With the right ingredients and the right brewing instructions, you can brew your own beer in your own kitchen. At least that's what the Braukönig company claims: The beer brewing set includes a plastic fermentation container, beer wort, yeast, a fermentation tube, rubber stopper and operating instructions.

The product tester from askgeorge.com noticed the following points during the self-test:

On the other hand, it was noticed negatively that the cooking container is made of plastic and the result tasted like beer, but not like a real Pilsner - it reminds more of the taste of wheat. Nevertheless, the effervescent set was lifted to first place with a solid rating of "good": "I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised by the end product," was the final verdict of the tester.

The brewing box of the "Helles" variety is significantly more expensive, but not automatically better: the ingredients and accessories included in the scope of delivery (fermentation bottle, beer pump, fermentation lock, malt mixture, hops, brewer's yeast, oxy-cleaner, dispenser, thermometer) make Jonas a high-quality brew Impression. It was also positively noticed that in this test you really had to brew the beer yourself: In other words, the mashing and the lautering were done in-house - this part was omitted with the other brewing sets.

But you should plan more time here, since the preparation takes much longer. The result was still sobering: "Unfortunately, the high expectations of the end product could not be completely fulfilled". Above all, the lack of taste of light beer and yeast deposits on the floor brought the Braubox the overall grade "good" (2.3) and second place.

Two different types of the same brand were tested here: the wheat beer brew set and the dark beer brew set with oak wood and honey - both received the rating "satisfactory".

The wheat beer came with the following: an empty 5 liter keg (used as a fermenter), a bag of malt extract, a pack of yeast, a bottle of hop extract, a pressure valve and an instruction manual. However, he found the result disappointing due to a dominant banana note. In addition, the beer also had too little carbonic acid at the end, which should not be missing in a good beer. With a rating of "satisfactory" (2.6), the brew keg came third.

Closely followed by the dark beer brew set in 4th place, also with the grade "satisfactory" (3.3). Very easy to use, but in the end the product lacked flavor and carbonation. In return, it motivated the tester to "brew his own real beer".

Kwik beer takes fifth place. Just as easy to use as its predecessors, the hop drink was not particularly convincing because of its taste. The finished end product had hardly any carbon dioxide left and tasted more like a cider than a beer. This was also made clear by the lack of a head of foam, which is an important factor in freshly tapped beer.

Conclusion: All in all, the five products are suitable for beginners who want to brew their own beer. The beer brewing sets are also particularly suitable as a gift - but if you want to become a real master brewer, you should delve deeper into the subject.

Note: This article was first published in May 2019.

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