The Best Home Brewing Kits for Beer of 2024
If you’ve ever thought about crafting small-batch beers, you’ll need a home brewing kit to make it a relatively quick and painless process. The best kits on the market will cater to a broad range of brewers, from beginners to the seasoned professional who wants to take their beer to the next level.
You will most likely have to add a few pieces yourself, but a good home brewing kit is a cost-effective, quick, and convenient way to gather the majority of your needed supplies, and you can find several high-quality options below.
Our Top List
# | Image | Product | Our Rating | Link |
1 | Northern Brewer – Home Brewing Starter Set | |||
2 | Mr. Beer Complete Starter Kit | |||
3 | Northern Brewer – Premium Craft Brewery in a Box | |||
4 | BrewDemon Craft Beer Brewing Kit | |||
5 | Craft A Brew Home Brewing Kit for Beer | |||
6 | BeerDroid Fully Automated Brewing System |
Contents
- Our Top List
- 1. Northern Brewer – Home Brewing Starter Set
- 2. Mr. Beer Complete Starter Kit
- 3. Northern Brewer – Premium Craft Brewery in a Box
- 4. BrewDemon Craft Beer Brewing Kit
- 5. Craft A Brew Home Brewing Kit for Beer
- 6. BeerDroid Fully Automated Brewing System
- Verdict & Review
- Buying Guide
- Frequently Asked Questions
1. Northern Brewer – Home Brewing Starter Set
This home brewing kit comes outfitted with everything you need to brew up to five gallons of Block Party Amber Ale, and you’ll get a nice herbal and floral flavor on the hops. It comes with everything you need to brew at home, and you’ll get a stainless steel kettle that can hold up to five gallons at a time. The stainless steel design is very durable, and it won’t impart a metal flavor into your beer.
There is an automatic siphon with this kit instead of a racking cane, and this makes it more convenient and easy to use for novice brewers. The instructions in this kit are very clear and easy to follow from step to step to maximize your chances of having a nice finished product, and they’re laminated to protect them from accidental spills during the brewing process.
You’ll get a comprehensive ingredient kit with this product that includes yeast, hops, liquid malt extract, pre-milled malted steeping grains, sanitizer, priming sugar, and a muslin bag that allows you to steep the grains. You’ll get a single five-gallon batch of beer from these ingredients, and you can purchase extra kits to make your own lagers or stouts. There are three styles to choose from, and the bucket has an easy-carry handle.
Features
- Brand – Northern Brew Store
- Material – Plastic
- Size – Five gallons
Pros
- Includes everything to brew five gallons
- Three style choices available
- Very beginner-friendly
- Laminated instructions included
Cons
- Lid is a bit rigid
2. Mr. Beer Complete Starter Kit
This kit is an excellent place for beginners to start because it comes with everything you need to brew your first batch of beer, and this includes the bottles. It comes outfitted with a plastic two-gallon jug that you use to mix, ferment, and bottle your batch of beer without the need for separate bottling and fermenting buckets. In turn, this can make the whole process go faster.
You’ll get all of the ingredients you need to brew two batches of beer, including an Oktoberfest lager and an American light. You won’t have to worry about any complicated measuring or mixing because all of the ingredients come mixed, measured, and extracted to make the brewing process quick and easy.
It has a reusable Little Brown Keg fermenter, 11 shatterproof 25-ounce bottles, no-rinse cleanser, pre-measured carbonation drops, two brewing extracts, and instructions to help you brew four gallons of each type of beer. You can choose from three kits and three patterns to customize your choice to your taste preferences, and you’ll be able to enjoy your beer within two or three weeks after you start the brewing process.
Features
- Brand – Mr. Beer
- Material – Plastic
- Size – Four gallons
Pros
- Can brew two different types of beer
- Comes with everything you need
- Easy to clean and reuse
Cons
- Everything is plastic
3. Northern Brewer – Premium Craft Brewery in a Box
This complete kit comes with a five-gallon kettle, wort chiller, stirring spoon, faucet adapter, eight-gallon Megapot, bottle filler, tubing, 6.5-gallon plastic fermenter, bottle capper, and more. There is a manual siphon instead of a racking cane to make it more user-friendly for beginners, and you can choose from Caribou Slobber brown ale or Fresh Squished IPA recipes.
