The best place for recipe kits

[sciwife2007]

Hello all from NC! I'm new to brewing but not to drinking (ha-ha).....My husband has ordered me a brewing kit from Midwest Supplies with Amber Ale. I am anxiousloy awaiting it's delivery. I've tried just about everything from "The Beast" to Weihenstephaner to Spaten......I like it all, depending on my mood. To start I figured it would be easier to use the pre-packaged kits....If I'm wrong, let me know......Where is the best place to get said recipe kits? I'm not partial to really dark beers...I love lagers, marzens, belgium whites just to name a few......Corona is a good summertime beer....Anyway, any help would be awesome....Thanks!

 

[jaysbrewing]

I would just go to beertools.com and look up a recipe and buy from the recipe. 7000 recipes vs a kit.

 

[Bithead]

Maybe you want to check out your LHBS. http://www.homebrew-supply.com/

 

[Clann]

I have used MoreBeer and Northern Brewer. Both have a good selection of kits

 

[Subsailor]

Northern Brewer and Midwest Brewing Supplies for me. I have also used Learn To Brew for supplies and they have worked with me very well on shipping to Alaska.

 

[Yooper]

My favorite two places for excellent recipe kits are northernbrewer.com and austinhomebrew.com

Austin Homebrew has a HUGE selection of its, from clones of commercial beers to their own recipes. I bet there are several hundred choices, and I've done more than a few of them with good results. Northern Brewer has the best catalogue! You can go online and request a catalogue and look at all of their kits, or you can of course order online. Both are excellent, high quality, with great instructions and fresh ingredients. And both have flat rate $7.99 shipping no matter how many kits you order.

One thing to keep in mind. Your list of "likes" is a good place to start, but keep in mind that making lagers may be out of your equipment ability at this point. So, stay away from beer kits like Corona clones or Marzens and any other lagers. You could do any ales, though, without any problem.

 

[sciwife2007]

How would I know if the lagers were out of my equipments ability to start? The kit he bought isn't a starter kit....it's supposed to be the "complete kit" I can't wait to get started......Do I have to be mindful of the temperature in my fermenting room or just make sure it's warm in there?

 

[Clann]

Lagers require cold fermentation, in the 50s and usually in a dedicated fridge or freezer with an external temparature control unit.

 

[CBXBob]

sciwife2007, All of the vendors mentioned are great sources for kits. I've just gotten into brewing and am waiting to grow out of kits. As I gain confidence and experience, plus learning from the brewers at this great site, I know I will graduate to all grain brewing, and experimenting with my own recipes (with some failures, I'm sure!) In the mean time, I'm learning to like beers that I never used to even try, Ale's, Stouts, Porters, I'm definitely into Wheat beers, and Porters.
Take your time, gather catalogs, browse the forum, and just start brewing, follow the kit instructions and I'm sure your 1st brew will be great.
Lucky for me my first brew from a kit was good, and I was hooked! Eight months later, and 8 more brews (some not so good) I'm more enthused than ever!
Yeah, I made that

 

[Yooper]

How would I know if the lagers were out of my equipments ability to start? The kit he bought isn't a starter kit....it's supposed to be the "complete kit" I can't wait to get started......Do I have to be mindful of the temperature in my fermenting room or just make sure it's warm in there?

Lagers require a large amount of yeast (often a 1+ gallon starter), fermentation at 48-52 degrees, a temperature raise to 60 degrees at day 10-12, then racking to a carboy and dropping the temperature 5 degrees per day until it's at 34 degrees where it is held for 6-12 weeks. I'm sorry that I made an assumption that this would be difficult for you with your equipment. If you can do that, then of course a lager is doable although more of an advanced brewer's ability. If you have advanced brewing skills, most lagers would be a reasonable thing to attempt.

For ales (pale ales, wheat beers, Belgians, German ales, English ales, stouts, porters, ambers, and so on), keeping the fermenter at 60-68 degrees is usually adequate. Since fermentation itself produces heat, usually an ambient temperature of 60-65 degrees is ideal for all ales.

 

[sciwife2007]

Thanks so much! I can see now I have a whole lot to learn......I think you're right....Lagers will need to wait until I gain some much needed experience......I can't wait to brew and taste my first brew.........Thanks again and I'm sure I'll have more questions soon!