r/Homebrewing • u/ubasnax • Mar 12 '26
Newbie here
My son wants a beer or mead brewing kit for his birthday. Is there a decent, inexpensive kit you recommend for a first timer?
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u/Squeezer999 Mar 12 '26
What is your budget?
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u/ubasnax Mar 12 '26
I see some kits from 50-150. I guess somewhere around there. Sounds reasonable
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u/RumplyInk BJCP Mar 12 '26
This has all the equipment you need and the ingredients to brew https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/brew-share-enjoy-homebrew-starter-kit?variant=31072392380521&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ShoppingBrand&utm_term=brand&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaign%7D&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21776555227&gclid=CjwKCAjwyMnNBhBNEiwA-Kcgu3sRF0CEc-_qw8PhWdpZOTGgKQd6Dsz3-08W23kFNwecPM1hjdbC4xoCGSAQAvD_BwE
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u/jd6375 Mar 12 '26
That's a really tough question to answer. Thers all in 1 systems that are kinda "plug and play". Those are fairly pricey. Does he want to do all grain or is he OK staring out doing extract with partial mash? Does he want the ability to do full volume boils or are partial boils and topping up ok? Maybe a gift card to a home brew shop would be better, that he can do some research and get a system tailored to what he wants.
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u/ubasnax Mar 12 '26
Hmm.. not a bad idea. I guess the problem is we don’t have a local homebrew shop. He’s in a rural town, so maybe he’ll have to take a trip to the big city. I’ll start there. Thanks!
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u/Professional-Spite66 Intermediate Mar 12 '26
Morebeer.com, craftabrew.com and others. Look for a starter kit and extract beer kit. Great selection out there. I really liked morebeer.com clone kits. Cheers!
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u/beefygravy Intermediate Mar 12 '26
We need to know what country you live in otherwise noone can recommend anything
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u/ubasnax Mar 12 '26
lol. Typical American being the center of the universe huh? He’s in southwest US.
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u/MmmmmmmBier Mar 12 '26
Buy and read the first few chapters of How to Brew by John Palmer. Then watch these videos he made https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/tutorials/how-to-brew-with-john-palmer/how-to-brew-video-series-with-john-palmer/
I also recommend this video series from the American Homebrewers Association if you want to start extract brewing https://homebrewersassociation.org/tutorials/all-extract-homebrewing/extract-homebrewing-video-tutorial/which is easier and requires less equipment to get started.
Best advice is to stay off the internet until you’ve brewed a batch or two. Learn the basics of brewing beer. New brewers do not have the experience to sort out what is good information or not. There’s just too much incorrect or sketchy information out there that is constantly repeated by people that heard something or watched a YouTube video or read it on a forum. It is the internet and someone having a webcam doesn’t make them an expert. When you do start brewing beer, follow the instructions as written and take copious notes. If you have a problem we can go back and see what you did right and what you did wrong. With experience you will figure out what does and doesn’t work for you and you can start making changes to your process. Ignore others “rules of thumb,” unless they have the same system you have brewing the same beer you are brewing, what they do will not necessarily work for you.
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u/Professional-Spite66 Intermediate Mar 12 '26
Start out with a extract kit! Makes great beer to introduce both of you too the great hobby!
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u/ubasnax Mar 12 '26
Hmm. Didn’t realize that existed. Sounds like we’re going down another hobby rabbit hole. 🤦🏻♂️
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u/HumorImpressive9506 Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26
This is a very, very wide question. Equipment for mead can be as simple as a fermentation vessel, an airlock and some yeast. I love mead but honestly, it is also so easy to make that it can almost be boring (atleast a simple, beginner friendly recipe). You mix everything together and more or less leave it the heck alone for atleast a month after that.
Beer ranges wildly in how complicated you want to make it. You can buy kits with freeze dried malt extract that you simply mix with water, boil with some pre-packaged hops and, as with the mead, put in a fermenter with yeast.
You can also do all grain where you take crushed grains, steep them in water, remove the grains, boil etc, etc.
And, of course, you can buy very expensive equipment for this.
If you want to go with beer I would look for what is called a partial mash kit.
That is a combination of both methods, so half is the freeze dried extract and half is regular malt. This gives a bit of leeway with the malts since the extract is hard to mess up, but you also get to try out full grain.
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u/ubasnax Mar 12 '26
Sheesh, alright. Didn’t realize it was that complicated. I think I’ll go with the Northern brewer starter kit for now and then determine how complicated we want to get. Not like I need to start another hobby. lol
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u/TheSeansk1 Mar 12 '26
First thing I’d do is decide what you like to drink and want to try making.
For example - if you/he only drink beer, a mead or wine brew won’t be of much use. If you only drink Bud, you won’t like other beer products since they’re made with rice. Etc etc etc
Mead can be made really simple. Honey, water and yeast are basically all you need along with a carboy, airlock and a hydrometer. Same with cider, except sub apple juice for honey. That’ll get you making a cheap and easy brew. If you like it, you can go from there and build your equipment and refine your process.
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u/ubasnax Mar 13 '26
Hmm, good call. He’s a dark heavy beer drinker, so I’m going to start him off with a starter kit, then try to move in to a hefe or a stout.
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u/TheBeerSanta Mar 13 '26
My wife bought me a MrBeer kit in 1998 for my birthday and it got me hooked. I’m a pro brewer now but still pull out my homebrew setup at least once a month. I wish I had kept that first kit though. I’ve always thought it would be nice to just have sitting in the brewhouse so I could show people on tours how anyone can make beer. It’s a good way to decide if the hobby is for your son without spending a ton of money right off the bat. I do still use my original all grain setup even though the mash tun really needs to be replaced I just can’t do it. It’s made close to 1000 batches and I can’t just let her go, she still works but she’s definitely threadbare. The wife is long gone but the enjoyment of homebrewing still burns deep in my soul.
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u/ubasnax Mar 13 '26
Oh shit. That’s wholesome af. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully he continues on and has fond memories of his first kit. Like you said, it’s an inexpensive way to try it out.
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u/rolandblais Mar 13 '26
Are there any local meaderies? A couple I've been to have offered them. Or perhaps a local homebrew store?
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u/kevleyski Mar 14 '26
Sydneysiders have a great option for this, Casey’s make cubes of wort you drop that into fermenter with some good yeast and some dry hops, epic beer
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u/BrewThemAll Mar 16 '26
Posts like this with no location (or valuta) mentioned should be banned.
Also: must be the USA.
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u/ubasnax Mar 16 '26
Considering Reddit is an American company, it should be understood by default that it is American related and you should have to specify if you’re somewhere else. Or you could not be a dick and just be helpful instead.
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u/Shills_for_fun Mar 12 '26
I got started with the chinook IPA from these guys. Comes with the basic equipment needed to make beer.
You could also try to see if you have a local home brewing shop that can hook you up for cheaper but not everyone has one anywhere nearby.