Survey: What's the best kit?

Since kits may be all that's available once I start sailing I want to get familiar with them and learn to doctor them of course. So I'd like to try one just to see how it turns out before I mess with them.

From your experience what's the best kit out there? If I knew how to post a survey I would. To reflect the differing tastes in beer I think there should be 3 categories:

Best light kit (lager/mexican/pilsner)


Best medium kit (most ales, ambers, reds)


Best dark kit (everything dark)


Based on opinions I'll buy my first kit to try. Then I'll start messing with them mightily.

BrewOnBoard

William's Brewing India Pale Ale. Put it in your medium kit category. It's one you won't have to tinker with, and that's one of the blessings; easy as she goes. Think of us sea-loving land-locked work-a-day schlubs when you drink it.

Jim

My fav so far is the Belgian White from Austin Homebrew, which I added some chamomile to for added complexity. Their generic Koelsch is also very good, but a bit finicky as far as temperature control is concerned. Both are fairly light and refreshing beers.

My sample size for darker beers is pretty small still. I am thinking of making a Belgian Dark Strong akin to Chimay Blue soon. I haven't been too happy with the Amber Ale kits I have tried, and I don't like porters/stouts.
Austin Homebrew will always be my first stop when looking for beer kits. If they don't have what I want, I start looking at Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies and the local shop.

P.S.: I almost always mini-mash, so your mileage may vary with extract/steeping grain kits.

If you're talking about just starting out, then I think the best kit is of a style of beer you like. I started with an Irish Red, and am enjoying it immensely.

One of my first kits was the Irish Red Ale from midwestsupplies.com. Every time I brew SWMBO asks me when i'm gonna do the Red again...

I remember being pretty happy with MoreBeer's Irish Red Ale when i was brewing kits.

of course, i always say why not just start with a simple recipe instead of a kit? it helps to learn brewing when you know exactly what's going into it

If you go to the Austin Homebrew site (and register (it's free)), they have user ratings of all their kits. I think the highest rated is their Belgian white. If you like that style, you can't go wrong with that. It's easy to make.

I've made 4 batches, but the only one I've consumed thus far is their Blue Moon clone, which is excellent also.

i tried Cooper's Mexican cerveza and it was fine. Still have some bottles that are a couple months old, and they're getting better when they age (I "lager" them in my basement)

My first beer, and my only kit, was the Brewer's Best Altbier kit. It was deeeelicious.

B3 Irish Red is probably my most favorite kit yet. The hops are right up front but it finishes creamy and malty. It came out quite dark for a red but it doesn't taste roasted.

I hear great things about NW Red Ale kit. Supposedly its their most popular kit and when I order from them I will get it for sure.

I have a MW Raspberry Red Ale cooking up right now and its identical to MW Red Ale just with an addition of Raspberry extract. Hopefully it will be as good as DrugCoder's

I got the Irish Red from Midwest when I got my equipment kit. I agree with posts that a good starter kit should be a style of beer that you enjoy drinking. The choices were Irish Red, Porter, or Amber. I went with Red even though I never order that kind of beer.

It's good, although the temp spiked during fermentation and I can't shake that there's some off flavors and aromas. But really my taste buds aren't acclimated to this style of beer so I can't tell if it's that I don't like the style or there's something wrong with it. I've had many of them now and they're beer and worth drinking, and others agree. But I'd prefer to have 2 cases of something else.

I've also purchased and brewed the Hop Head Double IPA with White Labs 001 from midwest. Just bottled it on Sunday and couldn't wait the full two weeks to try one so I popped one on Wednesday. It was great. SOOOO excited to have 5 gallons of it. I would definitely recommend it as a nice hoppy, but quite balanced kit.

never made a kit, likely never will.

the recipe database is so good here, i see no point in it personally.

and honestly, the kits i see are kinda smallish beers compared to the recipe, then they cost ~$40-$45!!
you can do better than that, and not have to add an "alcohol booster" to make up for grain shortcomings.

just checked beersmith. i spent $33.56 for my last IPA. and yes, i corrected every price for the ingedients. only thing not in there was shipping, that was 7 bucks from morebeer, but i bought more than just the grains/hops used in this recipe.
so, well under 40 bucks, 77 IBU. 6.53% ABV. i have not seen an IPA kit, AG or extract priced like that.
YMMV

my favorite kit is Honey brown from The Home Brewery

The Home Brewery Beer Brewing Kits - Classic Ale

I also recommend looking up certain recipes on this site, and buying the parts for it. There are some very good recipes here if you look for them.

nosmatt said:

never made a kit, likely never will.

the recipe database is so good here, i see no point in it personally.

and honestly, the kits i see are kinda smallish beers compared to the recipe, then they cost ~$40-$45!!
you can do better than that, and not have to add an "alcohol booster" to make up for grain shortcomings.

just checked beersmith. i spent $33.56 for my last IPA. and yes, i corrected every price for the ingedients. only thing not in there was shipping, that was 7 bucks from morebeer, but i bought more than just the grains/hops used in this recipe.
so, well under 40 bucks, 77 IBU. 6.53% ABV. i have not seen an IPA kit, AG or extract priced like that.
YMMV

Click to expand...

Actually when I originally posted I intended to ask about canned kits such as muntons and coopers. Pre-hopped, just add water kinds of kits. I didn't realize that the pre-measured recipes were called kits. All the same I'm enjoying the discussion of easy and tasty recipe kits.

The reason I asked about kits specifically is that with their longer shelf life I will likely be relying on them at some point as my only source of hom-brewed beer. To that end I want to get familiar with them, otherwise I'd never touch them and continue to play with fresh yummy ingredients.

BrewOnBoard

nosmatt - WHY did you even post on this thread. What was the purpose?? you have 191 posts and feel the need to cut other members down?

There are MANY reason for buying kits and not all of them revolve around money. Plus - you don't kow what you are talking about. If you NEVER would buy a kit how can you say they are bad ??

and honestly, the kits i see are kinda smallish beers compared to the recipe, then they cost ~$40-$45!! you can do better than that, and not have to add an "alcohol booster" to make up for grain shortcomings.

Click to expand...

That's just bad information on your part.

Austin Homebrew's Chocolate Raspberry Stout is my all time favorite kit I have sampled. Wow oh wow, that stuff it DA BOMB! :rockin: It's on my Xmas wishlist.. hopefully SWMBO is feeling nice.

Grinder12000 said:

nosmatt - WHY did you even post on this thread. What was the purpose?? you have 191 posts and feel the need to cut other members down?

There are MANY reason for buying kits and not all of them revolve around money. Plus - you don't kow what you are talking about. If you NEVER would buy a kit how can you say they are bad ??



That's just bad information on your part.

Click to expand...

same purpose as you i guess, mine had something to do with the topic. your's was just a policing post.


who cut anyone? if it comes off like that, it is unintentional. i try to make it obvious when im flaming someone, and never have done that here, and have no desire to. this place rocks.
buy your kit. be happy.