The best beer brewing kits to make a cold one at home
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While it’s unfortunately not true that Benjamin Franklin once said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” it’s certainly a sentiment that most of us would agree with. If you’d like to brew a cold one yourself, our top recommendation for home brewing kits is the Northern Brewer Homebrew Starter Kit.
While it’s true that there is a nearly endless choice of craft beers these days — along with the ol’ standbys on the supermarket shelf — it’s a fact that there is something supremely satisfying about brewing up your own beer. Admittedly, you might not end up with results quite as tasty as those from the pros, but that’s not really the point.
It’s the joy of taking on an endeavor that’s part science experiment, part art, part a whole lot of patience (be aware that the entire process takes at least a month). The best part is, of course, ending up with a refreshing glass of beer straight from your very own home brewery when all's said and done.
Like many hobbies, home brewing requires a fair amount of equipment before you can get started and that equipment — or at least a portion of it — is what beer-making starter kits come with in the box. With the majority of kits, you’ll need to add a few extra pieces yourself, but a kit is still a very convenient, and generally cost-efficient, way to gather up supplies.
You’ll need the following items to brew beer at home:
- A large stockpot, typically 5 gallons in size, but can be smaller if you're brewing less beer
- A large plastic fermenter bucket (often referred to as a carboy), usually 5 gallons in size with an airlock that allows excess CO2 to escape during fermentation and a stopper to secure the airlock
- A large plastic bottling bucket with a spigot at the bottom
- A metal spoon that's long enough to reach the bottom of your stockpot
- A racking cane and tubing to create a siphon for transferring your beer out of the fermenter and into the bottling bucket
- A no-rinse sanitizer, which is used to clean your equipment before brewing
- A waterproof thermometer like a candy thermometer
- A hydrometer if you are brewing from grain instead of from an extract
- A bottle cleaning brush, filler, and capper
- Bottles and bottle caps, which you’ll normally need to supply these yourself
Finally, you need beer ingredients: This is where the fun really starts. While you can visit a local brew shop and browse a vast assortment of ingredients, most beginners prefer to start with a kit. Ingredient kits typically contain the grain, sugar extracts, hops, flavorings, and yeast needed for beer production. You can find ingredient kits for a wide range of beer varieties, including many IPAs, but be aware that you’ll need to restock for each batch of brew.
With all that in mind, we sorted through the many homebrew kits out there to find you five of the best for the newbie on the brewing scene. Read on to see which of our top picks are best for your needs.
Although the Northern Brewer Brew Share Enjoy Homebrew Starter Kit is our top pick, for various reasons laid out in the slides below, you should also consider the Brooklyn Brew Shop Everyday IPA Starter Kit, the Mr. Beer Premium Gold Craft Beer Making Kit, the Mr. Root Beer Home Brewing Kit, and the Northern Brewer Deluxe Home Brewing Starter Kit.
The best home brew beer kit overall
Why you'll love it: The Northern Brewer’s Brew Share Enjoy Homebrew Starter Kit comes with practically everything you need to brew five gallons of Block Party Amber Ale.
If you’re eager to get up and brewing, the Brew Share Enjoy kit from Northern Brewer has everything you need (including a 5-gallon stainless kettle) to brew up five gallons of delicious Block Party Amber Ale. This rosy beer has a hint of floral and herbal flavor on top of the hops. All you’ll need to add are the bottles and the water.
The best thing about this kit is that it truly has everything you need to brew beer at home. In addition to the 5-gallon stainless steel kettle, it comes with an auto-siphon instead of the more-difficult-to-use racking cane. The kit also includes very clear easy-to-follow instructions that are laminated. Beer brewing can be a messy business, so believe us — You’ll appreciate the lamination when it’s time to wipe those instructions clean.
The ingredients kit that accompanies the equipment includes the hops, yeast, pre-milled malted steeping grains, liquid malt extract, priming sugar, sanitizer, and a muslin bag for the steeping grains. Note that as is typical with homebrew kits, the beer ingredients are sufficient to brew one 5-gallon batch of beer. You’ll need to buy another ingredient kit, or assemble your own ingredients, for your next batch. Northern Brewer offers many such ingredient kits, however, including a variety of IPAs, stouts, and lagers.
The Wirecutter chose this kit as its number-one choice for beginners’ homebrew kits, and it's very popular on Amazon, where it has more than 100 reviews and an average of 4.7 stars. Says one satisfied customer, “This is a great basic starter home brewing kit. I brewed the Block Party Amber Ale that came with the kit, and it surpassed my expectations... delicious!”
Includes: Block Party Amber Ale recipe kit, 6.5 gallon fermentor w/ lid & Bubbler airlock, Bottling Bucket w/Spigot assembly, Fermenter's Favorites Bottle filler, 5 Gallon Stainless Brew Kettle, 21” Stainless Spoon Auto Siphon, 5 ft. Siphon Tubing & Siphon Tube Holder, Cleaner/Sanitizer - Fermenter's Favorites Oxygen Wash, Bottle Brush, Royal Crown Bottle Capper & Caps (60ct.)
