Comparing every popular mead/wine beginner kit (and ranking them)

Join us as we dive into a detailed comparison of beginner mead and winemaking kits from some of the top suppliers: MoreWine, Craft a Brew, Home Brew Ohio, and Golden Hive Mead. Whether you're a seasoned brewer or just starting out, this video will help you choose the perfect kit to start your brewing journey. We'll unbox each kit, go over the contents, discuss the ease of use, and assess the quality of the ingredients. Plus, stay tuned as we give our final verdict on which kit offers the best value for beginners.
0:00 Intro
1:25 Ten things to know
8:35 Comparing kits
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Mead nutrient info: • Mead Nutrients 101: Wh...
Scaling up to five gallons: • Moving up from 1 gallo...
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#miracleberry #homebrewing #sessionmead

[@DointheMost]

Get my 120-page mead making book: dointhemost.org/book

[@johnwiks2597]

I was exposed to your channel through Man Made Mead, and I was exposed to him through City Steading Brews. Man has it been a journey! I now have 18 gallons of beer, 6 gallons of mead, 2 gallons of cider under my belt since last September. Still feel brand new and shaky, but you guys have given me the confidence to continue on in this hobby. Thank you!

[@fraserskomorowski2311]

Hehe, I fell down that same rabbit hole. CSB MMM & DtM

[@thefestivemedic]

Love the no bs, genuine advice

[@allisonberger1145]

watching this after having purchased the golden hive kit a couple months ago and i’m still building it out to be able to brew anything😭

[@bassmanxan3544]

Damn, wish this video existed sooner. I will be teying to do things right from here on out

[@xVarkenx]

Haha that confirms who I thought the baking soda mead short was about.

[@DointheMost]

😉

[@azcomicgeek]

I started with Brooklyn Brew Shop's Jalapeno Saison beer kit years ago and adapted it last Sept to start meading. I just needed a hydrometer, wine yeasts, nutrients, acids and more fermenters. I prefer the gallon batches so i can experiment with more flavors and without being overrun with cases of bottles. Uline sells a case of 4 one gallon glass bottles for under $20, or the carboy jugs for $30.

[@richardcagle5475]

Just getting into brewing, beer mostly, and I started with a kit. Even on my first batch ever the instructions were useless. I didn't follow it at all and made some pretty damn good beer. I made the same beer buying ingredients from a local shop and it was even better for 25% less money. Down to $.50 a 12oz beer that beats anything I can buy in the store for over a dollar each, more like $2. Gonna take two years, but this hobby will pay for itself eventually

[@madogmdp]

Man, Golden Hive is getting dunked on everywhere XD. I was gifted his "Deluxe" kit for Christmas, back before he revised it with additional instructions and ingredients. It came with racking cane, hydrometer, 3- 1 gal vessels with airlock, 12 bottles, corks, and a corker. As well as the infamous recipe book. IMO it was very overpriced, but hey I got it as a gift. It came with virtually no instructions. The few instructions it did come with boiled down to "Throw everything in there and let it ride." I had to spend a fair amount of research time on the wiki and a lot of extra cash to purchase all of the necessary ingredients. Research is my jam though so in a twisted kind of way lacking ingredients forced me to study for weeks before I made any decisions or purchases. Knowing what I know now the kit is overpriced and misinforming, BUT his online content is what brought me to the hobby. I wouldn't have the borderline obsession I have now without his easily ingestible short form media. And it brought me to your channel as well as Man Made Mead's. Also those other guys' channel but I don't like their vibes. >.> I don't have enough of my first batch left to share with mead stampede this year and my current batches will be pretty young when submissions are up. So look for me next year!

[@elyk082]

I completely agree with you about his short form, it’s addictive and was everywhere so I got me into the hobby.

[@MrMarki134]

Lmao didn't know people dunked on him but sorta expected it

[@azcomicgeek]

But who else would have tried a Mt Dew or Dr Pepper wine?

[@chrisoniceskates]

@@azcomicgeek Golden Hive didn’t invent soda meads. He was just the first to make tiktoks about it. I think it’s fine to acknowledge that he’s introduced a lot of people to the hobby, but I don’t think he should get any praise for that considering how he uses his position to predatorily sell his shit-kit to his audience when he could be promoting actual comprehensive (and FREE) resources to get people started.

[@riukrobu]

Very important video! Clapping the clap outta my hands right now!

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

Great job! I remember buying cheap wine kits (not including fermenters and other hardware) for $40 before COVID-19, which now seem to be selling for $100 to $120 each.

[@DointheMost]

Definitely sad about that, I need more pyments in my life.

[@TigerPat_9180]

Really Appreciate Your Video , Thanks ! 🐯🤠

[@DointheMost]

🍻

[@TigerPat_9180]

​@@DointheMost CHEERS 🥂 . 🐯🤠

[@dwadeweallin17]

Great video to have in the community. So important to have places to start and to point people in the right directions. Glad you made this and I hope people stay away from the last kit to save their money and to prevent terrible practice.

[@EricWaterTruck]

I got a northern brewer beer kit for Xmas. Done 5 batches so far. First 2 weren’t great, but kinda gettin figured out now.

