Is it really worth the hassle

[Russ146]

Ive been brewing beer kits for over 30 years and after a few years break started again on the advice that the two can kits were in a different league.

And yes they are! I'm on my 16th two can kit and everyone has been perfect.

Ive made Ruby, wherry, ipa, nelsons, sundew, conkerwood, crusader in various amounts.

I had a few friends round last weekend and we emptied a 5 gallon barrel, they could not believe it was homebrew (it was wherry) until they saw me pour it from the barrel (a kingkeg toptap)

Making it is so simple, two weeks in the fermenter, then 6 weeks conditioning in the barrel, probably less then 1 hours work to make premium pub quality beer at pence a pint.

Now i was talking about this to the guy in the home brew shop and he has stopped stocking all the gear for what you call AG brewing, heaters, masher, or whatever its all called because he said, and i quote

" its not worth the hassle of all that now when the quality of the kits and the simplicity dosnt warrant the time and expense of it all "

And i have to agree with him, is it really worth the time and hassle?

You tell me

 

[RobWalker]

The beer is better,and you can make what you want rather than being restricted to kits. I think he's bitter about his sales.

Kits are really really good but it's all up to you what you want to do, brew beer to turn around quickly and drink with your mates, or brew real beer, process and all. There's no right or wrong, I'm sorta stuck on extract because its a nice balance between easy brewing and creative brewing.

 

[Vossy1]

Yes and no...I think that depends on the person .
If you're happy with the choice of kits and what they taste like to you, then why spend 6 hours making AG.
However, If you want to be able to make any style of beer from anywhere in the world then AG's for you.

 

[Dieseljockey]

AG works for me....I did kits to start with, but make much better brews now..so yes it's worth it.

 

[Gayle]

I don't do AG brewing, (because I don't like beer, and don't have space for the extra equipment!), but I'd guess that many people love it just because it's a hobby; time and effort put in are just part of that - it's probably more fun that watching TV or sleeping There seems to be a lot of equipment, but you guys all like gadgetry, right? More stuff to play with! It's probably way cheaper to do each batch, and you can experiment to make your own recipes to have something you can call your own. DH does kits brews and loves them for what they are though, he loves the Woodfordes Wherry too.

That's a shame your local stockist has given up on the AG stuff, if he'd tried harder maybe he could have inspired more people to take up the hobby, if he's not enthusiastic about something himself then no wonder he's had difficulty selling it. Anyway, I'm really just speculating about how much fun AG brewing is, it just depends on how much time you want to dedicate to it and what you want to drink!

 

[PD]

As Gayle said...Its a hobby. I enjoy the hassle.
Once the equipment is bought the pain recedes....Bulk buying grains and hops I make a 23 litre brew for around £4-£5. A good kit costs me £22 ish
Therefore I can get to play four times as often.
Yes kits are good these days and I as a normal person wouldn't be able to accurately tell the difference between them I guess. But who cares...its all good stuff.
Why do any hobby these days..you can watch anything on tv internet or whatever. I like all grain brewing, you like kits...so what. the world is big enough for us all
I get the feeling from your previous posts, that you are just posting so as to cause a heated discussion over the matter ( perhaps I'm totally wrong, if so sorry )
But that's my final word on the subject. Perhaps your kit seller is a little aggrieved at the prices he has to charge for his kits and can see more folks trying their hand at All Grain, and therebye losing his trade....who knows.

Happy brewing however.

 

[mak]

Time - yes it's worth it if you enjoy it and it's very satifying to get an extract or ag brew into the FV, you can really taste the difference. So much fresher and tastier than a kit wort. I haven't actually tasted the finished product from my AG brews yet but the extract one I did you can really tell.

Money - if going AG you will quite quickly recover the cost of equipment as your brews will be better quality than the 2 tin 20-ish pound kits and cost less than a tenner each.

 

[mifune]

why make a cooked english breakfast <ulster fry>when you can have a tin of all day breakfast by heinze?

its like anything, its a hobby, its not neccesarily about the end product, its about experimenting with what you can achieve.

personally i would be tempted alone just to see if i could create something similar to my all time favourite pub pint! <kozel dark,several years ago>

but some people would hate kozel and love wherry and thats fine!

personally i love cooking too, and one day as i can see the attraction i might try my hand at ag. that 5 quid a go seems mighty attractive too!

horses, courses yada yada

<if i ever see money again :lol: >

 

[LeedsBrewer]

I am still on kits and enjoying them so far but can't wait to step up to AG. As has been said, if it's a hobby then you don't view it as hassle. It's FUN! After the initial outlay for the equipment the process is much cheaper. You also have more control over your beers. :thumb:

 

[Frogfurlong]

If this was a site dedicated to model ships and sailing them then you could ask a similar question...

"Is it worth the hassle to build a model ship when I can just buy one?"

The answer is the same with both hobbies, if it brings you joy to make it from scratch then go for it, if you want a "put on decals and go" style of brewing then the can system is great. However if you want something that isn't produced by the kit manufacturers then the only way forward is a scratch build/brew from grains.

HTH

 

[wilsoa1111]

if ur time rich and a cheap scotsman AG is way better in the long run- unfortunately the money saved just goes on more ingrediants (esp precious liquid yeast)- i also never really brew the same thing twice even if i try and like the variation

 

[Russ146]

Thank you for all the feedback, it does sound fascinating to make it from scratch but i'm happy with the two can kits for ease so maybe when i have more time blah de blah.

PD: apologies for sounding offensive on previous posts. I have a fault of saying what i think before ive thought about it and dont intend offence but after i re-read a post i think whoops i did it again.

Forums are never the same as real life chat when things can be said cheekily and people just laugh at a warped humour. My mates say i'm Jeremy Clarksons long lost twin for my cutting humour, but i can take it as well so feel free to engage.

Ive just barreled a Wherry and started another Wherry of the four £15 cans i bought from wilkinsons, I think i know why they were sold cheap too, every can was dented so couldnt be sold for full price i assume.

Thanks again to those that took the time to reply

 

[dennisking]

As Vossy says it's up to you. Personally I've never made a kit beer. Just remember what my Dad made years ago and would never want to drink that again. Every one says they are now a lot better so now there is a kit category at next years spring thing I will go out of my way to try some. For me making my own is not just a passion and obsession it's way of of life and even after 30 odd years I still love tasting that 1st pint from the barrel knowing it was all my own work.

 

[TRXnMe]

There are a couple of reasons to go AG, if you have the time and inclination.

I made the leap after a fairlly short period of time brewing kits, turbo ciders and WOW type wines.

My reasons are simple. I enjoy fiddling with technology, so learning how to setup a PID controlled kettle from scratch, build a fermenting cabinet, boiler and mash tun have been some of the fun.

Having now built my AG kit I'm happy the be able to brew some rather good beer for less than a two can kit, the amount of time spent brewing AG is the 'cost' of saving a few quid on the brew.

Personally I'm a techie control freak, so being able to build my own AG kit, and then brwe beer to my exact spec is the driver for me. That and I love good beer, but haven't got much spare cash right now.