The ball valve on the Megapot gives you full-volume boil capabilities when you brew, and it has a wort chiller that allows you to quickly drop the temperatures. There is a Siphonless Big Mouth Bubbler and harness included with this kit to give you a complete brewing experience from start to finish, and the kettle is stainless steel to help prevent corrosion or breaking down with repeated use.
The lab thermometer allows you to quickly and easily monitor your brew’s temperature to keep it in the acceptable range to ensure the best results, and it has sturdy carrying handles to allow you to move it from one point to the next. The straightforward design also makes it extremely easy to clean between uses, so it’s always ready to go when you need it.
Features
- Brand – Northern Brewer
- Material – Stainless Steel with plastic
- Size – Eight gallons
Pros
- Two beer choices
- Stainless steel kettle
- Lab thermometer included
Cons
- No lid on the fermentation bucket
4. BrewDemon Craft Beer Brewing Kit
When you purchase this kit, you’ll get a selection of the best handcrafted beer recipes straight from New Zealand’s Speight brewery. You get a translucent amber finish with a durable but smooth inner surface on the kettle that allows you to easily watch what you brew while shielding your product from UV rays. It has a very compact size that is easy to move from point A to point B without a problem.
You’ll be able to brew an impressive two gallons of beer each time you use it, and every kit comes with a CO2 venting system, conical fermenter, bottles, caps, recipe ingredients, temperature gauge, flow spigot, and labels. This gives you an excellent introduction to the world of brewing beer in your home, and you can easily reuse the bottles and caps for other brews.
This kit allows you to make beer in as little as 15 minutes on the stove without sacrificing taste, and this allows you to experiment with flavor profiles as you work. The kit is completely reusable and easy to clean and maintain between batches, and this allows you to brew over and over again in the comfort of your own home.
Features
- Brand – BrewDemon
- Material – Plastic
- Size – Two gallons
Pros
- Can brew in minutes instead of weeks
- Several recipes included
- Lightweight and compact
Cons
- Doesn’t help you learn the actual brewing process
5. Craft A Brew Home Brewing Kit for Beer
One of the first things you’ll notice about this beer brewing kit is the sheer options available because it offers a kit for 12 different beer. It works well to help hobbyists and first-time brewers get a nice brewing experience the first time they attempt it, and the temperature gauge allows you to monitor your brew’s temperature range to keep it consistent.
Every kit comes assembled by hand in Florida and uses the highest-quality ingredients to ensure you get an excellent beer when you use the kit. The jug is clear, and this allows you to watch the brewing process as it goes to get a better understanding of how it works at each step of the process. You will need to buy a kettle or use one of your own to brew the beer with this kit.
You’ll get a slightly sweet and smooth beer, and you can easily reuse the kit over and over for different types of brews. It’s very easy to clean and maintain, and the handles are comfortable to grip. You’ll be able to make a full gallon of beer with each brew, but you’ll need bottles to store it when you finish brewing.
Features
- Brand – Craft a Brew
- Material – Plastic and glass
- Size – One gallon
Pros
- Uses high-quality ingredients
- 12 different brews available
- Nice for beginners
Cons
- No bottles or kettle
6. BeerDroid Fully Automated Brewing System
This product offers a fully automated personal brewer, and it allows you to brew up to 2.6-gallons of high-quality product with a simple push of a button. You’ll get an American Pale Ale BrewPrint when you order, and the BrewPrint comes designed by master brewers to help you achieve excellent results when you use it. The ingredients in this product are 100% natural and free of preservatives or additives to make them healthier overall.
The BeeDroid connects to Wi-Fi using the BrewArt app to help you control and monitor your brew, update your firmware, get push notifications regarding brewing milestones, and shop accessories and BrewPrints straight from your phone. Every BrewPrint you get has a unique brewing profile that will automatically download and when you want to start your brew using the BrewArt app.
The LCD screen allows you to check your brew’s status at a glance, customize your brew, and control the temperature. There are a two-piece snap tap and an easy flush drain that makes cleaning fast and simple between brews. It also comes equipped with end-of-fermentation technology that will automatically notify you when your beer is ready for kegging.
