so from what i've learned from y'all so far, i should taste my first brew after 10 days or so to see if it's ready to bottle. as of yet i have no means to measure the specific gravity (?) of my brew. mr. beer is telling me 2 to 3 weeks, no more than 4. i have no clue what type of yeast the kit contains. i've been reading a lot on brewing and i will have to get more measuring equipment. my kit comes on thursday, i hope, i'm trying to get a solid idea of procedure before i start.
With Mr. Beer batches, just don't worry about a hydrometer yet. Be fastidious about sanitation, follow the basic directions for brew day, pitch the yeast, screw the lid on, put in a place where temp will stay as close to 65 as possible, ignore it for at least 2 weeks. Don't plan on cold-crashing and bottling until day 21. Yes, it'll probably be done fermenting before then but those extract beers need all the time they can get in order to get rid of esters and acetaldehyde.
The yeast they provide for most kits is essentially Coopers Ale yeast. It's okay, but there are a lot better options available for your future brews.
Eventually you'll get it all figured out, but for now just keep it simple, keep it clean, don't take samples and give it plenty of time. If you do get curious and have a little taste after a couple of weeks, clean the spigot with sanitizer or vodka in a squirt bottle. At some point when you do want to take samples, get a glass, not plastic, cylinder and hydrometer and sanitize the crap out of them before you take a sample and you can gently pour the sample back into the fermenter.
You'll outgrow the little brown barrel soon enough but in the meantime, It'll give you some good beers if you stay within the limitations. I think I have some extract batches in my recipes that are formulated for Mr Beer equipment. I'll look through at some point and make sure they're searchable.