Direct me to a good newbie kit for husband?

[lisamush1]

Hi all,

Looking for a starter kit for my husband who knows nothing about brewing beer, but wants to try it. I want something basic to start with, and free shipping would be GREAT and would like to spend less than $100- as I should probably buy a book to go with it, right? (or can he get enough info from online? If so then I could spend more $ on the kit.) Can someone direct me to a good kit? I am overwhelmed by all the options/parts. TIA!!

 

[bonzombiekitty]

Assuming you have a large enough pot to boil a few gallons of water, and you want something more than Mr Beer a kit such as the one here is a good one. Personally, I have a local home brew store that has starter kits for cheaper, but is a bit more bare bones (i.e. no thermometer), so that might be an option. Most kits come with some sort of book/booklet that will give you the basics on how to do everything, go for a more detailed book after a couple batches are made.

But you'd still have to buy the ingredients, which can run you $30+ for a recipe kit. Personally, I spent near $200 on my first batch of beer including equipment and ingredients.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I think I spent $70 on my first equipment kit (had a 5 gallon pot already) and $40 on my first ingredient kit. They made great beer, but I quickly upgraded after learning more about the hobby.

Check your local yellow pages and see if you have a nearby brewshop. It's going to cost you less buying it locally than paying for shipping. Plus, you'll get some real advice from the employees. I'd suggest he read www.howtobrew.com before he gets started. At least the first section about extract beers. I read the entire thing before even buying a kit and it helped me tremendously.

 

[kunstler]

True brew kits are the way to go IMHO. They have an equipment kit of varying levels (just go with the basic one - it will be plenty enough to start with. And then they have true brew kits (can be bought online or at some smaller homebrew shops that don't do many recipes) these kits are a good starting point - the info is usally a little off but it will give you beer. I say with one of those kits and the knowledge from How to brew (online or paper version) or any other book that shares how to brew will be a good step.

Also don't try to start with anything fancy for a style. A brown ale or amber ale would be plenty simple and yet different enough to get him into brewing (don't start with anything like a smoked porter or rauchbier)

 

[ajwillys]

All of the advice above is very good. If you want something specific (without going to the homebrew store), here's my recommendation:

1) Buy this kit
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_33_52&products_id=11356

2) This Book
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_39_95&products_id=1528

3) And an ingredient kit, something he likes.
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452
For the ingredient kit, I would recommend the dry yeast option.

4) Lastly, a pot that can boil at least 4 gallons or so unless you already have one. You can get it at Austin Homebrew also or Target/Wal-Mart.

Eventually, he will need bottles and bottle caps. For the bottles, he can reuse commercial beer bottles as long as they are not twist off or he can buy them. Caps and bottles (if you decide to buy them), can be had here:

Caps:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_356_61&products_id=982
Bottles:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_356_62&products_id=992

 

[patd]

Mr. Beer is the cheapest option, but I would say only go with this if he wants to see if he likes the process of making beer, rather than getting something drinkable out of it.

I went with a $25 Mr. Beer kit to see if I would like it. Once I saw that it was something I enjoyed doing I went with a full kit from Austin Homebrew.

If you want to go over a $100 and get everything you will need to get a first brew done, Midwest offers this kit with a choice of Irish Red, Irish Stout, or Autumn Amber ale for $135 + shipping.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Mr. Beer is the cheapest option, but I would say only go with this if he wants to see if he likes the process of making beer, rather than getting something drinkable out of it.

I went with a $25 Mr. Beer kit to see if I would like it. Once I saw that it was something I enjoyed doing I went with a full kit from Austin Homebrew.

If you want to go over a $100 and get everything you will need to get a first brew done, Midwest offers this kit with a choice of Irish Red, Irish Stout, or Autumn Amber ale for $135 + shipping.

That is an excellent three-tiered choice of options right there! I would thoroughly recommend any of these based on how well you know your hubby's conviction to beer (And cooking), and what equipment you might already have that can be used for beer making.

 

[ajwillys]

If you want to go over a $100 and get everything you will need to get a first brew done, Midwest offers this kit with a choice of Irish Red, Irish Stout, or Autumn Amber ale for $135 + shipping.

Hmm, that looks like a nice, easy kit. I still recommend The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It's a great book. He can read the first chapter before he brews, then the rest of them while he's waiting for it to finish.

 

[Pappers_]

Hi Lisa - your husband is going to love this holiday present!

I want to reiterate the above links for the kits - they're good options!

In addition to books, many new brewers find videos useful - you can actually see what someone is doing, which can be tremendously helpful. There's a youtube outfit called Homebrewing Video which makes an excellent, if slow-paced, tutorial for the beginning brewer. Its a series of videos, something like 12 or 13, I think, but lays it all out and gives folks generally accepted methods. You can find them on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/HomebrewingVideo

 

[Julohan]

http://midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdBySubCat.aspx?SubCat=510&fd=1

With thss kit all you need is an ingedients kit, and some bottles, that can be collected as you drink beers that you have bought, then reuse them. The website for information posted by Suthrncomfrt1884, is very good w/o spending money on a book. You will also want to buy a sanitizer as well. And bottle caps. So that should easily come to below $100 with shipping.

 

[COLObrewer]

Direct me to a good newbie kit for husband?

You might find a good husband "kit" at: Bars, Racetracks, Sporting goods stores, even the occasional brewfest. My wife found me at a roller skating rink about 30 years ago.

 

[Synovia]

4) Lastly, a pot that can boil at least 4 gallons or so unless you already have one. You can get it at Austin Homebrew also or Target/Wal-Mart.

