Bad HMEs?

[blaxbear]

Great answer! Thanks, Rick! I had no idea the spigot might break.

[DaYooper]

That is also one of the reasons it is a good idea to put the LBK in a pan or cooler just in case something happens. I heard of the failures before so always inspected prior and when the one failed there was no indication. It was fine up until 20 days (1 day short of planned bottling day of course). Saw a small puddle and said "oh poop" and by the time I got another one sanitized it started running out fairly quickly. I only bought the seasonal and purchased the rest at my LHBS to make the El Diablo but they replaced everything. Customer service has been second to none, spigot engineering not so much.

[docpd]

I have never done the cerveza, but I am not much of a Corona fan.
The seasonal White IPA is not an IPA straight but it is a pretty good Belgian Witbier. To really make it as a White IPA you will need to add both flavoring hops and do a dry hop. I liked it as is once I decided it was not an IPA.

[lindseywinstead]

To echo much of what has been addressed above:

My second Mr. Beer brew, many moons ago, was the Mexican Cerveza. Consumed young, it has a sweet, caramel flavor that reminds me (somewhat) of a Dos Equis Special more than a Corona. I like it. Several of my loved ones enjoy it. It is a fast brew, and I try to keep it on hand at all times to appease those who enjoy it. The flavour profile does change significantly as it ages. This is one I would recommend keeping a journal/log on, to monitor those changes. It may eventually reach a point in which you enjoy the brew. When brewing an HME, I try not to raise my expectations unrealistically. I liken it to baking cakes. The Mr. Beer kits (and their competitors) are like the Betty Crocker boxed mixes. You add a little water, stir, and you get a drinkable beer. Or you can bake a cake from scratch. More effort, more ingredients, more trouble, and more reward. I enjoy both, but it is comparing apples to oranges, IMHO.

I must agree with concerns over the White IPA Seasonal. In a blind taste test, I would love the beer. It is a very flavourful, spicy, Belgian Wit. A white ipa? Not so much! And that is the spark of the uproar with this beer: they do not deliver what they promised.

[asnider]

I'll echo other thoughts about the cerveza. It's a mediocre brew on its own, but if you had some DME and maybe some additional hops, it can be made into something quite good.

I'm personally fond of Mr. Beer's Fresco Chile Lime recipe, which uses the Cerveza as a base. It actually uses booster instead of DME (I used dextrose and some maltodextrine in place of the booster, since that's basically the same thing), but turns out quite well despite the relatively low malt content.

I found that it had a nice jalapeno flavour but wasn't particularly spicy. It made a decent summer beer. YMMV.