Honestly I haven't had much luck with the northern brewer kits
I thought there version of Fat Tire was terrible - the first time I thought it must of been something i did so i bought the kit again and it came out exactly the same the second time
Mostly I get my kits from The home Brewery and i've always had good luck with them
I've done about two dozen batches so i'm not a total noob
I was using a SS brew spoon but after this have switched to a Plastic one
The only other thing i can think of is that the tap was new and i don't think i cleaned it as well as i should have before I used it for the first time
Since this i have given everything in the brewery an overnight soaking in a oxiclean bath