Northern Brewer - Brew. Share. Enjoy. HomeBrewing Starter Set, Equipment and Recipe for 5 Gallon Batches (Hank's Hefeweizen)

Judging by most of the reviews, I seem to be one of the only people that purchased this with the Hank's Hefeweizen kit instead of the Block Party Amber. The short version is that it turned out great. Before purchasing this kit, I also looked into buying all the equipment individually, but this is way more economical. This kit, which includes a recipe kit and all the equipment you need, is $100. Buying just the recipe kit by itself is about $40. The cheapest equivalent food grade bucket and bottling bucket around $25 each, so just with those items, you're at just about the price of the entire kit. Then factor in that a 5 gallon kettle is at least $30, a bottle capper is $20, an auto siphon another $20, and the little things like a bottle brush and a large spoon and such, and there's no way you'll ever come out ahead by trying to buy everything individually. Initially I was looking at getting their deluxe kit, but there's really no point. The main difference is that the deluxe kit comes with a couple of 5 gallon glass carboys, while this kit comes with food grade plastic buckets. The plastic buckets are perfectly fine, and you'll never know the difference when you're drinking your beer. Also, oddly enough, the deluxe kit does not come with the 5 gallon kettle that this kit comes with. The only thing you'll need to buy that isn't included in the kit are bottles. However you can reuse any non twist off bottles you have around the house. This kit yielded 43 bottles worth of beer for me. Brewing instructions were simple and easy to follow. They also have a good video on YouTube that walks you through the process. I let it ferment for 2 weeks, then bottled it. I tried one 10 days after bottling, and it had plenty of carbonation. The beer I can most closely compare this to would be a Leffe Blonde. Overall an excellent buy, and I'm currently working on my second brew.

Where do I even begin... First off, let me just say that the customer service of this company is by far one of the best ones I have ever experienced. Since each one of these packages is hand selected and put together, mistakes happen and things get forgotten. I contacted them and they PROMPTLY sent me the missing item. No questions asked. Super fast shipping. I absolutely LOVE that. My husband and I went to visit one of his Military buddies out in FL Who just opened his own brewery a year ago and we came back home inspired. I got this kit for my husband as a gift and as soon as it came in, we began brewing our Hefeweizen. The instructions are super easy and clear and you literally got everything you need right under tour fingertips. After a 2 week fermentation period, we tried the (then just a little bit lively but not super carbonated) fermented beer and it was GREAT. So we were hopeful when we began bottling the beer and carbonating it. We ended up with 34 bottles and a mini keg full of beer from this one batch. We hosted a little beer unveiling and it was GREAT. My husband has since placed a few other orders from the company through their site and we currently have a small batch of a Blonde Ale that he put together fermenting up. We are about to place another order and begin brewing something else! With the holiday season upon us, this would be an AMAZING gift to give your spouse, parent, sibling or friend. Trust me, they would love it. My husband even convinced one of his work buddies to get a kit as well and begin brewing at home too. Overall, AMAZING quality products, AMAZING customer service, AMAZING gift and AMAZING flavor.

I bought this for my husband for Christmas 2024. He absolutely loves it. Has made many different variations of beer and has had no issue’s. I accidentally bought the 20 oz bottles to go with it since does not include bottles. He actually prefers them so that it takes less room in refrigerator after he bottles. It makes about the equivalent of 4 cases of beer.

The results

A complete beginners kit! Unfortunately the bottle bush rusted IMMEDIATELY after washing it! So, be ready to replace it! Otherwise the recipe was easy, the equipment included was a good enough quality that i should be able to get plenty of use before i have to replace or upgrade any other components! I only suggest a hydrometer so that you can calculate the alcohol content and a secondary fermentor for clarity. Neither is absolutely necessary. I'm still very pleased! UPDATE: Now two weeks into fermentation. Today I "racked" from the primary fermentor (from the kit) to the secondary which i bought at a brewer store near my house. In comparison to the secondary, the quality of the bucket that came with the kit is sub-par. There's no gasket, and the lids are so flimsy, they broke as i pried them off. (see the photo) As one other reviewer stated, what the point of the airlock if the lids don't seal properly. Took one star away for quality. We'll see how how beer turns out. Update: Borrowing day came around and I was astonished at how awesome the beer smelled! Opening the fermenter and getting a deep wiff if, was a good indicator that my work was soon to pay off! But then came bottling... the capper felt like the handles could break if I forced the cap too tightly. But if I didn’t get a firm enough seat, I could lose carbonation. The beer turned out good but could’ve been great. I think it was a combination of the primary fermentation (weak taste), and low carbonation (weak capper/improper cap seal) I highly encourage a secondary fermenter for clarity or at least a higher quality primary fermenter. There are additives that can be used for clarity without secondary fermentation but, additives are a whole other rabbit hole I’ve avoided going down. Also, as I mentioned above, the capper isn’t great, so consider an upgrade, or buy pop-top bottle so you don’t have to fool with cappers. Or consider a growler. All in all, I’m leaving my rating at 4 stars because of the kit build quality. Otherwise, this is truly an ESSENTIAL kit. This is what you absolutely need to make beer. No frills. So if you’re just getting into brewing beer at home, get this kit. But, expect to replace items or upgrade with time, the kit items aren’t built to last.

I was a little worried about how easy this would be and how good the beer was going taste. However, it was fairly simple and the beer came out great.

The customer support is awesome! As a novice home brewer I’m so confused, of course. These folks make me feel welcome. I broke the thermometer looking for the auto siphon which turns out wasn’t included. They offered to replace the broken item but I had gone to a local brew supply and purchased both the broken thermometer (my fault) and an auto siphon. Spent $26 and whined about it. They offered a gift card for a $33. brew kit! Talk about backing up the warranty... I placed the order for the brew kit and gift card didn’t apply. Again I whined and they just applied the credit manually. No lie, they stand behind their products, really! I love that. Not enough of that in today’s busy world. Corporate America, stand up and take notice. One inconsequential customer made whole after multiple mishaps, mostly my fault! What a concept. I felt appreciated. My business is important to them. WOW, so refreshing when it’s easy to just not care... I wholeheartedly recommend this company and their products, people and customer service! With all that’s going on right now, this experience was heartwarming and unbelievable... There are great businesses in America. Made in America still means something, even though sometimes you have to wonder. Wonder no more, these guys are the real deal!!! Gotta love it...

Gotta shout out to Northern Brewer. The kits come with everything you need and makes really good beer. Highly recommend for beginners or seasoned brewers. Also their customer service is top notch. My kit arrived with some damaged items, freight handling I'm sure. I contacted them through Amazon, contact seller link and even being a holiday weekend they responded immediately and shipped new replacement items right out. Really impressed with the products and Northern Brewer.