Finding the Top Quality Beer Kits

The initial step into the homebrewing hobby can be daunting, but getting started with an extract beer kit makes things much easier. The problem? With so many choices, it can be tough to sort out which one is the best.

Finding the Best Extract Beer Kits

Well, first you have to consider what kind of beer you like. You can't exactly expect a great result if you're interested in brewing a cream ale and you order a pilsner kit. The recipe kit, and in particular the malt extract itself, is probably the single biggest factor in determining just how good the initial batch of beer will turn out. Don't go cheap on quality here. You can find our extensive beer kit offerings here: Beer Kits

The first rule of home brewing is to practice immaculate sanitation. The wild world of bacteria, molds, and other microscopic pathways to ickiness that can easily invade your beer are omnipresent. So your job, as a home brewer, is to reduce their numbers to next to nothing. That's where Star San, an acid-based "no-rinse" sanitizer, and VWP (a chlorine-based product) come in. We home brewers have embraced these because they are easy to use. You add a bit to some water, slosh everything around, touch the solution to every part of anything that's going to come in contact with your wort and beer, and then let it drip off. You don't have to rinse Star San. After mixing the ingredients with water in a fermentation vessel, get it to the correct temperature and add the yeast is. This starts the fermentation process, where the real fun begins. Try to keep your fermentation vessel in a cool, dark place for the amount of time specified in your instructions. 

The benefit of Using Extract Beer Kits is that they are easy to brew.  You only need to follow the steps in the instructions and, with some heat, sound judgment, and patience, the beer comes out of the process nearly ready to drink.

Using an extract beer kit, you may want to start tweaking the recipe a little. If you're really interested in the craft of homebrewing and your ambition is to make the best beer possible, the beer kit is a great starting point. But don't overlook the fact that it's tweakable. Replace sugar with malt extract if you want to give the beer more body for instance. Play around with different dry hop additions and hop types to create different aromas. Use water with a fairly low mineral content to bring out the sweetness of the malt and form a nicely rounded beer. And don't forget to try different yeast strains—yeast has a big say in the formation of alcohol, CO2, and the general flavors and aromas in the beer. The substances found in your water can mingle with your ingredients and alter the final flavor of your homebrew. If you have heavily chlorinated tap water or if your water tastes strange for any reason, try using bottled water instead.

Mistakes Homebrewers Often Make and How to Prevent Them

It's not just beginner homebrewers who make errors—seasoned ones do, too. One of the biggest mistakes that this group makes is not adhering faithfully to the instructions in the recipe. Countless homebrewers have stressed the importance of following the instructions as closely as possible, especially when you're just starting out in this endeavor. Another common problem that plagues us is our tendency to be rather impatient. Finally, don't be disheartened, as the first attempts don't have to be immaculate. Of course, it would be nice if every brew were brilliant, but some just don't work out the same. Based on personal experience, we'd say most of our first brews turned out great. They were great but not as good as the offerings turned out by brewers who seemed to know what they were doing. But now that we've got the hang of it, our brews are turning out a lot better. Not every beer is a good beer, and we know that some of our most recent brews are as good as or better than the stuff found at a good store or on tap. 

Disclaimer

This content was created from a variety of sources. We try to check it is accurate, but we can not verify it so you must do your own research.