The ideal kit should include everything you need to begin brewing a straightforward recipe, right out of the box. It should come with essential tools and a complete recipe kit, as well as thorough instructions that don’t have you running to Google in search of clarity. And it should cost less than $120; any entry-level kit that costs more than that begins to exceed the cost of buying each item individually. All the experts we spoke with also agreed that $100 to $120 is the target price you should expect to pay as a first-time brewer.

What a kit should include

5-gallon kettle

This is priority number one. If you already have an adequately sized kettle (like a lobster pot), you can use that. Most kits come with a stainless steel kettle, which is easy to clean and won’t react to oxygen-based cleaners (like aluminum will). There is some debate as to whether you want the metal to be thick or thin, but for first-time brewers it’s best to focus on overall size. Going with a minimum size of 5 gallons will help avoid boil-overs. A lid will help retain heat (although you don’t need a tight-fitting lid), and roomy handles that are comfortable to hold make it easier to move the kettle to a suitable racking location. (“Racking” refers to the process of transferring the beer from one vessel to another, usually from the fermenter to the bottling bucket.)

Extract/partial mash recipe kit with muslin bags for steeping grains

Obviously you need the main ingredients for brewing beer: grain, hops, water, yeast. A good kit will include clear instructions and hermetically sealed packets of fresh hops and yeast. Every kit will include malt extract (concentrated grain sugar, either in liquid or powdered form). Ideally you’ll want some steeping grains too; these are whole grains that you place inside a muslin bag (cheesecloth folded into a bag) and steep in the water prior to the boil process, adding color and a bit more complexity than a brew made from just malt extract would yield.

Sanitizer/cleaner

Sanitation is everything. Once you’ve finished boiling, literally everything that comes in contact with the wort (unfermented beer) or beer needs to be sanitized. John Palmer, author of How to Brew, put it simply: “The number one priority to brewing great beer is sanitation.” He recommends Star San, an acid-based liquid sanitizer that doesn’t require rinsing, and as an experienced homebrewer I agree: Star San is the easiest, most effective sanitizer available. (Just keep in mind that this stuff is super caustic; best to closely follow the manufacturer’s instructions.) If your kit doesn’t come with it, don’t worry. Most brew kits include an “oxygen wash” (a non-chlorine bleach, like OxiClean), like the one pictured, and it should be all that first-time brewers need.

Spoon

You need to stir that beer while it’s boiling. Anything longer than 14 inches is fine—but the sweet spot is probably 21 inches (like the one shown here). This size gives you ample room to stir up to 4 gallons of wort without getting your hands near it. We recommend stainless steel because it’s easiest to clean, although some kits may come with a plastic spoon, which is still fine.

Fermenting bucket with lid

The wort (unfermented beer) goes in this bucket after you’ve finished brewing. Every brew kit includes one of these; usually it comes in the form of a 6-gallon, food-grade plastic bucket. The most important feature of this bucket is that the lid seals tightly; otherwise CO 2 will escape during the fermenting process. The lid should have an O-ring to help keep the seal tight and a small hole fitted with a gasket (to attach the airlock, see below). Unless you come across some unusual kit with a proprietary conical design, you’ll likely find the same type of fermenting bucket as in these kits (all those we tested were).

Airlock

Airlocks allow carbon dioxide (a by-product of fermentation) to escape the fermenter (by bubbling it through a water seal) without letting oxygen in. There are two different designs: three-piece and S-shaped (as pictured); these look different but work the same way. Good airlocks should be made of high-quality plastic that won’t crack with normal use.

Siphon with vinyl tubing

You use a siphon to transfer beer from one vessel to another, usually from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. There are two primary siphon designs: the auto-siphon (pictured) and the racking cane. Most kits come with an auto-siphon, which uses a simple pump mechanism; it’s easier to use, more effective, and more sanitary. The plunger that fits inside the tube should fit snugly, so it effectively sucks up the liquid—otherwise you’ll end up drawing just air. Among the kits we tested, the auto-siphons were all identical.

I have never used a racking cane and do not understand their appeal, other than that they are slightly cheaper; these are traditional siphons, so you suck one end of the tubing to create negative pressure and draw the beer out of the fermenter and into the bottling bucket. We don’t think it’s worth the $5 to $10 in savings over an auto-siphon.

