Why brewing kits?

[thdrduck]

Please don't take this the wrong way, I don't want to come across sounding like a ass or anything (I probably will anyway) but I was just wondering why so many folks are using kits? I always thought of home brewing as a combination of art and science, a way to show some creativity and make something no one else has. And with all the great stuff available now a person could make a batch a day and never brew the same thing twice (unless they wanted to). I'll look at a recipe and ask myself what would happen if...
I know I'm the only one on my block with this in his glass and if it turns out to be a flop, it's my flop. But really, if you just follow some guidelines you can create all kinds of wonderful stuff. Some of the most fun I've had brewing was making what I call bastard beers where I just empty out the brew box, see what I have and start dumping. It's all cool, I know people make cakes with cake mixes or they wouldn't make cakes at all. I just like to make stuff you can't buy.

 

[DrHops]

I started using kits two years go when I first started brewing. They're easy and make a great beer. Some people progress beyond kits, as I have while others enjoy the convenience and quality that a kit offers. Depending on the recipe, kits are sometimes much cheaper than buying the individual ingredients. I haven't used kits in over a year and a half, but a few months ago I bought one when I was looking for a Sweetwater 420 clone. I found a kit from Barley and Vine in Georgia and the beer IMO was a dead match for the real deal. I have also used kits to try a different beer than I usually drink, then if I like it I will recreate it but change a few things in the recipe: the hops, yeast, etc... to make it my own.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Kits are great for people starting out to get an idea of what works in a recipe. It's the same as using the recipe database here. It's also a good way to remove one variable or error while developing the rest of your skills and procedures. I don't formulate my own recipes, nor am I a chef. I don't have a good feel for what works in that sense, nor have I spent much time trying to learn. There are so many good recipes out there that are proven, I am happy to use those with the occasional small tweak.

 

[stratslinger]

I think kits are a great learning tool; they allow the beginning brewer to focus almost solely on their process, and not worry a great deal about recipe formulation.

But once you get your process down to where you're comfortable and confident, you may have already realized that there's a wealth of other kits out there that sound awesome, but you haven't tried yet. So there's definitely still good reason to stick with them, or even just use them on occasion...

 

[CrookedTail]

I've only used kits twice, and that's when I started out. They're a great way to learn the process. That said I really enjoy developing my own recipes. For me it's the most fun part of this hobby.

That said, I don't knock people who stick to kits. My friend primarily brews kits, and she's perfectly happy with that. More power to her.

This reminds me of the All Grain vs Extract debates that happen on here frequently. It shouldn't really matter. It's a hobby that's supposed to be something you enjoy doing. If you're happy with your process then don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong.

 

[Goose5]

I am still in the kit stage. I plan to progress to all grain by next summer or when funding allows.

 

[Gduck]

While I've been making a lot of my own recipes for a long while now, I occasionally will try a kit when trying to get a grasp on a style i haven't brewed before. It gives me a solid base upon which I can build future recipes on. I like having a starting point so i know what I'm shooting for.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Never used a kit, probably never will.

 

[kh54s10]

I started brewing at the end of June. I am still using kits for 2 reasons. I don't yet know what changing ingredients will do to the flavors. And I am saving my $$ for AG equipment. Then I will buy some ingredients in bulk and start to build my own recipes.

 

[Daedalus]

As already stated, kits are a fantastic learning tool.

I started with kits and only recently transitioned to "rolling my own" if you will. Using kits allowed me to learn on my equipment. Also when I added new equipment/procedures, I only had to worry about utilizing it properly instead of whether I chose a good recipe.

Kits also help me create recipes. Knowing what goes in kits and how much allows me to figure out how specific ingredients alter the taste, flavor, and appearance of the beer later on in my recipes.

They also are good for being a base recipe for something you want to create. Want to make a Peach Bitter? Get a Bitter kit and add some peach puree into the boil or secondary.

Finally, kits (and extract brewing) make our hobby accessable to those who aren't as "in to it" as some of us are. It includes all the fun of brewing without the hassle or thought required to formulate your own. Some people just want to make and brew beer but don't want to put in the time and effort it takes to create a recipe (never mind have it possibly fail on them due to poor choices).

Hope that answers your question.

 

[Taypo]

My wife and I are pretty solid home cooks, and baking is probably the best analogy. Some people buy cake/brownie/cookie mixes, others buy raw ingredients and boxed frosting, and still others scratch-bake everything. Just a matter of personal preference, but we're doing kits for the forseeable future until we can create a consistent beer every time. Once we hit that point, then we'll probably branch out.

 

[brian74]

With school, work, and family, I have not had time to research what characteristics certain malts yield, and kits allow me to make great beer. I have, however, done some research on making my own SMaSH and I'll probably be making one before the end of the year. Once I get that down, I'm sure I'll have it on tap constantly. I may branch out from there and start adding speciality grains and make note of the differences...a SMaSH sounds like a good place to start out making your own recipes. I will probably never completely get away from kits though, who knows.

