Hard Cider Starter Kit

I purchased this kit because I just started getting into the whole homebrew area. I wanted something that included everything you would need, was easy to follow and fun. So this includes everything you need with the exception of the bottles and caps. If you decide to purchase a kit like this just make sure to add those on. You won't need them for at least 30 days but its nice to have everything on hand. With that said let me get into the kit and recipe. I received this kit and sadly the Glass Carboy was cracked. It wasn't a huge crack and while I might have been able to use it I decide to not and request a replacement. With the glass eventually under some pressure there was a chance it could break further completely ruining my first beer brew and I didn't want that. Thankfully customer service was quick to respond and they sent off a replacement carboy. Being in Alaska I would imagine is a pain for many of these companies but we have postal service, fedex and ups just like everywhere else. In any case I received the replacement carboy and started on my homebrew adventure. The directions are very easy to follow and include a bit about the process from a 1000ft over-view. Keep it simple, nice. The process is pretty easy to follow and I was able to get through with no issues and put my batch in the carboy. The hardest part is now, the wait. So they recommend waiting 2 weeks before moving on to the next stage which is bottling. And then another 2 weeks then before you drink it. So 30 days before you can taste your beer. Okay I was a little impatient and had a bottle before 2 weeks. It wasn't as carbonated as store bought beers which I actually kind of like. I think we over carbonate our beers and they are all like dang champagne but that's just me. So my first beer was okay. I went with the honey ale and it only had the very slightest of honey taste to it. All told I was able to get 11 bottles (12oz) out of a gallon. I'm down to my last 4 bottles and they have a bit more carbonation but not to much. I am able to get a slight head on the beer when pouring which goes away fairly quick. Still it tastes pretty good. I ordered other recipes and can't wait to try those.!! Some recommendations to the CraftABrew folks going forward with these kits. Package the Glass Carboys in some more protection. I have seen previous folks state they also had received the carboy cracked or broken. I think packing in some better protection would help prevent this. The instruction booklet only comes with the kit. This should be stated somewhere or perhaps ask the customer if they need one. It would be nice if the book was a bit more sturdy. I'll be putting mine in some protection as i referred back to it each time i made one of the other recipes. Overall though this is a good kit and really is easy to follow. I would definitely recommend it for first time folks or maybe even old timers. Lastly, Make SURE YOU USE A BLOWOFF ASSEMBLY during the first 24-72 hours. There will be LOTS of foam and activity and you'll need it otherwise you will end up with a mess.

The 1 gallon starter kit is a great way to be introduced into home brewing. I was very into it 20 years ago and made quite a few batches of beer. I even got into full grain towards the end. I really enjoyed brewing but as always life got in the way and haven’t thought about brewing beer in over 15 yrs. Ive since gotten rid of all of my equipment. I have been looking for a new hobby and always thought about brewing again. I just didn’t know where to start. I ended getting the American Pale Ale starter kit and I was blown away how simple they have made it. Everything you need is there to make a gallon of beer. When I was brewing years ago, I did 5 gallon batches. This one gallon kit is absolutely perfect to learn the craft of brewing beer. 1 gallon is perfect because it very easy to handle and if it did not turn out how you wanted or it got ruined somehow tossing 1 gallon is not nearly as heart wrenching as tossing 5 gallons. Also, you can try all 1 gallon mixes and after you find one you like you can switch to 5 gallons. They have so many options and add-ons that you can make it as easy or complicated as you wish. I just bottled this batch and already bought my second batch. I forgot how addicting brewing is. Will definitely recommend to anyone who wants to learn or get back into the extremely fun and rewarding hobby brewing. I will review again after i have drink one.

My wife and I have now done several brews with the equipment in this kit, and we couldn't be happier with the results. The single hop Cascade IPA was a great simple recipe to start with, and since then we've also brewed the Sixpoint Resin and Oak Aged IPA recipes. As other reviews have pointed out, you will need a few other things before brewing: A large pot (must hold at least a gallon), a fine mesh strainer, a large bowl (or other container) for sanitizing your equipment (we use a large glass mixing bowl), bottles (a gallon should fill 10), caps and a capping mechanism. You will also want to have plenty of ice on hand for your ice bath before you get started!! You need enough space in your sink to cool a gallon of beer as quickly as possible with as much ice as possible. And as other reviewers have suggested, it's also worth investing in an auto siphon (it definitely makes the siphoning process easier) and a hydrometer (for measuring final gravity to confirm fermentation is complete). It may also be a good idea to purchase extra sanitizer... Even though the amount in this kit (and other recipe kits) is enough for brewing and bottling, sanitizer is not something you want to run out of, as keeping all equipment thoroughly sanitized is crucial to avoiding contamination. Once your brew is done, you will need a dark place to store the beer for the fermentation process (2-3 weeks) and after bottling (another 2-3 weeks). When your bottles are ready, it's a good idea to refrigerate them for 24 hours before drinking, and if you notice any sediment in the bottle (this is common), it's best to pour the beer carefully into a glass and leave the bottom quarter inch or so in the bottle. Oh, and one other thing that doesn't come with the kit that I'd highly recommend: A friend to brew with. :) It may save a little time on brew day, but I think this is even more important for bottling. The instructions provided with this kit were very easy to understand and follow, but I'd also recommend watching some of the videos on Craftabrew's website, and any other tutorial videos you can find. The more you read and watch before your first brew, the more prepared you'll be, and the more fun you'll have. :)

