Brewing Basics Equipment Kit

I got my beginner kit and went to work on brewing. I love it and Im not sure about elsewhere but going out for a beer with friends @ a micro brew in California gets pricey, now the crew just comes through my spot and drinks the beer I brewed. Pretty rad! The only purchase I made after the starter kit was a 5 gal kettle

(Posted on 5/14/12)

it's a good kit the only way it could get better is if the kit had a thermometer. the only one it has is for the fermenter and that one is low quality. its hard to read some time and skips some number so their times were you don't know if you need to go up or down, or if its at the right temperature. that said, it is a good kit to start brewing.

(Posted on 5/1/12)

not a bad kit overal, for a few more bucks would have perfered auto siphon and spring tip bottle filler but i guess that would be my idea of a beginners kit, but was able to pick that stuff up locally for almost less than 15 bucks, i can see this being addictive and will be purchasing more equipment!

(Posted on 4/13/12)

I purchased the Groupon that included this with the Autumn Amber Ale kit. All I needed to buy was a thermometer and large pot. This setup is great! I purchased bungs and airlocks later (the ones for the better bottles) and they work great on the 5 gallon Primo water jugs you can get at Walmart. I have three batches currently going. I accumulated beer bottles by asking friends and family for empties as well as drinking a few imports myself. I suggest you save your money, buy this setup, and get the rest of the equipment yourself. I'm currently looking into making my own wort chiller.

(Posted on 3/13/12)

Got the Groupon deal as well. Everything that you need to brew your first homebrew. All of the equipment is basically the same as other kits you see advertised out there but with the Groupon you get your first kit and a coupon on your next order as well. It's a great deal. I have not had a problem with the bottle filler - it just takes a little practice. Also, you don't need a lid for the bottling bucket. It's just for bottling the beer. You definitely want a bigger brew kettle. I tried boiling my wort in an 8 quart pot and it was a nightmare. Switched over to a 24 quart brew kettle and now all is great.

Midwest is great to deal with and they ship fast as well.

(Posted on 2/21/12)

I started out with this kit from a Groupon last year sometime. It truly is everything you *need* to brew your first batch of beer, but if you really want to get into it, there are a few upgrades that are totally worth getting:
Wort chiller, auto siphon, stand capper, muslin bags for the boil to reduce sediment or if you're going to dry hop, a 6.5 gallon carboy (so you can use as either a primary fermenter). Just my 2 cents.

(Posted on 1/4/12)

Price is right and this kit comes with the equipment you need to get started. WARNING: brewing is VERY addictive. I started buying a ton more stuff after my first batch. Probably worth upgrading your equipment kit purchase from the start, but this one is good for gifts and those wanting to give brewing a try before investing too much first.

(Posted on 10/17/11)

Do yourself a huge favor, and add the 1/2 inch autosiphon and the bottle filler with the spring loaded tip to your order. I have half a dozen batches under my belt, and in my opinion, those are the two things that make this kit do everything you need it to do. The non-spring loaded tip leaks every time it moves, so unless you plan to hold it while you fill 54 bottles, you'll save the less than 3 bucks in wort in the first few kits you brew. You can start a siphon without the autosiphon, but just buy the autosiphon. Starting siphons without it is annoying at best.

Rinse the grain bags and you can use them in your next kit to keep most of the hop debris out of the fermenter. I admit, I was somewhat skeptical that this kit would be good enough. It really is all you need.

(Posted on 10/17/11)

I got my kit in yesterday, everything looks good. I wish they had thrown in an auto-siphon in there but hey. The best price that I found on the internet) I searched for 8hrs at work, slow day). My only complaint would be is where is the top for my bottling bucket? Does the kit only come with one or is my kit just missing one?

(Posted on 10/13/11)

Cooked up my first batch last night. I have no complaints about the equipment in the kit - it came as promised - and it was a great price for kit + recipe kit via Groupon.

I do have two concrens though.

First, I agree with Dalton - you're going to want a carboy & wort chiller, and maybe even a kettle, if you're going to keep brewing, so it's probably best to just go all in and get one of the bigger kits. I ended up using my wife's pressure canner as the kettle, and that thing is way too big & heavy & bulky.

Second, and probably most important, I found the documentation to be very lacking. The video lessons used equipment not in the kit and also did not start from square one. People buying this kit are almost all going to be total noobs like I am, and we need to know little stupid things like oh yeah that you have to add water to your air lock, and how EXACTLY to take a hydrometer reading, how to siphon step by step, how to properly sanitize - I mean everything. I had no idea that little black strip with C & F printed on it was a thermometer, nor how to use it - I figured it was just a C to F conversion chart! You guys need to make instructions for this as if you're trying to teach a 10 year old kid - assume absolutely zero knowledge of anything.

Also, when the box came, I didn't open it for a few days - I finally did, and then the recipe box inside says "refrigerate yeast immediately". I was sure I had killed my yeast, but thankfully it was fine. This warning needs to be clearly labeled on the outside box as well. Maybe I didn't see it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't there.

Anyway, all in all though, I'm glad I made the purchase, and now I'm looking forward to upgrading & getting some of the more advanced equipment. Hope you consider my criticisms above to be constructive.

(Posted on 9/14/11)