What's the best beer starter kit, please?

[Ditch]

Hi, I'm planning to start brewing very soon and am thinking that I'll start with a starter kit (e.g. a Woodfordes or Coopers one) and would like to know what's the best one to go for.....

F**k me, Pogwai; So much advice offered. Good. Cest la Jims.

I'd offer this:

What do ye like? Lager? Ale? Stout? What ever ..... Fizzy or flat? By the bottle? Or on tap?

See; Ye'll find ye best answer to Your ideal by working towards it from scratch.

Some " All In One Beer Kit " will set ye off on Their perceived bench mark. Ye may have to un learn a lot.

What I'm saying is: Don't try to become an instant beer maker. Only to have to disentangle yeself from bad learning.

Better to decide ye Own target. Then ask and learn ye way towards ye Own idea of that. See?

Ask not; " What complete kit is best? "

Better to ask; " I like a nice, dark ale. Rounded and smooth. Nutty tones. Not too gassed. Something along the lines of (What ever). How might I best try to recreate this, please? "

Then the lads can pile in and try to tell ye Exactly what ye need for That sort of result.

So much better than buying some 'One Kit Fits All' thing. Only to then hear; " The first thing to do is to dump 40% of that crap they've sold ye ..... "

[WalesAles]

All that remains is to acquire 40 bottles (not Wychwood) at a cost of £1 each from Aldi etc. (drink the contents and you are ready to go.)

BP,
Took your advice today, went to Aldi, bought the 40 bottles, drinking the contents as we speak, I will be in no fit state to bottle tomorrow
because I`ve got 10 full ones left and I can`t stand up!
Going to bed now on my hands and knees up the Golden ladder.

WA

[pogwai]

Thanks again for all the advice. I've ordered some stuff and will start by having a go with a Wherry kit. I'd like to progress to experimenting with flavours and ingredients further down the road but reckon it's a good idea for me to get a few kits under my belt first and learn the very basics from these. Patience and cleanliness are key, right?! I'll see how this goes... Cheers!

[BluePanda]

All that remains is to acquire 40 bottles (not Wychwood) at a cost of £1 each from Aldi etc. (drink the contents and you are ready to go.)

BP,
Took your advice today, went to Aldi, bought the 40 bottles, drinking the contents as we speak, I will be in no fit state to bottle tomorrow
because I`ve got 10 full ones left and I can`t stand up!
Going to bed now on my hands and knees up the Golden ladder.

WA

I didn't mean drink them all at once
Lol...

[wmk]

Depends on what you are looking for in the kit.
Sometimes I get boxes of cheap past sell by date single can kits. And make decent brews from them. On the other hand I also get some expensive multi-can with hops and no added sugar kits. I use the cheap kits to provide cheap drink able beer and the expensive kits to provide a luxury drink once in a while.

Just starting ? I'd say get a cheap kit but remember making commercial quality beer is possible after a couple of batches and some more pricey kits (£20+)

It won't be the best beer you've had but you'll enjoy it and it'll quickly teach you the basics.

So long as you remember that if you are disappointed With the drink making a prize winning beer is not beyond you just takes a incremental increase in effort and modest increase in money investment.

Yes some of those amazing craft beers cost a fortune in equipment and a life time of experience to make. But a lot of them are achievable with a few buckets and a bit of effort.

With home brew the world is your oyster, so long as you maintain that mentality you will love the sport!