Mead kits... are they worth it?

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I've used the Ambrosia Farm kits in the past to try some short meads. They are so so. Them main problem is that they don't date anything so you have no idea how fresh things are, especially the yeast. This was the case a few years ago and I haven't gone back to them. Most the other material are dried herbs, spices, and fruit. What they give you however is easily replaceable. And since they only make a gallon, it's not a lot of $$ out of your pocket to replace the entire kit. My two cents is to find some good gallon recipes (unless you want more mead per batch) and just follow them. Thankfully this site is brimming with them.

I have no experience with the other two. Midwest Brewing also has some simple mead kits and theirs even come with honey. You might want to check them out too.

Cheers!
 
Ambrosia Farm kits lost me at, "YOU WILL HAVE DRINKABLE MEAD WITHIN 7-14 DAYS"

I don't think the kets are worth it. If you can find cheap honey locally, you can make a batch much cheaper than the kits. I think you're better off spending your money on the book, The compleat meadmaker.
 
I've not used any kits, but I don't see the point. Recipes are simple enough, and IMO you will be well-served by learning enough before starting that you can do without a pre-packaged kit. For mead, this isn't a very high bar to clear.
 
I have been learning, thank you for your concern. I was only thinking about convenience. I have limited funds and permission to make the house look like a winery from SWMBO.

I'm trying to be ... economical.
 
I can appreciate your stand point. I find myself in that boat quite often and saw the appeal in the Ambrosia kits for that very reason. But much like myself, I think you won't like the final product despite convenience. So I would hate for you to end up wasting what money you're willing to spend.
 
WR, I saw that the Curt and Kathy's kits come with honey too. In fact, all of Northern Brewer's kits do. I figured Curt and Kathy's might be a good option, because it comes with the fruit already processed for secondary. I am pretty realistic that you get what you pay for. Ambrosia kits were what, 9 bucks/gallon? Curt and Kathy's Melomel kits were to the tune of 85 plus they supplied the honey.

My thought though was I could try them out at least. Curt Stock has won lots of awards for mead and beer. I would hope to be able to assume he wouldn't put his name on a crap product. But, a kit is still a kit.

Oh and BBBF, I am waiting on delivery tomorrow of the next day on the compleat meadmaker. Already ordered it a few days ago. I wonder if I'll stop posting as much here... :D
 
Let us know how that kit works out of thats the route you choose. Like Zeg said, most recipes are simple enough to not need one so long as you can get good honey from somewhere. But if it's alright I'd be curious enough to try it once.
 
regulatedhobbyist said:
I found some 'quick mead kits' from Ambrosia Farms here:

http://www.beefolks.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=87&cat=Mead+Kits

And also curt and Kathy's mead kits here:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/cider-mead-sake/mead-making/mead-kits

My question is, how good are these meads? Has anyone had problems with them? Are they worth the time, effort and money?
Click to expand...

Don't bother with a "mead kit," you can either use equipment you already have, or buy it from your LHBS & go from there.

Need a recipe? look here: http://www.gotmead.com/
or here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/

Get your honey locally or online.
Regards, GF.
 
+1 on JOAM.

However, note that the $85 price is for a kit does appear to include the honey for a 5-gallon batch.
 
I have jaom in secondary, and am about four or five batches in. I understand recipes and have followed them. The plus to buying a kit in my mind is that the fruit is already processed.

My time is valuable. I work full time, school full time, three kids. Mead works well for me because I don't have to baby it. Well, I'm busy and broke. That is why I'm looking into the kits. Unless you guys can suggest a place for pureed seedless berries and other fruits, I guess I'll just buy fruit and do it myself.
 
Most of the places that sell the kits can also sell you the ingredients individually. If you have a local source for quality honey, buying the honey locally and the fruit / nutrients / yeast from the homebrew shop might work out to be cheaper and would certainly give you more control. From a quick look at Midwest Homebrewing's mead kits, it looks like perhaps those are a better deal than buying the ingredients separately from them.

Certainly nothing wrong with the kit, and if it saves money, then by all means. I certainly wouldn't pay more for one, though, because I don't see them as being terribly helpful otherwise.
 
I found some 'quick mead kits' from Ambrosia Farms here:

http://www.beefolks.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=87&cat=Mead+Kits
Click to expand...

"These Short Mead Kits contain everything you need to produce 4 bottles of mead - spices, yeast, cap for the brewing vat, and most importantly COMPLETE YET SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS! The only other items you need to purchase is a gallon of water and two pounds of honey"

so $9.00 per kit plus s&h for spices, yeast, and a airlock/bung?
 
Last time I bought one of those kits the "cap" was a piece of muslin you boiled to sterilize and a rubber band to hold it to the top of the gallon water jug.

I can't fault for wanting to save time and money. The Midwest kits looked good to me, I just knew I could get what I needed locally and cheaper. Midwest charges a lot for their honey, but it does seem the simplest solution for RH. The price of convenience perhaps?
 
Wraithraider said:
Last time I bought one of those kits the "cap" was a piece of muslin you boiled to sterilize and a rubber band to hold it to the top of the gallon water jug.

I can't fault for wanting to save time and money. The Midwest kits looked good to me, I just knew I could get what I needed locally and cheaper. Midwest charges a lot for their honey, but it does seem the simplest solution for RH. The price of convenience perhaps?
Click to expand...

I was wondering about that whole cap thing. I have plenty of bungs and airlocks.
It seems that northern brewer charges a bit for their honey too. I have madhava within an hour round trip. So I was thinking maybe finding the fruit puree from a kit? Now I'm leaning toward just find cheap fruit.
 
I think everyone makes very good points here. Making a fruit puree, if you have a food processor, will take you about as long as making mac n' cheese, or heck you could buy a cheap jar of puree or even babyfood in some cases (youd have to check the ingredients for the preservatives).

Id suggest against a kit, unless you really want to be the vendor's patron.
 
regulatedhobbyist said:
I have jaom in secondary, and am about four or five batches in. I understand recipes and have followed them. The plus to buying a kit in my mind is that the fruit is already processed.

My time is valuable. I work full time, school full time, three kids. Mead works well for me because I don't have to baby it. Well, I'm busy and broke. That is why I'm looking into the kits. Unless you guys can suggest a place for pureed seedless berries and other fruits, I guess I'll just buy fruit and do it myself.
Click to expand...

What besides the honey and puree do you need that the kit offers?
 

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