Comments on: Honey Mead Making Kit with Yeast and Starter Home Brew Accessories, Reusable, Step-by-Step Brewing Process, 1 Gallon, Made in the USA

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:19 +0000

LOW QUALITY. Don’t Buy!
disappointed. I have brewed my own beer for years and wanted to make the transition to mead. And I really wanted to like this product, but I should have paid the extra several bucks and just gotten the brand name one. This kit arrived in bad condition and the plastic accessories included are cheap and don’t work well.

By: BigFishRacing

BigFishRacing — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:19 +0000

Easy to follow despite requiring more understanding than included directions
This mead kit is very similar to several other mead kits out there. I am not sure which brand was first, but they are all very similar to one another. This kit is designed for someone with no experience that wants to follow basic directions and create a tasty alcoholic beverage they can impress their friends and family with. I did a lot of homebrewing back in college 15+ years ago, so I am pretty well versed in homebrewing, albeit rusty. This kit was a great way to get back into it!The instructions are somewhat vague in that they do not explain the science of why you are doing a certain step, and sometimes they over simplify steps to make the kit appear easier. For instance, the directions say to heat the wort (but not to a boil), yet it doesn’t explain why you are heating or to what temperatures. The heating is for low-temperature pasteurization of the honey to sanitize it. If you are using a pasteurized honey (most commercial honey is pasteurized), you can pretty much skip this step and mix the honey directly in the carboy. If you use raw honey, you want to aim for 150-degrees Fahrenheit for at least 5 minutes, or 140-degrees for at least 22 minutes. When rehydrating the yeast, the ideal temperature of your one cup of wort is between 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit to hydrate. You want to ‘pitch’ your rehydrated yeast wort mixture back in when the wort in the carboy is around 75-degrees. The instructions also say to suck the hose to get the mead flowing when bottling (because it does not include an auto siphon). Do NOT do this. Your mouth has bacteria/yeast than can be introduced and lead to off smells and flavors. A better way with the included equipment in the kit is the water method where you flood the tube and start it by draining the water.While the kit is very basic, it will produce tasty mead. Stick to all glass and metal utensils/containers as they are easier to keep sterile. A spray bottle is the best way to use the included sanitizer for easy coverage. You will need either flip-top bottles or crimp cap bottles with/crimper to seal your freshly made mead. The bottles and 2.5lbs of honey will set you back probably another $40USD on top of this kit. If you are purchasing this as a gift, I recommend gifting flip-top bottles with the kit because most people forget they need sealable bottles until it is time to bottle their mead.The most glaring omission for the kit is a clamp for the tubing, so that you can stop the flow and release it when filling bottles. You will have to squeeze the tubing by hand to stop the flow. The kit does not have a hydrometer to measure specific gravity (identifies exact alcohol content), but it is understandable one was not included for cost and simplicity of not confusing first time brewers. The included stopper does not fit very well (the durometer is pretty high). You want to make sure the stopper is completely dry to get a good seal onto the carboy.Overall this is a simple, easy to follow kit for the most part. A little bit of prior research by watching videos can definitely help out in the process of making your mead. This kit is budget friendly and a great introduction in the world of homebrewing. This kit is also highly giftable and a reasonable value. Overall I recommend it because the world needs more homebrewers out there.

By: William C. Jacobs

William C. Jacobs — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:18 +0000

Great Value. Professionally Made
Just stated my first batch and it couldn’t have been easier. Everything came securely packaged, layed out in an understandable way in the guide book, and was fun to learn. So far the quality of everything in the box is awesome. Definitely the best bang for your buck! Would recommend it to anyone Just getting into the hobby.

By: F.Lastname

F.Lastname — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:18 +0000

Great Mead Making Kit!
This product is great! I have never made mead before and as a beginner I felt the instructions were very clear and I was able to follow them without any issues! The products themselves are quality and I can tell I will be able to reuse these products for a long time. I would recommend this product to any beginners like myself looking to get started because of the clear instructions, but also for experienced mead makers because of the high quality materials! And not to mention the great price for everything you get. VineLabs really knocked it out of the park with this one!

By: rfeese

rfeese — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:18 +0000

Easy to make, perfect for gifts and parties.
I’ve never brewed anything before and found the entire process irreducablely simple. The kit has everything you would ever need. Just add honey and water. You can bottle the mead up but I prefer throwing a party and pouring the jug for all my friends. I’d definitely recommend brewing with fruit and additional honey to give it more character.

By: Henry Walther

Henry Walther — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:17 +0000

GAME CHANGER â much higher quality than the competition
Wow, I did not know mead could be this enjoyable and easy. I’d never done anything like this before, but I like mead, so I wanted to get the best quality product I could find. I’m glad I went with these guys. You can tell the quality of the glass and other materials compared to what other mead making kits. I had a buddy with one of the Chinese-made set ups. Nothing wrong with it necessarily, but this kit is clearly a step up. The instructions were well-written and clear. Wouldn’t change a thing.

By: Ethan Hill

Ethan Hill — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:17 +0000

Air lock broke on first use
Everything else in the kit seems fine but as I was putting the air lock on it broke.

By: FOP

FOP — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:37:16 +0000

High quality product, easy to use.
I just completed my first batch, and it turned out great. The parts felt high quality and instructions were easy to follow. Looking forward to taste testing, but overall great product. Great value for the money spent. I would highly recommend!