Which home brew kit do you have and why?

I would like to get my dad a home brewing kit for Christmas but there is quite a selection on the internet and I don't know anything about it and he is very much into beer so I would like it to be a nice kit and not something cheap. I wouldn't say he is a connoisseur, yet, but he is well on his way. Which ones would everybody recomend and why? Price range is around $100. Thanks.

Reply to
john doe
Loading thread data ...

Look for someplace that is near you so shipping won't be too much. I live in Wisconsin and get most of the things that I don't get locally for either Northern Brewer or Midwest, both are in Minnesota. Both have kits that range from ~$60 to $300+ depending on how many "extras" you want. I'm willing to bet that there is someplace within a reasonable shipping distance that should have something in your price range. You could also try to find a local home brew supply (LHBS), that is either near you or dad, that would be even better for getting supplies and answering questions that may come up in the future. When I got started I got an "starter" kit that had a plastic primary bucket, 5 gal glass carboy, plastic bottling bucket, airlock, hydrometer, caps, capper, tubing, racking cane, bottle filler, sanitizer, a book about homebrewing and video. I think it was around $75. Other things to consider are a large stock pot, if he doesn't already have one that has about a 4 gal capacity, and bottles, about 48 12oz. Hope that helps, Cheers,

Reply to
DragonTail

What do you think about this:

formatting link

Free shipping.

Reply to
john doe

If you are actually considering going down the Mr Beer router, then for that money I would suggest going with the Beer Man starter kit

formatting link
or something better from your local brewhome shop.

The Beer Man start kit is the one that I selected several months back. The extract based beer kits are good & easy to do. I can get extract beer refill kits at my local brew shop (which I located after buying my kit) & move up to a partial or whole grain when I'm ready.

I've only made a few batches thus far (IPAs, Hard Ciders & working on a Export Stout right now).

So far the brews I've made via this starter kit were great. I get a lot of compliments from people who have had really good homebrew or local microbrew beer before -- so I must be doing something right with this kit. ;-)

Overall I'm happy with this starter kit and the results I have received for the price. And the batches are twice the size as the Mr Beer kits (Beer Man makes 5 gallons [about 36 - 16oz bottles] vs. the Mr Beer which makes half that).

I did however expand upon this kit a bit, since purchasing it.

-- moved to EZ-Cap glass bottles, instead of those PET ones. (I still use the PET ones, but just to give away beers to friends/family, so I don't have to collect the glass ones later)

-- picked up a hydometer test kit for gravity readings (makes it easier to see what is happening with my brews)

-- picked up some extra cleaning supplies (simply to keep everything sanitary & in good condition)

-- picked up a few homebrew books (learn more homebrew things, learn tips/tricks, know more on how to proceed/grow with this hobby, among other things.)

I hope this helps...

James T.

Reply to
James T.

formatting link

Reply to
john doe

First off, I haven't heard alot god about the Mr. Beer kits, other than the fact that it can get you into the craft. From what I understand they make "small" batches and I remember seeing problem with sealing the "system". As for growing your own ingredients, that is possible. I grow hops to use. Grain though is another story. Growing it isn't a problem, but malting and kilning is. Not that it can't be done, just a lot of work. Plus, you would still be buying grain, unless you only do a few batches a year or have a large barley (grain) field. Cheers,

Reply to
DragonTail

Your best bet is to find a local homebrew store and ask the people there to build you a basic kit. AFAIK, the typical cost for everything should run an average of about $50-$60. If you want to spend $100, you could buy several ingredient kits to go along with it to use to brew a batch or two.

Reply to
David M. Taylor

Growing hops is very easy, lots of information is available on the internet and in past Brew Your Own magazine issues. However, hops take at least a year if not two years to really get established before they produce a large enough crop to brew a couple of batches or more.

Grains are probably not feasible, you'd have to have a large crop, and then go through the business of germinating, kilning, etc. More trouble than it's worth, malt is so cheap.

Hops aren't as cheap, and they're easy to grow, so you could look into that. For a start on buying hop rhizomes and growing them, look here and here:

formatting link
8&productID58

formatting link

Hope this helps.

Reply to
David M. Taylor

Might I suggest asking Dad whether he's interested in brewing beer?

I don't know where your Dad is in his life. If he's working 60 hours a week in some high-stress corporate job, he might not be "ready" to brew his own beer . . . on the other hand, he might find it very therapeutic. I would hate for you to spend $100 on a gift that is never used.

Another suggestion, which may or may not be appropriate based on your relationship with your dad and where you live, is to go together to a local brew store and select a starter kit and a couple of ingredient kits.

As others have mentioned in the thread, any good brew supply store will have several starter kits. I'll share a personal preference: many of the lower-priced kits come with an opaque plastic fermentation bucket, and I think it's rather important for novice brewers to be able to actually see the fermentation process. Thus I would opt for fermenting in a glass carboy.

Don't go with one of those small-batch brew kits. Get real equipment.

formatting link

I'll share one other personal preference. Buy 22-ounce bottles, not

12-ounce. This makes the bottling go faster (you'll get about 25 22-ounce bottles from a 5-gallon batch). Rather than drinking two 12-ounce bottles of beer at a sitting, I drink one 22-ounce bottle.
Reply to
Steve Bonine

I would definitely stay away from "Mr Beer". IMO, get a kit from a reputable homebrew store. A local store would be great since you can go in and ask them questions. There are lots of online places as well though. I like to use

formatting link
for things that my local store doesn't carry.

At the above site, either the BRKIT1 ($69) or BRKIT2 ($99) would work fine. However, with both of those you'll need to buy your own kettle (large pot) and collect empty bottles for the beer. Ingredients also come seperately.

If you go with the BRKIT3 ($205), it already includes a kettle, bottles, and ingredients for your first beer.

It depends on how much you want to spend and what pieces you might already have (some people will already have a suitable kettle, etc).

John.

Reply to
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar

Very good point. No matter what equipment kit you finally decide on, I would also recommend getting a good book to go along with it. IMO, the best one is

formatting link

John.

Reply to
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar

Theoretically you can grow them yourself, but it's not easy. For example, do you know how to malt your own barley? IMO, not very practical for a beginner (or any homebrewer, really). There's currently only one guy that I know of who is doing it.

The ingredients you get should be generic, IE they're not tied to any specific brand of equipment.

John.

Reply to
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar

If you buy a kit and have some extra money left, I might suggest an AHA membership:

formatting link
Comes with a subscription to Zymurgy magazine and the book 'How to Brew' by John Palmer (which seems to be the book most people recommend to get started brewing).

Scotty B

Reply to
Scotty B

Reply to
bob and becky

You folks gave me so many good answers to this very question/situation a few months ago, which I gathered into a nice page with links to everything. May I post a link to the page so this person can benefit from those answers?

- Erika

Reply to
NiceToBrewers

The spamming never stops, does it? Get a real job.

Reply to
Joel

Well, nobody is screaming "No" at me so...

John Doe,

A few months ago the denizens of this newsgroup offered up a number of excellent suggestions for gifts and acts of kindness for homebrewers, including excellent advice on how to select a good kit. I gathered their suggestions together and put them at the link below. I hope you find something your father will enjoy!

formatting link

- Erika

Reply to
NiceToBrewers

As far as I can tell it's not spam. Erika posted the link in rec.crafts.brewing and it looks like a very useful resource for beginners, with links to homebrew supply shops, books on homebrewing and a lot of information. I'd repost the link but you might accuse me of spamming too.

Wayne

Reply to
Wayne

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.