Side by Side Comparison of: Brooklyn Brew Shop vs Chefs Star® vs Ferrari vs Erica Shea vs OXO

The best beer making kit for beginners! Easy to understand-and-follow instructions (although I took some help from online videos). The kit doesn't include the beer bottles. So, I got a case of 12 16oz. EZ cap beer bottles (from amazon itself). You need quite a bit of patience to get the best beer, especially the initial part ('Mash' and 'Sparge'). Be cautious on the 'Boil' part when you are adding the Hops to time it properly and maintain the temperature throughout. You will be amazed at the final product! I got a final yield of around 5 bottles and enjoyed it delightfully with my friends.P.S. I am now considering to use the 1 gallon jug to brew some more beer but with different Malt (grains) and hops :)

This was bought for a friend who is a beer guru of sorts and who wouldn't drink anything that isn't to their taste. I was kind of hesitant getting this at first because of that. However, it proved to be a very fun experience for the friend and they loved making the beer and tasting it afterwards as well. I was pleasantly surprised that the gift went so well that I bought a similar kit for myself! In my own kit I make hard cider more often just because it takes less time to make. Either way it is relatively fun! I would personally go for a 5 gallon kit in the future just because it is minimal more work for 5 times more beer so I don't have to do everything so often and it lasts much longer! I would highly recommend this product!

Great kit. I had fallen out of love with brewing based on the large amount of space, strength, bottles etc. required to make 5-gallon batches.I'd recommend getting 2 brew pots, a very large strainer and funnel, and a better thermometer. Don't take my word for it though, just start brewing and figure out your preferences later. This would also make a great gift for someone who hasn't yet taken the plunge. The instructions are clear and everything is well-labeled. I'd get an extra recipe mix so you can correct the inevitable mistakes you'll make the first time.With this kit, you get all the meditative bliss of brewing and fermenting beer but without all the hassle. Is it more economical? No. Does it save time? No. Is it more fun? I'd say yes. Cheers!

I have been wanting to make my own beer for a while and was intrigued by this kit when searching Amazon. I'm a fan of IPA's so I thought this would be a good first kit as opposed to some of their other kits. What I really liked about this kit is that it only makes a gallon of beer which is what I wanted to start out with before investing in a larger kit. When I got my kit, I immediately checked to ensure that everything was included and that the parts were intact. Luckily, no broken thermometer! I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any detailed instructions included in the box and instead point you to their website. However, the instructions and videos on their website were clear, informative, and easy to follow. I successfully made my first batch of beer without issues or problems using this kit and it is now waiting in my basement for a couple of weeks to bottle. Overall I am very satisfied with this kit and after visiting their website, I am looking forward to trying more of their beer mixes and plan on purchasing one of their books as they have some interesting recipes for unique beers.

5 stars for the beer kit, 3.5-4 for the Jalapeno Saison.Beer kit is so complete and easy peasy to use. I have home-brewed before with friends, but bought all the equipment separately, some parts from a local homebrew shop (bubbler, beer caps etc) and some from the local hardware store (tubes, bucket etc). This kit has it all in one place, including things I never got before (thermometer, special clamp for the tubes). Made everything so simple to put together. My only complaint is the size - if only it were bigger! But as a gift for a first timer who is interested but not sure if they will continue to love the process, the Brooklyn Brew Shop kits can't be beat. I bought this for my husband and he loved it so much he has asked for more flavors, and is looking into expanding into a bigger set up.The jalapeno saison is an interesting beer. Strong jalapeno scent and an upfront jalapeno taste. Not at all spicy though. It finishes without the jalapeno and is very clean and pleasant at the end. Honestly, the jalapeno front is what makes this a beer I wouldn't want to drink more than one of once in a while. Even my husband who LOVES jalapeno doesn't love the beer that much. Maybe it's a side effect of his first timer brew (errors in the process, perhaps?), but the beer is not our favorite. If you are buying a kit as a gift, I would recommend a different flavor. Otherwise, 5 stars!

I like to understand how things work, especially items I love. My preferred drink is whisky, which does not lend itself to be made in small batches, I also really like wine but I have never had great homemade wine. When my wife offered to get this for me for my birthday I decided why not.It came as described. Easy to follow instructions and brews a fantastic beer (multiple friends thought it was professionally made beer). I have gone on to buy two other flavours and am even starting to experiment with recipes from their cookbook (also available on Amazon).

work well and I use them a lot when i make beer and give out free samples

The bottles are of good quality. Thick quality glass with out the weight you would expect. The wire use for the caps is not thin gauge and should stand up a while for usage. The caps themselves are plastic instead of ceramic in which I am used to but they seem to be fine. They use the same gaskets as found of others of this design.

This are good quality I use them for kombucha fill to the top

I am using these bottles for home brewed kombucha and they work great. Since they are amber, it is difficult to see the liquid inside, however it is more protection for the growth. I am actually looking to buy another case as my kombucha production has become more streamlined. Would recommend for anyone in need of air-tight bottles.

they were awesome. I used them to make homemade rum punch and give them as gifts for the Christmas season. the colour is not only great for alcoholic beverages buy any kind of drink to keep the sun from affecting it. The size was just right for my purposes and the closure wasn't too difficult to work out. will probably buy again if still available later this year

Use it for Kefir Water. The seal is good and they are very sturdy. My first experimental batch of Kefir Water...I may have left the bottle at room temperature for too long, so when I popped the top (luckily I had the foresight to do this outside), the top flew about 20 feet across the yard and the Kefir Water blew about 5-6 feet in the air and left about 1 inch of liquid in the bottom of the bottle...lesson learned. Was a funny moment and it proved to me how strong the glass is in these bottles. Obviously able to handle more pressure than normal bottles.

Feels a bit flimsy but has done a fantastic job thus far. And for the price, you really can’t beat it.

Pretty decent bottle capper, although I am migrating to swing cap bottles and kegging now. In any case, if you want one that's affordable and that works well, this is a good option.

Works very nice to put caps on bottles. Build quality is sturdy.Be careful when putting the cap, because misaligning it will cause it to be pressed with an offset and that will bend the cap. But when its aligned at the very center, it will work really well.

My husband is home brewing and he's using this to cap bottles instead of using the reusable ones that we got. He really enjoys that so far if you just follow the other reviews don't squeeze too hard it is plastic yellow snap it if you do it does not take a lot of force to use. It works really well I highly recommend it we haven't had any problems with it and it works just as it states for the bottles together with the caps on without a problem.

These things work great. I have one that is still going after 4 years, bought another as back-up just in case. They are tough and a pretty simple design. You can ignore the 1-star rating on this product for two reasons. 1st, who the heck bottles in clear glass? Light is a big enemy to beer flavor, brown is the home brewing standard. 2nd, clear glass bottles tend to be thinner and prone to breakage. Manufacturers use them to keep cheap beer cheap. Most of your brown, craft beer bottles tend to be thicker and can handle the downward pressure a capper applies. While I'm on the topic, use EVEN DOWNWARD pressure on the capper or you will risk breaking the bottle. Also, inspect your bottles for cracks or defects that may make them prone to breakage. I have only found a few 26mm bottles that are difficult to cap with this: Dogfishhead being one.

I am using this as one of my tools in making some Nuka Cola caps from Fallout. I don't have the time to use caps from beverages, and I wanted the 'used/opened look, so I am taking unused caps, capping them on a single bottle, and taking them off with an opener.I just went through 140 caps, and it is working perfectly. It is a little scary at first to use, but you quickly learn the feeling of this tool. I must say, be careful, if you come across any unusual resistance pushing down, stop, the bottle or the capper may break.I am using a Magners Irish Cider bottle as a neck to use, if you are wondering. I can predict if some different bottlenecks and openings can come to a problem to some capping, if they are of unusual design, shape, or size.So, if you're careful and have the right tools, it is a perfect item to buy for any bottling needs.

I got this as my first beer brewing kit and had a lot of fun with it. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the beer turned out pretty darn good! I think the best part is that I can still use most of the equipment for brewing small batches of whatever else I want. Overall, if you are looking for a kit to try out brewing with you won't go wrong with this.One suggestion - don't use the thermometer that comes with the kit. I don't know if mine was broken in shipping or if it broke after a really small bump when I was handling it, but either way it should not have broken for any reason. About an hour into the brewing process I noticed a red color, which turned out to be the liquid from inside the thermometer. I had to throw out the whole batch, as I didn't want the thermometer liquid in my beer and I couldn't be sure how much glass got into the beer. Luckily Amazon was very understanding and sent a replacement kit. However, I would have rather just avoided the headache up front and bought a different thermometer (which I did before the second batch).

Long review short, this does produce great beer. Be prepared though, this is a small batch all grain kit, which means about twice the time and twice the effort of normal beginner extract kits. We've done a handful of 5 gallons so far and this was tough to handle on the kitchen stove. Make sure you have a large strainer and three 8qt pots so that you're not juggling back and forth. It was definitely limited fun having a small kitchen - far more difficult than throwing the full five gallons on a burner in the backyard. The instructions are solid, but with dry yeast of a questionable age definitely rehydrate and proof!It does definitely turns out worth the effort, and the equipment is high enough quality that we will probably do a few more small batches to try new recipes. Great if you've done a few extracts and are interested in going All Grain. If this had been our first kit though, I'm not sure we'd be rushing out to do more.

Bought this for a little stay at home date night activity, which was really fun! Directions are clearer online, so make sure you look up the pdf directions over there. They also show you steps on youtube if you search around. I think this kit is probably the best small/starter kit for the price. Be warned though, you definitely want two big stock pots (5 gallons), a funnel, and a large fine mesh strainer. They don't list them as requirements, but I don't see how you can do this without the right tools. Otherwise, great fun, can't wait to try it out!

I bought this kit to start home-brewing. It comes with just about everything you need to start. This is all-grain brewing which is a little more intensive than the kits that are malt-extract-based. You will need to monitor a pot of oatmeal-type grain for close to an hour.There are several parts not included in the kit that you will need including a stock pot, a funnel, and a mesh strainer (a mesh colander worked well for me). You will also need to provide your own bottles, caps, and a capper.My only reason this was not 5 stars is that I had to buy a separate capper and caps. I suppose you could use the bottles with the swing-off caps to avoid having to buy a capper, but the $5 capper was a good investment for more batches.

I love this beer kit. It includes just about everything and the beer turned out great! Two things I wish it had:1) A funnel and strainer (I live in a very small town and it's not an easy task to just go out and pick these up when the closest store is 100 miles away...Alaska)2) Printed instructions (found company's PDF online, but again, small town, Alaska, super slow internet)Other than my limitations of being in a small town in the middle of Alaska, this beer kit is perfect! I am ordering other flavors to try as we speak!

My wife wanted to get me started brewing rather than continue to talk about "wanting to try it some day" so she bought me a set of 12 swing top bottles for Christmas. That left me trying to decide how to proceed with a first brew. This kit was the answer and I'm glad I gave it a try. The kit and instructions make it easy for a novice to at the 1 gallon scale but it also gives you an idea of how a full grain brew would work at a larger scale. It was interesting enough that I immediately went out and bought the gear to do 5 gallon full grain batches and not I'm hooked. The IPA turned out pretty well, although a bit fizzy probably because of the uncertainty of honey, the small batch and probably some measuring slop on my part. I've since moved to corn sugar. One thing that might make this kit more foolproof would be the inclusion of a pre-measured packet of corn sugar.

These worked great for the most part. Most bottles were able to stay carbonated for a few weeks. A few didn't carbonate well after priming, but that could be due to other factors. I do enjoy the look and feel of these.

Great quality. Nothing to complain about. The glass is pretty dark, so you cant see through it very well(which is kinda the point). I've been using these and Teikis brand bottles for my Kombucha and homemade kefir soda. I seem to prefer the Teikis ez cap bottles. But thats just me. These are solid and reliable. Good choice if you like amber glass.

I use these to brew kombucha, and they have worked really well. They are packaged in individual bubble-wrap sleeves, and the the tops are all wrapped together (unattached to the bottles). Even after leaving some tea fermenting on the counter in them for way longer than I expected (I forgot about them) the bottle showed no signs of distress. The only issue I've had with them, is when I was trying to open (those very-over-carbonated bottles) by only breaking the seal and then resealing, to slowly release the extra gas, part of the gasket stuck out, which cause a slow leak that I just had to ride out and let the bottle mist, because I couldn't reopen it for fear of creating a fountain. That has happened twice.

Great bottles for water kefir. The tops are a bit tough to "pop"...especially when you are anticipating a spray of carbonated kefir and want to release quickly, but I don't know that there is any similar quality bottle that doesn't have this issue. I do wish that the tops were red like in the picture instead of the orange that they sent. Also, I had a bottle chip at the top when I was washing the bottles and one hit the other while in the sink. Hey, they're glass. It was my fault for not being more careful, but I do wonder if the glass is not as durable as I had hoped. Otherwise, everything about them has been great and they certainly keep the air out of my kefir so that it's as carbonated as champagne!

Very sturdy good bottles that will hold a bit of pressure. I would recommend them but I take off one star because they are listed as a prime 2 day shipping item then after the order it said about 1 week shipping. They ended up arriving in 4-5 days so not so bad but still a little deceiving about the 2 day shipping I was hoping for.

I love these bottles! I purchased them to make homemade vanilla for Christmas gifts and they were exactly what I was looking for! My only complaint is that one of the bottles on the bottom was completely smashed when I received the box. I know Amazon would have taken care of it had I reported it because they are awesome at returns, however I needed them immediately and technically didn't need the sixth bottle anyway, so it wasn't too big of a deal.

Works great

I find I need to give the bottle a quarter turn after capping and give it another shot to seal. Little bit of extra work, but no problems besides that.

This is a very sturdy product made out of heavy duty plastic that I don't think will be breaking anytime soon. The gears turn easily and it pushes caps down effortlessly. The reason I gave it four stars is because it is very hard to line the bottle caps up perfectly as you can't see the cap or bottle while it is on top. This makes it difficult to get an airtight seal every time. You just need to get a lot of practice lining it up and it should start working better. Other than that it is a very nice and sturdy product!

Received a homebrew kit for my birthday that did not include caps or a capper, among other things. In lieu of buying the kit offered by the manufacturer, I decided upon this one. I must not have read the description too closely because I thought the components were all going to be metal. The unit is mostly plastic but it is incredibly sturdy. I've been able to put my weight into this and it hasn't budged. To top it all off (no pun intended) I have yet to have a top blow off.

I have used several types of cappers and find this one style fits my needs best. I have capped everything with this from standard beer bottles (not the twit off kind) to champagne bottles that have the traditional rounded beer bottle tops. because the jaws are spring loaded as long as you can get the neck of the bottle firm with the jaws you can cap it. It will occasionally cap a bottle so well that it wont let go right away and you need to hold the bottle and roll the capper off but I am more than happy to live with that one little problem.

I remember reading reviews prior to ordering this product (either here or other review sites) that they felt it was flimsy and that the plastic parts might break. I would say this if valid you use this product incorrectly. It does not require tons of force. Once the cap slips closed, forcing it further wont make it any more snug. It will however break the bottle capper (I have not done this myself but can see how it could happen).I also recall reading that the magnet in the capper will leave a divot on the cap. Again, dont overwork the product and you wont have this problem.Works very well and am happy with it. I would use this product for industrial use as its not intended for that but for home bottling, its a good product.

I found this kit good in that it had some of the stuff you need, but not sure I would recommend it.1. The beer ingredients looked good and seemed to be high quality.Although I am not sure about the yeast.I say that because it did not bubble much at all.2. The instructions were confusing. You need to read them over and over ...and over. And not included with the kit. So, after buying a starter kit you have to go online and print out the instructions yourself. CHEAP. In addition, they are not detailed enough. Not for a newbie. (Which is what this kit is supposed to be for).3. Had a massive problem with the siphoning. The explanation seems clear, but there is no way to know why the suction only works for about 20 seconds. Is it the tubing? the method? Again, very frustrating for a newbie.Ended up losing a lot of beer having to re-siphon over and over.4. The kit does not contain everything you need. Which they tell you upfront. Not by a longshot. You NEED at least 2 more pots. You NEED themto do the job. You need bottles. Bottle caps. A bottle capper. Keep that in mind when you consider the overall cost of brewing.5. What do you get? A one gallon jug. Some plastic tubing for siphoning. A plastic stopper for your jug. The necessities for the brewing process. And a thermometer. But no hydrometer (which you can pick up for 5 bucks). And all the ingredients to brew a batch.6. Not included. A nice instruction sheet with typical problems and solutions for newbies.Overall it is a nice kit, but I don't think it is worth what they are asking. I don't mind paying more than a product is worth since I will be using it again, but I do expect much better instructions for a product designed for a newbie. I had to go to many other sources to figure stuff out.So, if I had it to do over I might buy the gallon jug and other stuff form the beer supply store.

The kit arrived just fine except the thermometer was broke in half.

tasted mediocre. good for learning the first time. not good if you like quality craft beer.

Enjoyed brewing this beer. I would have rated it higher but several of the pieces arrived broken. I don't know if it was a shipping or packing error. Either way, it is a nice kit for a beer snob to try their hand at brewing their own beer.

Received the wrong mix inside the kit. Was suppose to be everyday IPA, however the mix inside the kit was actually a summer ale. Everything else was as expected and I would have rated it higher had we received the correct mix.

Got it for a Christmas gift and my husband loved it! Instructions were not included and jad to google them and watch several tutorials. It was a lot of fun though!!

While I am pleased with the thickness of the bottles- I was really dissapointed that the glass was a very dark brown color- not the lighter color depicted in the picture. Also- shocked at the plastic caps and pseudo orange rubber. When I read that they were "Grolsch" bottles, I expected porcelain or something hardier than the plastic. I should have read the other reviews.

I wasn't thrilled with the rubber seals on this set. I received a set of bottles from Amazon as a gift earlier and wasn't aware of the brand. That set has a much better grade of rubber seals on them.

Look great and washed them all out to be filled. Sadly every single one had to be adjusted so they would stay closed. I just hope they stay closed now.The price is reasonable since I got free postage and they come well packaged.

The bottles are fine, but for some reason the tops that I got feel like they are on the verge of rusting. Not enough of an issue to return them.

Great, with exception of metal quality. When we sanitize the bottles for re-use, the metal of the flip-top corrodes (or something) and winds up with dried white marks/stuff on it. Hopefully not harmful, but not nice. We have never had this problem with the Grolsch bottles we use over and over again, so presumably the problem with these ez cap bottles lies with the metal quality. If these bottles are for use in brewing, the metal should be able to withstand repeated sanitization, but something happened to the metal the very first time we sanitized the bottles.Other than that, the bottles are BEAUTIFUL and substantial. The glass is nice and the bottle caps seal well and work great.

Only used these a couple times yet, but they seem to be sealed well. They are not easy to open/close, but this is the case with this type of bottle closure. My only complaint is that bottle is very fat and the neck is extra thin. The picture doesn't do it justice for how awkward it looks. It was also difficult as my funnel was about the same size as the opening which is unusual for bottles.

Even on my first time using it I feel the plastic handles bending. I am worried this will not be a durable product.

The Capper worked well, however when your buying this check the lower lip on your bottle and make sure its strong and wide as when the Red baron caps it grips the lower lip and presses the top down. My bottles had a weaker secondary lip and it wouldn't work for me, it kept slipping before it had sealed. That being said I tried using it on any other bottle and it worked fine.The build feels a little cheap so if your looking for an industrial grade bottler this probably isn't it. But for the price it works, but it just didn't work for me. For reference I was trying to cap Session Lager bottles and it was really not working out. But I tried using it on Guinness, Red Stripe, and Piraat bottles and it capped very well.

Doesn't completely press down bottle caps, leaving a little flair around the edges. Probably can be fixed with a different "bell", but it would have been nice out of the box.

This did not last long. It may have been faulty, but it broke while capping the second batch of beer. It was easy to use and worked okay for the price before that.

Had it for 5-7 brew runs. It is OK. I worry as I lever down the plastic feels like it might break--but it does not--maybe it is me (I am 6'2" 230 lbs and can bear down on things). I like the magnet that holds the cap in place-it does a good job at holding the cap centered as you place it on the bottle.

I purchased this item to cap my beer that I am making . The first ten bottles went good but on the eleventh on the magnet that holds the cap to the capper fell out. Tried to put it back in but it would not stay so I am putting the cap on the bottle then putting the capper over that getting it all align is a bit more trouble but it works. Not what I was expecting as I bout this specific brand as I had one before that lasted several years. Hope nothing else breaks because if it does back to amazon it will go.

I have been hime brewing for a while now, and i get asked often if there is a kit thats good for begginers. I ordered this just to see how it is and how easy it is for begginers. this is my second kit, my other kit from is brand was the hard apple cider which is just as bad. Both kits are missing detail instructions. The box has a general set of instructions but it incomplete, its basically boil, strain and bottle. Many key bits of info are missing since no instructions where included in the set i received. .how long to boil, when to add hops, how to rapidly chill the wort, am i dry hopping? nothing. So if you are begginer, you may find yourself lost. Not good for a begginer. Mr Beer has a si p,er kit for someone who is just starting.

Kit is comprehensive, BUT the thermometer measured the temperature wrong so the mash was useless, rendering the entire kit a waste of money!

Very disappointed. Several pieces were missing in the package. So, check your box as soon as it arrives. We didn't open package for a couple months after we received & return date had expired.

My thermometer worked perfectly. The directions were confusing for a first time maker. We used both the Spanish and English directions. We never did see when you were supposed to add the honey. Photos also were not helpful in identifying how to put what parts together. We were disappointed I this kit but plan to try another brand to see if there is a more helpful instruction on making it. Probably someone that has made beer before would not have the problems we encountered.

I bought this as an "early Christmas present" to myself. I've always wanted to do a home brew but after reading reviews I determined Mr. Beer was basically just adding water and waiting 4 weeks. Not fun.I got this kit 2 days after I ordered it (with free super saver shipping) and I went to work.Unlike previous reviews, they have fixed the packaging for the thermometer and mine arrived perfectly fine.The process of mashing, sparging, worting, and fermenting was kind of confusing but I watch the video and read the instructions on the website. I probably didn't do everything perfectly...but hey, it's my first time! I expect to make a few mistakes and I won't be surprised if I screwed up my beer...but it's only a gallon...not 5 bad gallons.My beer is fermenting still, so I don't know how it tastes, but i'll update once I do.All in all, it was a great first-step into home brewing and I'll probably upgrade to a real 5gal kit after a few more batches.UPDATE:Dropped to 2 stars. After buying a 5gal kit and brewing a couple of extract brews (and doing a lot of research on home brewing) I would recommend Mr. Beer over this kit. This kit is an All Grain kit. It's way too complex for the novice brewer. You need to hit precise strike and mash temps in order to finish with good beer. I didn't know that until after the fact. Also, the honey for priming is waaaay too much honey for the 3 liters of beer you'll finish with. I used about a tablespoon LESS honey than they recommend and my IPA is overcarbonated. I had to open the bottle and recap and stick back in the fridge for 24hour before it was drinkable. It tasted like champagne-beer at first.Again, after learning more about brewing, I would recommend a Mr. Beer kit to get into extract and learn the basics before jumping into All Grain. Also..a 5gal kit is about $60...I wish I would have known that before wasting $40 on 9 bottles of beer.

The kit itself is pretty good, but there are a few flaws.Pros: Other than the issues listed below, everything looks very nice, the pot itself feels quality and all the parts feel well made. The process itself was a lot of fun and very interesting to a newbie. The mash/ingredients seemed of high quality. The 1 gallon fit my apartment lifestyle well, and will let me determine if I will be doing larger batches in the future at a cheap price. Overall, for Amazon Prime $40 w/ free 2-day shipping, this is a great deal. That is until I had to spend more money at the store to replace parts of this kit that arrived broken. (See Below)Cons:1. My thermometer came broken - the packaging is completely flawed and the thermometer has way too much space to move around in its casing. I would think it will almost always arrive broken. I had everything set up and then realized my thermometer was broken - so I had to go out to the grocery store and spend $5.00 on a new one....not cool.2. Instructions didn't come in the box. They are available online, but it's not as convenient as a paper copy.3. The package of 2xhops and yeast are inside of the mash - but it's never told to you before. Just make sure you pull out these 3 packets before pouring your mash!Overall, somewhat satisfied, somewhat frustrated.

Bottles came without the caps. Nice bottles, but not a deal since I have to get the caps

Unfortunately one of the six bottle tops was broken when it arrived. Therefore, we could only bottle a 5 pack. Other than that, the product was just fine. I didn't like the tops, but they got the job done.

The tops to the bottles came and 2 of them weren't the complete tops and will not work or close the bottles. Only one part of the metal swing top was included

The metal on the flip top attachment oxidizes if it comes in contact with water. Mine has these awful white looking specks all along the metal parts.

Bottles worked fine enough but the packaging was awful. Two bottles were broken on arrival. There was a minimal effort to ensure that six glass bottles could travel across the country without a casualty. The box was torn and there was basically a single sheet of waded paper inserted amongst the classware intended to serve more as an amulet for protection during shipping rather than actually securing and padding the bottles.

The botles themselves are very nice but with problems with my hands it was extremely difficult for me to use the lids. It was difficult to hold the bottle and then to put the wire stopper wire on and it would have been harder once the bottle was filled and cold. Im sorry but the stopper looks like it is a part of the bottle instead of a entirely separate from the bottle. It should be explained that you need to attach them and with health problems it might not be easy to do so. It is certainly not easy cap, at least for me it was not.

My first Crimper was and still is amazing so i tried to get another but after crimping it doesn't release off the bottle easy. Later i found out about a third of my batch wasn't properly sealed

doesn't securely cap bottles. they leak and the beer goes flat

FOR ME, IT DOES NOT WORK ON THE CORONA 12 OZ BEER BOTTLES THAT I USE EXCLUSIVELY..... AND IT SIMPLY WILL NOT GRIP THE NECK OF THE BOTTLE WELL ENOUGH TO CRIMP THE CAP FULLY.......OK.. This is an update... I decided to try it again.. and it is the MOST FRUSTRATING DEVICE on the Planet!!! Works fine for a few bottles and then it refuses to grip the bottle and only half crimps the cap and then.. if you try again, it gets P.O. and breaks your bottles NECK! I am 70 years old so I am NOT applying "Iron Man" tactics When it "wants" to work.. a "10 year old Can do it" ...... MAYBE.... I just got a bad one...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! I would recommend that you just, "Fall of your wallet" and spend $40.00 for a Bench Type Capper. I got this P.O.J.! because my old "Benchie" just wore out after 40+ years!

I bought this a year ago with using it for capping beer bottles for my water kefir and it worked good at first but now it is breaking the necks of some of my beer bottles when I use it! I am going to have to spend more money for a better quality capper as I should have in the beginning....

I received the capper and, besides the fact that it is all scratched up and looks like a used return, it broke on the very first cap. Its not broken terribly, but one of the little T-guides on the side just snapped off and flew across the room. I think it will still work, but holy hell I figured it would last more than 5minutes

Went to use mine today and it would not crimp all the way down and could flip the tip off with a flick of my thumb. I found out the problem after borrowing a friends Red Baron. They shipped it with the wrong bell size to crimp on standard beer bottles like it should. It's a size between the 29mm European bell that I also have and the standard 26.5mm bell used commonly in home brewing. I believe it is a non standard size maybe Italian 27 or 28mm bell. Either way I had to return it because it simply would not work on the 6 styles of bottles or 3 styles of caps I used. I noticed the bell on the proper size had a bit of a yellowish tint to it while my 29mm and this odd fit bell are both brilliant silver. I checked three other cappers at my brewing class and they were all the yellowish tint as well. So if you have problems capping consider this. I have used like product on several other occasions but unfortunately this one will not work out unless you buy the proper 6.5mm bell elsewhere. Amazon was good enough to offer full refund.

Received this item, went through all of the steps, and went to put the stopper in and its CRACKED. Was a great process until then... very disappointed.

Only received the beer ingredients, nothing else. Very disappointed.

I received the box today and the bag of hops was open and spilled out. Very sad that I can't brew this now, I was really looking forward to this beer.

I ordered this because I wanted to make my own porter but what I received was a box that had previously been opened and some of the parts were broken.

OVER-PRICED for contents. "Makes 1 gallon of beer (9-10 12 ounce bottles)." WOEFULLY short on adequate directions to produce a decent brew. Consumer is directed to search a webpage to find information needed. If this kit is intended to be your first beer, have marginal expectations of what will be produced. For the experienced homebrewer, this package has nothing you really desire - very few ingredients, and some equipment you already have. Just go to your local homebrew shop. If you need to purchase remotely online, buy any other kit from at least a score available.

Super annoying. You need at least three very large pots for this - one for the mash, one to heat water, one to strain the mash over when you dump it out of the first pot. The thermometer sucks, it's much easier with a probe thermometer. Also, it wants you to watch the temperature of two things at once, which is really annoying without two thermometers. You'll also need a funnel and a fine mesh strainer, both large (for the mash) and small (for the wort).It takes forever and doesn't give you that much beer. If it was a larger quantity, I'd say it was more worth the effort. And even if you succeed, you're not really crafting your own brew, just dumping pre-measured packets in at preset times. So there's zero sense of real accomplishment.

Wished I would have taken other's advice at the start... buy/drink beer get better bottles. XD

These did not come with the tops so they are useless.Please send the tops and I will happily edit my review.

I receive the package timely and bottles are of good quality but cap are cheap plastic with thin seal (not as pictured!) and do not fit well or hold seal well. I'm really happy with the bottles but may return if we can't adjust seals. Bummer!

Do not buy! The flimsy wire caps bend out of shape with normal use and no longer secure the top. If you bend it back, it'll just deform again. The wire is just too soft for the purpose. If you buy this, you'll just have an expensive set of useless, cap-less bottles.

Missing parts 2 of the bottles had no toppers.

The bottles are good quality and thick glass. My issue was with the swing tops. They are made out of horribly cheap metal and all of the chrome was already peeling off of them right out of the box. I got swing tops that look different than the ones in the pics and other review pics. The ones I got have a much thinner orange seal and the plastic tops dont seem to be as good of quality. To top it all off the last bottle I took out of the box is completely shattered. For this price for 6 (5 after a broken one) bottles the swing tops should be better quality.

I ordered in december to prepare for my microbrewery. Yesterday was bottleing day and this capper did not work at all. it slipped from the caps all the time and i had to use a hammer to close the caps of my bottles. terrible experience since i was counting on this thing for this special day.

I made Kombucha tea and bottled it. Two batches went flat! I would not recommend this product. I pressed the bottle cap so tight I thought I would break the glass bottles. Still no success. I don't know if it was the caps or the Capper. What a waste of $$...

The bottle capper I received is not the one pictured. The capper shown is the red baron made in Italy. I received something else that is stamped 'Made in China'. The action is gritty and sticky. I bent about 6 caps on a batch of 50 beers and even broke 1 bottle. I deal with Amazon several times in a week since I live in a rural area and have never given a negative review on something, but this is terrible.

Shattered after first user. I was on bottle number one and the plastic shatter. The shards actually cut my hand so i'd be careful with this one. I would say that this bottle capper is for someone who just wants to cap up old bottles. But now for real brewersor anything like that.

Breaks easily, 2 failed the first time I used them.I received the first one as a gift. Looked good, seemed to operate well. However, it broke the first time I used it. I blamed myself, assuming that I did not know how much force to use, and that I had placed too much pressure on the cap.I checked online and found that you only need to apply enough pressure to feel the cap "snug over" the bottle top. I knew I had put much more pressure than that, and decided to go with the same model again.The first time I used the second capper, it broke on the second bottle, right where the rivet joins the handle to the works. I know I was not applying too much pressure this time, as the cap was not sealed on the bottle at the time it failed. I was able to finish the run by holding the capper in close with my right hand while operating the other handle normally with my left, but I'm not at all satisfied with the quality of the capper.It may be related to random manufacturing defects and other people may have better results, but I'm going to move on to another model.Kudos to Amazon, however. No problem at all getting a refund squared away.

This broke on its second batch of beer. The plastic split on both sides under where the metal plates rest. Unfortunately, this broke after I had only a few bottles capped out of a 5 gallon batch, so I was left with lots of exposed brew priming sugar mixed in. Not recommended.