Thanks for the tips. I haven't bought the kit yet, so I may consider the 5 gallon kit. Part of the cost of the first batch is the equipment, so my refills will cost far less.

Keep in mind in the long run 5 gallon batches are both cheaper and more time effective than gallon batches. I would average about 48 12oz bottles +/-10% for a 5 gallon batch. Depended a lot on the yeast and if I dry hopped. I actually did dozens of 1 gallon batches to test the effects of tweaking various ingredients. I would average about 8 bottles from a 1 gallon batch which only works out to 40 bottles for 5 gallons.

Also most recopies are geared toward 5 gallons which means not having to convert. This is especially helpful with hops as I imagine the smallest size they’re sold in is still 1oz. Good hops are stored in airtight bags in nitrogen as they go rancid quickly when exposed to O2 even when refrigerated so you don’t really want to open and use a partial bag unless you plan to use it fairly quickly.

If you are brewing all grain it’s also cheaper, assuming you brew enough, to buy the base grains in bulk. My roommate and I use to buy base lager and ale malt in 50 kilo bags and store them in those Tupperware totes in the kitchen. To save time when brewing we just weighed out both 1lb and 2lb increments of each of them once and marked that level on the side of a clear pitcher so we could just scoop it out instead of having to weight it out each time.

5 gallon batches are more time effective because setup, mashing in, boiling, fermenting and cleanup are all going to take the close to the same amount of time regardless of the amount you make. You will save a little time on cracking grain, lautering, transferring and bottling but at the cost of about 1/6 of the beer.

Also the larger the batch the less small mistakes in ingredient quantities will effect the flavour of your beer.

OTHH making hard cider a gallon at a time is easy. Just pop open the gallon jar, drink a little off the top, drop in some yeast and cover the top with foil. If you use bakers yeast it tastes like crap but an easy way to make alcohol if when you’re under age. Though I suppose most moms don’t keep bakers yeast around these days.

I didn't click on the link, but from all the others I've seen, those Xmas-time brew kits blow. This one could be different.

Utilizing a nice $2 off per 4/pk coupon, I took the opportunity to sample the new Sam Adams doppelbock and imperial stout. Actually, I've only tried the doppelbock. I like it. Huge malt flavors, not overly complex, but real depth in the malt flavors if that is your thing. 9% abv so definitely a sipper. I'd recommend it, though it is certainly a different animal than Optimator/Salvator.

Couldn't bring myself to try the Dogfish 90 min IPA - just know the citrusy hop flavor is gonna turn me off.

Tried the New Belgian seasonal - 2* Below. I don't usually go for the seasonal beers (at least, not until they're clearanced out in February or so ) but I like this one. Huge fresh hop aroma - like sticking your face in a bag of whole hops - nice malt flavors, that kind of fat mouthfeel Fat Tire has, some drying hop bitterness, followed by the taste of fresh hops, and a long malt finish. Bright and clean, but soft and delicious.

Two thumbs up!

So far, I've really enjoyed the New Belgian offerings.

I think 1554 is the best New Belgium beer, by far.

This is the list of beers that were available at my house on Thanksgiving. We didn't get to all of them.

#-Beer-Style-Origin
1-Session Beer-Pre-prohibition American Lager-Hood River, OR
2-Roslyn - Brookside Beer-Pale Lager-Roslyn, WA
3-Krusovice Imperial-European Lager-Krusovice, Czech Republic
4-Czechvar-Bohemian Pilsner-Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
5-Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan-Specialty Brown Ale (Pecan)-Kiln, MS
6-Port Brewing High Tide-Fresh Hop IPA-San Marcos, CA
7-Port Brewing Ne Goeien-Saison-San Marcos, CA
8-Silver City Oktoberfest-Oktoberfest-Silverdale, WA
9-Hofbrau Oktoberfest-Oktoberfest-Munich, Germany
10-Warsteiner Oktoberfest-Oktoberfest-Warstein, Germany
11-Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest-Oktoberfest-Munich, Germany
12-The Ram Big Red-IPA-Puyallup, WA
13-Terminal Gravity IPA-IPA-Enterprise, OR
14-Ninkasi Sleighr-Double Alt-Eugene, OR
15-Deschutes Jubelale 2009-American Strong Ale-Bend, OR
16-Victory Yakima Twilight-American Strong Ale-Downingtown, PA
17-Stone 13th Anniversary Ale-American Strong Ale-Escondido, CA
18-Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Extra!-Imperal IPA-Petaluma, CA
19-Ninkasi Oatis-Oatmeal Stout-Eugene, OR
20-Iron Horse Mocha Death-Specialty Irish Ale (espresso, cocoa)-Ellensburg, WA
21-Full Sail Top Sail 2008-Imperial Porter (Bourbon Barrel)-Hood River, OR
22-Deschutes Black Butte XXI-Specialty Porter (chocolate beans, coffee, Bourbon Barrels)-Bend, OR
23-Alaskan Baltic Porter 2009 -Specialty Porter (cherries, brown sugar, vanilla beans, oak)-Juneau, AK
24-Deschutes The Abyss 2009-Specialty Stout (Licorice, Molasses, Oak)-Bend, OR
25-Lindeman’s Framboise-Raspberry Lambic-Belgium

And, Tom, are those all the beers YOU sampled on Thanksgiving?

Those are probably only the beers he *remembers* sampling.

Hell, if he remembers anything past 2, he's doing much better than me.

Impressive as always, Tom.

I like the 1554 as well.

I was excited to see Sam Adams' Cream Stout in 6 packs at the local Kroger. I the past I only saw it in variety cases at Costco. This time around, however, it's not as good as I remember. I think I must have become acclimated to/spoiled by Guinness. Forget Budweiser - Guinness is my King of Beers.