What Kit ? (No Hurry)

[Adam]

Hey, looking to start brewing from kits in a few weeks time (fingers crossed). I've only just started looking into it all.

Here are the brands that my local homebrew shop carries and i wonder if any stand out as a good first kit.

Brewmart Danish/Dutch/German £11.75
Coopers Bitter/Brown Ale/Lager £8.95
EDME Bitter £10.50
Geordie Bitter/Lager/Scottish £7.25
John Bull Executive/Bitter £14.75 / £8.50
Perfect Pint Bitter/Lager/Yorkshire £8.95

wow the list is longer than i thought so to foreshorten it - less information

Muntons £12.00
Tom Caxton £10.00
Telfords £7.75
Black Rock £8.99
Woodefordes £17.50

I know that there are lots of options online and i'm not adverse to ordering a kit from there if one is highly recommended for the novice (i will drink almost anything but fancy a drink with a little body and bite)

Thanks to this site plan to have a crack at Turbo Cider for my short term needs and fingers crossed beer ready for Christma/New Years.

smiles
adam

p.s. i don't work for the shop or anything, also deliberately didn't mention their name so that this is not an advert for them

[J_P]

I have tried the coopers IPA and can really recommend it. I found you can't fall off with the brupaks range either although looking at your list you may have to order one of those online.

For tips on making up kits take a look at Daabs site, it's how I, and several others, found this place. The rest of the site is full of all sorts of useful instructions.

[vacant]

I gave my son equipment and his first kit in August, and I made up the same kit at the same time. Both worked out beautifully:

Edme super brew gold bitter (£8.99) with geordie beer enhancer (£3.29) and 1/2 campden tablet.

Just one other thing - you mention prices ... I'm keeping an eye on kit prices for him and here is a list from "Cellars" in Cardiff (1st price, his nearest), vs Wilko's in WsM (2nd price, my nearest):

• woodforde wherry 16.89 14.99
• edme superbrew gold bitter 11.15 8.99
• tom caxton real ale 10.29 7.99
• brewbuddy bitter 9.99 6.99
• geordie yorkshire ale 7.49 4.99
• coopers australian bitter 9.45 8.25

Wilko's is far cheaper for the limited range they stock, but I said if he wants advice/chat he'd be better going to his local home brew shop. We don't know what the Cardiff Wilko's stocks, but my wife popped into the central Bristol branch and it was rubbish. Maybe the WsM Wilko's manager is a home brewer?

[chopperswookie]

totally agree with vacant on the wilkos front, alot cheaper. invest in brewing sugar and spraymalts, a alot more professional tasting. coopers and woodfordes for me, only due to a dodgy barrel did i mess a wherry up.

but again use spraymalt. its well worth the extra money. eg geordie kit £4.99 500g of spraymalt (about) £3.29, 500g brewing sugar (about) 80p.

[vacant]

but again use spraymalt. its well worth the extra money. eg geordie kit £4.99 500g of spraymalt (about) £3.29, 500g brewing sugar (about) 80p.

Agreed.

I think that's what the "Geordie beer enhancer" is. The ingredients are listed as "Spray-Dried Malt Extract (Malted Barley, Water), Spray-Dried Dextrose (Dextrose, Water)". Looking through the packet it appears roughly half white powder (dextrose) and half offwhite/beige powder (dme).

And yes, it can clump up very easily!

One day I'll get myself to a proper HBS and stock up with a few kilos of something decent.

[sparky Paul]

The Woodefordes kits really take some beating, despite the sticking ferment issues that some have had. For the beginner, they do have the advantage that there's absolutely nothing to add, and the resulting beer is really quite impressive.

A neighbour has just started a homebrew after tasting the Wherry I made. Despite trying to direct him to something more reliable, he has insisted on making the same Wherry kit, he couldn't believe it how good it was.

Having said that, I've not had any problems with them, so perhaps they've sorted these issues out.

[TC2642]

The Woodefordes kits really take some beating, despite the sticking ferment issues that some have had. For the beginner, they do have the advantage that there's absolutely nothing to add, and the resulting beer is really quite impressive.

A neighbour has just started a homebrew after tasting the Wherry I made. Despite trying to direct him to something more reliable, he has insisted on making the same Wherry kit, he couldn't believe it how good it was.

Having said that, I've not had any problems with them, so perhaps they've sorted these issues out.

Agreed, the Woodfordes yeast is excellent aswell, I once mistakenly added 500gms of dark brown sugar to a Norfolk Nog kit and it turned out to be an excellent replica of an Imperial Ale Stout. Pricey but worth it.

[Adam]

thanks everyone... gives me something to think about and a good way to direct my browsing in the meantime.

Vacant... my pricelist is from the website of Beer and Winecraft in Newport so its only 20 miles or so down the road from your son.

I was tempted into panic buying from a site that informed me of the increase in homebrew prices but resisted until i know a bit more.

smiles
adam

[vacant]

I was tempted into panic buying from a site that informed me of the increase in homebrew prices but resisted until i know a bit more.

I panic-bought when I heard that rumour on this forum (see sig)

[Adam]

too late to panic buy now (well not quite the site said until midnight tonight - was one near the top of a google search) but i will stand strong and take the consequences.

Always was one to have wander about mentally, physically and as it now turns out ... online-ically (?).

Want to gather a little more intelligence before i buy (all the more for the alcohol to gnaw away at)

smiles
adam

[sparky Paul]

They have the disadvantage of having the possibly of sticking, for a first time beer kit avoid like the plague. You want a hassle free brew, at least for your first few attempts.

The comment I made about not having to add anything could be applied equally to any of the 3kg kits, Brupaks, John Bull Masterclass or whatever. I just think it makes the process so easy.

As I said, I did try to talk this neighbour chap out of doing the Woodeforde's kit, but he was having none of it. Against my advice, he went on and bought the kit, and it fortunately seems to have fermented out without any problem. At least he should be rewarded with one of the best kit beers available IMHO.

In any case, its worth looking for a kit that will make a quality of beer which will inspire the beginner to go on and brew more.

[sparky Paul]

There looks to be a great selection there DaaB, many of which I haven't yet tried. The Brewer's Choice kits are superb, but a bit fiddly for the beginner IMHO.

I didn't know you could get Springhead kits, the brewery is near me and was sadly flooded out this summer. I might have to try one of those...

I would think that those Springhead kits will be made by Diamalt at Newark like Milestone's, another small brewer just up the road at Cromwell. They also make the Sherwood, John Bull and Vina brands there.

[CrownCap]

Looking at the marketing gumph, they use part genuine brewery wort, part 'generic' malt extract. No mention of proportions mind you. Still look very interesting though, and with a good yeast thrown in.

I saw the Milestone kits in my LHBS the day I bought the ingredients for my first AG. If I hadn't be going over to the 'dark side' I would have definitely been walking out with one of those kits to give it a try.

[sparky Paul]

apparently they use wort made in the brewery

In that case, they have got to be worth trying.

I've not made any of the Milestone kits either, but the commercial beer from both breweries is superb.