4 Top-Notch Beer Recipe Kits You Need for Insanely Good Beer

If you are just beginning your brewing journey these beer recipe kits are an approachable, easy, and affordable way to brew some tasteful beers.

If you are anything like me, you might be overwhelmed in the beginning by all the recipes, jargon, equipment etc. that goes into making beer. The equipment and what you can do with beer is truly endless. But, I will guide you to the right beer kit for you!

As a homebrewer myself, using a kit was the BEST way to get started. So, this post will break down the top kits in 5 gallon batches and 1 gallon batches. With each kit I show you what other pieces of equipment you need, so you can start brewing ASAP!!

At the end of this, you will be prepared and knowledgable about which kit fits your needs and how to get started.

This post is all about beer recipe kits that make insanely good beer.

Best Beer Recipe Kits

5 Gallon Beer Recipe Kits

These beer recipe kits are best for brewer’s really interested in starting to brew big! These 5 gallon beer recipe kits are perfect for hosting events, bringing your own brews to dinner parties, or sharing with friends.

All the beer recipe kits below have yeast, steeping grains, malt extracts, steeping bag, hops, and instructions!

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1. Brewer’s Best

Brewer’s Best is my absolute favorite and how I started my brewing journey. They include detailed instructions, and a fill-in-the-blank worksheet for the entire brewing process (brew days, racking, primary and secondary fermentation, and bottling). I know that sounds like a lot, but they make it easy and approachable!

Brewer’s Best uses more liquid malt extract than Craft-a-Brew’s beer recipe kits. This is a total preference when it comes to taste and texture of the finished beer. But, the quality remains very similar to dry malt extract.

When I first started brewing I enjoyed brewing with the liquid malt extract because it dissolves easier into the boil without leaving any floating residue. At first it can seem like something is wrong when the dry malt is floating around in chunks… Though, the residue does end up dissolving throughout the beer making process so not to worry!

Price: $44.95

Brewer’s Best kits provide enough bottle caps for bottling day. The only other items I would recommend to complete this beer kit are:

1. Two five-gallon fermenters with airlocks
2. Beer bottles for bottling
3. Bottle capper
4. Siphon hose set up
5. Star-San sanitizer
6. PBW cleaner
7. Hydrometer

*Note: you can change out the style of the beer

2. Northern Brewer

Northern Brewer is another home brew extract kit using more liquid malt extract than dry malt extract.

They have a “We Got Your Batch” guarantee so if anything goes wrong they will replace your beer recipe kit without question!

The reason the price is higher with Northern Brewer is because they choose fresh, high quality ingredients compared to other leading brands. If that is something you value, then Northern Brewer will be your go-to beer kit bestie!

Price: $74.99

Northern Brewer does not include bottle caps in their beer recipe kit, unlike Brewer’s Best. Below is the other recommended products to finish off your brewing station with Northern Brewer:

1. Two five-gallon fermenters with airlocks
2. Beer bottles for bottling
3. Bottle capper and bottle caps
4. Siphon hose set up
5. Star-San sanitizer
6. PBW cleaner
7. Hydrometer

*Note: you can change out the style of the beer

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1 Gallon Beer Recipe Kits

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These kits are perfect for the brewer who wants to dip her toes into the brewing world! One gallon makes roughly nine 12-ounce bottles of beer. Just enough to try out the recipe, equipment, style, etc.

3. Northern Brewer

Northern Brewer is also an excellent choice when starting out your one gallon brewing adventure. One gallon recipes are what I currently brew because they tend to be more manageable and I can experiment more with recipes.

Ironically, I believe starting out with 5 gallon beer recipe kits can be easier (as crazy as that sounds) because all recipes tend to be created for 5 gallon batches. So cutting all those ingredients down can mess with the biology of the beer if you are not careful (unless you use a kit or brewing recipe software).

Though, one gallon batches are also a great way to get into brewing. The total cost of the entire brewing station for a one gallon is significantly cheaper than a 5 gallon beer recipe kit.

Price: $44.99

To finish off your one gallon brewing station with Northern Brewer here are the other necessary items:

1. Flip top beer bottles (no need for capper or caps)
2. Star-San sanitizer
3. Priming sugar for bottling (cane/corn sugar, or honey you already have also work)
4. PBW cleaner
5. Hydrometer

*Note: this recipe is for a pale ale, you can find their two other beer styles on Northern Brewers website, and if you don’t want the priming sugar be sure to take that out!

Craft-a-Brew has simple and straight forward 1 gallon beer recipe kits! They use solely dry malt extract, unlike Brewer’s Best that uses the liquid malt extract.

I tend to brew my one gallon batches with dry malt extracts because its so much easier, less of a mess, and the floating residue does end up dissolving. Craft-a-Brew has a wider variety of beer style to choose from, especially on Amazon. So, I would highly recommend them for one gallon batches.

Price: $49.95

This one gallon kit has almost everything you need to start brewing. Here are the other necessary items:

1. Flip top beer bottles (no need for capper or caps)
2. Star-San sanitizer
3. Priming sugar for bottling (cane/corn sugar, or honey you already have also work)
4. PBW cleaner
5. Hydrometer

*Note: you can change out the style of the beer & they have plenty! If you don’t want the priming sugar be sure to take that out!

This post was all about beer recipe kits. Including 5 gallon beer recipe kits, and 1 gallon beer recipe kits.

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