Home Brew Beer Kit, Deluxe: bench capper

The Deluxe is a complete beer brewing kit for first-time brewers. It takes you from an empty kitchen to about 55 stubbies of beer you brewed yourself, with a first taste in two to three weeks and the best of it from week four.

In the box you get a 30L fermenter, hydrometer, bottling valve, carbonation drops, sanitiser, crown seals, step-by-step instructions and a recipe kit for the beer you choose, plus the piece that sets this kit apart: an Italian-made bench capper. All you need to add is bottles.

"I made 21 lt of great tasting beer even though I had no idea how to brew prior to this year." (5-star review, Deluxe kit)

Why the bench capper matters

Bottling day is the step most new brewers find hard going. Capping 55 bottles with a hand capper is slow, and it takes more pressure than most people expect. A bench capper sits on the bench, adjusts to the height of your bottle and caps each one with a single pull of the lever. As one customer put it: "wife was capping faster than I could fill the bottles."

It also adjusts between stubbies and long necks, so you can reuse whatever crown-seal glass bottles you have been collecting.

Key advantages

• Brew the beer you already drink. Choose from seven recipes, from an Australian draught to a dry Irish stout.
• A quicker bottling day. The lever-action bench capper does the hard part.
• Malt, hops and the highest grade ingredients, compared to a generic tin and yeast. Every recipe kit uses malt extract, hops, yeast and specialty grains where the style calls for them.
• Know when it is ready. The hydrometer tells you when fermentation has finished, so you bottle at the right time.
• Gear that lasts. One customer, a year and a half in: "haven't needed to upgrade or replace anything yet!"

What's in the kit

• 30L fermenter - food-grade plastic barrel with a screw-top lid that seals, tap, airlock and thermometer. This is where your beer ferments.
• Hydrometer and test flask - measures sugar in the beer, so you can confirm fermentation is complete before bottling.
• Bottling valve - clips onto the fermenter tap for quick, clean fills.
• Carbonation drops - pre-measured sugar that gives each bottle its fizz.
• Bench capper - Italian made, lever action, adjustable height; suits all standard crown-seal bottles.
• Crown seals - the caps for your bottles.
• Mixing spoon (39cm) and bottle brush.
• No-rinse brew sanitiser and Brewclean cleaner - clean and sanitise everything that touches the beer.
• Step-by-step instructions.
• Recipe kit of your choice - malt extract, hops, yeast and specialty grains where the style calls for them (20 to 21 litre batch). Each recipe kit comes with its own instructions, so you only do the steps your beer needs.

You'll also need: about 55 x 375mL stubbies or 28 x 750mL long necks (crown-seal glass, not screw tops).

Choose your first recipe

Pick the beer you actually like drinking. It is the best predictor of a first batch you will finish and want to brew again. Aussie Pub Draught is included in the price; the other six add $15 to $22. Each sells separately as a $69.90 to $79.90 recipe kit, so choosing one here is the cheaper way to start on a bigger beer.

• Aussie Pub Draught (included): classic Australian bitter, clean balanced bitterness, light golden amber. 4.4 to 4.6% ABV. The most forgiving first brew of the seven.
• Sticks & Stones Pacific Ale (+$15): Byron Bay style Pacific ale with Australian-grown Galaxy hops, passionfruit and citrus over a light wheat body. 4.5 to 5% ABV.
• Critters Pale Ale (+$15): our best-selling recipe kit. Golden Australian pale ale with herbal, spicy and grapefruit hop character and a crisp finish. 4.5 to 5% ABV.
• Chimay Blue (+$20): dark Belgian strong ale in the Trappist style, fruity and peppery, deep copper. 5.8 to 6% ABV. One for patient brewers.
• Double Choc Porter (+$20): cocoa, espresso and caramel, with Fuggles hops keeping it from turning cloying. 4.7 to 5.2% ABV.
• The Famous Irish Stout (+$20): dry Irish stout with roasty coffee and chocolate, smooth and medium bodied. 4.8% ABV.
• Fancy Pant Amber Ale (+$22): toffee amber malt with tropical Galaxy and Ella hops. Looks like an amber, drinks like a Pacific ale. 4.8 to 5.2% ABV.

Kit specifications

Is the Deluxe the right kit?

• A good choice if you want to brew more than once. It is our most popular starter kit, and once you have bottled a full batch with a bench capper you will understand why.
• Choose the Standard instead if you want the lowest outlay and don't mind a twin-lever hand capper.
• Choose the Super Deluxe instead if you brew in a shed, garage or laundry that drops below 16C at night. It is the Deluxe with a 25W heater pad, which keeps fermentation going through a Melbourne or Canberra winter.
• Buying it as a gift? Pick the beer they already drink from the recipe list and we pack the rest.

A tip from the team

Start collecting crown-seal glass bottles now: rinse them straight after you finish them and they are ready on bottling day. Skip screw-top bottles, they won't hold a cap. And ferment somewhere that stays between 18 and 22C. It makes more difference to your first batch than any other single thing.

Need a hand?

The team at Australian Home Brewing has been helping Australians brew since 1968. If you get stuck on brew day, email us at office@australianhomebrewing.com.au and a brewer will get back to you.

Reviewed by the AHB Brewing Team, September 2026.