Then in the early 1900's the Mayer family decided to expand their range to include wine and beer making paraphernalia.

 

Today, as well as selling everything from bottles to syphon tubes, they have a range of brewing kits available. The kits, Mayer's Brewology 101, 201, Vino and Otto Hoxxeim, range from the cheap and cheerful to more advanced, fuller bodied and better flavoured all malt kits.

 

The most popular in the range is the Brewology 101. This simple kit is a good introduction to new brewers and includes all of the things that you need to get started brewing. It's isn't a bad kit, but would be would be much better if it provided dry malt instead of advising brewers to add cup after cup of sugar. The beers produced by these kits are passable, but tend to be on the thin side with a distinct 'winey' taste, due to the amount of raw sugar added at the brewing stages.

 

The Otto Hoxxeim kit on the other hand is what a kit should be. It contains a can of malt extract together with dry malt, which they call a booster pack, and a small quantity of speciality grains. Also included in the kits is enough hops for finishing, a steeping bag, a sachet of dried yeast bottle caps and even some priming sugar.

 

If you're budget is tight and you're looking to produce a drinkable brew then there's nothing wrong with a Mayers Brewology kit. If on the other hand you are looking to brew a quality ale or lager then opt for an Otto Hoxxeim kit or one of the True brew range of home brew kits.