AHBS Kits?

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lpdean

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Just wondered if anyone here has tried some of their ingredient kits and had any feedback on them. I just ordered a honey brown ale kit off of them and was eyeing up some of their clone kits. I can't get over how many they have to choose from.

Any suggestions on which one to choose?
 
IMHO they are great kits.. A little more expensive, but if you get dry yeast, it isnt that bad.

Either there or Northern Brewer kits are good too.
 
I have had 3 of their kits so far, and they have been great. Easy to follow instructions. Fresh quality ingredents. I have no complaints. I actually just finished my keg of Rogue Dead Guy clone. All of my friends that tried it liked it better then the original, it was also clearer :D
 
All good when I was using their kits! Hefe, dry stout, pale ale, and some others, all ended up in the very drinkable to very good range. The hefe I really enjoyed. I used the liquid yeast option on that one without a starter (horror!) and it was great.
 
I just bottled my first batch last weekend and it was the AHS Belgian Wit kit. I had one the other night and ordered a Blue Moon just a few minutes later at dinner. They taste very similar, my flavors are a bit more pronounced. I was impressed with the packaging too. Plus, Austin is only an hour away so I get fast shipping.

I'll probably get a few more of their kits. I'd rather make great beer from a proven recipe to start with than try to do my own recipes and hope it turns out. I'll move on to my own recipes eventually but those kits take the guess work out of it.

I do believe I will 'sample' more of my batch this evening......
 
Yeah. I did their Blue Moon Clone and it turned out great! I also have done their Kolsch, Nut Brown Ale and West Coast Red Ale.
 
Their kits are great. My next brew is a honey brown ale from AHBS too!
 
Their Blonde Ale is probably the best batch of beer I have made. I have also done the west coast red and Moose Drool Clone, both are very good. They put your specialty grains in the bag for you unlike morebeer, but, they do not provide whirlfloc so order that extra if you like it.
 
Just finished their Newcastle extract kit and it stinks. Don't get that one.

Honey Wheat and Texas Blonde have both been good. Irish Red is awesome. Go with that one.
 
Thier Two Hearted Clone is a good one too. A little darker in appearance but spot on for flavor. I think the color difference is probably attributed to doing a partial boil. Also I tried their dry stout kit and it was pretty tasty too.
 
I did their Avery IPA clone. Not a terribly close clone, but it is a damned fine brew. I'm almost out of it (last six bottles) and I'm already missing it.
 
I'm a fairly new brewer and I purchased a "Blue Moon" and "Fat Tire" clone kit from them. Unfortunately, I ordered them with liquid yeast in the height of a 90-100 deg F heat wave. I didn't make a starter and both of my kits fermented with a wild yeast strain, not the liquid yeast (it must have died in transit) and I had to dump both batches!

I love their selection, ease of ordering and freight policy but I will never order liquid yeast again.
 
I've done over 20 kits from them and I've been very happy with the end result of all of them. Quality ingredients, and detailed directions. You really can't miss with that combination.
 
Agreed, top notch service, fast/cheap flat rate shipping, and great recipes! I won a Best Of Show with their Texas Bock recipe and 3rd place in category with their Blonde Ale at the only competition I've ever entered!
 
They're awesome, I actually haven't purchased a kit from anyone else, just haven't heard any compelling reasons to move on to another company. I just started their Special Holiday Ale today, it should have plenty of time to age and be pretty good for this Christmas.

I'm a little late, but I've got 2 or 3 other kits from them ready to go as I have fermenters and carboys open up. (including their pumpkin, too bad it'll be late!)
 
I have my first brew in a 2ndary now (AHS Honey Brown). I just ordered the Bass & Newcastle clones since they have the sale going today. I wasn't exstatic when I brewed the honey brown. I thought it was much too sweet, but what do I know? It's my first brew in a decade (since college). But when I moved it over to the secondary, it smelled GREAT!! 11 more days and I'll bottle. Can't wait to try it.
 
They seem to have a pretty vast selection. In honor of the sale today I just had to pick up one of their german hefeweizens and a cream ale. Mm mm. Hopefully turns out nice :mug:
 
Drinking their spiced wheat kit tonight its AWSOME!!!!! Bottled their west coast pale ale yesterday. The cascade hops smell great. It tasted good when I tested it
 
I hate to post this, but be careful ordering this week from AHS....I ordered online last night to brew this weekend and forgot to add a packet of dry yeast to carb another beer I have going. I've never ordered ANYTHING from another shop, keep in mind. I called to get them to add the dry yeast packet to my order and he said it couldn't be done. It was not because my order had already been processed, it hadn't. He said that with the large number of orders this week (due to their sale last weekend) they cannot add to any orders. So can I make a 2nd order and you just drop the yeast in that box? No. How about putting it in an envelope and sending it that way? Nope. So I have to pay another $6.99 shipping for a $.79 packet of yeast? Yes.

I'm VERY disappointed with AHS right now. All because I forgot to add that dry yeast to my order less than 12 hours ago online.

