Beer brewing kits for homebrewing

Homebrewing can be a fun side hobby or even a passion that turns into opening one’s own craft beer brewery. Many craft beer brewers started from home. Even if the goal is not to start selling beer, home brewing is very fun. Creating something of your own gives you a good feeling. Plus, you can bring your beer to your friends’ places and at parties. How cool is that?

There are many things to know about homebrewing. If you are a beginner and want to start brewing your beer at home, first start with our complete homebrewing guide. Once you’ve covered the basics, we will dive deeper into the brewing kit. 

One of the things you need for home brewing is a beer brewing kit. But what should you know about brewing kits? Which one to get? We will answer all these questions for you. 

In this guide to beer brewing kits, we will discuss:

• History of home brewing and brewing kits
• What is inside a home brewing kit?
• What are the different beer brewing kits?
• How to choose a brewing kit?
• Best home brewing kits for beginners
• Where to buy a home brewing kit?

 

 

History of home brewing and brewing kits

 

 

Homebrewing has evolved over the years, and now it has become many people’s hobby. Before beer was brewed commercially, it was all about homebrewing. During mediaeval times, a major discovery was the difference between boiling or not boiling the liquid extract. This led homebrewers to create beers with better tastes and helped to preserve the beer better. 

The industrial revolution was a blessing for homebrewers. The invention of steam engines and thermometers gave brewers the chance to control the temperature during brewing. Hydrometers allowed brewers to control the density and use different malts, which lead to new beer styles. 

After those inventions, home brewing became widely popular. Nowadays, there are various types of home brewing kits available. Brewing kits can help any novice to get started brewing their beer. 

 

What is inside a home brewing kit?

 

 

Beer brewing kits have become available to make beer brewing accessible to anyone. Brewing kits for beginners usually have the essential things and simple recipes. Beer kits for intermediates and experts can contain more accessories, advanced equipment and complex recipes. Some of the items you can find in a brew kit are a fermenter, hydrometer, thermometer, sanitiser, bottling valve, ingredients, bottles and caps. Of course, there are also instructions included, and some brands even provide video versions of the instructions so you can follow along. If you have already purchased a beer brewing kit, you can also purchase the ingredients and recipes separately. 

 

 

What are the different beer brewing kits?

With so many options available, it is easy to get lost. Some of the main things to look out for are: 

Brew kits for different types of beer. The ingredients and recipes in a beer kit depend on what style of beer you will be brewing. There are beer kits specially designed for brewing IPA’s, blonde beers, triple beers, amber beers, and so on. 

Brew kits for brewers with different experiences. If you are a beginner brewer, you must look for brew kits specially designed for novices. For experienced brewers, there are advanced kits or even kits for microbrewery brewers.

Price. The price varies depending on how much the kit includes and the quality of the equipment inside. For instance, kits can have plastic fermenters and bottles, which usually lower the price. It may include accessories such as a label maker, which then again increases the price. 

 

How to choose a brewing kit?

 

When you are ready to purchase, then consider these steps.  

Choose the kit for your level. Beginner, intermediate, advanced or expert. 

Do you need a complete beer kit? If you have no items for brewing, get a complete home brewing kit. You can also purchase a bottling kit, brewing kit to refill or just the recipes. 

What style of beer do you want to brew? Either choose the style of beer that you like the most, or if you are ready to experiment, get a style you have not tried before. There are beer kits for wheat beer, blonde beer, IPA’s, brown beer, amber beers and even Christmas beers. 

How much beer do you want to brew? The expected amount of beer you will get is marked on the brew kit. In case you end up with less beer than the box promised, note that this can happen if you don't cover the pot during boiling. 

 

Best home brewing kits for beginners

 

Best home brewing kits for first-time brewers should have easy instructions, simple recipes, and easy to use the equipment. The first time should be all about learning and having fun and less about experimenting with tastes or aromas. The basic kit should have a beer brewing vessel, bottles, ingredients and easy to follow instructions. 

If you want to only do this as a short term project for just trying it out, you do not need to invest in big fancy kits. Many parts of the equipment you can already find at home. For example, a pot or a kettle for boiling and a spoon for mixing. If you consider brewing becoming a long term hobby, you should invest in a beginners kit that you can reuse and do several brews. In that case, you need to make sure to have a sanitiser to avoid contaminating every new brew. 

 

Where to buy a home brewing kit?

Now that you have all the information you need, you are ready to get your kit. There are many places you can buy your home brewing kits. Big companies, like Brouwland, sell all sorts of brewing kits and not just for beer. Smaller companies, like Eazy Brewing, focus on providing beer brewing kits. You can even find beer brewing kits from Amazon.