[@stanleygrover1685]

I agree! I moved up to 15 gallon stainless steel and clear in my 3,5,and 6 gallon carboys! I now have mead 4 years old.

[@elyk082]

Just got some brand new 5 gallon kits at a local garage sale for $25 a pop.

[@natureman494]

I have the summer harvest fruit wine making kit for one gallon batches and it has a auto syphon, hydrometer, gallon bucket, carboy, and a starting sample pack of camnden tablet, yeast nutrient, tannins and acid. I really like it since I don't go too over the top with my wine making.

[@DointheMost]

It seems like a fantastic bargain kit!

[@natureman494]

@@DointheMost it is! Came with a recipe book too which I took it more as a guide but honestly some of the recipes weren’t that bad.

[@roxaskobold5101]

I'd seriously love to get it, but it only ships to the US and I currently live in Mexico :c

[@mattt7105]

And to think Golden Hive only just changed the kit to have all the extra stuff like nutrients and acids as of a couple weeks ago before it was basically just the jug w/airlock, hydrometer and racking cane all for the reasonable price of $90.

[@DointheMost]

And yet the improvements don’t in anyway justify the price 🤦‍♂️

[@juliaharbeck774]

I started out with 6 gallons but then I got old so now I do 1 gallon. I can lift them so I just do several one gallons I can handle.

[@DointheMost]

Absolutely makes sense in that circumstance! I definitely don’t disparage anyone who makes 1 gallon batches.

[@thoughtweftpie3230]

I actually started with the make a brew kit and I was quite happy with it! I’m currently working on my second batch with my own yeast and nutrients (d-47 and fermaid-o). Sadly run into a stall but pushing forward with degassing and yeast hulls. It’s been a fun experience so far.

[@DointheMost]

Sounds like you’re on the right track! Happy brewing!

[@Rebel4YHWH]

Can you do or have you done a video for mead makers on using acids, when to use certain acids and why? Also just picked up your book. Love what you and Man Made Mead do, keep it up!

[@DointheMost]

If you search the channel for balance/balancing we’ve done a few videos on the topic! I would start with our Triforce of Balance video, and then maybe look at the video on naturally balancing brews. If you can’t find them, let me know! The book also mentions the various acids.

[@Jake-Aprile]

I will admit one of golden hives viral videos got me interested in brewing. Shortly after I found your channel and bought your e book as a result of my new passion, making mead. So inadvertently golden hive did do some positive.. but I do agree his kit is too expensive.

[@gamecollector7930]

Yes, yes they are

[@matthewkinman2932]

OK, wait, newbie here. I thought i was good to go with an auto siphon. How does a bottling wand work better? I have one gallon aging and a new batch fermenting right now, so I'm still learning!

[@TJGAUTHIER]

The bottling wand works in conjunction with the auto siphon. It's only for bottling, but makes bottling so much simpler. It attaches to the other end of the tubing of your auto siphon. It's got a spring loaded valve on the end so you push it down into the bottle and when it's full, you lift it and it cuts off the flow, so you don't make a mess. Look up Doin the Mosts bottling video for a visual demonstration. Search So You Want to Brew! Our Intro Course to Brewing and Fermentation | Part 4: Bottling Good luck on your first batches!

[@Jage_]

Knowing what I know now I'm glad I rushed to large batches (5 gallon plus) because it doesn't cost that much more in scale to get a large size "beginner kit" Of course the best recipe book for the home made recipes kit is You Can Make Mead by BC Phillips which I was able to afford by following this channels advice 😂

[@martharetallick204]

Started making mead in 2020. Have entered a couple of competitions and am about to host a mead tasting.

[@AlbeeSoaring]

Wow your definitely not hiding your distain for golden hive.. lol To me you are paying for the convenience factor when buying a kit. I learned after I bought my beer kit from Northern brewer that it can get you by but if you want to have more control over the recipe you need to do the research and be willing to make a few bad batches. My son just learned this lesson when he bought a rootbeer kit from craft a brew. The kit was super over priced and made a very lack luster root beer. I feel like the ingredient were probably pre packed too long ago and might have not been very fresh even then. I had my son do a few minutes or research to find a good recipe and we bought all the ingredients and made over twice as much for less cost, and it tasted so much better. Still not perfect but that has gotten his mind going on what he wants to change for the next batch. Ive made a few batches of mead and used information from people like yourself, man made mead, city steading, golden hive and a few other. They were really good, but not great so now Im adjusting for next time.

[@kevin_ninja_jones2363]

8:54 that's the one I bought plus a couple other things since

[@yourmetalgod69]

The golden hive videos are sooooo bad. I saw his kit and laughed. Great video here good info for New brewers

[@janitokleynhans5574]

Good morning from Argentina

[@DointheMost]

Good morning!

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

It's not that I don't want to scale up. I just don't have the room for it. I could probably manage a 3 gallon set up at most if I clear out some space somewhere.

[@DointheMost]

I have acquired three 3 gallon carboys over the last couple of years, and they are definitely constantly in use. I love being able to do a big 5 gallon fruited mead and then rack to a 3 gallon carboy with very little headspace.

