What is the best home brewing kit for beginners?
Nothing against Mr. Beer (except those bottles and the fact that it kind of looks like a kids toy) - it will make beer fine.
But as someone who has done some home brewing, you should really stop by your local home brew store and ask them for a single stage brewing kit. This will give you a lot more flexibility to try out different brewing methods and you will easily be able to add more complicated equipment to your basic kit if you decide to continue brewing. They usually run around $60-70 and come with everything you need to brew and bottle except for the bottles (you can drink a couple of cases of beer right?) and the mashing pot (you will need a pot that can boil at least 3-4 gallons of water whether you go with Mr. Beer or a more traditional brewing kit).
Your home brew store will offer extract kits similar to what Mr Beer offers (or find them online) but it will also offer basic packages of malts, hops, and yeast that will be much more fun to make and give you a much better understanding of how your favorite brews are made. Making beer this way really isn't any more complicated and is a much better experience if you want to know how the ingredients make the beer what it is.
Either way - support your local brewing community, drink up, and have fun.
5 Answers
Nothing against Mr. Beer (except those bottles and the fact that it kind of looks like a kids toy) - it will make beer fine.
But as someone who has done some home brewing, you should really stop by your local home brew store and ask them for a single stage brewing kit. This will give you a lot more flexibility to try out different brewing methods and you will easily be able to add more complicated equipment to your basic kit if you decide to continue brewing. They usually run around $60-70 and come with everything you need to brew and bottle except for the bottles (you can drink a couple of cases of beer right?) and the mashing pot (you will need a pot that can boil at least 3-4 gallons of water whether you go with Mr. Beer or a more traditional brewing kit).
Your home brew store will offer extract kits similar to what Mr Beer offers (or find them online) but it will also offer basic packages of malts, hops, and yeast that will be much more fun to make and give you a much better understanding of how your favorite brews are made. Making beer this way really isn't any more complicated and is a much better experience if you want to know how the ingredients make the beer what it is.
Either way - support your local brewing community, drink up, and have fun.
While I agree with supporting your local brewing community many places don't have the good fortune of having one. I started brewing 4 or 5 years ago and the folks at Midwest Supplies
have been an amazing help. I began using their starter kit, which includes everything you need to get going, and a forgiving recipe kit.
From there I've run the brewing gauntlet and the folks there have always been willing to answer questions. They're definitely a great resource.
Having searched the web far and wide for a beginner kit for my husband I can say that I probably researched and compared all the kits out there on the market. I visited 4 or 5 different home brew shops in the area and spoke with people that upwards of 20 years homebrewing experience.
All that being said I think the True Brew kits are a great place for beginners to start. They are not too expensive and they give you room to grow if you decide you like the hobby. Graduating from extract brewing to all grain brewing is the goal and the equipment you get in the True Brew kit vs a Mr. Beer or Beer Machine allows you to grow your brewery much easier.
Best place I found to research the Beginner Home Brewing Kits Happy hunting and brewing!
If you get in contact with the Boston Beer Company (brewery of Sam Adams) they offer an excellent kit, even the employees use it, for around $150, it comes with everything you need for a basic ale, the book "Homebrewers Bible" and a DVD narrated by Founder of Sam Adams Jim Koch. Good luck and Cheers!
Company/product name is http://www.crosby-baker.com/TrueBrew.htm
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Without a doubt, the Mr. Beer Premium Edition Home Microbrewery System is a great place to start. It's cheap, requires no knowledge of brewing to start, and makes fantastic beer.
A lot of purists will insist you need to use the traditional equipment and procedures for home brewing, but if you just want to try it out without spending a lot of money, go with this kit. I just bought it for a buddy's birthday and he's already made a killer Blonde Ale, an ESB, an IPA, and a stout. The beer is delicious and very easy to make. It's like the difference between store-bought and homemade chocolate chip cookies.
They also have a great online community with literally thousands of recopies you can easily make. Best of all, you can buy additional fermentation units cheaply and get multiple batches going. Can't recommend it enough