Best Homebrew Starter Kits

If you are a fan of craft beer, I’ll lay down money that at one point or another, you’ve dreamed of brewing your own IPA or stout at home. Imagine the possibilities! You can have an endless supply of your favorite style of beer that tastes of your own personality. And if it is the best you’ve ever tasted, well then, maybe that’s because you brewed it with your own two little hands.

Many of your favorite craft breweries in Oklahoma started out in their own kitchens, so there’s no shame in starting out as a beginner in the hoppy world of homebrewing. As homebrewing grows even more popular, finding a simple kit to get you started can put you on the path of making great beer. After that, it’s up to you and your own imagination.

To get the best advice on which starter homebrewing kits are the best, we turned to Steve and Joan Privott of Learn to Brew in Edmond and Gail Shore, owner of The Brew Shop of Oklahoma City for their take.

FALLING IN LOVE WITH BREWING

Learn to Brew at 14300 N. Lincoln Blvd. in Edmond, provides the products, the information, and know-how needed for home brewers and winemakers of all levels to produce great tasting, craft-brewed beer or wine from home. Learn to brew accomplishes this with hands-on-class instruction that is informative and easy to follow, leaving brewers with the confidence and knowledge needed to make great beer and follow up assistance as needed.

Gail Shore’s The Brew Shop opened in Oklahoma City in 1995 at 2916 N Penn Ave. The shop sells supplies, ingredients, and equipment to make beer, wine, cider, mead, cheese, kombucha, and more while hosting classes in beer and winemaking.

“We are very community based and enjoy teaching the fun hobby of beer and wine making to our local customers. We started our homebrew club Red Earth Brewers out of the shop in 2011 and now have over 100 members,” said Shore.

Both expert shops have experienced just how popular homebrewing has become.

“Most new brewers start because they enjoy beer or wine and want to be able to save a little money while enjoying a new craft and hobby,” said Peter. “People take a lot of pride in their brewing and enjoy sharing with friends and other brewers. They are always looking to improve their technique and process.”

For complete beginners, both Learn to Brew and The Brew Shop say starter brewing kits are a great way to guzzle down your first attempt.Most homebrewers start out with a basic fermentation kit of equipment and a five-gallon kit of “Brewer’s Best” ingredients, said Gail. This basic fermentation kit takes two weeks of fermentation and two weeks to carbonate a five-gallon batch of beer. That makes roughly two cases or 50 12 oz beers.

“Premade Beer Extract Kits are a great way to start,” Peter said. The kits have all the ingredients you need with good instructions. An Extract kit will help the new brewer understand and learn the brewing process, make a good solid beer, and keep the initial investment in equipment to a minimum. There are many different kits to choose from, and we have one- or five-gallon kits available.”

BEST CHOICES

Peter recommends that new brewers try an Ale Kit first. An Ale has a simpler fermentation process than, say, a lager, but they can pick any beer type they enjoy to start out with.

“We carry the Brewer’s Best brand kits because they offer a wide range of kits. Their instructions are easy to follow and they make a consistent good beer,” Peter said. “We also offer some of our own LTB extract kits that we have developed ourselves that keeps the brew day simple and enjoyable.”

Gail at the Brew Shop is also a big fan of kits for the newer brewer. Her advice is to choose an ingredient kit that comes with everything, including priming sugar (for carbonation) and bottle caps.

“The directions are very clearly written. It’s a good way to get your feet wet and understand the process of homebrewing, “ she said. “The process takes about two and a half to three hours. After that, we have all the individual grains, hops and yeast to make recipes. We are happy to put together recipes for more advanced homebrewers.”

No matter which kit you choose, they should include fermentation equipment like fermenting buckets and/or glass carboys, siphon equipment, long handled spoon, air lock, bottle filler, a five-gallon kettle and, most importantly, a cleaner/sanitizer. Ingredient kits should include steeping grains, liquid or dried malt extract, hops, yeast, priming sugar and bottle caps.

Having roughly 50 beer bottles and a bottle capper on hand is also helpful.

“Go over the instructions before you start or take a lesson and let us help you brew your first kit, so you will see how the process flows,” said Peter. “Don’t get in a hurry when fermenting. Let the yeast do the work and be patient. Get a friend involved and partner up for some fun brew days and tastings, share your brews and learn along the way.”

Whatever you do, Gail said cleaning and sanitizing each and every item used each and every time will keep your beers tasty, and more importantly, healthy.

“Keep good temperature control and be sure to start a journal and take good notes for future reference,” she added.

For more information on brewing kits, brewing equipment, classes and more, visit The Brew Shop at thebrewshopokc.com and Learn to Brew at learntobrew.com.