Homebrew Kits Rating

[telefunkin]

anyone try the Brew Canada kits? I just picked up one today to start my first batch.

 

[Hurricane09]

I've tried Festa-Brew which is a wort-in-a-bag kit, you dont even add water - it came out far better than the 2 extract kits I've done (not a good baseline for comparison - sorry extract faithful). It was a red and it was pretty fantastic.

http://www.magnotta.com/Festabrew/

Just started a BrewHouse Kit (another wort-in-a-bag) because I didnt have time on the weekend to get to Biermunchers Centennial Blonde, but I wanted something in the primary. For $35 I figured I couldnt go wrong. This kit came with a PH balancer, bottling sugar, etc. Within a day I had an amazing krausen - looks like this kit will be a winner also.

http://www.thebrewhouse.com/what_is/index.htm

All in all I would have to say these are an excellent choice if you are short on time but need something in the primary. All-Grain taste that comes really easy - both ready to go in under 30 mins.

I sound like an advertisement.

 

[cheeseshark]

+1 on experimenting with a few different places. Trying new things (i.e. beer) is half the fun of homebrewing.

I think most sites mentioned frequently on the forum (Austin Homebrew Supply, Midwest, etc.) make quality kits. Personally, I have had very good luck with the kits from morebeer.com. All of their extract kits I have used have been awesome. But, like I said, I don't think you are going to go wrong if you try kits from reputable sites frequently mentioned here.

 

[HomerT]

In thinking back and reviewing my online kit orders, I would rankthem like this:

1) Austin Home Brew - Unmatched selection, fresh ingredients, good prices, great shipping rates and simply some of the best beers I have made:rockin:

2) Northern Brewer - Fresh ingredients, alot of kits use DME, great results, fastest service on the web (order processing and shipping), great prices

3) Midwest - Great selection...and fantastic customer service....but, each of the kits I have made had a pronounced extract twang....old LME perhaps? Bad luck perhaps? I don't know.

-Todd

 

[migratingmind]

Kind of off topic question, but as for prices for kits versus buying ingredients, i was wondering why it is so much more expensive to buy separate ingredients than to buy kits? I have gone to the local home brew store and bought the ingredients to brew their recipes and paid about $30 more than the price for the same recipe sold as a kit online. $30 dollars just seems like a huge difference. Are separate ingredients really that much more expensive?

 

[FlyGuy]

I've tried Festa-Brew which is a wort-in-a-bag kit, you dont even add water - it came out far better than the 2 extract kits I've done (not a good baseline for comparison - sorry extract faithful). It was a red and it was pretty fantastic.

Just started a BrewHouse Kit (another wort-in-a-bag) because I didnt have time on the weekend to get to Biermunchers Centennial Blonde, but I wanted something in the primary. For $35 I figured I couldnt go wrong. This kit came with a PH balancer, bottling sugar, etc. Within a day I had an amazing krausen - looks like this kit will be a winner also.

Those are two of the finest kit-beers out there. I don't even hesitate to brew them if I am too short on time to do an all grain batch from scratch -- the quality is outstanding (just get them fresh).

My brother-in-law has won all sorts of medals with Brewhouse kits, including a medal at MCAB this past year in the most competitive category -- American Ale. Hard to argue that kind of success.

 

[Yooper]

Kind of off topic question, but as for prices for kits versus buying ingredients, i was wondering why it is so much more expensive to buy separate ingredients than to buy kits? I have gone to the local home brew store and bought the ingredients to brew their recipes and paid about $30 more than the price for the same recipe sold as a kit online. $30 dollars just seems like a huge difference. Are separate ingredients really that much more expensive?

Sometimes, I guess. Malt extract is expensive, unless you buy it in bulk. Hops are very expensive, too. So sometimes the kits are a big money saver. I've never seen a $30 difference (usually the entire extract kit is around $35) but I would say that it would depend on what you are making. Often, too, you only need a small amount of a certain grain for your recipe. If you have to buy a whole pound, of course that costs more. Some places will sell you 2 ounces of a specialty grain- some make you buy a whole pound.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I'd have to agree with Forrest. When I was doing kits I tried some from multiple places and the ones from Austinhomebrew.com produced the best beer for me.

I think I'll try thiers next!

I've done 8 or 9 kits from Midwest through force of habit I guess. I'm happy enough with them, but my first ever extract brew was from a recipe, so I had to get the ingredients together myself. Looking back, it was quite a lot better than anything I've had through Midwest. Until I can go AG I think Iwill look around at other kits or go back to the recipe thing.

It's impossible for me to rate Midwest as it's almost all I've done. Time for me to gain some new knowledge I reckon.

 

[surfingpl]

I have tried AHS and Morebeer.com kits - I'm surprised nobody's mentioned morebeer.com. You buy $60.00 worth of stuff and you get free shipping. I made their hefeweizen a few months ago and that has been the most popular beer I have made so far - everybody wants me to make more. Plus, its like $23.00! Right now I have a morebeer IPA, and an AHS Imperial Amber in the keggerator, I am very happy with both vendors, and their products. I have decided that I prefer DME over LME, so I am trying to make my own recipes or getting recipes wherever I can that use DME.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I have tried AHS and Morebeer.com kits - I'm surprised nobody's mentioned morebeer.com. You buy $60.00 worth of stuff and you get free shipping. I made their hefeweizen a few months ago and that has been the most popular beer I have made so far - everybody wants me to make more. Plus, its like $23.00! Right now I have a morebeer IPA, and an AHS Imperial Amber in the keggerator, I am very happy with both vendors, and their products. I have decided that I prefer DME over LME, so I am trying to make my own recipes or getting recipes wherever I can that use DME.

They sound a fair bit cheaper than Midwest then. I'll keep a lookout there too in future!