Features
- Brand – BeerDroid
- Material – Plastic and stainless steel
- Size – 2.6 gallons
Pros
- Offers multiple BrewPrints
- Smart technology
- Each to control from the app
Cons
- Support it difficult to contact
Verdict & Review
- Includes everything to brew five gallons
- Three style choices available
- Very beginner-friendly
- Laminated instructions included
- Lid is a bitrigid
Buying Guide
Even though we’ve outlined six high-quality home brewing kits, it can still be overwhelming to try and narrow down your choices and pick out the best one for your wants and needs. This is especially true if you’ve never bought one before or if you’re brand new to the world of home brewing. This short buyer’s guide will help you pick out a quality kit to ensure you get great results.
Average Timeline for Home Brewing
You’ll need to be ready to commit a significant amount of time to make your own beer, and the process can take up to five weeks from start to finish. The following is a very brief overview of the brewing process, no matter which home brewing kit you pick out.
Stage One – Initial Brewing
This first step gets everything started in the brewing process, and you’ll have to combine water with the grains to make your mash. The mash is a sugary liquid that you use to feed the yeast that will produce the alcohol, and the mash then gets rinsed before you strain out the liquid that you’ll use. The liquid is the wort, and you’ll boil this with the hops before cooling it down and adding the brewer’s yeast when it gets to room temperature. Also see mash tuns.
Stage Two – Primary Fermentation
The yeast is most active in the second stage, and it takes around seven days from start to finish. The yeast will eat the sugar from your grains, and it’ll form carbon dioxide and alcohol as a by-product.
Stage Three – Secondary Fermentation
The yeast now needs at least two weeks to keep consuming any excess sugar, and you want to give it the full two weeks because this will give you beer with a better taste. The beer will be ready to bottle after two weeks, and some kits come with a vessel where primary and secondary fermentation takes place. So, if you want to have these two processes in different vessels, you’ll have to buy a second one yourself.
Stage Four – Bottling
You’ll now want to bottle your fermented beer, but you should give it another two weeks for it to get fully carbonated. If you open the beer a few days later instead of waiting for two weeks, it won’t have as rich of a flavor profile.
Essential Brewing Supplies
Each kit will have different items in it, and it’s important that you get the most supplies possible if you’re just starting out. At a minimum, you want to have the following list of supplies on hand to make the entire process much smoother when you start to brew.
- Large Pot – Your pot should be at least four gallons, and many brewery sites will recommend getting a lobster pot. It’s relatively inexpensive while being larger and more durable.
- Spigot with a Six Gallon Bucket – The bucket allows you to bottle your brew and sanitize your equipment between uses. The spigot makes it easy to drain.
- Fermentation Bucket with Airlock – Your fermentation bucket should have a pre-drilled airlock hole, and you’ll most likely have to buy the airlock separately.
- Small Nylon Bags – The bags are very inexpensive, but they’re essential for adding more hops to your beer when it’s brewing.
- Racking Cane – Racking canes work to siphon out your beer when you need to bottle it. There are automatic siphon models that make the process easier.
- Food-Grade Sanitizer – This sanitizer won’t impact your beer’s quality while keeping all of your equipment clean.
- Jar with Hydrometer – This tool is great for measuring your liquid’s density, and it’s important to help you measure how your brew is progressing.
- Thermometer – Your thermometer should go up to at least 190°F, and it should be waterproof to help it last longer while you monitor your temperature.
Essential Bottling Supplies
You could recycle bottles you already used when you purchased beer, but many people like to buy new bottles because they’re fairly cheap. You’ll need the following supplies to bottle your batches as you finish brewing them.
- Beverage Line – This is thicker tubing that helps you transfer your beer from the fermenting jug into your bottles.
- Bottles with Caps – Most homebrewers usually have several different types of bottles and caps for their different brews.
- Bottling Wand with a Bottle Capper – This tool will help you ensure that each bottle safely seals when you finish brewing.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can home brewing save you money?
Once you buy the kit and get the initial cost out of the way, home brewing kits can save you money over a year. The ingredients for initial batches are usually cost-effective, and you get several gallons out of a single batch.
2. Can you legally distill at home?
If you want to distill in your own home for yourself or for family and friends, you’ll have to apply for a Federal Distilled Spirits Permit. There is a larger fee associated with this permit, and you’ll have to regulated inspections of your facility and equipment.
3. Is it legal to brew your own beer?
Yes. Brewing at home was federally legalized in 1978, and most states allowed it under the law. Alabama and Mississippi made it illegal until 2013 when they passed legislation allowing home brewing.
4. Can you brew different types of beer from a single kit?
Most kits have several different types of brews available. You will have to purchase them separately, but they do allow you to brew different beer from the same base kit.