[/rant]
 
INeedANewHobby said:
I hate to post this, but be careful ordering this week from AHS....I ordered online last night to brew this weekend and forgot to add a packet of dry yeast to carb another beer I have going. I've never ordered ANYTHING from another shop, keep in mind. I called to get them to add the dry yeast packet to my order and he said it couldn't be done. It was not because my order had already been processed, it hadn't. He said that with the large number of orders this week (due to their sale last weekend) they cannot add to any orders. So can I make a 2nd order and you just drop the yeast in that box? No. How about putting it in an envelope and sending it that way? Nope. So I have to pay another $6.99 shipping for a $.79 packet of yeast? Yes.

I'm VERY disappointed with AHS right now. All because I forgot to add that dry yeast to my order less than 12 hours ago online.

[/rant]
Click to expand...

Sorry about the misunderstanding. Let me know your order number and name and what yeast you need and I will throw it in there. Once an order is in the works, it cost us more than $.79 to add it to the order. I will add the yeast to the order at no charge. Just let me know.

Forrest
 
Thanks for the reply, Forrest! I PM'd you my order info.

And this goes to show that AHS is still TOP NOTCH. Every business has hiccups (mine is no exception)....but the way they are handled, I believe, shows the true value that said business provides.

Thanks again, Forrest!
 
I ordered a Rogue Mocha Porter clone kit from AHBS along with ingredients to brew up a batch of Ed's Haus Pale Ale.

I too, forgot my dry yeast, but I'm not too concerened since my LHBS is availible and I'm not brewing until Saturday anyway. :)

I haven't gotten the kits yet but I know they'll be delivered tomorrow. Midwest had a good kit when I ordered from them, but AHBS blew me away by letting me know the package had processed and kicking out the shipping number promptly. Midwest used FedEx (which have always had craptastic service for me) and AHBS uses UPS. :) If I get the kits as expected they'll be faster than Midwest too.
 
Your yeast is on the way along with the rest of your order. We had an incredible sale on Saturday. We received 10 days worth of orders in one day! Be patient with us. We have 3 new people in the shipping department and we are working day and night to get the orders out. I worked 15 hours yesterday in the shipping department. Thanks for all of the props and continued business.
 
Austinhomebrew said:
Your yeast is on the way along with the rest of your order. We had an incredible sale on Saturday. We received 10 days worth of orders in one day! Be patient with us. We have 3 new people in the shipping department and we are working day and night to get the orders out. I worked 15 hours yesterday in the shipping department. Thanks for all of the props and continued business.
Click to expand...

I got the email that my order shipped and will be here on Thurs. That's AWESOME!! I really expected 7-10 days with the sale going on. I'm new to brewing but have ordered from AHBS twice and have been impressed both times.

Can't wait to taste the product!
 
AHBS rocks. I highly recommend the Summit IPA. It was best beer I ever made. It was one of those beers that is so good you only end up giving a couple away, just so you can drink as much as possible.

I have their winter warmer in primary right now.
 
jackmaxcy said:
I'm a fairly new brewer and I purchased a "Blue Moon" and "Fat Tire" clone kit from them. Unfortunately, I ordered them with liquid yeast in the height of a 90-100 deg F heat wave. I didn't make a starter and both of my kits fermented with a wild yeast strain, not the liquid yeast (it must have died in transit) and I had to dump both batches!

I love their selection, ease of ordering and freight policy but I will never order liquid yeast again.
Click to expand...

im a rookie brewer as well..my suggestion is to not be cheap and spend the dollar or two it cost for the ice pack w your yeast. ive done three of their kits FatTire clone turned out perfect--used dry yeast. 1554 in primary w dry yeast--fermentation started in 4hrs. AHBS double ipa in primary--went WhiteLab option on this one and i did a 3qt starter, decanted, pitched, fermentation within 4hrs. IMHO AHBS can be more affordable if youre ordering 2-3 kits at a time--$7 shipping on 2-3 kits:rockin:
 
I have ordered at least one kit from AHB and it was a well made product. Good instructions.

I generally order from Northern Brewer, but that has as much to do with proximity as anything. I live in Wisconsin and NB is a day away for me. Austin Home Brew is considered our supplier of second choice and MoreBeer our third.



Gedvondur
 
i've done the following AHBS kits...

double chocolate stout
vanilla porter
samuel smiths oatmeal stout

the dc stout was outstanding, as i am sure the others will be when i start drinking them in the next 3-5 weeks... :ban:

i also have the blue moon clone kit, which will be brewed in a couple weeks.

outstanding service, outstanding kits, outstanding instructions.... top notch for sure... plus living in dallas i can get my kits in 2 days :rockin:
 
Getting Belgian White and Samuel Smith oatmeal stout clone kits tomorrow. Along with a yeast starter kit. crossing my fingers that the liquid yeast isnt DOA from this heat.
 
I have done AHBS Chocolate rasberry stout, english bitter, and I am doing one of their lagers this weekend. I was so happy with the kits upon arrival that I propositioned forrest publicly on this board. Additionally I still have an open offer for him to carry one of my alien love children.
 

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