Help picking out a Beginner Kit

[RØARS]

hi
both my parents have home-brewed beer for years so I can benefit from their experience and equipment but i still somewhat consider myself a beginner. My mum recommended me her stand by 'Geordies Bitter' as a good place to start but I'm not a fan of traditional English bitters or Fuggles hops,

I'm looking for something more modern, closer in style to a refreshing, hoppy American IPA, Blond or Saison.
any good Affordable (Similar priced to Geordies) recommendations? for a beginner right now. (Geordie's is about £10, most kits are £15-30 range)

if I could find a good kit i like that's cost half the price as a more expensive kit i could rotating them

thanks you

 

[thesteve]

Roars, although it is tempting to go for something cheaper I would steer clear of cheap kits. Buy something good and you will not be disappointed. Go for one of the Youngs kits and you will always end up with a decent beer. You are gonna end up with maybe 35 pints of beer for less than 30 pounds. Compare that to a cheap pint in a pub and you are quids in. Don't scrimp by buying a cheap kit that will only result in crap beer and maybe put you off doing any more.

 

[thesteve]

These are great:

https://brew2bottle.co.uk/products/youngs-premium-40-pint-ale-kits

 

[kelper]

Wilko kits are great value

 

[Pavros]

I would try one of the premium kits as all the ingredients are included in the price. If you buy a one can kit, the price increases by the time you have bought enhancer/spraymalt/liquid malt and hops to dry hop with especially if you want a hoppy beer.

If you are looking for a hoppy IPA, then I would go for one of the Youngs American kits (as mentioned above), Bulldog 4 Fingered Jack or the Festival Razorback IPA. Mangrove Jacks do a craft series of beers with plenty of choice but these cost nearly £25 once you add in the cost of the extra liquid malt extract. That makes them a similar price to the premium kits

I have used the Wilko triple hopped IPA one can kit, added brew enhancer and 50g of citra and 50g of Mosaic hop pellets as a dry hop. This came out pretty well but probably cost just less than one of the Youngs American kits.

 

[kelper]

I did the Wilko IPA with a Kilo of sugar and it was pretty good and 36p a pint.

 

[Pavros]

I think it depends on how hoppy you want it. I don't think the Wilko Triple Hopped IPA kit would really compare without any additions as 15g of Amarillo hops won't be enough for a dry hop (it's certainly not at Brewdog levels of hoppiness!)

 

[terrym]

My advice
- If Geordie kits are unchanged from 25years ago thats why homebrewing got a bad name. There's better out there in 2020
- Avoid 1.5kg kits, they are cheap for a reason, but if you must, brew short say 20 litres not 23 litres.
- One cans are best done with extra hops or steeping grains plus malt extract and you find out about that as you get some experience under you belt. If you do a one can start with one at 1.7kg
- As a new brewer try a premium kit where everything you need comes in the box. By the time you add all the extras to a one can to make a decent beer (other than a bag of sugar) there isnt much difference in cost
Otherwise this might help
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/

 

[kelper]

hi
both my parents have home-brewed beer for years so I can benefit from their experience and equipment but i still somewhat consider myself a beginner. My mum recommended me her stand by 'Geordies Bitter' as a good place to start but I'm not a fan of traditional English bitters or Fuggles hops,

I'm looking for something more modern, closer in style to a refreshing, hoppy American IPA, Blond or Saison.
any good Affordable (Similar priced to Geordies) recommendations? for a beginner right now. (Geordie's is about £10, most kits are £15-30 range)

if I could find a good kit i like that's cost half the price as a more expensive kit i could rotating them

thanks you

Buy this kit and 1kg of sugar. Pimp it with some hop pellets. Natch! Wilko IPA Brewing Kit 1.5kg | Wilko

£12 plus 56p for the sugar (Tesco sell 1 kg of sugar for 56p)

 

[Clint]

I had great results with the Cooper's kits. Check out their web site and the recipes section.

 

[Redwulf]

Mangrove Jack Kits Craft Series Kits seem to have been very good and they do some interesting beers like Saison and Raspberry Berlinner. £18 a pouch + half a kilo of sugar or dme.

 

[RØARS]

thanks for responding i started to think i was just shouting into the void.

some of kits iv been looking at are.
in stock
Bad Cat Imperial Red & Evil Dog Double IPA look interesting but are 25£
Punk IPA Clone but its like 40£ so no!
Mangrove jack kits
Wilko IPA Brewing Kit
out of Stock
Vibrant Forest – Black Forest Porter
Simply - Pale Ale
Simply - IPA
Bulldog - IPA Pouch Beer Kit
Bulldog Brews IPA Beer Tin KIT (the ipa is OoS but the saison isnt)

I know the Youngs Premium kits are good and have bought them in the past but I wanted to get something cheaper that I could potentially get wrong with less monetary consequence. and once I get better at homebrewing I could go back and get the more advanced premium kits again.

 

[trummy]

I like the modern golden ale beers with the American variety hops. If you follow the instructions and clean everything well then rinse you should be ok whatever you choose. I add a campden tablet to the brew water the night before then follow the instructions but leave it brewing a min of two weeks. I am a fan of the Ritchie kits but £25 again unfortunately. Remember no such thing as a free lunch!
Better to buy a well balanced kit than using a cheapo and then trying to pimp it up.

 

[Pavros]

Ok. I'm not sure but I assumed that you wanted an extract kit. 2 of the kits you've listed are all grain kits (punk and vibrant forest) so I am a bit confused. Unless you have the equipment, you won't be able to make these.

Personally I would go for a couple of premium kits first and make them up without modifications. Look at the review section on here to get an idea of how good the kits are. Once you are happy with your technique, then try experimenting with cheaper kits/mashing some grain/dry hopping.

 

[GhostShip]

If you like the American craft beers, I’d look at the Mangrove Jack’s range. They do an American IPA, an American Pale and a Simcoe IPA. If you want to keep the cost down, don’t add the malt enhancer - use sugar instead. Very good kits.

 

[ChrisT685]

Just had a sneaky Young's AIPA which was only bottled 2 weeks ago and although it was definitely still to improve it was absolutely belting !! Was my first premium kit and was really pleased I'd done it. Can't wait for it to condition a little more !!

 

[Galvers]

I’ve done and consumed the Young’s AIPA during lockdown. It was my first brew in after years away. No wastage - it was great. Lots of hops in the kit. Buy cheap, buy twice.....

Hope it goes well whatever you decide.

 

[RØARS]

Buy this kit and 1kg of sugar. Pimp it with some hop pellets. Natch! Wilko IPA Brewing Kit 1.5kg | Wilko

£12 plus 56p for the sugar (Tesco sell 1 kg of sugar for 56p)

yeah that's what id probably go for but I dont have a Wilko near me so the delivery cost is £5 which really hikes its price. brew UK is close to me but their prices are higher than some other online retailers.

 

[RØARS]

il probably do one of Youngs basics (Even if none of them are really to my taste) to start with, then maybe do a mangrove jacks kit or a young premium ipa kit afterwards if things go well.

 

[terrym]

il probably do one of Youngs basics (Even if none of them are really to my taste) to start with, then maybe do a mangrove jacks kit or a young premium ipa kit afterwards if things go well.

Why spend your money on something that is not really to your taste?
As I said earlier 1.5kg kits are cheap for a reason.
For the sake of a fiver buy better and brew something you will enjoy.
Things have to go seriously wrong before you screw up a beer kit.