 

[tbworth]

For me, I am more interested in the end result (great beer) than being involved in every step of the process.

I'm sure I'll move to all grain someday, but to be honest I have tried plenty of all grain beer and I didn't really notice much of a difference.

Whatever method you use you can be sure that it is a helluva lot fresher and tastier than stuff you buy at the store.

 

[samc]

I often see kits that are of interest but I will usually just try to emulate them with my existing supply of AG supplies. Kits are great for new brewers or those that just don't have the time to shop and go from scratch.

btw - I've tried over the years to make brownies from scratch for the kids and frankly nothing beats a brownie kit

 

[nymtber]

I make kits because, while I enjoy brewing, Time, Money, and Space are all limited, and an extract kit is very easy to do. I will, someday soon, make my own extract/specialty grain recipe, I am thinking a strong Pale Ale, or Imperial Pale Ale if you will.

I don't see All Grain in my future anytime soon. Possibly never. That is $ I can put into my house fund...

 

[DaddyP]

I like the kits for now because they are easy enough to find and are generally already tried and trued. Most online stores have reviews of the kits, you can learn from those reviews whether or not it's worth your time to brew or not.

Also you get a good handle of certain styles and flavor and what makes them that "style."

I find that after brewing a batch or 2 you can find out what you like or don't like, more of that or less of this, etc.

Sure, I'm just repeating someone elses recipe, but if I like the end product, what does it matter? I don't feel it makes me any less of a brewer if I can get good results regardless of the source.

All that and have to use what I got available equipment wise.

 

[cfonnes]

As with any hobby different people will engage at different levels.

Take fishing for instance. My dad has been happy to sit on the shore and bait fish for trout his entire life. I found that boring. So I started fly fishing the rivers. I have built fly rods but have never had desire to tie my own flies. A "real" fly fisherman would scoff at the idea of catching a fish on a fly that he had not tied himself.

 

[Vance71975]

I started using kits two years go when I first started brewing. They're easy and make a great beer. Some people progress beyond kits, as I have while others enjoy the convenience and quality that a kit offers. Depending on the recipe, kits are sometimes much cheaper than buying the individual ingredients. I haven't used kits in over a year and a half, but a few months ago I bought one when I was looking for a Sweetwater 420 clone. I found a kit from Barley and Vine in Georgia and the beer IMO was a dead match for the real deal. I have also used kits to try a different beer than I usually drink, then if I like it I will recreate it but change a few things in the recipe: the hops, yeast, etc... to make it my own.

Well said! :rockin:

 

[thdrduck]

samc, good one with the brownie kit! There was never an intent to ruffle any feathers or belittle any ones approach to the hobby, I was honestly curious. I now see it seems to be a time factor and somewhat a comfort level thing but in general everyone seems to have their own reason or reasons. I like many of you will probably never get into all grain brewing. I like brewing as a hobby but is only one of many that I have and all grain is just a bit farther then I care to go at this time. Kinda like some folks and doin kits.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I love to cook, and I semi-enjoy baking. Sometimes I start out with raw ingredients and go to town, other times - it's been a long day/week and just want something done quick.

I do all grain/extract and the occasional kit. Sometimes it's been a long day/week and just want a consistent product to come out. That's where the kit comes in.

 

[Heckle]

Nothing wrong with using kits. You can always take a kit and add something to it or swap something out to make it different.

 

[rjsnau]

As most people said, they are great to start out with. I have moved on to mostly recipies now but I do still find some value in them from time to time however because you can get reviews about the final product. I usually look to northernbrewer.com and can find a kit that has been proven to to popular so I am minimizing my risk of having a batch I don't really care for.

 

[Germelli1]

When brewing with extract, it is actually typically more expensive to build your own recipe then to just buy a kit. Plus kits come with the ingredients in premeasured packaging and storing bulk extract (although not impossible) is a sticky and difficult task!

 

[McGarnigle]

I brew with kits when others buy them for me. I pretty much always receive a kit for Christmas or my birthday, and they're easy to buy.

 

[Fly_Rodder]

As with any hobby different people will engage at different levels.

Take fishing for instance. My dad has been happy to sit on the shore and bait fish for trout his entire life. I found that boring. So I started fly fishing the rivers. I have built fly rods but have never had desire to tie my own flies. A "real" fly fisherman would scoff at the idea of catching a fish on a fly that he had not tied himself.

That's kind of odd to me. I tie my own flies, but it's a money thing. I fish for lake-run rainbows and freshwater salmon and I often lose a ton of flies. Flies can be as much as $1 per for drys and nymphs and much more for complicated streamers. I can churn out wooly buggers and basic flies for about 5 cents each (more if I use name hooks). In a two hour session I can crank out a number of different sizes and colors.

