Beer ingredient kits are great ways to learn how to make beer. Beer kits provide the very basics you need to brew a batch of beer, without having to worry about the many different variables to the beer brewing process that can be confusing to those just starting to learn how to make beer.Beer kits simplify the process so you can first learn the very basic fundamentals of how to make beer, and ensure you have what you need so you can produce your first batch of home brew.
However, the kits do have some flaws that can cause you to make a batch of beer that you won't be as happy with. These flaws can contribute to leaving the newbie discouraged to the point that they may give up on a hobby that they would otherwise have enjoyed for years to come. These flaws can easily be corrected with a couple simple substitutions to ensure your first batch of brew is even better, and will allow you to jump ahead on the learning curve.
The first flaw is the ingredients that come with the kits themselves. You never know just how long the ingredients have been sitting in the can, on a shelf in some warehouse gathering dust. Just as it applies in cooking, the better quality of ingredients you use, the better the resulting product will be.
While fresh ingredients are best, that doesn't mean you can't make a good batch of beer with an ingredient kit. After all, you are first and foremost learning how to make beer and need to learn the basic process, as opposed to trying to create an award winning brew.
The first ingredient you need to concern yourself with is the yeast. Yeast in beer kits can be old, even dead. It isn't a bad idea to buy some brewer's yeast. You can find it at the Local Home Brew Shop (LHBS) or you can purchase it online. Yeast is cheap, but could be a worthwhile investment.
The beer kits also usually come with pre-hopped malt extract. This simplifies the process, but by skipping the pre hopped malt and actually using fresh hops, you can greatly improve the flavor of your beer. It's as simple as adding the fresh hops to the boil and removing/filtering them before fermentation. You can research online to see the recommendation for when to add the hops and how long to leave them in the boil based on the type of hops and the type of beer you are brewing.
The next flaw (and a major one) with kits is the instructions they come with. They are often vague. They also leave out important details that would otherwise be of help to people learning how to make beer. Keep in mind, it is easier for the kit manufacturers to create one generic set of instructions as opposed to creating detailed instructions for each type of beer kit.
The worst flaw of the instructions is the timeline they give for the production of beer. Many kits will tell you that you can be drinking your home brew as soon as 7-10 days after starting. Ignore these directions! Yes, it is possible you could drink your beer this soon, and it might taste ok.
However, the main reason these manufacturers tell you this is marketing. But remember--DWHAHB! Patience will go a long way to improving your beer.
Let your beer ferment and age for a reasonable amount of time without rushing it, and you will be glad you did. In general, the kit manufacturers are more concerned with selling more kits than they are with you making the best beer possible. They won't sell as many kits if they say that it could take weeks, or more than a month to produce beer. They would lose people to other pastimes and hobbies that have more instant gratification.
The kit manufacturers also know that the window they have for selling you beer kits is limited. After a few kits under your belt, you are likely to either give up, start brewing from recipes, formulate your own recipes or start all grain brewing. So they want to try to sell as many kits as possible before you move on from kit brewing.
If you see instructions that recommend bottling in 5-10 days, then it is likely a poor quality kit, poor quality instructions, and the beer will more than likely be better by leaving it for an additional 1-2 weeks. The goal of these beer kits is not to make the best beer possible. Rather, they are simply designed to make beer, period.
Hopefully decent beer, but really, anything drinkable in as simple a way possible without introducing too many steps or too much difficulty to scare off or frustrate the new brewer. Brew kits are excellent ways to learn how to make beer. In fact, many home brewers got started using kits to learn how to make beer. They simplify the process to make it as easy as possible for the beginner. Think of these kits as training wheels.
Once you have learned the basics, the fundamentals of how to make beer, you will soon learn that there are so many ways to improve upon your skills and your beer. You will see that you don't have to make drastic changes to see big improvements.
It is also important to know that if you continue to brew with kits, that there is nothing wrong with that. This type of brewing is known as Extract Brewing. and many home brewers continue to brew this way many years after getting started. Some brew snobs look down on extract brewing, preferring the all grain brewing method. But don't let this crowd discourage you!
While it can be a natural progression to start with extract brewing, then move to partial mash, and then all grain, it is up to you to see where in the spectrum you will fall. It is a matter of personal preference, budget and space considerations, and experience and knowledge. It is possible to skip ahead in the progression. It is also not required that you "graduate" through the progression.
You may decide that you have no desire to try partial mash or all grain brewing. Brewing with a kit keeps the process simple. With a couple tweaks to the formula, you can produce better quality brews, even phenomenal ones! In fact, there are many award winning extract brews out there.
Basically it boils down to what works for you and your particular situation. Not everyone wants to build a giant brewing set up with many pieces of equipment, and added steps to the process--they simply want to quickly and easily produce some decent brew. And there is nothing wrong with this. Do what works best for you, and if you decide to continue to brew with a kit and extract brewing, know that it doesn't make you less of a brewer!
Remember, DWHAHB!
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