Any advice on brewing kits?

I've been interested in brewing up some beer for a while, and have now seriously started to research my options.

Can any other recent novices share their experiences with brewing kits? I see AHS getting a lot of mentions in this forum, any others that people can recommend? I don't want a "just add water" kind of solution, I want some involvement, but I am a total novice so if anyone can recommend a starting point - I'd be really grateful!

All the big brewing outlets have good extract kits - those are a great way to start. Some people never go any further than that and are very happy with the results.

Midwest, Northern, Morebeer and AHS have nice kits, but AHS probably has the widest variety including a huge variety of clones. You need some basic brewing equipment to work with these kits, so make sure you look into that as well.

I purchased the Cooper Microbrew kit and just bottled my first batch (a Bavarian Lager). It seemed pretty easy to use and they sent you everything you need. I will know better in a few weeks.

My favorite kit so far has been Brewers Best. It takes you through a lot of different steps, like steeping grains and such. Yesterday I started without a kit and followed a recipe, and I found it an easy transition. On the other hand, Brewers Best is the only kit I have tried.
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ive done the home brew thing since this past spring and ive done a few kits from Midwest Supplies, they are good for getting your feet wet with alot of involvement. grain steeping, extract/hop boil, the whole works. good starting point i would say.

I think the kits all are too highly priced. Post the type of beer you are after or even the kit you are thinking of getting and we can help you make a recipe that will be better, have a higher ABV (the problem with most kits IMO) and cheaper.

Thanks for everyone's input.

I think part of my thinking in getting a kit was to be sure I have everything I needed - I was also thinking of getting an equipment kit, but I've since learned that my brother-in-law used to make beer and has some stuff - I'll check what he has and get the rest from our local home brew store (beercrafters in turnersville, nj). I was going to start with a few kits, but I'm definitely interested in trying my hand at some variations down the line, once I've worked out how the process works...

Kayos said:

I think the kits all are too highly priced. Post the type of beer you are after or even the kit you are thinking of getting and we can help you make a recipe that will be better, have a higher ABV (the problem with most kits IMO) and cheaper.

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@Kayos - probably want do an IPA to start with. Are certain beers easier to make than others? I saw wheat beer mentioned in another thread - but I think that was because it is ready quicker - not a decisive factor for me, I can be patient!

I have used all AHS kits with no problems.

cd2448 said:

@Kayos - probably want do an IPA to start with. Are certain beers easier to make than others? I saw wheat beer mentioned in another thread - but I think that was because it is ready quicker - not a decisive factor for me, I can be patient!

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Naw...I wouldn't say some are "easier", just be sure your equipment includes a grain bag. Hefe's are easy and turn out really well, never mind that they are quicker to drink (true also). IPA's will turn out well also, but the lighter beers are a little easier to detect off-flavors that the darker ones. Just do as the people around here suggest and you'll be fine. Maybe a kit for your first time, then try one that has been established here on HBT.

Have Fun!!!

Kayos said:

I think the kits all are too highly priced. Post the type of beer you are after or even the kit you are thinking of getting and we can help you make a recipe that will be better, have a higher ABV (the problem with most kits IMO) and cheaper.

Click to expand...

From what I've seen, kits, without exception, are considerably cheaper than buying ingredients individually. Unless you plan to buy in bulk, kits are the least expensive option and they even measure the ingredients for you.

I've found extract kits to be about the same price as the exact ingredients used in that kit. When it's an all grain kit, it's a few dollars more than the sum of the ingredients.

Since you're in NJ, you ought to check out my teach a friend to brew day get together, only I'm hosting it on Nov 10, a week later. I'm in Piscataway, let me know if you want to come.

cd2448 said:

I've been interested in brewing up some beer for a while, and have now seriously started to research my options.

Can any other recent novices share their experiences with brewing kits? I see AHS getting a lot of mentions in this forum, any others that people can recommend? I don't want a "just add water" kind of solution, I want some involvement, but I am a total novice so if anyone can recommend a starting point - I'd be really grateful!

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My first (and only beer thus far) was a german hefe from morebeer.com. Its an all DME kit. It was pretty simple. Boil wort with hops, and ferment. Nothing fancy really.

I have learned a lot from it (and reading as much as i possibly can) that next time I brew i'm going to make sure to do a late malt addition, that way the beer will come out lighter in color. I followed the instructions to a T and the beer seems a bit dark. Also, my apt can be a little warmer so I am getting a lot of banana esters which hopefully wont ruin the overall beer. I think before I brew up my next batch I am going to invest some time and money in building a fermentation chiller so that i can hit the sweet spot temp wise.

cd2448 said:

Thanks for everyone's input.

I think part of my thinking in getting a kit was to be sure I have everything I needed - I was also thinking of getting an equipment kit, but I've since learned that my brother-in-law used to make beer and has some stuff - I'll check what he has and get the rest from our local home brew store (beercrafters in turnersville, nj). I was going to start with a few kits, but I'm definitely interested in trying my hand at some variations down the line, once I've worked out how the process works...

Click to expand...

I'm still a novice (my wife bought me some equipment a few years ago that I just started using) but I've had good luck so far with the brewers best kits. I've started doing small modifications to those kits and started playing with fermenting meads but the brewers best kits have everything you need and decent instructions.