I just started brewing beer and the extract kits help me get a feel for the process. For example, I'm very confident with my cooking skills, but when I started cooking Thai and Indonesian, I followed recipes until I had a decent understanding of the ingredients and flavors. I'll move on past kits, but they make a decent beer with limited complications and equipment.

 

[berkeleyjack]

I started out using kits when I started brewing, because nobody I knew had ever done any brewing and I was a complete novice. Since I had never done it before and didn't know about all the internet forums about the subject, having a set of instructions and ingredients took out a lot of the guess work.

I still brew using extract (lazy) and I still buy the occasional kit when I need more beer and am in a hurry. My LHBS has a very good Pale Ale kit, and ingredient kits are one of the few things they carry that aren't grossly overpriced.

Kits come with the ingredients in premeasured packaging and storing bulk extract (although not impossible) is a sticky and difficult task!

Good point about the extract... Though now I'm wondering how practical it would be for me to start buying extract in those enormous metal drums that they have at my LHBS... Does unhopped extract ever go bad? If not, wow, how rad would it be to have a 25gal drum of LME that I could pull from whenever I wanted?

 

[ChshreCat]

LME does go bad. It's a sugar syrup and a great medium for growing bacteria. Besides that, it goes stale after a while and is considered by many as the reason some folks get "twangy" flavor when they brew with extract.

DME on the other hand... if you keep it dry and in an airtight container, it can last for a LONG time.

This thread started me thinking about how I do things. I like to brew and have made my own recipes right from the first batch. I also buy ingredients individually, brew from scratch (with some extract) and never used kits. I also love to bake, but I have always used mixes and have never baked ANYTHING from scratch. Strange to look at it that way.

 

[Kaleco]

My girlfriend and I use kits when we want a tried and true base for us to experiment with other additions. We'll get a kit, but then spend a lot of time with adding flavors. A porter kit to add black licorice. An American wheat to throw some roasted chiles in. A nut brown to try to partial mash a pound of pecans (didn't work out btw). The kits just give us more time with the other parts.

 

[cullen]

When I first started brewing, the only kits around were cans of hopped LME with a packet of yeast on the lid. I sometimes bought them as base, ignored the directions, threw away the yeast, and added ingredients suggested by the nice lady at the LHBS.

A couple of years ago I saw my first better kit in a beer/liquor store, by Brewer's Best. I looked over the ingredients, and it had everything I would have put into a batch. It also had stuff that the store did not have in stock separately at that time. So I bought a couple and made them, and they were pretty good. It also gave me a chance to get recipes for styles I hadn't tried making before.

I started going to a full service LHBS, and they have their own kits with their own recipes. So sometimes I buy a kit to try something new, sometimes because I forgot my shopping list, and sometimes because I want to brew but don't want to bother tweaking my recipes before printing out a shopping list.

Of course, if I'm going to brew my own recipe I just buy ingredients as it's cheaper.

 

[beergolf]

I think kits are a great learning tool; they allow the beginning brewer to focus almost solely on their process, and not worry a great deal about recipe formulation.

+1 Kits are an easy entry into homebrewing. I did my first brew with a kit and got a good grasp on the process. My second brew was a recipe from the recipe database here on the forum. By my third brew I got some brewing software and made up my own recipe, and pretty much make my own recipes for all of my beers.

I think the greatest fun in homebrewing is making your own recipes. Just like with cooking. Once you learn the basics you can make up recipes on your own pretty easily.

 

[MisterGreen]

Please don't take this the wrong way, I don't want to come across sounding like a ass or anything (I probably will anyway) but I was just wondering why so many folks are using kits? I always thought of home brewing as a combination of art and science, a way to show some creativity and make something no one else has. And with all the great stuff available now a person could make a batch a day and never brew the same thing twice (unless they wanted to). I'll look at a recipe and ask myself what would happen if...
I know I'm the only one on my block with this in his glass and if it turns out to be a flop, it's my flop. But really, if you just follow some guidelines you can create all kinds of wonderful stuff. Some of the most fun I've had brewing was making what I call bastard beers where I just empty out the brew box, see what I have and start dumping. It's all cool, I know people make cakes with cake mixes or they wouldn't make cakes at all. I just like to make stuff you can't buy.

Well for starters, art and science may not be every person's strong points. That being said, I've never met anyone whose first attempt at homebrewing was a "bastard beer". Kits are a great way to get your feet wet. Anyone can follow instructions. One thing I like about kits is that you can read reviews from others who did that kit to find out if it's a good one or not. As you gain experience you can start to tweak those kits to your liking.

 

[smalliewader]

When brewing a new style, I usually find a kit. Like above, usually something with good reviews on it. If i really liked the beer, I then take that recipe and start tweaking it to get it exactly where I want it. Once I get it right, it goes in my regular rotation.

For my first pepper beer, I used a BB Cream Ale kit as the base. Turned out fantastic and I have a baseline recipe to work with now for future batches...with tweaking of course. I input the kit recipe into BrewR so I can alter later.