Best Beer Making Kits – Which to Use

When deciding on the best beer making kit to use, you first need to decide what type of beer you are going to be making with your beer kit.

Choosing a Beer Type to Make

1. Malt Extract Beer Kits

Many beginners start with basic beer kits that contain a can of liquid malt extract, which often has hops pre-added. These kits come with a packet of yeast under the lid. Brewing with these kits involves combining the malt extract with warm water in the fermenter, adding yeast, and sealing the fermenter. This is the easiest and least expensive method for brewing beer.

2. Partial Mash Beer Kits

Partial mash brewing is a step up from malt extract kits and a step below all-grain brewing. It involves using both liquid malt extract and base grains to extract fermentable sugars. These kits come with all the necessary ingredients, including malt extract, base grains, hops, and yeast. It is an excellent way to learn the basics of brewing and prepare for all-grain brewing.

3. All-Grain Beer Kits

All-grain brewing is the most advanced form of brewing, requiring more equipment, time, and ingredients. It produces the highest quality beer. All-grain beer kits are a great way to start all-grain brewing, providing all the grains, hops, yeast, and recipe instructions needed.

Top Malt Extract Beer Kits

Two highly recommended malt extract beer kits are:

1) Coopers Beer Kits: These kits have been around for a long time and offer a wide variety of beer styles to choose from. Coopers also offers a DIY Kit for those who don’t have any brewing equipment, which includes everything needed to start brewing.

2) Muntons Beer Kits: Muntons is another reputable brand, offering various beer styles to choose from. Their kits produce good quality beer, especially when given time to age and condition.

For smaller batches (2-3 gallons), the Mr. Beer Kit is a popular option that provides quality ingredients and brewing instructions.

Top Partial Mash Kits

The Brewers Best Kit is the top recommendation for partial mash kits. These kits come with everything needed to brew, including grains, malt, yeast, hops, and a recipe. They produce high-quality beer and are easy to use.

Top All-Grain Beer Kits

One might wonder why in the world if someone has moved onto all grain brewing would they purchase a kit… and the answer is because it is easier and more convenient.

Yes, you can go out and find a recipe on your own… then go out and source out the ingredients on your own… mill the grains on your own (or pay the company to do it)… and then brew it up and hope that the guy you got the recipe from knew what he was doing and the beer turns out good…

Or… just pick up a freaking all grain kit… it costs as much for the most part as buying the ingredients on your own. It comes with a tried and true proven recipe… all the ingredients (pre-milled grain)… and the exact instructions on how to brew up the beer.

Most of the online homebrew supply stores have put these kits together for you…

What is great is when you go to choose a recipe there are typically reviews under the recipe from other people who have bought the kit… I always like to know that the beer I am brewing has been brewed successfully by other people before. And it’s always great to see if other people like how the beer turned out!

I still, to this day, will from time to time pick up one of these kits… primarily to get my hands on the recipe that comes with it because you can always re-use the recipe if you end up liking the beer. I have a stack of these recipes I have saved from these kits and continue to brew many of those beers.

My favorite location to order these type of kits is from Adventures in Home Brewing.

Best Beer Making Kit FAQs

Top Beer Brewing Kits for Beginners

Some of the top beer brewing kits for beginners include Mr. Beer Complete Beer Making Starter Kit and Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Set. These kits come with essential equipment and ingredients to help novices get started with brewing their own beer.

Essential Home Brewing Equipment

To brew a good beer at home, you’ll need the following essential equipment:

– Fermentation vessel (such as a carboy or bucket)
– Airlock and bung
– Brew kettle
– Thermometer
– Hydrometer
– Siphon
– Sanitizer
– Stirring spoon
– Bottles, caps, and a capper

Highly-rated Beer Kits on Amazon

Some highly-rated beer kits available on Amazon include the Mr. Beer Complete Beer Making Starter Kit, Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Set, and Kama Citra Session IPA Craft Beer Making Gift Set. These kits have received positive reviews based on their ease of use, quality of ingredients, and end results.

Popular 5-gallon Beer Making Kit Options

The following 5-gallon beer making kit options are popular among homebrewers:

– Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Set
– Brewer’s Best 5 Gallon Beer Equipment Kit
– MoreBeer Premium 5-gallon Homebrew Starter Kit

These kits provide all the essential equipment needed for producing 5-gallon batches of beer, usually equivalent to 50 12-ounce bottles.

Factors for a High-quality Beer Extract Kit

To determine the quality of a beer extract kit, consider the following factors:

– Freshness of ingredients, including malt extract, hops, and yeast
– Clarity of instructions
– Quality and durability of included equipment
– Customer support and access to resources for troubleshooting

Notable Craft Brew Kits for Unique Flavors

If you’re looking to create unique and flavorful craft beers, consider kits like the Kama Citra Session IPA Craft Beer Making Gift Set or the Brooklyn Brew Shop Beer Making Kit, offering various styles and flavors to accommodate diverse tastes. These kits come with distinctive ingredients, enabling you to create personalized beers with complex and interesting flavor profiles.