A super-simple homebrew kit – with added cool

The last time I tried to homebrew beer I was about 15 and excluded from even the most broadminded pub. So I bought a Boots kit, which somehow involved using the bathtub and my mum’s cleaning bucket. The result was weirdly red, undrinkable and probably a health hazard.

A few things have happened since then – environmental concerns and an interest in the actual quality and provenance of beer among them. So the time is just about right for a trendy east London startup to achieve the not-inconsiderable task of making homebrewing cool, zeitgeisty and even a little bit sexy.

The startup is called Pinter, and I suspect its founders are all a bit young and hip to remember the eponymous British playwright, he of strange pauses and gnomic utterances. There’s nothing obscure or opaque about this Pinter’s kits. It has made a thoroughly sensible product, from the basic concept of cutting out the waste involved in cans, bottles and transportation to the engineering quality and the slick packaging.

Pinter is a 10-pint heavy-duty plastic brewing barrel that comes in various bright colours. The kit includes brewing yeast, a big bottle of concentrate (in which all the hops, malt etc are pre-mixed) and a special safe cleaning fluid for when you’ve drunk your 10 pints. There are four different beers and two ciders in the range – all deliverable by post.

The process itself, explained step-by-step in an online video, is easy and safe (even though your idiot columnist managed to leave his first attempt brewing upside down and – as it hissed and leaked malevolently – looking like an unexploded bomb. When I redid it according to the instructions, however, it was quick and actually enjoyable.)

Making a tricky process such as brewing beer this, ahem, boozer-friendly has taken the Pinter team several years and is technological in every respect, apart from having no electronics.

The big surprise about Pinter, however, was the beer. It wasn’t just OK or acceptable for a homespun effort. It was absolutely exceptional – fresh, subtle, interesting, smooth and light. A wonderful fun product, perfect for these times on so many levels.

Pinter, £75, including packs to make 20 pints, thegreatergood.co.uk

@thefuturecritic