell walls to become permeable, and more of the cells will be viable. They will grow more and do a better job of fermenting your beer.

4) Cool the wort down to 70F before pitching the yeast, and aerate it very well. Lack of oxygen will inhibit yeast growth, and you will get a bland beer with off flavors as a result.

5) The Mr. Beer directions say to dump the boiling wort into the keg, which contains about a gallon of cold tap water. If you are on well water, this may be asking for an infection. If you are on city water, the chlorine in the water will form chlorophenols, which may be low to moderate in level but will be noticeable as a Band-Aid or plasticy flavor/aroma in the finished beer. You would be better off if you use pre-boiled well or tap water. Boiling will sterilize the water and drive off any chlorine. If your city uses chloramine, even boiling will not remove it. You would need to use a 1/4 of a campden tablet (1 tablet can treat 10 gallons of water) to remove the chloramine, or go with bottled water.
It is better to put the boil pot in an ice bath to cool it down, though.

6) Do your best to control the fermentation temperature. The good yeast’s named above thrive in temperatures of about 65-70F. Going hotter than that will cause harsh fusel alcohol’s to form and they will make your beer taste alcoholica and "hot".

7) Give the beer a full 2 weeks in the fermenter. Even though the directions say 1 week is enough, that is really not true. The foam (called krausen) will fall, but the yeast will continue to consume their by-products in the following days. This is the time that the yeast essentially cleans up after itself. Without this time, you will end up with "green" beer that has several off flavors. Patience here is key. To help fight the urge, plan or even brew another batch.

8) Give the beer at least 2 weeks in the bottles. Keep them at or slightly above 70F so that the yeast will reactivate and produce the carbonation.

9) Always, always, always pay close attention to your sanitation practices. One-Step is a good no-rinse sanitizer. Star-San is better. Bleach works, but then you need to rinse. What is the point of sanitizing only to put non-sanitized water back on the equipment?

10) In later batches, you can try steeping 1/2 # of crystal malt and adding additional hops into the beers. This is an easy way to add more complexity and flavor into the finished product.

After sanitizing all equipment, fill the Mr. Beer fermenter with cold water up to the 4 quart mark on the back.
Heat 4½ quarts of water to 160 degrees F. Carefully crack/crush the grain with a rolling pin. Place the Malt Barley in one of the steeping bags, tie it closed and place it in the hot water. Poke it around every 5 minutes while it steeps for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the grain.

11) Read! Knowledge is power. Pick up a brewing book for your brewer's library that will take you to the next level.

12) Enter a homebrew into a competition - or several! Get objective feedback on your brew, and possibly become an award-winning homebrewer.

Very nice job putting this together Banjoman. The only thing that I would add is that Wheat Beers are ready to bottle after a very short time. The 2 weeks to ferment is for most beers, but not the wheat beers, I would bottle or keg after 1 week. That is a basic wheat beer recipe with no additions to the keg. Anybody disagree?

Nice Job Banjo...I vote this be made a sticky for all the new brewers to come.

Great post!!! Probably covers about 98% of the questions/problems people have starting out.

Really great post, Banjoman.

I hope you don't feel I am throwing water on your fire with my two cents.

I chose to start brewing with Mr. Beer. It wasn't a gift out of the blue. I had seen a friend do a partial mash brew and that was way more than I wanted to start with. I guess the thing is, I wanted to see if I could really make beer. And it is interesting, at first friends and acquaintances grimace and ask if that is even legal. And as you find you really can make beer they begin to ask if you have another batch ready.

For my first batch I did what a lot of people do which is decide I and going to "kick it up a notch". I had numerous ingredients and went with Bewitched Red Ale/Mellow Amber/Booster/Brown Sugar. But having received a second keg I brewed up a standard batch of Octoberfest Vienna Lager w/booster and having that turn out well really convinced me to keep brewing. That convinced me I could make beer. It was lacking a real flavor kick but it was fine to have with a sandwich.

Now maybe I am just haggling terminology, but to me that OVL brew was a "decent" brew. To me the methods you describe should be producing good to great beers and it seems your post should be more "So you have made a decent beer, here's how to kick it up a notch". Well, sorta. It has both "kick it up" suggestions as well as some basic stuff.

JMO

I know that a lot of people dislike Booster, but I don't think it needs to be discarded out of hand. I wouldn't buy it separately, but if I buy a standard refill and it's there, it gets used. I also use additional malt extract (or do a partial mash), so the Booster isn't a big part of the fermentable sugar content. I think the reason Booster is seen as "bad" is that it is often used with only 1 HME and the Booster. That doesn't make a good beer, but 1 HME, 1-2 LBS of DME or LME, a hop boil and Booster makes a good beer.

Thank you for your comments everyone. I wasn't trying to get ostentatious with this post but after KNeace commented that we were talking outside the understanding of our new members (on another thread) that I decided put in a post that would sum up what most basic Mr Beer brewers need to "kick it up a notch" and enjoy this obsession.

Would the Admin consider a "Sticky" as I hope this covers most of the basics, to help the newer brewer make their experience more enjoyable, and in the (hopeful) progression to advanced phases of brewing.

I don't think it was ostentatious at all. I think it was an excellent post and I wish I had that information before my first two batches.

You Sir can sticky it yourself ! But I'll do it for you ! Great Post !!!!!!!

Great post Banjo!