Cheap kits sub 14£, never again !!!

[clib]

I've made good beers from kits, from AG, and from a combination of the two.

3 or 4 months ago I made a 40 litre brew with a 3kg kit, 1kg DME and a quick stove top mash (20 min mash and 20 min boil is enough) and it took about 2.5 hours. I made 4 different beers with it, mostly using different yeasts but also hop teas. Bit of a faff, but two x 20L would be simple. Good beers they were, AG quality.

But I've been brewing a long time, I have a good idea what kits I like, and how to add to them with grain etc.

 

[Ezza]

I've given up on cheap kits,after Pimping with extra hops and DME and quality yeast it's a false economy,the Beerworks kits are fantastic as are the new Muntons kits and everything required to get a great tasting beer is included.

 

[moto748]

No worries Moto, suggesting members try AG is not a bad thing but back in the day things got a bit out of hand and some really did look down their noses at kit brewers -

It used to be fairly common sight in the general brewing forums a kit brewer would start a kit related thread and someone would post "don't bother with kits you will never get decent beer AG is the way to go" (and i am not exaggerating) it got to the stage where several kit brewers asked if they would have their own forum to get away from the AG brewers.

Yeah, sure, I totally get that. No worries.

 

[clib]

I would also say I've made some good beers using cheap kits as a base. I do think you need to steep some grains, add hops and often a better yeast us needed, so the work and cost increase. But not that much. Steeping grains for 20 mins and booking for 20 minutes, and chucking some hops in, doesn't create a lot of work, or cost that much. And you can save money and improve the beer by adding a kilo of base malt to the steep, and keeping the temperature between 65 and 70. Cheaper than an expensive kit, and better beer.

e.g. Wilko Cerveza + 1kg Pale malt + 200g Caramalt + 500g Brewing Sugar = approx 1.041 (23 litres) = Approx 15 quid.

Add about 50g dry hops

 

[Cheyne_brewer]

The MYO AIPA from The Range is an excellent base for a pimped beer. The 2.5kg kit has plenty of body and easily hits around 6% without loads of sugar to thin it out. Add a dry hop of your choice to supplement or replace the included ones. My recommendation is 100g Citra - taking a £14 kit into a whole new level. My first one of these was one of the best beers I have ever made and one I will be repeating when my Hopcat refuses to come out to play.

 

[Weatherman]

The MYO AIPA from The Range is an excellent base for a pimped beer. The 2.5kg kit has plenty of body and easily hits around 6% without loads of sugar to thin it out. Add a dry hop of your choice to supplement or replace the included ones. My recommendation is 100g Citra - taking a £14 kit into a whole new level. My first one of these was one of the best beers I have ever made and one I will be repeating when my Hopcat refuses to come out to play.

I have one of these kits to try and have just ordered 100g of Citra based on your recommend. :) the only issue now is the line of kits waiting for their turn!

 

[Cheyne_brewer]

Use either spray malt or liquid malt extract instead of sugar and the quality just gets better. I just made another which fermented out in 2 days under 15psi.

 

[White Rose Al]

Pay a couple of pounds more and these kits are fantastic, it's had me move away from the £27 premium kits

 

[clib]

Pay a couple of pounds more and these kits are fantastic, it's had me move away from the £27 premium kits

View attachment 50770

Are they a rebrand of the Black Rock kits? The range seems very similar, and the name! And the price.

 

[Nidger]

Respect to the AG brewers but kits suit my needs.
I only do lagers and wine.
(I did try a bitter kit, I probably won't be making turbo cider again )

Wine in kits for obvious reasons.
I've found the Cooper's and mangrove jacks lagers very nice only around £11.50 each.
Also I'm not an ale drinker :)

 

[Nidger]

No worries Moto, suggesting members try AG is not a bad thing but back in the day things got a bit out of hand and some really did look down their noses at kit brewers -

It used to be fairly common sight in the general brewing forums a kit brewer would start a kit related thread and someone would post "don't bother with kits you will never get decent beer AG is the way to go" (and i am not exaggerating) it got to the stage where several kit brewers asked if they would have their own forum to get away from the AG brewers.

A good point and an example would be a bloke at work who has started brewing again after we chatted about it.
He has surpassed my level now with kegs, inkbird brew fridge etc.
But as I passed on info to him he now also passes info to me.

For instance, @terrym got me onto the Cooper's kits and @brew2bottle.
I passed this on and was interested in trying the spray malt he and Terry mentioned.
It gave the lager more flavour and a better head but I'm not always out for "more flavour" something some ale drinkers often scoff at lagers, but miss the point that it's what you like that counts.

Kits are cheap, easy and convenient and that suits me.
I did make a mistake of buying and collecting crates/brown bottles but now find 1 and 2ltr pop bottles excellent for home brew lager. Less to sanitise/fill and easier for the fridge .

Although I may use brown bottles to try a chocolate stout. Probably won't like it but something to do and try. :)

So we all do different levels of brewing but the end goal is to save money and enjoy a drink with hopefully a bit of enjoyment and achievement.