<p>…just what every college student wants for Christmas. Well, maybe just mine. Are any of these kits any good?</p>
<p>Before you invest in a kit, I would encouarge your son to speak with someone in a local home brewers club. Having watched my beer geek hubby brew for the past few years, I can tell you it’s an expensive hobby and requires lots of cleaning of equipment. Additionally, space is an issue. Does he live off campus and have a garage? Maybe your son already knows what to expect but, just in case, it’s a good idea to learn as much as possible before investing in the equipment.</p>
<p>My H brews a lot. he said he did start with a kit, and though he quickly moved on to more extensive equipment and buying bulk ingredients to follow his own recipes, the kit was a good introduction, because everything was there; you learn how do-able it is.</p>
<p>He has a brew book who’s motto is “relax, don’t worry, have a home brew.” It’s just beer; really easy not to go wrong.</p>
<p>My H did it for a few years about 30 years ago when we were first married. Then we just bought him another kit 2 years ago for Christmas. He has studied it and talked to other home brewers quite a bit. This is the kit we got him [Amazon.com:</a> Coopers DIY Beer Kit - Original: Kitchen & Dining](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-DIY-Beer-Kit-Original/dp/B0002F0O7W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353457559&sr=8-1&keywords=Coopers+DIY+Beer+Kit+-+Original]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-DIY-Beer-Kit-Original/dp/B0002F0O7W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353457559&sr=8-1&keywords=Coopers+DIY+Beer+Kit+-+Original) He says it does a great job and the reviews on it are pretty good. That’s all I know as I never liked beer, lol.</p>
<p>Bought one of these for DH several years ago - he made the batch included with the kit and never expressed any interest in doing anything else. It was easy to use and the beer was okay (not an expert opinion!).</p>
<p>I dodged it for this year because S is going to Denmark for spring term ( makes Christmas shopping easy since space in 2 suitcases will be limited.). I wasn’t going to do it anyway because one of his roommates is still under 21. I think it will be on his list for next year.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice. That Coopers’ kit has very good ratings. It will probably end up in my house, somewhere, so I hope the smell isn’t too bad.</p>