Northern BrewerBrew. Share. Enjoy. HomeBrewing Starter Set, Equipment and Recipe for 5 Gallon Batches (Hank's Hefeweizen)

EDITED REVIEW:Responsive customer service and great supporting materials on youtube. It would help if the buckets were clearly labeled "primary" and "bottling" to avoid confusion with what is shown in some of the video the instructions.This kit includes important items other kits seem to lack: Long spoon, large steal pot, sanitizer, funny instructional YouTube videos*, bottling tube and syphon, bottle capper, and a bullet proof recipe.**You will need a thermometer (we just used a meat thermometer and it was fine), extra bottle caps, extra sanitizer, your own bottles. In my research, few kits come with these items and you won't need things like bottle caps or extra sanitizer until the second stage of brewing (2 weeks later). So, out of the box, you should be ready for your first full afternoon of activity.We initially thought the lids to the buckets didn't fit because they require a good deal of force before they snap on. When we called, customer service gave us the benefit of the doubt and overnighted us a replacement lid and some extra sanitizer. We found this replacement lid to be the same size and just made our first batch without a sealed lid. To our surprise, the recipe was so robust, the beer still came out 'okay.'We later learned that the lids fit (our bad). You just really REALLY have to work them on their with your knee or a handstand or something.Flash-forward a few weeks later and my Dad is already working on his next brew using the same kit. I also enjoyed the experience so much that I've since purchased my own smaller (apartment friendly) 1-gallon brew kit from another supplier. Yay Brew Family!* YouTube instructions mean you can drink beer while you brew instead of relying on long recipe sheets you'd otherwise have to be sober enough to read!** No really, you are going to want that larger pot and that longer spoon. You're probably thinking, "meh - Can't I use that lobster pot and that long soup spoon?" No - we learned that beer is very easy to boil over. Plus, is hacking a solution to moving large volumes of boiling hot liquid reeeeally how you want to save your money? Skimp on a thermometer before you pass-up the pot and spoon.

Judging by most of the reviews, I seem to be one of the only people that purchased this with the Hank's Hefeweizen kit instead of the Block Party Amber. The short version is that it turned out great.Before purchasing this kit, I also looked into buying all the equipment individually, but this is way more economical. This kit, which includes a recipe kit and all the equipment you need, is $100. Buying just the recipe kit by itself is about $40. The cheapest equivalent food grade bucket and bottling bucket around $25 each, so just with those items, you're at just about the price of the entire kit. Then factor in that a 5 gallon kettle is at least $30, a bottle capper is $20, an auto siphon another $20, and the little things like a bottle brush and a large spoon and such, and there's no way you'll ever come out ahead by trying to buy everything individually.Initially I was looking at getting their deluxe kit, but there's really no point. The main difference is that the deluxe kit comes with a couple of 5 gallon glass carboys, while this kit comes with food grade plastic buckets. The plastic buckets are perfectly fine, and you'll never know the difference when you're drinking your beer. Also, oddly enough, the deluxe kit does not come with the 5 gallon kettle that this kit comes with.The only thing you'll need to buy that isn't included in the kit are bottles. However you can reuse any non twist off bottles you have around the house. This kit yielded 43 bottles worth of beer for me.Brewing instructions were simple and easy to follow. They also have a good video on YouTube that walks you through the process. I let it ferment for 2 weeks, then bottled it. I tried one 10 days after bottling, and it had plenty of carbonation. The beer I can most closely compare this to would be a Leffe Blonde.Overall an excellent buy, and I'm currently working on my second brew.

Where do I even begin...First off, let me just say that the customer service of this company is by far one of the best ones I have ever experienced. Since each one of these packages is hand selected and put together, mistakes happen and things get forgotten. I contacted them and they PROMPTLY sent me the missing item. No questions asked. Super fast shipping. I absolutely LOVE that.My husband and I went to visit one of his Military buddies out in FL Who just opened his own brewery a year ago and we came back home inspired. I got this kit for my husband as a gift and as soon as it came in, we began brewing our Hefeweizen. The instructions are super easy and clear and you literally got everything you need right under tour fingertips. After a 2 week fermentation period, we tried the (then just a little bit lively but not super carbonated) fermented beer and it was GREAT. So we were hopeful when we began bottling the beer and carbonating it.We ended up with 34 bottles and a mini keg full of beer from this one batch. We hosted a little beer unveiling and it was GREAT.My husband has since placed a few other orders from the company through their site and we currently have a small batch of a Blonde Ale that he put together fermenting up.We are about to place another order and begin brewing something else!With the holiday season upon us, this would be an AMAZING gift to give your spouse, parent, sibling or friend. Trust me, they would love it. My husband even convinced one of his work buddies to get a kit as well and begin brewing at home too.Overall, AMAZING quality products, AMAZING customer service, AMAZING gift and AMAZING flavor.