Designing Your Own Beer Kits, No Boiling Required

[HomeBrewWest]

Just resurrecting this thread which we started years ago. The idea was to use LME cans, add bittering hops, and possibly dry hop (or add aroma oils) for aroma etc. to create beer kits. We even gave away some ingredients to try it out, but it never really went anywhere in the end.

Its interesting that some HBCs are now offering products that do something quite similar in Ireland.

We never progressed it though because we have first hand experience of real beer kit design and know its just not that easy. In reality, you need to be able to blend malt extracts and this is beyond the scope of all but the largest companies. There are many issues, the basics being clarity and head retention that need to be solved. Also, some yeasts just don't work with some malt extracts (haze is only the beginning of your problems).

Its not to say that we won't do it, its more or a question of should we do it. We can deliver Craft Range kits with balanced blends of malt extracts, hops etc. designed by the most respected brewers in the UK so we don't think we can improve on that. We can even do it at better pricing so it doesn't seem to make any sense to us.

What do you guys think? Should we offer a "build your own" kit? After all, we were the first supplier on the NHC to come up with the idea! And NHC members gave a lot of feedback on this idea.

[LordEoin]

I'd keep focus on expanding the Craft Range with quality examples of tasty styles.