Beer and Wine Making Kits

How does the idea of a light and crisp India Pale Ale on a summer day sound? Or what about enjoying a full-bodied glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with tonight’s dinner?

And what if the winery or brewery they came from was in your own house? If you’re a “Do It Yourself” type of person, then we think it may be time that you invested in beer and wine making kits.   

Now we know that lots of people are leery when it comes to the subject of beer and wine making kits. The two main issues are:

1) Beer and wine making kits are overly complex and “scientific”
2) Homemade wine and beer tastes awful. 

So… Let’s address these issues, shall we? 

The truth is that you don’t need a PHD in biology to make your own beer or wine. In fact, basic beer and winemaking isn’t much more difficult than making soup.

And, get ready for it, it tastes great.

But we have even more good news. The best part is that doing it yourself means that not only are you enjoying a better quality of beverage but you’re doing it at a substantially reduced cost.

That’s right, it’s easy to do, the taste that is comparable to store-bought wine and beer, and it’s a lot cheaper than store bought wine or beer. Cheap and delicious tasting booze – what’s not to like? 

Let’s take a fast overview of beer and wine making kits.

As we mentioned, there is a startup cost, but your investment will eventually pay for itself if you are brewing in any significant quantity. The ingredients and various sanitation compounds that you will be buying are inexpensive when compared to a finished product you buy at the store.

Most homebrewing stores or online merchants will offer a beer starter’s set and/or a wine making kit that will provide most if not all of the necessary gadgets and equipment. Prices can range anywhere from a basic $40.00 kit to a few hundred for a “state of the art” kit.  

Plus, basic beer and winemaking can be done at home with (mostly) the same set of tools. You may even have some of this stuff lying around the house already.

With both wine and beer, your finished product is only as good as your ingredients. If you’re a beginner, it’s best to stick with the all-in-one ingredient kits until you are ready to branch out into more complex recipes. These cost effective kits include all of the ingredients and instructions to make a particular style of beer or wine.  A $40.00 beer kit will get you around 50 bottles of high quality beer for about 85 cents apiece. And we believe it is waaay tastier than the “buck a bottle” stuff from the beer store.

Wine kits work in much the same way and can cost approximately anywhere between $70 and $200 on average. (Although wine takes longer to make.)

So, if you were looking for an everyday wine, a $70 kit will yield 30 bottles of wine at less than $4 a bottle. It’s not going to be a world-class wine or anything, but it will be on par with bottles you would pay twice as much for in a store.

Obviously, a more expensive kit will get you a higher end wine.

After it’s corked, why not put your own personalized monogram label on the bottle? You might even want to serve it at your wedding celebration or your next event.

And if you really start to get into the winemaking then you can find ingredients in your own backyard. Wild flowers and elderflowers can make very tasty wines.

But best of all, beer and wine kits can be a lot of fun. And as you mature as a homebrewer, you will find even more creative ways to cut costs and improve your quality.  

Cheers!