Good Beer Kit?

[LewisA]

Sorry if this is listed else where I did a quick search but nothing turned up,

I am unsure of which kits are worth getting, I've seen Georgie, John Bull and Youngs kits in wilkos but I have heard some of you guys say they taste like P*** :lol:

I know I have read that the Woodford kits are really good but I don't really want to spend £20 on something that could turn out to be toilet water :sick:

So I was wondering if you guys could recommend a decent kit to me? (Preferably Ale or bitter)

Cheers Guys

 

[Wendy1971]

2 can kits are good woodfordes wherry is an extremely popular one

 

[Pauliet]

To be honest I have done a couple of Geordie kits, substituting the sugar with beer enhancer and found them to be actually quite nice. I guess you get what you pay for but at £9 a pop (exl enhancer) you wont go far wrong. A lot of people say they do taste like pi$$ but at the end of the day I drink what I like to drink and not whats "fashionable".

If you're in Wilks you could try a Tom Caxton Real Ale kit....nice easy drinking bitter and only a couple of quid more than Geordie.

 

[Cussword]

Cooper's kits go down very well :thumb:

 

[Pauliet]

I have a Coopers Real Ale in the FV at the moment with 1kg beer enhancer. Heard some good stuff about the Coopers kits and this morning discovered the "Coopers Spew"....the krausen had literally forced the lid off the fv overnight.

 

[carl_saint]

I've done a Woodfordes Wherry and can say it's a very nice brew indeed! I've just bought a John Bull best bitter kit with 1kg of beer enhancer too. Can go wrong for the price really.

 

[Hollow Legs]

I have a Coopers Real Ale in the FV at the moment with 1kg beer enhancer. Heard some good stuff about the Coopers kits and this morning discovered the "Coopers Spew"....the krausen had literally forced the lid off the fv overnight.

+1 on this kit, it did the same to me, very nice pint

 

[eggman]

I've bought a Woodfordes Nelson's Revenge today to do as my next brew. Done this few times and it's a cracking pint, if you do decide to get a 2 can kit it's a good one to go for
:

 

[RobWalker]

they're all pretty good so long as you go for a style you enjoy mate. there's only so bad it can get with malt, hops, yeast and water. don't worry about spending much on premium kits to begin with - you probably can't really taste the difference yet, and the real taste is knowing you made it yourself

 

[eggman]

the real taste is knowing you made it yourself

Well said mate :thumb:

 

[doghouse gav]

I've tryed pretty much all of the tinned brands and never had one I didn't like.
My advice is start cheap to get your " base line" flavours then start adding dme or different sugars, hop teas etc. you can make a really nice beer this way.
Having said that the wherry bitter is a fantastic pint! :drunk:

 

[nuggitmv]

2 cans of any coopers is a winner its where i started off :

 

[LewisA]

Cheers for all of the advice :)

I gritted my teeth and bought the woodford two can kit because I am quite partial to the wherry

I will be sure to follow everyone's advice in future brews :)

 

[guyb]

unless you made it already, swap the kit yeast for Safale04.

I did on advice from here - very good pint

I'd recommend St Peter's Ruby Red Ale as well

 

[Sponge]

I'm drinking my first kit right now. It was a Coopers Aussie lager. I'm impressed with the taste and for a first go I'm chuffed with the results. Just trying to gather up some more bottles now so I can get brewing again quicker.

 

[Shayler]

Only kits I haven’t liked so far is youngs bitter

 

[cask is best]

I have a Coopers Real Ale in the FV at the moment with 1kg beer enhancer. Heard some good stuff about the Coopers kits and this morning discovered the "Coopers Spew"....the krausen had literally forced the lid off the fv overnight.

Snap. Ive just barrel my Coopers dark ale two weeks ago and experienced the coopers spew as you call it. It did not force my lid off the f.v but it had all splattered on the lid. Never seen that before.

Any way back on post title. I buy Coopers when they are on the bargain shelf at my local Home brew store.
My mate gave me a Geordie lager in a bottle it looked like piss but tasted ok unlike my coopers bottled lager which was a nice golden colour.

 

[periolus]

The Caxton's kits are all nice, and I have had some nice results from Youngs Scottish Heavy and their Harvest Bitter. I have always used half demerrera and half DME instead of brewing sugar, and always use liquid yeast that compliments the style - this gives a much nicer result.

Yes, two can kits are very nice, but for £12, plus roughly £3 of sugar and DME, you can make a very nice single can brew and for £8 less (at least) than most 2-can jobs.

If you want a treat (or something from Father Christmas), get a St. Peter's Ruby Red Ale 2-can kit. Gorgeous.

Advice from my end - but just because I didn't like it much - avoid Geordie kits.

 

[calumscott]

I've done:

Youngs Harvest Bitter: It's beer. It's lovely and clear. It's perfectly drinkable. It probably tastes better than it actually is because it's my first one and it went well! :)
Youngs Harvest Pilsner: It's a revelation! I wasn't expecting anything much but it's wicked! Wished I'd taken an OG, because by the flavour is very heavy on alcoholic kick and frankly a couple of those as an after work relaxant leaves me with a real, erm, "haze"...
Brewferm Chrismas: No idea, not even sampling one until Christmas Eve!
Coopers IPA: Too young (at the last bottle about a week ago) to say for sure but it already has a lot more class than the Youngs. Oh, and as others have said, expect a little up-and-over on the floor on the second morning!

I think over Christmas or into the New Year I'll treat myself to one of the twenty something quid two can kits now that I'm confident in my brewing and bottling processes.

 

[Dr. B]

Personally I would start with a cheap kit if it's your first time.
It might taste awful because it's a bad kit, it might taste awful because, as a beginner, you messed it up.
I'd rather mess up a £9 kit than a £20 one.

Having said that, if you pay attention you shouldn't mess it up :grin:

I made the Tom Caxton's real ale kit after a break of a few years in beer brewing.
It's a decent beer, very drinkable, certainly better than cans of characterless lager or bitters you can buy at the supermarket.
But it was lacking something all the same. Just a standard beer, in my opinion.