I'm of the opinion that no one should buy a pot that can't do a full boil. A full boil is probably the simplest way to improve your beer, and you can get an 8g aluminum pot for less than $25 at almost any store that sells pots (walmart, sears, little mexican delis, etc)

 

[Heckle]

Not sure where in NY your at but, if there is a brewery close to you, see if they do tours. If your planning on surprising him, arrange a tour and at the end of it when you get back to the car, give him a book about brewing. Then you can let him in on the kit or leave that as a Christmas surprise for him.

 

[erik559]

Im getting a starter kit for Christmas and i'll probably get this kit:
http://morebeer.com/view_product/15909/102142/Personal_Home_Brewery_#1_-_Standard
I think the shipping is free from here.

I also want to get a turkey fryer so i can do it outside. You might consider this if you want your husband out of the house. I am thinking something like this:
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1440542

 

[erik559]

I was planning on getting this kit which i belive ships for free:
http://morebeer.com/view_product/15909/102142/Personal_Home_Brewery_#1_-_Standard
Also here is a turkey fryer setup that will keep your husband from messing up your kitchen:
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1440542

This will be my first setup so i could be missing something. I will probably have to get a few other small things like a siphon

 

[RogueVassar]

This is the kit that I got from a different store. This is actually a better price and it's 10% off if you order by the first. They also have a lot of ingredient kits on sale (including an organic one on sale for really cheap which is how I stumbled onto the place). Add ten bucks shipping and you could have everything you need minus the bottles and pot for under $100.

 

[TipsyDragon]

try Mr. Beer. very basic and comes with everything you need. never actually tried one but they wouldn't sell if no one liked them.

 

[scinerd3000]

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_469
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_33_52&products_id=11357

there starter beer kits, mr beer is a waste of money if you think hes going to get into it. Extract is easy, comes with directions and is almost foolproof and gives you the understanding to build into a bigger endevor should he ever with to.

 

[PHillBrewCo]

Check out the Coopers kit @ Makebeer.net. For $99 your husband will get everything he needs to make his first brew. After he's done his first batch he can look into expanding his set up and add other equipment like another bucket or glass carboy. No need to buy a book either, because there is plenty of info on the net. Tell him to google "How to Brew" by John Palmer. It's a free book online. He will find tons of info on this site as well. My fiancé bought me the Coopers kit from Amazon.com earlier this month for my birthday. My first batch has been in the fermenter for 15 days. So far so good! There are some good videos about the Coopers kit on YouTube..

 

[wgeronimo]

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_469
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_33_52&products_id=11357

there starter beer kits, mr beer is a waste of money if you think hes going to get into it. Extract is easy, comes with directions and is almost foolproof and gives you the understanding to build into a bigger endevor should he ever with to.

So I notice that this kit comes no bottling bucket. How important is it to have this versus a secondary fermenter?

 

[buzzbee]

If you make any purchases from Austin Homebrew and are planning on making future purchases,be sure to check out the 6 month AHS membership! It offers great savings on future purchases,if made in the next six months. half of the savings can be realized on the first purchase!!

 

[lamarguy]

Check out the Coopers kit @ Makebeer.net. For $99 your husband will get everything he needs to make his first brew.

+1 That's the kit I started with several years ago. I still use the fermenter on occasion.

 

[wgeronimo]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this kit? LINK

Also, I notice that the cheaper kits come with a primary fermeneter and a bottling bucket. This one has no bottling bucket but does have a "secondary" fermenter. Do you bottle right from here?

 

[knucklehead]

Check out the Coopers kit @ Makebeer.net. For $99 your husband will get everything he needs to make his first brew.

I recently purchased this kit. I realize it is not the top of the line, but it is very easy to brew beer with the Cooper's ingredient kits. They are "no-boil". It is not the best beer in the world, but I have bought a ton of worse beer at stores and bars. I am currently fermenting my third batch. I work with a bunch of self-professed alcoholics that think I'm a master brewer after two brews with this kit. I know an upgrade will be in the works, but I think this kit is the way to go to get started. It is pretty fool-proof and makes decent beer.

 

[patd]

I ran across this yesterday for 1-gallon kits that falls well into your price range...but can't speak to the quality

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/store/

 

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

I've been hinting around at this one since it has everything I can think of that I don't have and will need to brew my first beer... http://new.midwestsupplies.com/everything-a-carboy-complete-brewing-package-equipment-kit-2.html

Comes with a primary, glass secondary, bottling bucket, autosiphon, capper, caps, 48 bottles, sanitizer, thermometer, 5 gallon stainless pot and the misc stuff like brushes and bottle fillers and an ingredients kit for your first brew. They also have a similar kit without the secondary for 30 bucks less.

 

[scinerd3000]

I've been hinting around at this one since it has everything I can think of that I don't have and will need to brew my first beer... http://new.midwestsupplies.com/everything-a-carboy-complete-brewing-package-equipment-kit-2.html

Comes with a primary, glass secondary, bottling bucket, autosiphon, capper, caps, 48 bottles, sanitizer, thermometer, 5 gallon stainless pot and the misc stuff like brushes and bottle fillers and an ingredients kit for your first brew. They also have a similar kit without the secondary for 30 bucks less.

just so you wouldnt have to hassel thats a great deal...

 

[o0prost0o]

I'm always for supporting your local homebrew store. My first kit started out from monsterbrew.com. I think it was something like and was under $100:

http://www.monsterbrew.com/Prod_GoldKit.cfm

I'm now loyal to a good shop I found local but this got me started and I've moved up to more advanced keggles and all grain. I recommend Monster because there was an understandable issue but they were really helpful in making sure I was happy.

 

[Urban]

Also if you are looking to save a bit of money check for brewing books at your local Library, look for authors like Palmer, Papazian, and Noonan.