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

@@DointheMost I'm content for now with my Big Mouth Bubbler 1.5(?) Gallon. Dialing in technique and some hopped cider recipies

[@Damiancontursi]

Loved the video, sadly (or maybe not) in my country you can't anything like that since mead is practically nonexistent. The only thing I don't agree with is #6. I believe it's the opposite, when you start you want to do and try many different things and be brewing all the time, so the smaller the batches the more you can do and feel free to screw up (because you will) since it didn't cost you that much. Imagine making a 5 gallon batch and you screw up or end up not liking it because you are not too sure of what you are doing.

[@DointheMost]

I cover the economics of this in my scaling up video, but generally, there are plenty of brews you can make that are not much more expensive as 5 gallon batch than they are as one gallon batches. I cite some examples in that video! But I do understand that some people don’t want to risk 5 gallons of something they are uncertain about.

[@Damiancontursi]

@@DointheMost Thank you for answering, I always appreciate content creators taking their time to read and respond to comments.

[@kb2vca]

Interesting video. Don't disagree with much of what you say but I am not convinced that a mead or wine making KIT is the best approach for a first time mead/wine maker. As you note, most people who want to get their toes wet may not jump, still less, dive into the water and spending $100 BEFORE they get their feet wet may not be for everyone. After all, we have been making wine and mead for millennia and for almost all that time we used whatever equipment we had at home. Do you NEED a carboy to make a gallon of mead? Why can't you make that in a gallon kitchen using the lid to keep out an excess of O2 and flies? Do you NEED a siphon for a gallon of wine (5 bottles). Will oxidation be a REAL problem if you pour the wine into bottles using a kitchen siphon? The thing is wine making at the gallon level is a lot like vegetable gardening. Once you imagine that you are a farmer farming acres of crops and not someone growing vegetables for a 4 by 8 foot bed your approach is of necessity very different. And once you have dived into the water, and you see the value of purchasing equipment a la carte, that's a very different story.

[@DointheMost]

I don’t disagree, and that’s why in our super beginner series I demonstrated fermentation in a water jug with no airlock to show how simply it can be done! I’m not gonna buy Stratocaster if I’m just learning to play guitar, but I’ll definitely grab one if I’m still at it in a year!

[@Born_To_Chill]

You mentioned that an auto siphon was not your preferred method of siphoning. What method do you use most?

[@DointheMost]

I use a regular racking cane and typically use part of my turkey baster as a mouthpiece to start the suction. Way easier, way less oxygen exposure.

[@dylanharrison2299]

Have you got any footage of this even in an existing video? ​@@DointheMost

[@DointheMost]

@@dylanharrison2299 sure do! HOW TO RACK Your Brews - Every way to transfer beer, wine, cider, or mead kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3eqd3Rra72Agtk

[@r.s.5431]

I guess I'm so new to the hobby that I don't understand all of the terms yet. I thought the video was going to review wine ingredient kits. My bad.

[@DointheMost]

Sorry, this video is on gear, not ingredients!

[@jasons217]

Real

[@gregj1789]

I didn’t even know who that golden hive dude was until this review. Now I see he has over 500k subscribers..🤯🤯🤯

[@Dogstickfetch]

FIRST!!!!

[@Funpants94]

Darn you!!!

[@Dogstickfetch]

​@@Funpants94I'M THE KING BAY-BEE! Boomer Sooner #1 homeboy! O! K! C! OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@TigerPat_9180]

🥳🤯💥🎉🎊⚡✨🌟⭐💫

[@riukrobu]

Accomplishments! Amirite?

[@davidhorvath66]

I think a wine thief and a graduated cylinder should also be included in a beginners kit. Perhaps not a bare bones beginners kit, but definitely an all inclusive beginners kit

[@DointheMost]

A wine thief is definitely super handy! Sometimes when I draw samples, I treat my bottling wand like a wine thief just to grab a few tablespoons of mead or wine. I turn it upside down, put it in the brew, and open the valve and it draws enough up into the bottling wand that I can put a little bit in a wine glass.

[@davidhorvath66]

@@DointheMost Yeah my first wine kit (that I got at a local brew store) just had a bottling wand included and it was described as both a bottling wand/wine thief. I can definitely pull double duty. But the first two things I purchased outside of my kit were an actual wine thief and a graduated cylinder. On the note of graduated cylinders, I bought one off Amazon that was sold by a home brew site. The damn thing was too short to fit my triple scale hydrometer (which would just sink straight to the bottom) and too narrow to fit my brix hydrometer. Not sure why a home brew site would even sell it. I ended up going back to the home brew store and getting a much bigger one that could actually fit my samples and hydrometers, and it was half the price of the one I got off Amazon. Lesson learned I pretty much only get equipment from a local home brew store. There’s just a lot of junk floating around being sold to beginners that’s a rip off or unfit for purpose

[@GrumpyMcfart]

As a dialysis patient my reason for going with 1 gallon was simply: the rate at which I drink is so low that I expect a gallon will be plenty for me. Also I just don't have room in my life right now to store the products of multiple 5 gallon batches.