Best Beer Kits you have brewed

[pms67]

I agree about the St Peters Ruby Red, very bitter.

 

[pms67]

Might have to revise list, all Youngs American kits then Festivals ???

What a hobby :party:

 

[the_kitchen_brewer]

I only started brewing last December but here is my list so far:

#1 BeerWorks Mersey Dockers IPA - 6.5% but easy to drink and very hoppy (I like hops!) one taste in the shop and I couldn't wait to get this one started!
#1 (Joint) BrewUK Old Speckled Hen Extract Pack - Something very satisfying about brewing from dry ingredients! Tastes even better than the real thing for many people (slightly sweeter, more toffee flavour).
#3 BrewUK Way to Amarillo Extract Pack - Very simple, just a bag of DME, amarillo hops and yeast but tastes good and none of their extract kits have as many positive reviews.
#4 Woodfordes Nog - my first brew, and what a brew it was! Dark and full of flavour!
#5 Coopers Canadian Blonde - I'm no longer a big lager fan, but on a hot summers day I do like a nice cold lager - this one is dead easy to make, clears quickly with very little sediment and tastes like a commercial Canadian Lager!

Honourable Mentions: Better Brew Czech Pilsner - tastes a bit like Staropramen to me. Better Brew Bandit Brew - wasn't overly impressed at first but leave it a few weeks and Wow! Brewferm Kriek - bit pricey and slightly artificial cherry taste, but very enjoyable nevertheless if you leave it a few months.

 

[Slid]

After returning to home brew after many years - being a Dad refocuses your priorities - I was struck by how good the new kits really are. You now only need a can opener, to open a new world of brewing.

When I first started, 1980 or something, it was basically extract brewing, to make anything half decent. But dried out, sorry looking hops in a plastic bag are nothing like the stuff available now. And why boil for an hour plus in SWMBO's kitchen when a cheeky mash up with a few green hops and a pre-bittered kit make it a sort of artistic adventure, rather than a chore?

Yeah, what a hobby, what a surprise to find out how easy it is now, to make beer so much better than I ever could then. And even then it was comparable to the pub beer of the time. Though in truth, not saying much.

 

[Slid]

So, fave beer kits are:

Coopers Stout
Coopers Aus Lager
Wherry
Coopers Real Ale
Wilko Pilsner (done x2) - Suspect actually that all Wilko lagers are similar

Like I say above, unless you cock it up, modern beer kits are Ace and will deliver decent results, if you take some care, especially with sanitation. Take some time and read around the brewing process, get some fresh ingredients (speciality grains and hops) and you can brew better than you can buy, and better than the kits on their own. Easy.

 

[syzygy]

Only really done BrewFerm (had the odd one or 2 others)

But..... in no particular order

Grand Crew
Old Brown
Xmas
Framboose
Oranje Bock

Are probably my top 5 kits I've done so far

 

[pms67]

After returning to home brew after many years - being a Dad refocuses your priorities - I was struck by how good the new kits really are. You now only need a can opener, to open a new world of brewing.

When I first started, 1980 or something, it was basically extract brewing, to make anything half decent. But dried out, sorry looking hops in a plastic bag are nothing like the stuff available now. And why boil for an hour plus in SWMBO's kitchen when a cheeky mash up with a few green hops and a pre-bittered kit make it a sort of artistic adventure, rather than a chore?

Yeah, what a hobby, what a surprise to find out how easy it is now, to make beer so much better than I ever could then. And even then it was comparable to the pub beer of the time. Though in truth, not saying much.

Too true mate, I had to work in Iona a few months ago and had to buy beer,
What a shocker, my palate has changed and commercial beers are hard to take unless it's a craft beer for £2 or more and to be honest it would kill me to continually pay that.
Just don't tell too many people or the price will creep up !!!:rofl:

 

[Orval62]

Just tried my Merseyside Dockers IPA, and top marks the best I've brewed to date . Very hoppy you don't realise its over 6%.

 

[Slid]

Too true mate, I had to work in Iona a few months ago and had to buy beer,
What a shocker, my palate has changed and commercial beers are hard to take unless it's a craft beer for £2 or more and to be honest it would kill me to continually pay that.
Just don't tell too many people or the price will creep up !!!:rofl:

Iona indeed, nae problem getting a seat on the underground, eh, ye churlish wee scunner.:grin:

Looks a beautiful place, but it's never quite as warm as it looks, and always windy.

Happy Brewing :drink:

 

[pms67]

Iona indeed, nae problem getting a seat on the underground, eh, ye churlish wee scunner.:grin:

Looks a beautiful place, but it's never quite as warm as it looks, and always windy.

Happy Brewing :drink:

Too true mate,clear blue sky,pure white beach and standing at pier frozen !