Bottling bucket with vinyl tubing and spigot

This is the vessel used to fill the bottles with fermented beer. All the bottling buckets we’ve come across in our tests are identical: a 6-gallon food-grade plastic bucket with a screw-on spigot and rubber gasket along the bottom. You’ll attach vinyl tubing to the spigot on one end, and a bottle filler on the other. The fermented beer will travel through this apparatus and into the bottles for bottle conditioning (carbonation). You’ll want to make sure the gasket seal is as tight as possible to prevent leaks.

Bottle capper, caps, and bottle filler (optional: CO 2 tablets)

After you’re done storing and conditioning your beer, the last step is putting it in bottles. We haven’t seen any design variations on the capper (pictured above), although there are some larger cappers intended for use with 750 mL champagne bottles. (Keep that in mind if you intend to bottle in champagne bottles; you’ll need bigger caps.) The best bottle fillers are spring-loaded and do not leak when the trigger isn’t pushed.

Strainer/muslin bag

Most kits we tested come with a single muslin bag, which is used to hold your steeping grains while mashing. Some brewers also use them during the racking process to filter out “trub,” the thick bed of sediment that accumulates at the bottom of the fermenter. (If you have one, a fine mesh sieve will also do the trick.) One muslin bag is enough for your first brew, but you’ll want to stock up on them as you advance and start buying your own recipe ingredients.

Bottle brush

Brushes are absolutely essential if your bottles have been used previously. You’ll want one that has nylon bristles and that’s thin enough to fit inside the narrow neck of a bottle. We found these things were pretty much the same in all the kits.

We consider the items listed above essential to any brew kit. But we looked for kits that also included the following useful (but non-essential) tools:

Hydrometer

This is the tool used to measure your beer’s “gravity”—its density compared with water. Why do you need to know this? It’s how you measure the beer’s alcohol content (ABV). Ethanol is less dense than water, so when the yeast starts excreting it out in your beer, it decreases the overall density of the mixture. You take measurements before and after fermentation, which lets you understand the degree to which the yeast is converting sugars into alcohol. A hydrometer is easy to use, fairly inexpensive, and helpful when beginning to take the craft more seriously. It’s nice to have a hydrometer included in a starter kit, but if you don’t get one, we recommend looking for one that comes with a measuring flask, rather than just the hydrometer.

Thermometer

Temperature is a critical consideration at every point in the beer-making process—from brewing to fermenting to bottling to refrigerating. Personally, I like stainless steel dial thermometers, as they’re easily readable and have clips that you can fasten to the brim of the kettle. Glass immersion thermometers work fine, but they’re a bit fragile. Glass floating thermometers are a bit more durable, but reading them can be a bit of a challenge. If your kit doesn’t come with one (and we didn’t find many that did), there’s no need to spend more than $15.

Every expert we spoke to agreed on one thing: It’s best to keep it simple your first time around.

We couldn’t find a single kit within our target price range that had all of these items. There were always one or two things missing—usually the kettle, but sometimes the spoon, hydrometer, brush, or bottle caps. We also found that often the differences between kits are often pretty negligible—more often than not, it’s just a matter of a missing spoon or bottle brush or a different type of airlock.

We looked for kits on Amazon, Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies, and Austin Homebrew Supply. We focused on the number of tools included, the design of certain tools (like the siphon), and the quality and clarity of the instructions. We also looked at price, online user reviews, and availability. We initially considered 23 different homebrew kits, then brought that list down to seven for testing: five 5-gallon kits and two 1-gallon kits.

Once we had our picks, we paid a visit to Aeronaut Brewing Co. in Somerville, Massachusetts—just to run our thinking by them and to hear professional brewers’ opinions about these kits. They agreed with our approach to this guide, but with the caveat that any seriously motivated first-timer should pay a visit to a homebrew supply shop. It’s a great way to get your questions answered, and to go hands-on with all the different tools, utensils, and ingredients needed to brew. The folks at Aeronaut were adamant that brewing is a community activity, and homebrew shops are sort of like the town halls of that community. We also recommend checking out sites like How to Brew, the American Homebrewers Association, or Northern Brewer. They each provide comprehensive instructions for the brewing process that can be tailored to your particular level of expertise. Every expert we spoke to agreed on one thing: It’s best to keep it simple your first time around.