Beginning Home Brewing - Choosing an Ingredient Kit

As a beginning brewer, how do you know how to make a good beer?  Of course, you have to have good processes and have to keep things clean, but right now I’m talking about choosing your ingredients and knowing how to put them together. 

The easiest way to get good ingredients in the right measures is to buy an ingredient kit.  There are a lot of them available online, but it’s important to get a good one, since your finished beer is only as good as the ingredients that go into it.  Since all brewing ingredients are perishable, it’s best to make sure your ingredients are fresh and have been stored well.  You don’t want to get your kit from eBay only to find out the guy bought it a year ago and stored it at room temperature.  The yeast would be dead, and the hops would most likely smell and taste like something between limburger cheese and your father’s sweat socks.

So, in order to get fresh ingredients, get them from a reputable dealer.  If you live in the SGF metro area, I recommend doing business with The Home Brewery (Map).  Go out there and get one of their kits.  While they keep some in stock, they will also happily make you one to order and send you on your way with fresh ingredients for your beer.  All of their ingredients are stored properly, and I have never had a problem with the freshness or quality of their ingredients.  The actual extract recipes for a few of their kits can be found on their website.

Seven Bridges Cooperative

If you’re buying kits from the Home Brewery, I’d like to recommend a few favorites.  I highly recommend their Yellow Dog Pale Ale, the Belgian Wit, and the Honey Cream Ale.  If you’re feeling adventurous and have the patience to allow a beer to age for a bit, I give my wholehearted endorsement to their Barley Wine kit.  Make sure you let it age a few months, though.  It gets better for a couple of years.  I brewed a batch at the end of 2007, and it was still getting better up to 2009. 

If you want to broaden your choices, you can go online and order from a reputable homebrew store, as well.  Morebeer.com, Northern Brewer, and Williams Brewing are all good shops and have very good reputations.  If you prefer an organic brew, you can order from 7 Bridges Cooperative, as well.  They specialize in organic ingredients and kits.