This was my very first home-brew experience. I scoured the internet for all the small-batch home-brew kits; and kept coming back to this one. It got pretty good reviews compared to others; and the glass bottle vs plastic keg was more appealing to me. I was a bit overwhelmed thinking about this until I opened the box. Instructions were VERY easy to understand; and great YouTube video too. Less than 3 hours start to finish for the brewing (not the bottling); including reading instructions; getting utensils together; and cleaning afterwords, etc. I'm sure this will probably speed up with experience. The Oktoberfest I got worked great with fermentation. Bottling after 2 weeks went OK; but spilled some because I did it alone and my siphon slipped out of the pot, ahh! If you have a few extra bucks (less than $10 for a decent one on Amazon), buy an Auto-Siphon for easier bottling. Even with practice, the siphon in this kit is hard to master right off the bat. I bought an Auto-Siphon recently, and it made a hard cider I brewed MUCH EASIER to transfer with zero spilling or time constraints. It would be nice if Craft A Brew offered kits with the manual siphon; and a kit with an auto-siphon for a slightly higher price point; would be so worth it. The bottling took 3 weeks to condition, not 2 (but instructions do state taste; and let condition further if needed). BTW, this kit does NOT come with bottles. Buy them; and caps and a bottle capper (did not use Craft A Brew's bottling kit, so no comments on quality of theirs). After 5 1/2 weeks, I got to try it finally; and was so excited, it tasted like BEER! If you have patience, I'd recommend this over the 'quicker' versions; if you want a fancy style sitting on your counter or in your pantry while fermenting. Plus, Glass is easier to clean then plastic :) Final thought: Overall, price was decent; and happy with the results! I just brewed up their Bone Dry Irish Stout today; can't wait for it to be ready to try it! Pros: Easy to Follow Instructions. Great YouTube Videos. Nice design for a small batch brew. Quality of ingredients is good Cons: Funnel was cracked in my kit; and so was the AirLock (this may have been due to rough handling by Amazon). Used a silicone funnel of my own; and ordered a 3 pack airlock set for less than $5; so not a deal breaker. The sanitizer packet says to use half for brewing, half for bottling. It would be cool if it came in a 'split' packet so you could use exactly half at a time.

One of the few truly inspirational products on all of Amazon. As someone who enjoyed beer, I was naturally interested in brewing my own beer. With absolutely zero experience, I was able to create an amazing tasting beer on my first try. Everything is laid out in easy to follow instructions, and all included items have been nothing short of prestine and professional. This has been my 4th purchase with this company. Getting to the beer, every brew I make has an amazing color that is appropriate for the style. The aroma of each batch I've made is mouth watering as well. It's almost impossible to let the beer carbonate long enough because I want to drink it so bad. As for quantity, each gallon you ferment is typically going to let you bottle 10 different bottles, but beware, this beer will not last long as you find that you're captivated by it's flavor. Next, the added cleaning supplies also means that you dont need to worry too much about getting ready for the next batch you buy. Your sanitizer is already in the box. You just need to do a little scrubbing and you'll be ready to start your next brew. Trust me, one kit won't be enough to satisfy all your desires. It's because of this amazing product that I now have a new goal to achieve, building my own micro brewery. This product not only gave me tasty beer, it gave me something fun to do, a new career path I want to pursue, and a motivation to see my beer on store shelves. Thank you to Craft a Brew for not only supplying an amazing product, but for creating a newly inspired entrepreneur.

I learned about amazon warehouse a few months ago from a friend and had no idea it existed. I have a few friends in the wine industry and I think that its so interesting. I was wanting to try my hand at making cider and this kit was the perfect place to start. I decided to just check if there were any in the Amazon warehouse and there was one! After reading some of the reviews I was a bit worried it would end up shattered or missing some integral ingredients. Safe to say the package arrived safely and the only thing missing were the instructions. I reached out to the company and they sent me the directions right away and I got started! This kit was fairly straightforward and easy to use. I purchased an organic apple cider from my local whole foods and got to work. The instructions say to let the must ferment for a week, which I did, but in hindsight I don't think the fermentation process was quite finished yet. I've read that the cider is ready for bottling when the fermentation process has started to slow. Once I bottled everything I was to leave it for some time and then return to the fridge. Before the waiting time was up, I came home to discover one of my bottles had exploded. I poked around some forums and it seemed that the initial fermentation process was not completed. I have since gone on to make an apple pear cider which is currently a few days away from tasting and I can't wait. This kit was definitely the starting point of my new hobby! I've since purchased many other things to help with the flavoring of my cider. My husband thinks I've got a crazy science lab happening and is a little scared to taste my creations but in due time I will win him over!

This basic comes with almost everything you need to make the beer. Below are some hints for better results. 1.You will need someplace to store the beer after it is complete. You can re-use pop cap beer bottles. The easiest way to remove the old labels is to let the bottles soak in water with baking soda. You can purchase Grolsch style bottles online that already are equipped with a reusable capping system. If you re-use your beer bottles then you will need to purchase a capper and some bottle caps. 2. A large pot will be needed to boil the wort. It will need one large enough for at least a gallon. You will want to have something larger as it helps with boilovers. Don't listen to the directions. Start off with slightly more than a gallon of water. Some of the wort will evaporate and you will be left with not enough beer to ferment in the end. You can add water, but it is best if you don't have to add anything that may contaminate the beer. Recommended equipment. 1. Something to strain with. You should use a fine strainer that can be place in the funnel or purchase a funnel with a built in screen to remove the larger solids left in the beer making process. 2. If you want to know how much alcohol your beer has then purchase a hydrometer. You will need to take a original gravity reading when the beer has cooled down and your ready to put it into the carboy. You will need to take another reading of the final gravity when the beer is finished. Make sure you make adjustments for temperature. 2. An autosiphon is extremely helpful for bottling and for removing the fermented beer to mix with the sugar for priming. It can also be used to take beer samples later when checking gravity readings. Helpful, but not needed. 1. A drying rack for the beer bottles after they have been sanitized. I prefer the racks that do not make contact with the inside of the bottles. 2. A carboy stand is also helpful if would like to dry the carboy/jug upside down. 3. The carboy/jug will be filthy when you are done. Purchase a brush of some sort that will fit inside the opening of the carboy and is long enough to reach if you plan on making beer again. Making the beer. Add at least 1.25 gallons to your pot. Bring the beer to the required temperature to steep the bag grains. Keep the temperature constant as the temperature is important in this step. After the grains have been steeped remove the bag. Do not squeeze it. Hold it over the pot to let it drain out. Bring the wort to a boil. Take it off the heat and mix in the dry malt extract. Bring it back to a full boil. Add some of the hops. Giving a full boil gets rid of everything you don't want in the beer. Dont boil the wort with a covered pot. Before the end if the boil time add the rest of the hops. Turn off the heat and put a cover on the pot. Cool the wort down using a wort chiller/plate or put the pot in a ice bath in your sink. Make sure you get the temperature below 75 degrees. Pour the beer through a strainer/screen into the carboy using a funnel. Add the yeast into the carboy. Put your clean hand over the end and shake it for a minute. Make sure the opening is free of debri and insert the bung with the tubing inserted. Place the carboy in a dark place that has a constant temperature around 70 degrees. Place the other end of the tubing in a glass of water. Make sure the tube is secure and will not come out of the cup of water. Let the beer ferment for 2 weeks or until the final gravity doesn't change for consecutive readings. Use the autosiphon or racking cane to mix the beer with your priming sugar. Use the same equipment to fill the beer bottles. Let the beer sit/condition in a dark place for 3 weeks to let the flavors mellow/blend/come out. The beer will carbonate naturally from the sugar priming in less than a week.

Phenomenal product!!! Was easy to follow step by step instructions!!! Lived in Germany for 4 years...can't wait to taste our creation!!! Wonderful activity my wife and I are really enjoying!!! Thank you so much!!!

Spend hours following the instructions to brew beer but when the fermentation process start the glass bottle popped unfortunately. I wasn’t in the mood to start over again so I threw out everything. Glad it happened on day 1 and didn’t spend weeks to try out the product only to get disappointed after weeks of work.

cool brewing set for my boyfriend he is delighted, too bad that there is no additional set without brewing devices

It is okay, but have to do a lot of research if you don’t have fresh apple juice on demand. Had to use supermarket apple juice which created a drama to find with no additives. Very dry and sour juice.

Kit arrived over a week ahead of the estimated shipping delivery date and was so easy to use. Cannot wait to get another brew going while my current batch bottle conditions.

Il fait etre patient et bien respecter les consignes. Je n’ai pas reussi a faire un bon siphon alors j’ai du verser a l’air mais fort heureusement rien n’a eté contaminé. Apres 3 semaines j’ai donc embouteillé en ajoutant le sucre et encore attendu 2 a 3 semaines pour la refermentation en bouteilles et enfin la degustation. Le résultat est excellent. Attention passez votre chemin si vous ne parlez/lisez pas l’anglais couramment ! C’est une belle initiation qui fait comprendre les mecanismes / grandes etapes de la fabrication de la biere. J’ai fait cet exercice avec mon fils de 19 ans et il a adoré.