Thoughts on Northern Brewer kits?

[FattyJLE]

I too am about to make the leap to AG brewing and wanted an easy to follow recipe to get started. I'm considering a NB kit because of the quality and convenience. The only concern I have is that quite a few people in this thread have mentioned that NB kit packages have been "clearly labeled." Does this mean that NB gives the names of the ingredients and amounts or do they simply say "Hop Addition 1, Hop Addition 2, Malt 1, etc." with their list of instructions. Early in my extract days, I bought an extract kit hoping to get a well detailed plan on how to make a particular style but the kit just had generic labels like those above with no list of ingredients or their amounts. I just don't want to make that mistake again. If I'm not going to formulate the recipe myself, I'd at least like to learn about the beer by knowing what goes in it and why. Any information from NB kit users would be appreciated.

 

[JebCkr]

I've bought from them numerous times and their product has always been top notch. Only had one problem with my order a while back and they fixed it no questions asked and expressed it to me. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone better online.

 

[IffyG]

I too am about to make the leap to AG brewing and wanted an easy to follow recipe to get started. I'm considering a NB kit because of the quality and convenience. The only concern I have is that quite a few people in this thread have mentioned that NB kit packages have been "clearly labeled." Does this mean that NB gives the names of the ingredients and amounts or do they simply say "Hop Addition 1, Hop Addition 2, Malt 1, etc." with their list of instructions. Early in my extract days, I bought an extract kit hoping to get a well detailed plan on how to make a particular style but the kit just had generic labels like those above with no list of ingredients or their amounts. I just don't want to make that mistake again. If I'm not going to formulate the recipe myself, I'd at least like to learn about the beer by knowing what goes in it and why. Any information from NB kit users would be appreciated.

You have no worries when it comes to Northern Brewer. All of their kits have an inventory available before you purchase, much like this one.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/allgrain/AG-BalticPorter.pdf

 

[tbel]

If you look at the bottom of the page for what ever kit you are going to order you'll see "Additional Information" under that you'll see "Kit Inventory Sheet" with a link to the right. That's your instructions. The AG sheet isn't as detailed as the extract kits but it's more than adequate. It gives exact measurments of each ingrediant and when to add them.

 

[Spidey13]

I've brewed 3 NB kits. The Irish Stout and Altbier both turned out really good. I recently bottled the Honey Kolsch and can report on it later.