I chose to have a go at a dark lager kit and was supplied with the following :
2 x tins Muntons light lme
1 x bag of Chocolate malt (100g) with muslin sack
1 x bottle of rice syrup (I think 200ml)
1 x Hop pellet teabag thing 25g of I think Tettnanger or Hallertau
1 x Saflager 34/70 yeast sachet
1 x whirlfloc tablet
1 x set of brewing instructions
I was pleased to see true lager yeast and the Chocolate malt and looking forward to expanding my brewing experience as I hadn't used either before . I was less sure about the rice syrup , in my mind I was brewing a German/Czech style beer and certainly in the case of the German beers there'd be no rice involved however this was just my thoughts and not a complaint .
My first complaint and it's a tiny one is that the weights of the chocolate malt and hops and the hop type weren't given within the instructions . Not massively important but I thought that should I wish to recreate this beer or tweak slightly it would be useful information .
That aside the brew went well as did fermentation , the 2nd minor moan comes at bottling , there were no instructions regarding recommended carbonation level . Having drunk many dark lagers I had a pretty good idea but somebody unfamiliar with the style may not . Again though only a minor point.
Now the important bit ! I got a bit too eager and opened my first one a couple of weeks ago , it was very nice but a bit on the sweet side and slightly underhopped however most of the characteristics of a dark lager were there , the colour is a rich dark brown , good clarity , an initial nice white foamy head . The first taste that comes through is a lightly smoky treacle yet still "light" rather than a big heavy porter or stout . A few weeks after that initial taste the sweetness has dialled down a notch and is far more rounded . Head retention isn't great but the beer is a nice smooth effort . If I had to compare to a commercial beer it's not miles away from Erdinger dunkel . One of my testing guinea pigs has reported back favourably and also drew the Erdinger comparison I'm awaiting feedback from my other tester soon
All in all I'd rate the whole thing as follows :
The kit and instructions 3/5 (Lost marks for lack of ingredient information as previously mentioned likewise no carbonation/bottling advice)
The beer 4/5 (Still a smidge sweet and to my taste needs just a little bit more hop character but overall very drinkable)
Overall 7/10 Cheers Get'er brewed I'd certainly consider buying this kit and based on that would also be interested in your other products .