Our basic five gallon homebrewing starter kit is perfect for the new brewer. It comes with just about everything you'll need to brew your first batch of beer. The basic kit gives you options, whether you want to ferment in glass or plastic, do single-stage or two-stage fermentation, whether you want an ingredient kit or a kettle. So much like homebrewing itself, you get to pick how you make your delicious beer. All iterations of the basic kit come with the following: Joy of Homebrewing 3-Piece Airlock 6 feet of 3/8" ID Siphon Tubing Bottling bucket Spigot for bottling bucket Bottle brush Red Baron Capper ~150 Caps Bottle Filler 8 oz One Step You get to select which type of primary fermenter you'd like to use: 6.5 gallon plastic bucket w/lid - Positives: economical; light; durable; easily cleaned. Downsides: eventually will stain; not as air-tight as other options. 7 gallon FerMonster wide-mouth plastic carboy - Positives: light; oxygen-impermeable; wide mouth makes for easy cleaning. Downsides: scratches more easily than glass; plastic walls are thin (we put ours in a milk crate when lifting it). 6.5 gallon glass carboy - Positives: Oxygen impermeable; doesn't scratch easily; every time you clean it, pretty much good as new. Downsides: costs more; more breakable; harder to clean. You also get to decide whether you want an ingredient kit or kettle with your kit Badger Amber Ale - Caramelly, slightly sweet. Most popular starter kit! California Golden Ale - Slightly hoppy, blonde ale, easy drinking. Think a toned down Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Badger Dark Ale - Dark and roasty but not thick like a stout. Chaparral Pale Ale - West-Coast style pale ale. Wunderkind Wheat Ale - Light wheat ale with a hint of lemon. Warbler Pale Ale - British style pale ale, slightly bitter. American Light Ale - Lightest of our kits, easy drinking lawnmower beer. 5 Gallon Economy Kettle - Stainless steel, plenty large enough for any extract brew, still useful if you transition to all-grain brewing. Would you like to do two-stage brewing? If so, you can upgrade our basic homebrewing kit by selecting an upgrade option. Our basic upgrade kit comes with a hydrometer, stick on thermometer, racking cane and one of two secondary fermenter options: 5 gallon plastic carboy - Positives: light; oxygen-impermeable, cheaper than glass. Downsides: scratches more easily than glass. 5 gallon glass carboy - Positives: Oxygen impermeable; doesn't scratch easily; every time you clean it, pretty much good as new. Downsides: costs more; more breakable.
