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Ale Kits

It comes as no surprise that ale is favored by a vast majority of small brewers. It requires a minimum of aging, is easy to brew, and tastes great. Ale ferments best between 60 and 72° F, and therefore requires no special refrigeration or cooling.

Scottish 60/-

OG: 1031 / Ready: 4 weeks

A low-gravity session beer, 60 shilling ale is the Scottish cousin of the English ordinary bitter. This style is traditionally sparingly hopped and given a long, cool fermentation to produce a beer with good clarity and a clean, malty flavor and aroma. Deep amber color with an off-white head and a modest alcohol content - we can't guarantee it's going to make you look good in a kilt, but it's an excellent beer to have on hand for impromptu social gatherings or a quiet evening of contemplation.

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$19.10

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British Bitter

OG: 1035 / Ready: 5 weeks

A true-to-style ale, the mainstay of publicans throughout England. Don't be misled by the name; British bitters are actually well balanced beers, neither too hoppy nor too malty. This kit is low in gravity, making it a great "session" beer. For a real touch of authenticity, serve it at cellar temperature (about 55° F) in Imperial pint glasses.

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$23.24

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Irish Red Ale

OG: 1040 / Ready: 6 weeks

Irish ales are malty, smooth, and many, like our kit, are a rich copper-red color. This Irish Red Ale is our attempt to improve upon some domestic versions. Our Irish Red is colored by a blend of specialty malts. Its great taste, drinkability, and low aging requirements make this our best-selling kit.

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$21.75

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Extra Special Bitter

OG: 1047 / Ready: 6 weeks

Our ESB is quite possibly the ultimate hop experience. Goldings hops make sure you'll know this beer from across a room while wearing a blindfold. All this is balanced with a judicious amount of gold malt syrup and a sweet, fruity yeast strain.

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$30.59

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Nut Brown Ale

OG: 1044 / Ready: 5 weeks

Styled after southern English brown ales, our Nut Brown kit is a great all-around beer: it's easy to brew (its dark color and rich flavor make it forgiving of mistakes), it's mild enough for light beer drinkers, but characterful enough for more experienced brewers and beer lovers. The finished product exhibits a deep copper color, fruity/caramelly flavor and aroma with toasty, chocolatey notes; and it tastes great after just a few weeks.

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$22.75

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German Alt

OG: 1052 / Ready: 6 weeks

German for "old," this ale predates lagers and has remained a beloved institution in northern German cities like Hanover and Dusseldorf. It has since been adopted by brewers around the world. Carry on the tradition in your home brewery with this kit. Our Alt is a deep red-brown ale with a great balance between hop dryness and sweet malt.

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$35.74

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Nukey Brown Ale

OG: 1052 / Ready: 6 weeks

Consider the Northern English Brown Ale: drier, cleaner, less fruity and sweet, and slightly hoppier than their southern counterparts (like our Nut Brown Ale kit). These beers actually have quite a bit in common with ales from Scotland as well, but don't try to tell them that in Newcastle. This kit yields an easy-to-drink, easy-to-like ale with a clear, deep garnet color, light sweet malt and fruit flavors, undertones of burnt caramel, chocolate, and toffee in the finish.

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$27.59

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Extra Pale Ale

OG: 1045 / Ready: 6 weeks

Pale ale was originally a British invention, a novelty after centuries of dark ales. Now, thanks to microbreweries such as Summit and Sierra Nevada, pale ale has become an all-American beer with a style all its own. Crisp, hoppy, and quenching, our Extra Pale Ale is highlighted with the sharp, citrus aroma of Cascade hops in the new tradition of West Coast ales.

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$26.10

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Mild Ale

OG: 1032 / Ready: 4 weeks

An English ale from before the era of industrial brewing, traditional milds are very light-bodied but dark in color and full of malty flavor. Back in the day, it was brewed by the same pubs that served it or by women for household consumption. This kit stays true to the style's light, refreshing body and quaffability without sacrificing character. Chocolate, Amber, and Brown malts impart a nutty dryness with roasty undertones and a rich deep-ruby color, while the Thames Valley yeast strain gives subtle fruitiness. Like our British Bitter, this is a great session beer (which means you can have a few pints instead of one) that tastes best at cellar temperature.

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$19.24

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American Amber Ale

OG: 1047 / Ready: 6 weeks

It's not quite an alt; it's not quite a pale ale. Our American Amber borrows from German and British brewing traditions to make a beer that's uniquely American, perhaps similar to the ales our forefathers brewed in the colonial days. Hearty and smooth, this beer improves greatly with a little extra aging, if you're patient enough.

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$27.59

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Kölsch

OG: 1048 / Ready: 6 weeks

This pale, light-bodied golden ale is copyrighted by, brewed in, and named for the German city of Köln. Kölschbier is traditionally given a long, cold aging period like a lager, which makes for a very smooth and clean beer. A small dose of hops gives a little authentic dryness without making the beer bitter—very refreshing.

