These are the best CST has made to date, they are all capable of holding their own against 'proper' ales found at your local, some are indeed better than many commercial pints.

Youngs craft brewing Kits - all seem very good, we like especially:-
American IPA - VERY Hoppy
American APA - not quite so hoppy
Woodfords Wherry (probably the best bitter so far, lots of flavour)
Muntons Smugglers Gold
Muntons Old English Bitter (mature for 4 months)
Muntons Midas Touch Gold
St Peters Cream Stout (best with cocoa nibs)
Milestones Crusader (nice cold with a curry)
Brewpacks Fixby Gold (mature for 6 months)
Brewferm Triple (mature for 6 months)
Coopers Irish Stout
Coopers Old Dark Ale (has Guinness overtones)


One on the interesting factors with homebrew is the constant change to the final beer (whether bottled or barreled). The initial flavour (just cleared) can be young and fresh but quite drinkable. As the beer matures it can change radically. It does seem that some beers go through a stage where it gets coarser, (after several weeks), but maybe this is imagined. Nearly all beers improve on ageing becoming smoother, with less 'yeasty' flavour and with more richness and depth.

Others Kits tried

Festival Summer Ale – needs maturing for 3 months, very hoppy
Festival Landlord - needs maturing for 3 to 6 months, very hoppy
Festival Porter – poor result, may be due to temp too high.
Festival Bitter – Ok, but others better, very hoppy
Birkby Bitter – not sure this one fermented properly, bland and fizzy
St Peters Ruby Red – Ok, but others better, bit bland
Muntons Connoisseur IPA – very bland, needs maturing for 3 months, may be useful as a base for experimenting.

CST’s Favourite Kits