Williams Brewing Kits

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Big10Seaner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
671
Reaction score
8
Location
Schaumburg
I usually order supplies from Midwest or my lhbs store, but this time I decided to try Williams Brewing. I ordered the Amarillo Ale kit and it comes with 125ml liquid yeast (that's all it says on their website). My last few Wyeast activator packs I simply pitched into the primary and had no problems whatsoever. Has anyone else used a Williams Brewing kit? I'm curious if I need to make a starter (I already know that most will say yes), but I'm wondering if anyone has directly pitched with a Williams kit and had good results.
 
My American IPA in sig is a Williams kit. I still ended up making a starter with the smack-pack though.

It was my 2nd brew ever and I honestly wasn't to fond of their directions (yes, being so new i needed to use them). I ended up turning to my How To Brew book a few times for answers. I also didn't like how the LME came in a big plastic bag. Made it hard to handle. My other kits have all had LME come in a jug or bottle of some sort.

Not sure if i'll order any of their kits again.
 
When I first started in this obsession, err hobby, I used the William's kits. Being a newb, I just pitched the yeast directly and never had a problem. Knowing what I know now, I would have used a starter. There's several advantages to doing a starter and I think the extra day or two required are well worth it in the end. Plus, by doing starters, you have an excuse to buy more toys, err brewing equipment.
 
Always do a starter if you use any type of liquid yeast. It makes the yeast much more ready for life in the brew and also assures you that it is viable.
 
i have brewed several of their kits, and have always just pitched the smack pack- no problems, very active ferment. i am about to venture into the practice of making a starter myself, but i think you will be safe and have good results with their kits and their directions.
 
Big10Seaner said:
I usually order supplies from Midwest or my lhbs store, but this time I decided to try Williams Brewing.

The very first thing I brewed ('88? '89?) was a Williams Brewing brown ale extract kit in the WB buckets. I still have the thermometer from that kit.

I was stationed in the former FRG at the time and WB was the only shop that would ship to APO. So I bought from them exclusively.

Digression: Either BrewGadgets or Northern Brewer sold my name to Williams recently. I'd guess BrewGadgets. It was fun to see the WB stuff again.
 
j3cub56 said:
i am about to venture into the practice of making a starter myself

I have found that my willingness to make a starter is much increased since I got a pressure cooker and some half-gallon jars.

I make some wort with DME, throw it into mason jars and sterilize'em at 15# for 15mins. Let cool over night and there's instant starter media for whenever you want it. I used to make starter only when forced to; with the precooked wort it's nearly fun.
 
fratermus said:
Digression: Either BrewGadgets or Northern Brewer sold my name to Williams recently. I'd guess BrewGadgets. It was fun to see the WB stuff again.
I've never done any business with BrewGadgets nor Williams, but have purchased from NB, and surprisingly just received a WB catalog in the mail last week. From your comment, I believe we can now identify the culprit. I am not pleased with that practice, and I shall express my displeasure with my wallet.
 
I have only ordered from Williams Brewing online... I no longer order online, because my local home brew store is well stocked. However, I made the Amarillo Ale kit a while back, and everyone that drank it was more then pleased. I liked it so much, my pale ale recipe which I constantly refine is based off that kit.

I see some people are not happy with William's however I have to say they have great customer service...

I bought a kit 2 years ago, and wrote them about a week ago, asking what the hops were so I could buy them and make that kit since the original hops where no longer good. And without even a fuss, they sent me new hops the same day they got my e-mail... They did this one time before for me, with a packet of yeast...

If you don't have a good brew store I would recommend them.
 
I decided to try Williams Brewing.
I did that a few months ago.. they are cheaper than most others.. shipping is very reasonable and their customer service is great.. Whoever first mentioned them, $$ to you, thanks. I added them to my list (Austin HB, Northern Brewer, and More Beer) and in the last few months they are getting the bulk of my business
 
The Williams liquid yeasts are just Wyeast smack packs packaged for Williams. If you've used the Wyeast before you can treat the Williams the same.

If you haven't read it before, Mr Malty (AKA Jamil) has a good read on starters.
http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm

Yes, you may have made perfectly acceptable beers before, just pitching the smack pack. I have always looked at a starter as an opportunity, to maybe, just maybe, make better beer.
 
I have used Williams Brewing for a couple years now and I am a huge fan! The beer taste awesome and they do have great customer service. They have my recommendation!
 
I have used Williams Brewing for a couple years now and I am a huge fan! The beer taste awesome and they do have great customer service. They have my recommendation!

...and thank YOU for reviving this zombie thread. I might never have known how much these people liked Williams Brewing, two years ago, if you hadn't. Cheers to Williams and cheers to you sir! :p
 
Ive had nothing but positive experiences with Williams.

RE: yeast - I would still make a starter. Regardless of what the manufacturer says (Wyeast, White Labs, etc.) it doesnt work out (cells per ml.) when you do the math.

RE: kits - Never used 'em as buying bulk ME and grains ends up being a much better deal.
 
CLEAR------"BZAP!"

Bringing this one back from the dead quickly.

Just had to chime in regarding the Amarillo Ale kit the OP mentioned.

I just brewed this one up and cracked the 1st one last night after only 2 1/2 weeks bottle conditioning. Carbed up very nicely with a nice foamy head and was just fantastic. I've only got about 20 batches or so under my belt, but I feel this is definitely worthy of the 'best batch I've ever made' tag. This beer is the perfect summer session beer, light, not too hoppy (is there such a thing?), flowery, juicy, great malt balance....could go on and on about this kit.

I'm not a Williams employee so this isn't just advertising. But every kit I've got from them has been very good. Also tried some AHS and NB kits which were also fantastic, but the Williams have been consistently the best....which partially bothers me because they are so damn simple, I don't feel like I'm really crafting anything other than just boiling water/LME/hops.

So if your looking for an easy summer session beer that's ready in 6 weeks total, I can't recommend this kit enough. I'm ordering two more of them today.

Cheers!
Phil
 
I just got two williams kits in the mail and a little dissapointed that they dont include a ingredients list, just some product code stamped on everything. I'd really like to know what i am brewing with. Probably not going with williams kits again
 
CLEAR------"BZAP!"

Bringing this one back from the dead quickly.

Just had to chime in regarding the Amarillo Ale kit the OP mentioned.

I just brewed this one up and cracked the 1st one last night after only 2 1/2 weeks bottle conditioning. Carbed up very nicely with a nice foamy head and was just fantastic. I've only got about 20 batches or so under my belt, but I feel this is definitely worthy of the 'best batch I've ever made' tag. This beer is the perfect summer session beer, light, not too hoppy (is there such a thing?), flowery, juicy, great malt balance....could go on and on about this kit.

I'm not a Williams employee so this isn't just advertising. But every kit I've got from them has been very good. Also tried some AHS and NB kits which were also fantastic, but the Williams have been consistently the best....which partially bothers me because they are so damn simple, I don't feel like I'm really crafting anything other than just boiling water/LME/hops.

So if your looking for an easy summer session beer that's ready in 6 weeks total, I can't recommend this kit enough. I'm ordering two more of them today.

Cheers!
Phil

I've also brewed Williams Amarillo Ale. It was the first beer I kegged. Great recipe, very tasty.
 
Back
Top