Homebrewing is an exciting and often messy adventure. But your first time out of the gate, a kit can keep the painful mistakes to a minimum. So before you decide to open your own brewery, try out one of our selections for the best kits out there. Before long you’ll be brewing up frothy IPAs and crisp wheats with the best of ’em!

1) Mr. Beer Premium Beer Kit – $54.95 before shipping – Now this kit only makes two gallons, but if anything goes wrong it’s better to ruin two gallons rather than six. This kit is perfect for someone new to the realm of homebrewing. It comes complete with a beer guide and clear instructions to get 11 excellent bottles of beer.

2) Deluxe Brewing Starter Kit by Northern Brewer – $149.99 – This is a kit for a serious and passionate brewer. With three different beer recipes and the ability to make six gallons, few kits appear this simplistic and well-reviewed. Although there are more steps in this fermentation process, the result is clearer and cleaner tasting compared to most kits out there.

3) Brewing Starter Kit by Midwest Supplies – $89.99 with Plastic Carboy – This impressive kit offers several items that give them an edge among brewers, like the auto-siphon with enables much easier transferring of the beer. It also offers a two-stage fermentation process, making brewing two batches at once possible. For price, quality and results (5 gallons of beer) this kit is a no-brainer.