Pubs may be opening up, but many of us are seeing the appeal of drinking at home with family and friends.
And there’s nothing quite like serving up something you’ve made yourself.
Thanks to a flurry of brewing equipment available to buy online – which then rapidly sold out, but is slowly filtering back – we’ve been able to test run our brewing skills at home. And somewhere between the fermentation and bottling process, we’ve become very crafty at pouring our home-brewed pints.
5 home brewing kits
Of course, it’s nothing new, but if you’re keen to give it a go, meet the home brewing kit experts…
1. The Home Brew Shop
The Home Brew Shop have an array of home brewing kits. We’ve made firm friends with their BrewFerm Belgian Saison 15L Beer Brewing Kit, £13.92, and once you’ve got the hardware (beer starter kits priced from £57.18), it will reward you with its spicy, peppery aromas and a rich, fresh, flavoursome finish.
2. Dark Rock Brewing
The name might sound a bit fierce, but this is a low-maintenance puppy of a pint. Evil Dog American Double IPA, £26.95 for 23L from Dark Rock Brewing, doesn’t need any sugar addition (except a small amount for priming, just before bottling) and all you have to do is add water. The result? An American IPA with a heightened bitterness and fresh, pine needle finish.
3. Get ‘Er Brewed
With easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, Festival Premium Ale Kits are cited as one of the most comprehensive and complete premium liquid malt extract beer kits, with just the right measure of hoppy character. King of craft Welsh beers, try their Tiny Rebel CWTCH Beer Kit, £26.75 for 36 pints from Geterbrewed, which contains all the hops you need to create a deep amber beer that’s aromatic and tangy, with a malty caramel loveliness and just enough bite.
4. Beer Hawk
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This little baby is made by the brew masters at Northern Brewer, and is designed to appeal to novice home brewers and pale ale fans. With BYOB Brew Your Own Beer Kit With Cascade Pass Pale Ale, £40, Beer Hawk, you’ll need to grab a large stockpot (two gallons or larger) and 10 standard pry-off beer bottles, but everything else has been done for you. Clean, hoppy, lightly bitter and next best thing to a hand-pulled pint.
5. The Home Brew Centre
If you want to get serious about your newfound hobby, The Home Brew Centre has a great range of home starter kits, from a Balliihoo Basic Homebrew Starter Equipment Kit, priced at £29.99, to their best-selling Balliihoo Complete Equipment Starter Set For Beer Kit – With Barrel, priced at £69.99, suitable for 40-pint beer, lager or cider ingredients. Who knows, you may want to start your own micro brewery by the time the beer’s maturing, and you’re ready to shake the next apple tree!
Read more: Is beer good for you? 6 surprising health benefits of beer.
