Best Beer Kits you have brewed

[winster]

Hi Guys, new to the forum. Anyway, here are my top five;

1. Woodeforde's Norfolk Nog
2. Woodeforde's Wherry
3. Coopers Brewmaster Select Stout
4. Bandit Brew Tequila and Lime lager (I've developed a real taste for this!!!)
5. Cooper's Mexican Cerveza (only when it's hot and sunny with a chunk of fresh lime!)

Anyhow, I think this could all change as I have a Young's American Oaked Rum Ale on the go and I think it could be a game changer.

 

[chinacat]

cant go wrong with woodefordes wherry brewed 3 now all good also try milestones dark galleon and st peters ruby all are two can kits nice and easy and good drinking

 

[pms67]

1 Youngs IPA
2 Festival Elderflower ale
3 Youngs AAA
4 Festival Golden Stag
5 Youngs Pale Ale/Muntons IPA
:hat:

 

[pms67]

Currently brewing a Festival NZ Pilsner
Have high hopes for this,comes with 100g of hops :clap:

 

[pms67]

Still bubbling away :whistle::whistle::whistle:
Patience is the key :thumb:

 

[Amidared]

I have two fave kits to work with,

1 Coopers Wheat - with improvisations
2 Wobbly Gob Cider - light dry hopped.

I'm just preparing for a partial mash Coopers Wheat but it will be my first of such so am triple checking that I dont have too much conflict with the Coopers Schooner base. Will use Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner Base Malt and a small amount of Carahell and Carawheat. I don't know for sure yet but may drop Carahell, don't want too much going on. I'll be using the Mangrove Jack M20 Bavarian Wheat yeast.

 

[SiWHU]

cant go wrong with woodefordes wherry brewed 3 now all good also try milestones dark galleon and st peters ruby all are two can kits nice and easy and good drinking

Agree Wherry and St Peter's RRA are definite kits that have produced consistently good results for me (in my limited experience), but I've just cracked open a fresh Festival Razorback and its going to the top of the list.:

 

[stevey]

I've recently gone biab, but I'd still do Youngs american IPA, or festival razorback. Both very reliable and fast fermenting kits. I chucked in an extra 20g of chinook for 5 days after fermentation finished, amazing hoppy taste.
Not keen on any woodfordes kits, I never had one that didn't stall.
I also liked coopers english bitter, (before I got the taste for lots of hops), but I used to buy 2 and make 23 litres with both and omit the sugar.

 

[pms67]

I don't know why I bother making a list of top five,it's changed by the time I've finished typing.
Basically Festival or Youngs kits rise to the top,all one can kits require additions which amount to the same cost but more effort than two can kits.
But ooooh that Festival NZ Pilsner is nice :

 

[pms67]

I make no apologies for resurrecting this thread.

Youngs Red India Ale is very,very good for a kit :thumb:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Its one of those threads that is never ending as you will find new favourites in the future.

 

[marinali29]

:grin: Sprinkling hops on the surface allows the hops to better disperse and give up their flavour and aroma,but it might clog up your siphon or get carried over into your bottles. Put hops in a muslin bag is slightly less likely to give up flavour and aroma.

Will between 4 and 7 days better or not?

I usually put some hops in a muslin bag and chuck em in fv 2 - 3 days before i bottle,enhances hop aroma and taste wonderfully :

 

[marinali29]

:thumb: amazing experience.

The Rajas reward as previously mentioned is a two can malt extract kit and is a bit fuller bodied. The hops provided give it a nice little hit of aroma too. The coopers is a 1 can kit and requires additional fermentables which can mean it may not be as full on the mouth feel. I get round this by adding 500g dme as it doesn't fully ferment and gives the beer a bit of body and 700g dextrose just to keep the alcohol level up. I also like trying the coopers with different hop pairings. So far my favourite is a hop tea 1/2 oz cascade at 15 mins, 1/2 oz northern brewer at 10 mins,1/2 oz cascade at 5 mins and dry hopped with 3/4 oz cascade. Lovely pint after 10 days or so in the bottle! In conclusion try both IPAs and you won't be disappointed!

 

[Godsdog]

Best beer kit on the market? No competition its evil dogs double IPA not the best value for money but way above any kit I have brewed in 40 odd years and I've done over 600 of the buggas in my time.as for the best one can kits the honour belongs to coopers,all their range are excelent and with some new ones on the horizon the kit brewing is about to get even better

 

[wheazy_joe]

Best beer kit on the market? No competition its evil dogs double IPA not the best value for money but way above any kit I have brewed in 40 odd years and I've done over 600 of the buggas in my time.as for the best one can kits the honour belongs to coopers,all their range are excelent and with some new ones on the horizon the kit brewing is about to get even better

Have you tried the Youngs American IPA, do you rate the Evil Dog IPA as better? High praise indeed if you have tried both!

The only Bull Dog kit I've done is the Hammer of Thor which I have to say I really don't like, so rightly or wrongly, it has put me off trying any of their other kits.

Agree that Coopers make some excellent kits also and I'm really looking forward to their new range.

 

[Godsdog]

Should have said up to yet wheezy,I liked evil so much that if I outlay that much for a kit again it would be that one.I've said on other threads that all though new to AIPA be it homebrew and down the local pub I'm sold on them,love ALL IPA,s to be honest though

 

[wheazy_joe]

Should have said up to yet wheezy,I liked evil so much that if I outlay that much for a kit again it would be that one.I've said on other threads that all though new to AIPA be it homebrew and down the local pub I'm sold on them,love ALL IPA,s to be honest though

Had you asked me 12 months ago I would have said I was a lager drinker only. However now, I can't remember the last time I bought a bottle of lager (other than Pilsner Urquell), all I buy these days is IPAs, and I find I'm only thinking about brewing them as well.

Anyway the Youngs AIPA is outstanding, and my LHBS (Glen Brew on Dumbarton Road, Glasgow) sells them for £22.99 which is, in my opinion at least, an absolute bargain.

 

[Godsdog]

Never really been a lager drinker in all my years supping,although to amass a few swing tops I've been sinking a few grolsch which is quite nice for a lager,back to the dog though I can't praise it highly enough but alas its not to be taken lightly as it's certainly not even close to being a session ale,too much of that and you'll be looking for your head under the bed as my old man used to say,so I usually have the one or two small glasses to finish off a session before retiring to my bed.

 

[Linalmeemow]

I've had the Black Rock Riwaka Pale Ale in bottles for about 5 weeks now and it's got seriously good. Not got the punch of the Youngs AIPA or the Evil Dog (though that was pretty awful IMHO) but flavour and body-wise it's better than a lot of mid-range commercial ales.

I've also got the St Peter's cream stout at the same age and that's coming good as well, though sadly it's nothing like the commercial version.

 

[Kman]

I've got the St. Peter's cream stout in the bottle 2 weeks, had a sample and it's very nice, can only get better this one