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$25.74

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St. Paul Porter

OG: 1052 / Ready: 6 weeks

Many consider porter to be a light-bodied stout. This is certainly not true of this beer. In formulating our St. Paul Porter recipe, we have considered the defining element of a porter to be the prodigious use of chocolate malt, which lends a deep red color, and a smooth, almost nutty flavor.

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$31.59

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Dry Irish Stout

OG: 1042 / Ready: 6 weeks

You'll never forget the first time you have this stuff. Jet-black in the tradition of Ireland's most popular and well-known beers, this stout has a wickedly dry, coffee-like taste, imparted by a generous helping of roasted barley. This is one of the most popular styles among home brewers; after a few pints, you'll understand why. At its best when served on draft.

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$23.10

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Sweet Stout

OG: 1042 / Ready: 6 weeks

A sweet stout is just that; a jet-black ale with a roasted-malt character that's offset by a residual sweetness and a full body. Sometimes known as cream stouts or milk stouts, English brewers made them as a nourishing, healthy drink for nursing women and invalids. We aren't making any claims for our Sweet Stout's healing powers or suitability as a sports drink, but we think you'll agree it works at least as well as those magic crystals you saw on late-night TV. De-bittered black and chocolate malts yield a noticeable but not sharp roasty quality, while lactose (an unfermentable milk-based sugar) gives this beer a rich maltiness.

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$27.75

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Scottish 80/-

OG: 1047 / Ready: 6 weeks

Scotland's answer to the English ESB, but with emphasis on malt instead of hops. Satisfying without being too rich, a Scottish 80/- is still potent enough to make you hear bagpipes if you overindulge. Even though it's not a bitter beer, the use of quality hops is key; our kit uses a judicious dose of Target hops. British Crystal lends a caramelly and slightly fruity edge to the clean maltiness of this dark-amber ale. Enjoy at cellar temperature in a pint glass.

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$26.10

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Cream Ale

OG: 1040 / Ready: 5 weeks

A light, clean fermenting ale modeled after the "cream lagers" of the northeast United States. Low in gravity, long on flavor, this beer is a pale thirst-quencher, great for brewing and enjoying in the summertime. Dingemans Biscuit Malt gives our Cream Ale a warm, toasty flavor that complements the light hopping.

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$21.59

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English Pale Ale

OG: 1050 / Ready: 6 weeks

Easy to brew, tastes great in a bottle or a keg... it's no surprise that English pale ales are consistently popular with homebrewers. English pale ales are generally maltier, sweeter, and less aggressively hopped than the American version. Our kit produces a slightly caramelly, copper-brown, medium-bodied ale with a flowery, fruity boquet and subtle bitterness from real English hops. We selected Wyeast Whitbread Ale for this kit because of its high flocculation, which makes it possible to package the beer and drink it very fresh — try serving it on tap at a low level of carbonation. Rule Britannia!

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$29.75

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Tongue Splitter

OG: 1045 / Ready: 6 weeks

This kit is our take on the West Coast Pale Ale; it is similar to our Extra Pale Ale but is more aggressively (some might say insanely) hopped. Engineered to be an alpha-acid delivery vehicle, this kit is sure to please lovers of the humulus lupus.

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$35.59

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Irish Draught Ale

OG: 1045 / Ready: 5 weeks

Irish ales fall somewhere in between English and Scottish brewing traditions—mildly fruity and often brewed with sugar adjuncts like English bitters, but malty and lightly hopped like Scottish ales. Like Irish stouts, they're sociable session beers with a low alcohol content but substantial body. Inspired by beers like Caffrey's and Smithwick's, our Irish Draught Ale pours with a deep red color and tan head over a caramel-like malt character with roasty and fruity notes. As a bow to Ireland's meadmaking past, clover honey lightens the body and boosts the gravity of this recipe, while a small dose of oats adds creaminess to the mouthfeel and a hint of grain to the flavor. Serving our Irish Draught Ale on a Homebrew Nitrogen system (KX10 or KX11) will enhance this beer's satiny, mouth-filling drinkability so much you'll swear you're hiding from the wind and rain inside a cozy pub in Ireland.

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$24.24

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Breakfast Stout

OG: 1030 / Ready: 4 weeks

Beer for breakfast? If that's how you roll, then we recommend this mild, smooth, light-bodied Breakfast Stout. This beer is brewed with a high proportion of flaked oats, which lends a silky mouthfeel. It is low in alcohol, so it will sit well in an empty stomach. This beer pairs well with a bowl of Wheaties, pancakes, or piping hot oatmeal. You can also have it for lunch and dinner as well.

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$20.75

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