Pros: Comes with just about everything you need, including a stainless kettle and stirring spoon, the components are good quality
Cons: None to speak of unless you aren’t a fan of the amber ale
Buy the Northern Brewer Brew Enjoy Share Starter Kit on Amazon for $109.99 (originally $159.99)
The best small-batch home brew beer kit
Why you'll love it: With the Brooklyn Brew Shop Everyday IPA Starter Kit, you'll brew smaller batches of beer in a space-saving system.
Brewing a full-size batch of beer takes up quite a bit of room. Not only do you need a 5-gallon cook pot, but you also need equally sized fermenting and bottling buckets, plus space to store the many bottles and other required equipment. Luckily, some brewers are taking this plight to heart, and creating homebrew kits that turn out smaller batches of beer — in this case, one gallon.
Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Everyday IPA Starter Kit has nearly everything you need to brew up that gallon of oh-so-good IPA. You’ll just need to add the stockpot, strainer, funnel, and bottles. When it’s time to replenish, you’ll appreciate the company's very wide range of beer ingredient kits, including Grapefruit Honey Ale, Chocolate Maple Porter, Chestnut Brown Ale, Pumpkin Beer, and many other tasty brews.
Along with the equipment, you’ll get the recipe kit for the Everyday IPA, which includes actual grains, not extracts. That gives you full-bodied, tasty beer that you’ll be proud to offer your friends. If you’re willing to part with any of your hard-earned bottles, that is.
Reviewed highly recommends Brooklyn Brew Shop, saying, “Brooklyn Brew Shop distinguishes itself from the other brew kits by selling all-grain kits. For beginners looking for a small-batch kit, this is our top recommendation.”
This is another very popular homebrew starter kit on Amazon, where the Brooklyn Brew Shop Everyday IPA Starter Kit has more than 250 reviews and an average of 4 stars. Buyers enjoyed the fun of home brewing and were by-and-large very pleased with the kit and the resulting beer, which has a citrusy top note that perfectly balances the bitterness of the hops.
Includes: Everyday IPA making mix (grain, hops and yeast), 1-gallon reusable glass fermenter, glass spirit-filled thermometer, vinyl tubing, racking cane & tip, chambered airlock, Brooklyn Brew Shop cleanser, and screw-cap stopper
Not included: Strainer, funnel, pot, and bottles
Pros: Includes real grain, not extract, doesn’t require a lot of space, many ingredient kit refills to choose from
Cons: You’ll need to come up with a few pieces of equipment yourself
Buy the Brooklyn Brew Shop Everyday IPA Starter Kit on Amazon for $39.95
Buy the Monster Brew Home Brewing Supp Amber Beer Bottles (24 Pack), 12 oz on Amazon for $21.51
Buy the Learn To Brew Beer Bottle Caps 144 count on Amazon for $5.85
Buy the Learn To Brew 5 Gallon Stainless Steel Stock Pot with Lid on Amazon for $25.40
Buy the Learn To Brew Plastic Funnel with Strainer 8" on Amazon for $10
Buy the LiveFresh Premium Quality Fine Mesh Stainless Steel Strainer Sieve Colander on Amazon for $12.97
The best home brew beer kit for beginners
Why you'll love it: If you prefer to dabble in home brewing as a hobby before getting serious, you’ll love the simplicity of the Mr. Beer Premium Gold Craft Beer Making Kit.
If you’re looking for the easiest introduction to home brewing, you can’t go wrong with Mr. Beer’s Premium Gold Craft Making Kit. Like all of the many Mr. Beer starter kits, this comes with everything you need — even the bottles. Of course, the bottles are reusable plastic, as are their caps, and you’ll get a plastic, 2-gallon jug that serves to mix, ferment, and bottle your beer. There's no need for separate fermenting and bottling buckets, or the various equipment required to move beer between them.
Admittedly, if you are a beer purist, this might not be your cup of brew, but if you just want to have some fun, brew some decent-tasting beer, and make it all as easy as possible, this is a terrific and inexpensive way to do it.
The Gold Craft Beer Making Kit comes with the ingredients for two batches of beer: one a classic American light, and the other an Oktoberfest lager. There’s no complicated mixing or measuring with Mr. Beer: The ingredients are already measured, mixed, and extracted to make it easy for you.
Thrillist and 52 Brews praise just how easy Mr. Beer's kits are to use at home. The Mr. Beer Premium Gold Craft Beer Making Kit is the number-one homebrew starter kit on Amazon, with more than 825 reviews and an average of 3.8 stars. Buyers, of course, praise the ease of the process, but more importantly, most are pleased with the taste of the finished product. Mr. Beer offers a variety of ingredient refills, so you can try something new each time you brew.
Includes: A reusable Little Brown Keg fermenter, two brewing extracts to brew 2 batches (4 gallons/32 pints) of beer, 11 25 oz. shatterproof reusable bottles, pre-measured carbonation drops, No-Rinse Cleanser, instructions
Pros: Includes everything you need to brew a 2-gallon batch of beer, very easy to use, two ingredient kits included
Cons: Some buyers complained that the fermenting jug leaked
Buy Mr. Beer Gold Craft Beer Making Kit on Amazon for $49.99
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