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Northern Brewer Essential Brew Share Enjoy Starter Kit vs Brooklyn Brew Shop 1-Gallon Beer Making Kit
Which should you buy? Our verdict on both, pulled from our full The Best Beer Brewing Kits: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) comparison.
The Northern Brewer kit is the brewing gift: 5-gallon extract brewing, a real fermenter and bottling gear, and the printed instructions the hobby is known for, in the premium tier. The Brooklyn Brew Shop 1-gallon kit is the mid-range all-grain foodie pick. Mr. Beer is the 2-gallon it-depends. Skip the Mr. Beer Root Beer kit as a beer gift: it makes soda, not beer.
Northern Brewer Essential Brew Share Enjoy Starter Kit
Buy itThe 5-gallon starter kit - real fermenter, bottling gear, extract recipe, the hobby done right.
- A real 5-gallon batch - Northern Brewer says two cases of beer, the scale the hobby works at.
- Proper equipment: a 6.5-gallon siphonless fermenter with gasketed lid, bubbler airlock, bottling bucket with spigot, spring-tip bottle filler, stainless spoon, tubing, bottle brush, capper and caps.
- Extract brewing with printed step-by-step instructions, plus in-house brewmasters reachable by text, chat or email.
- The upgrade path is real - the fermenter and bottling gear carry into all-grain brewing later.
- Premium-tier money and still not everything: the kit does not include a kettle (Northern Brewer suggests 8 gallons), bottles, a thermometer or a hydrometer.
- Extract brewing, not all-grain - you brew from malt extract, not from grain.
- 5 gallons is a commitment - fermenter space, two cases of bottle storage, the works.
Brooklyn Brew Shop 1-Gallon Beer Making Kit
Buy itThe all-grain 1-gallon kit - real mash, real grain, small batch in a stockpot.
- True all-grain brewing at 1 gallon - you mash actual grain in a kitchen stockpot, like a brewery does.
- The teaching kit - learns the real process (mash, sparge, boil, ferment) without the 5-gallon volume.
- Fits a kitchen - a glass fermentation jug with screw-cap stopper and airlock is the whole fermenter.
- Includes the small tools others omit: a thermometer, a racking cane, tubing and clamp, and no-rinse sanitizer.
- 1 gallon is roughly 10 bottles - a tasting batch, not a supply.
- More process per pint - all-grain at 1 gallon is the same steps for less beer.
- The glass jug is a fermenter, not a brewery bucket - less convenient for transfers, and a stockpot is not listed in the box.
Side by side
The 5 criteria below are the ones our full comparison judged every product on, narrowed to these two.
| Northern Brewer Essential Brew Share Enjoy Starter Kit Our pick | Brooklyn Brew Shop 1-Gallon Beer Making Kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Our verdict | Buy | Buy |
| Best for | The definitive brewing gift - for someone who wants to actually learn the hobby at real scale. | The foodie brewer - someone who wants to learn real all-grain process in a small kitchen. |
| Price tier | $$$ · premium | $$ · mid-range |
| Batch size | 5 gallons (two cases) | 1 gallon (about 10 bottles) |
| Brewing method | Malt extract | All-grain mash |
| Fermenter | 6.5-gallon siphonless bucket | Glass jug |
| Teaches real brewing | Yes - extract | Yes - all-grain |
| Not in the box | Kettle, bottles, thermometer | Stockpot |
Which one is right for you?
Pick the Northern Brewer Essential Brew Share Enjoy Starter Kit if
the definitive brewing gift - for someone who wants to actually learn the hobby at real scale.
Know before buying: premium-tier money and still not everything: the kit does not include a kettle (Northern Brewer suggests 8 gallons), bottles, a thermometer or a hydrometer.
Pick the Brooklyn Brew Shop 1-Gallon Beer Making Kit if
the foodie brewer - someone who wants to learn real all-grain process in a small kitchen.
Know before buying: 1 gallon is roughly 10 bottles - a tasting batch, not a supply.
The bottom line
Our overall pick is the Northern Brewer Essential Brew Share Enjoy Starter Kit - The 5-gallon starter kit - real fermenter, bottling gear, extract recipe, the hobby done right. Choose the Brooklyn Brew Shop 1-Gallon Beer Making Kit instead if the foodie brewer - someone who wants to learn real all-grain process in a small kitchen.
Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Beer Brewing Kits: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).