Cheers

 

[Smileysmiles]

Wherry, hammer of Thor, evil dog, wherry, coopers

 

[pms67]

Wherry twice :grin:
Must be good :wink::wink:

 

[Slid]

Wherry twice :grin:
Must be good :wink::wink:

It is, but you have to wait about twice as long...:drunk:

 

[Smileysmiles]

Wherry twice :grin:

Must be good :wink::wink:

So easy. So good. I have just started AG and am actually struggling with my kit beers after a few pints of my AG.

 

[einsamkeit]

I've only done 3 brews since getting back into home brewing (my 4th is happily fermenting away as we speak) so cannot quite put my top 5 on here yet but having read the thread on how good the reviews of Evil Dog are, I am surprised that it is only mentioned twice in people's top five category.

 

[pms67]

I have just bought Wherry for the first time so it may sneak into top 5.
Apologies for resurrecting this thread but I'm curious to find good alternative kits.
Cheers guys

 

[Slid]

I have just bought Wherry for the first time so it may sneak into top 5.
Apologies for resurrecting this thread but I'm curious to find good alternative kits.
Cheers guys

Most of my beers have been pretty good, since I re-started brewing in September last year. The kits are just so much better than they were when I previously brewed in the 1980's, it's unbelievable.

In the UK most of the manufacturing is done by a company called Muntons. They are a fairly small operation in economic terms with a workorce in the 200's. They will have an industrial process and a product.
There will be a set number of products, using the same base set of ingedients, in different proportions, and a spectrum of product outcomes that is actually fairly well defined. There may be some variation in the quality of the base ingredients, but I am a bit sceptical on that. All the Muntons product I have bought seems to come with the same Ale yeast, which I am told is Nottigham.

My suspicion is that the main differential between the UK manufactured kits is just packaging - same as the other stuff you buy in the supermarket.

Coopers do a great range of 1 can kits that are pretty popular and I've always been pleased with the outcomes. Again they have a well defined range of product, most of which come with an identical Ale Yeast. If you are interested, a brewer called Dave did a number of Vids on u-tube - google "Whats brewing UK" will work.

So my suggestion is not to try and find a different kit, cos theyre all basically the same formulaic styles, but try ways of changing it with hops and speciality grains. This is a bit like the extract brewing I did years ago (before it had a specific name) and am trying to experiment on now.

Hope this helps!

 

[FatCol]

So my suggestion is not to try and find a different kit, cos theyre all basically the same formulaic styles, but try ways of changing it with hops and speciality grains. This is a bit like the extract brewing I did years ago (before it had a specific name) and am trying to experiment on now.

Hope this helps!

Slid, I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this statement. Whilst you are correct that Muntons produce most of the 2 can premium kits, whatever their branding, suggesting that they are all basically the same is simply untrue.

Not so long back I had a Wherry, an Admiral's Reserve, a Sundew and a Best of British IPA all in kegs alongside each other. All 4 of those kits are made by Muntons, however, each had it's own distinct flavour, colour and characteristics, which wouldn't be the case if they merely chucked a different label on cans of the same ingredients.

As you mentioned earlier in your post Slid, kit brewing has moved on an enormous amount and it is possible to turn out a very good ale using a standard 2 can kit (Wherry as a classic example) and I agree that the Coopers kits are also very good.

So my suggestion PMS67 would be to try lots of different kits and then if you find one that you like, you can always experiment with it using hops etc if you feel it can be improved to your personal tastes. For me personally, I tend to brew a little shorter but don't bother with hops etc and I've turned out some fine brews, each distinct from the next. There isn't a bad one in the Woodfordes range in my opinion, and many on here rave about the St Peters / Festival / Milestone / Wilko own brand kits, all of which are Muntons produced.

Variety is the spice of life is it not? Try as many as possible, try different styles, try different target ABVs and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the variety that's out there, without the need for tinkering.

Whilst Wilko have a sale on and Tesco have the club card boost at the moment, now is the perfect time to stock up your brew cupboard :drink:

FatCol :

 

[pms67]

Guys,thanks for your replies,hope i havent given you the wrong impression as i am already altering kits and adding hops,i have brewed maybe 50.kits but am probably being greedy or obsessive trying to find that perfect kit/hop/yeast combo !
Coopers traditional ones are foolproof,Draught and IPA are my favs for.adding hops to.Festival are good,Youngs new American range are on a par if not even.better and im looking forward to my wherry.One thing i must do is experiment with different yeasts and steeping grains as i have only done this once with US 05 and it turned out a really clean tasting beer.(I only modify 1 can kits as if im paying £25 they should be good enough already) cheers guys

 

[pms67]

Difference a few months make !!!!
Updated list for anyone interested in doing kits.
1 Young's American Amber Ale
2 Festival Summer Ale (elderflower) or Golden Stag
3 Young's American Pale Ale
4 Brewferm Grand Cru
5 Coopers IPA or Draught with as much hops as you can throw in
Cheers guys :drunk: