Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Kit w/Equipment, Chinook IPA, 5 Gal

This is the BEST kit for beginners! The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. All the equipment provided worked perfectly (buckets are quality and don't leak!). Our first beer turned out surprisingly well considering it was the first time we EVER brewed our own beer. It was well carbonated and stayed fresh long enough for us to distribute to friends. We made the IPA from the Northern Brewer kit and we got alot of great feedback on taste. Our second beer we made was not Northern Brewer but we used all the same equipment and came out with another quality beer. So glad I bought this kit!

You will either brew once and never brew again OR this beginner kit will kick off the start to a great hobby. Everything you need to get started.

When it says brew day it means day!!! When it says bottling day it means day!!! You will spend 4+ hours on brew day as a beginning and about the same for bottling day. The rest of the time requires patience. I left it to ferment and extra 11 days because it was still producing and my alcohol content came out to 5.9% before I added the primer sugar for carbonating in the bottles. It’s great to have a friend standing around watching you figure out everything (you could say they are a helper but it really isn’t that way you can do it in your own it’s just a lot more fun it’s a friend, plus when you stink up the kitchen on brew day your wife won’t be as harsh about making the house smell like a brewery. LoL Oh also when it says use half a bag of hops then save the rest for later put the rest in a zip lock bag to add later. When you add the hoops later be very careful to not allow much air in try to keep it as controlled as possible by only cracking the lid to add the last of the hops. I also used 25oz flip top bottles that I washed and reused. Originally they had organic lemonade, I think beer is a huge upgrade...

As a new home brewer I am glad I purchased this as a starter set to brew 5 gallon batches. I started out with a few 1 gallon batches to get the hang of home brewing before purchasing this. This set is great because you get the boil kettle, fermenter bucket and bottling bucket, as well as some other equipment. The boil kettle is a little thin but seems to get the job done. It is 5 gallons all the way up to brim so DO NOT put 5 gallons of water in it and expect to boil wort! Most recipe kits address this by having you boil 2.5-3 gallons and top it off in the fermenter. My one complaint about this after my first use is (as shown in the photos) the fermenter bucket comes with a hole drilled for a spigot. I would rather it not be drilled at all. The description says it’s a siphonless setup but if you try to transfer your fermented beer to the bottling bucket using the spigot you WILL transfer a lot of the yeast cake/trub. I recommend investing in a large autosiphon. One with a clip makes this whole process way easier when working alone. I just bottled my Chinook IPA and cant wait for it to be finished! It already tastes pretty good.

I’m on my tenth batch currently 👍👍 It’s been the ship on which I sail through the craft of unique ale-brewing. Note that the capper does not work with Pilsner Urquell bottles

I had the Chinook IPA brewing started in no time as instructions were easy to follow. There was an issue with the label of malt extract as the instruction called for 6lbs but label said 3lbs. I texted Northen Brewer and they quickly confirm with me that it was in fact 6lbs, just label was printed wrong. I then followed the steps and soon enough i had the wort in the fermenter, about 3hrs later. And 3 weeks later i had a great tasting beer to share with friends and family. Likes: Easy to follow instructions. All ingredients for a tasty IPA are included. Great customer service Dislikes: Maybe better kettle, as the one provided is very thin.

I feel they did not cheap out on the kit and it comes with clear instructions. Very pleased.

Loved this beer making kit, had everything needed to make amazing beer. Great ingredients in the kit, easy to follow directions. My kit came with Chinook IPA but I also ordered Block Party Amber and have made both and highly recommend both. On my third brew now.

Good kit for beginners

This is a great kit to get you started with home brewing. However, there are a few things that irk me about it. For starters, the lids on the buckets are air-tight(as they should be) but they do not provide a tool to open said lid and it's a huge pain in pry it off without damaging the bucket. Secondly, the instructions are indeed beginner friendly but I feel it should be a little more in-depth during the preparation for fermenting process. Especially during the transferring procedure. Thirdly, why give bottle caps but no bottles? The kit is great overall, and I would recommend it. However, as stated above, they could have done a few things a little better.

It's seems like a great product, aside from the fact that the bucket lid CANNOT be removed without breaking it. It is not removable. Lots of people have the exact same problem and they receive new bucket lids. Northern Brewer has a "new and improved lid" If you live in Canada, they won't send you a new lid. They tell you to contact Amazon. Amazon will not help you. As someone who bought this product. It's a good product, good ingredients, they're doing everything right. But if they won't send you a new lid, you will only brew one batch of beer (if that). I would advise you buy a different kit. I will be buying a glass carboy from my home brew supply store. It's disappointing. but you're better off buying something else.

Thanks

Today is one week after brew day. I was supposed to dry hop with 1oz of chinook hops. But I simply can't open the lid. I tried with a screwdriver and a hammer, there is nothing I can do without breaking it. So I guess I'll have to try the recipe without the dry hops, and hopefully it won't be tasteless. And on bottling day, pretty sure that lid will break apart and I wont be able to brew another batch with the kit. Very sad since I saw a previous comment about that issue and still decided to buy, thinking to myself that this person just got badluck. But now I kind of regret it.