Mr Beer Bewitched Starter Kit
- Everything you need to start brewing your own beer except the desire to do so
- Enough to brew 2 gallons of amber ale, though we recommend serving it in pints rather than gallons
- Includes fermenting keg with tab, 11 “bomber” bottles (25 oz), carbonation drops, brewing yeast, and 2.8 lbs. of malt extract
- Once you have the kit you can order refills online for about $13 – that’s a good deal for 2 gallons of brew
- Model: 40-20943-00 (superfluous double-zero at the end makes the two hyphens that much worse)
Why American Beer Sucked
We’re sold different versions of this DIY beer kit before to user reviews as rave as "Mr Beer makes some very drinkable beer” and “if you want to craft your own beer this is the cheapest deaL on the planet BUY.”
Savvy shoppers planning to visit the Planet BUY today might noticed that we’ve priced this kit a few dollars higher than previous ones. What gives?
Turns out this kit has more malt extract than the previous (2.8 pounds vs. 1.8 pounds) and that makes it more expensive. But more malt means more flavor (and usually higher alcohol 
) which generally means better beer.
(Aside: That emoji above was a happy accident resulting from the combination of “%” and “)”, but it worked so well for the context we decided to keep it.)
In fact, traditional American lagers like Budweiser and Miller taste “lighter” because they’re made with less extract. They’re also brewed with cheaper extracts — like corn and rice.
Americans in the early 20th century preferred beers they could drink at lunch without getting hammered. According to this Atlantic article on the topic:
American miners and factory workers had weaker union protections than European workers, who had a bit more leeway when it came to showing up at work tipsy.
This created a no-brainer decision for American breweries: They could either pay more money to make more flavorful beer (that nobody wanted) or pay less money for less flavorful beer (that sold better).
You can see history recapitulating itself with modern products like “Izze esque,” a lower-calorie version of the popular carbonated juice brand. Of course, they reduce the calories by reducing the amount of juice and increasing the water. So they’re selling a product with half the stuff for the same price and calling it a healthy decision. Pretty brilliant, frankly.
So if you’re planning to drink the fruits of your home brewing during lunch breaks, consider a cheaper, lighter option. But if you want something with a lot of flavor that you can show off to your beer-loving friends, check this kit out.
