Homebrew Starter Kits – everything you need to brew beer at home

A homebrew starter kit brings together the equipment for your first brew: fermenter, airlock, hydrometer, cleaner and sanitiser, and gear for bottling or kegging. Here you will find starter kits for fresh wort kits and extract kits, complete all-grain packages for brewing from malt, and starter kits for cider, wine and serving from a keg.

How to choose the right starter kit

The key decision is how you want to brew. The method decides how much equipment you need and how long brew day takes.

Fresh wort kits and extract kits – the easiest start. The wort is already brewed, so you sanitise the equipment, pour the wort into the fermenter and pitch the yeast. Easy Brew includes a 33-litre fermenter, a hydrometer, a tap with bottle filler and 48 PET bottles of 500 ml. Starter Kit Basic adds capping equipment plus both cleaner and sanitiser, and can be expanded to all-grain later.
Fresh wort straight to the keg. The Simply Brew kits include a 20-litre fresh wort kit, yeast and equipment for fermenting and carbonating in a keg. With Simply Brew with Match Pilsen, the beer ferments for around 14 days before it is transferred to the keg and carbonated with CO2.
All-grain – brewing from malt. You mash and boil yourself and have full control over the recipe. Starter Kit Premium covers fermenting, cleaning, bottling and measuring for standard 25-litre batches. If you want the brewing system included, Beacon 40L Brewery Kit contains a fully automatic 40-litre Brewster Beacon, and Grainfather Brewery Kit a Grainfather G30 with a sparge water heater.

The starter kits compared

Starter kit	Brews	Packaging
Easy Brew	Fresh wort kits, extract kits and hard seltzer	48 PET bottles included
Starter Kit Basic	Fresh wort kits, extract kits and hard seltzer	Bottles, with capping equipment
Simply Brew	20-litre fresh wort kit, included	Keg with CO2
Starter Kit Premium	All-grain, 25-litre batches	Bottles, with bottling bucket and capper
Beacon 40L Brewery Kit	All-grain with a brewing system	Bottles (Starter Kit Premium included)
Grainfather Brewery Kit	All-grain with Grainfather G30	Bottles

Starter kits for cider, wine and kegging

The Cider Starter Kit contains a cider extract kit and makes up to 23 litres of cider. All you need to add is bottles. The Winemaking Starter Kit has the equipment for fermenting, maturing, sanitising and bottling, and the process takes 4–8 weeks depending on the wine kit. If you want to serve from a keg, the keg packages include a corny keg, CO2 regulator and tap, such as the 20-litre Cornelius Keg Package. You will also find starter kits for cleaning, yeast starters, canning beer and dispensing from KeyKeg.

Frequently asked questions about homebrew starter kits

What do I need to brew beer at home?

You need a fermenter with an airlock, a hydrometer to measure gravity, cleaner and sanitiser, and equipment for bottling or kegging the beer. You also need ingredients: a fresh wort kit, an extract kit or an all-grain recipe kit. A starter kit brings the equipment together in one package.

What is easiest for beginners?

Fresh wort kits are the easiest, because the wort is already brewed and only needs fermenting. Extract kits are almost as simple. All-grain gives the most control over flavour but needs more equipment and a longer brew day.

How long does it take to brew beer?

With a fresh wort kit, brew day itself takes only a few minutes. The beer then ferments for around two weeks before it is bottled or kegged. With all-grain you mash and boil yourself, so brew day is longer.

Are ingredients included in the starter kit?

It depends. The Simply Brew kits include a fresh wort kit and yeast, and the Cider Starter Kit includes a cider extract kit. Easy Brew, Starter Kit Basic, Starter Kit Premium and Grainfather Brewery Kit are equipment kits, so you buy the ingredients separately.

How much beer does one batch make?

A fresh wort kit gives 20 litres of wort. Starter Kit Premium is designed for standard 25-litre batches, and the Cider Starter Kit makes up to 23 litres of cider.