AG Kits from AHS

Hey all,

So the only time I ever bought and used a kit was when I made my first extract batch a while ago, after, I went right away into making my own recipes. Now that I have decided to go AG, I was tinkering with a few recipes of my own. However, I notice a lot of people are using AG kits from AHS their first couple times. I tend to get right into things and formulate my own recipes, as I was never big on making beers that already exist ingredient for ingredient. In this case though, does anyone have any opinions on whether or not do a kit first??

Although I do make my own recipes, I have used AHS's all-grain kits with great success. The price is right compared to small grain purchases. I need to go bulk!

Also, I have found that I learned a bunch from brewing the kits and entering the recipes into BeerSmith. Known target "clone" recipes are close to the originals, but not exact. And for me, the data from Beersmith helps me understand what flavors the grains and the substituted hops (due to the shortage) impart to the brew, too!

Eric

I ordered the ingredients for my first AG from AHS, but it was from a recipe I found on the forum (Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde, to be precise). So, I ordered everything a la carte. Worked out great. Be sure to select each grain on the order page as the same specialty recipe, if you want them all bagged together... I found it handy, anyways.

+1 to jpsloan's comment. I order custom recipes from them all the time. All of their recipes that i have ordered have also been great. I can heartily recommend the Bells Two Hearts IPA specifically.

My LHBS is about 10 miles away and AHS ships for 6.99, so with the price of gas these days...

what's the difference of using one of their "kits" from using a recipe found in a book or online?
Being a new brewer I'm sure you could make a recipe up and could make a good beer from it or it could go the other way.
Brewing from these "kits" will help get all the "steps" down and perfect your system. And as stated already, it's handy that AHS tells you what and how much is in the kit. Inputting this info into something like Beersmith and then playing around with it will help you some to understand what is doing what.

All of Ahs kits are proven to make you a good beer, you never know what you will get online for a recipe. If your not absolutely sure about what ingredients do what (like me) your better off with a kit for your first few brews. I have made a few beers from members recipes on this site- BierMuncher, Ed Wort, And Ohio Brewtus, and everyone has turned out great! Don't feel bad if i've left your name off, it's early in the year.

If you buy a AHB kit for a beer you know & it turns out right, then you'll know your system is working properly. Think of it as calibration. On the other hand, I really enjoy making beers I've never had using their kits.

david_42 said:

If you buy a AHB kit for a beer you know & it turns out right, then you'll know your system is working properly. Think of it as calibration. On the other hand, I really enjoy making beers I've never had using their kits.

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+1

You can't go wrong with an Austin Homebrew All Grain kit. It will help you build your skills while at the same time making great beer. All of their recipes kick butt and come highly recommended. Like David says, once you are dialed in with your system, it is fun to experiment by making different beers.

I did AHS kits almost exclusively from extract to PM and up until I got to about my 10th AG batch, then I started tweaking things and creating my own recipes. Even then I used their custom recipe option for my own recipes for quite a while before I went to bulk and got a mill.

Their recipes are all solid. Get your process down first, then start creating your own stuff.

I did a kit from AHS for my first AG batch...the way I saw it, it took a few variables out of the equation and let me focus my narrow attention span on the process.

The point of the kits are for you to expand on. You need to learn to walk before you run. A lot of recipes online are whack (no offense). They are not to style, or they are posted before the beer has ever been made or before it has even been aged.

Think about it as cooking. In a recipe you might see 1 cup of sugar but you wouldn't see a cup of salt. You know from experience that a cup of salt would be bad in just about anything. You need to be familiar with styles and how much of an ingredient to use.

I had a customer that didn't want to buy a kit for his first all grain. He wanted to create his own recipe even though he had only made one batch before. He would not listen to me, so I let him use Rauch malt (German Smoked Malt) as a base grain. I wouldn't use more than 1 pound in a recipe and he used 10 pounds. I guess you learn from your mistakes.

What I would suggest is pick a style and master it. Then move on to another so that you have your own recipes per style. Take a kit and make it then say "I would like it better if....." Then make it your own recipe.

Forrest

Well said Forrest. By the way, New brewers AHS kits are top notch you will not be disappointed with them.

After my 3 year hiatus from brewing (due to new kids), my first recipe was an AHS kit. The kits wouldn't be kits anymore if they sucked. There's too much of an internet presence currently to allow global homebrew shops to put together substandard kits.

I have only done one of the AHS kits and it was by far the best kit I have seen. Very well put to gether. I would buy more of them and will.

And don't forget customer service... AHS is second to none. AHS (Forrest) is on here often, and is very helpful.

I am pretty new to AG brewing and use Austin Homebrew kits. I have done a few and they make great beer. Its a good way to start out and get the kinks worked out of your system or method before doing your own recipes or someone elses on the internet. I have ordered 3 or 4 kits from AHS and they are all good beer. Now I am confident I can try something else and know that it will turn out good or at least drinkable.

Awesome guys, thanks for all the help! I must say thanks especially to Forrest, I love seeing businesses that still have customer service/ appreciation. I think im sold on buying an AHS kit. I have been brewing extract for about a half of a year now, I have been pretty gung ho about it as I have done 13 batches so far. To say this hobby is an addiction is an understatemet. However, I really am not satisfied with my education and advancement, I feel like I am running on a treadmill in a marathon. Thus, I went out and bought Palmers "How to Brew," and have bought all I needed to go AG. Im almost in a point where I want to "relearn" brewing to refine my beers. Obviously there is no end to this hobby, but hopefully I can keep moving forward!

Thanks again to all, and to AHS for remembering that keeping your customers happy is still #1 priority. :rockin: