This article was taken from the June 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
How we tested
We fermented five real-ale kits recommended by brewer Greg Hughes of BrewUK. Each tipple was tasted at The Dovetail in Clerkenwell, London, with the help of Flavia Danielle, landlady and buyer of the pub's 101 beers. Danielle and the wired team rated on aroma, appearance and flavour. It's a living.
Woodforde's Admiral's Real Ale
Woodforde's promises a tasty and "very strong" ale from this wort-concentrate kit, which comes with yeast and an additional sachet of hop enhancer. Like the others, it relies on a bottom-fermenting yeast, which converts the liquid malt extract into alcohol. Our batch took two extra days and some stirring to attain an alcohol level of 5.5 per cent. According to our expert, landlady and beer buyer Flavia Danielle, "This is a good, clear ale. Not too bitter. It's almost like a Belgian ale."
Wired: Fizzy; strong
Tired: Too drinkable
8/10
£20.99
Brupaks Pride of Yorkshire Bitter
Adding a little sugar at the second fermentation stage to this slightly more expensive pack gave us an authentic Yorkshire bitter that remained fairly cloudy after further "improving" in the bottle. Danielle's verdict: "It's warm, it's flat, it's bitter. There's a good balance of malt sweetness and hop bitterness here, and a pleasant orange-peel-like aftertaste."
Wired: Delicious, hoppy aroma
Tired: A bit cloudy
7/10
£22.98
Milestone Black Pearl Irish Stout
Milestone's kit contains two cans of very dark treacle-like beer wort containing sugar-free malt to produce 40 pints of strong Irish stout. This aromatic black beer formed a creamy orange head and smelled delicious. Danielle praised the strong taste, but likened the stout to "drinking cold coffee". The wired panel's opinions varied from "like Marmite" to "gravy".
Wired: Strong taste
Tired: Too much for more delicate palates
6/10
£20.41
St Peter's Ruby Red Ale
This is the first home-brew kit from the ancient Suffolk brewery and, like Woodforde's, it comes with a sachet of hop enhancer in addition to the 3kg of wort. The maltodextrin in this powder gives the tawny red ale a more spicy and hoppy taste.
After 20 days of fermenting and a further week of improving, the ale was described by Danielle as "a refreshing summer beer. It's a little plain, but the spicy aftertaste is very nice." But the rest of the panel awarded a lower score for taste.
Wired: Refreshing and attractive red ale
Tired: Watery taste
7/10
£20.99
Muntons Premium Gold Pale Ale
A good choice for beginners, this kit's concentrated wort yields an appealing amber ale. It's a simple case of fermenting the contents of the two canisters in a sterilised bucket with 15 litres of water. "It's mild for a real ale. Not too bitter and has a nice amber colour," said Danielle. The panel's consensus was that it was a "very drinkable" beer.
Wired: Simple instructions
Tired: Faint chemical taste; overly cloudy
5/10
£24.50
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
