During Prohibition, bootleggers made their own booze by burying grapes underground or catching moonbeams in a jar of water. Make alcohol the easy way with today's Groupon: for $64, you get a brewing essentials equipment kit (a $56.95 value), a steel bottle opener (a $14.95 value), your choice of either an Irish red ale, an autumn amber ale, or an Irish stout ingredient kit (up to a $25.95 value), an instructional DVD (a $4.95 value), and a $25 gift certificate for your second batch shipped from Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies (up to a $127.80 total value). A $12 shipping fee is not included in the price of this Groupon.

The hops-hobbyists at Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies provide equipment and encouragement to aspiring beverage crafters nationwide. Unlike puzzle-piece-of-the-month clubs, your brewing essentials equipment kit gives you everything you need in one handy package, except for bottles and the brew kettle itself. Ingredient kits yield 5-gallon liquid harvests in flavors such as Irish red ale, a richly colored, aromatic quaff popular among home brewers and discerning drinkers. Autumn amber ale provides a roasty seasonal sip, and Irish stout sports a rich bittersweet brew topped with a creamy head. Whatever the favored flavor, Midwest's premium ingredients and handy 90-minute how-to DVD help to make consistent batches each time, aiding neophyte brewers in avoiding the embarrassment of turning out a spicy pilsner or bacon-flavored lager. Suds designers can continue to hone their skills by using the $25 gift certificate for the next ingredient kit. Pick up one for yourself, or gift one to the discerning drinker or mad malt scientist in your life.

REVIEWS

Thirty-eight BeerAdvocate reviewers give Midwest Homebrewing Supplies an average rating of 4.46 out of five, and eight Yelpers give the company a 4.5-star average: