Best Mead Making Kits

Editor's Choice

Craft A Brew Mead Making Kit (1 Gallon)

The most complete everyday kit in this guide: glass carboy, airlock, racking cane and tubing, funnel, yeast, nutrient, sanitizer and a mead guide. You add the honey.

Check price on Amazon

• 

  Lowest-cost way in

  FastRack Shepherd Made Mead Making Kit

  A 1-gallon glass jug, airlocks, stopper, yeast and nutrient. Bring your own siphon.

• 

  Most gear in the box

  Bold I'Land Complete Mead Making Kit

  Adds an auto siphon, a hydrometer and test jar, and no-rinse cleanser.

A mead making kit puts everything for a first gallon of honey wine in one box: a glass fermenter, an airlock and stopper, wine yeast, yeast nutrient and instructions. What separates the good kits from the bare ones is the transfer and measuring gear, because racking the mead off its sediment and checking that fermentation has finished are the two steps beginners most often get wrong.

We compared six 1-gallon mead kits on what their manufacturers say is in the box. The picks reflect what each kit includes, how well it covers the whole process from mixing to bottling, and how widely each one is bought. One thing almost none of them include is the honey, so budget for 2 to 3 pounds per gallon on top of the kit. If you are new to the process, our step-by-step guide on how to make mead pairs with any kit below.

Mead Making Kits Compared

All six kits make 1 gallon. The rows show what each manufacturer lists as included; "Not stated" means the listing does not say either way.

Kit	Craft A Brew Editor's ChoiceTop pick	FastRack Shepherd Made	Must Bee	Bold I'Land	Jigger N' Dash	Home Brew Ohio
Product
Fermenter	1 gal glass carboy	1 gal glass jug	Glass carboy	1 gal glass jug	1 gal mead jar	Not stated
Airlock	✅ With stopper	✅ 3-piece, with stopper	✅ With stopper	✅ 3-piece, with stopper	✅ With stopper	Not stated
Transfer gear	Racking cane and tubing	❌ None listed	3 ft tubing with clamp	Auto siphon and bottle wand	Racking cane, tubing and clamp	Not stated
Hydrometer	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	✅ With test jar	❌ No	Not stated
Yeast and nutrient	✅ Both	✅ Both	✅ Both	Not stated	Yeast; nutrients mentioned	Chemicals included
Sanitizer or cleanser	✅ Sanitizer	❌ No	✅ One Step cleanser	✅ No-rinse cleanser	Not stated	Not stated
Extras	Funnel, mead guide	Directions	Spice packet, temperature tape, funnel	Funnel, how-to guide	Funnel, manual	Recipe and instructions
Honey included	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	Not stated	Not stated	❌ No
Buy	Check price	Check price	Check price	Check price	Check price	Check price

Editor's Choice

Craft A Brew

Fermenter

1 gal glass carboy

Airlock

✅ With stopper

Transfer gear

Racking cane and tubing

Hydrometer

❌ No

Yeast and nutrient

✅ Both

Sanitizer or cleanser

✅ Sanitizer

Extras

Funnel, mead guide

Honey included

❌ No

Check price

FastRack Shepherd Made

Fermenter

1 gal glass jug

Airlock

✅ 3-piece, with stopper

Transfer gear

❌ None listed

Hydrometer

❌ No

Yeast and nutrient

✅ Both

Sanitizer or cleanser

❌ No

Extras

Directions

Honey included

❌ No

Check price

Must Bee

Fermenter

Glass carboy

Airlock

✅ With stopper

Transfer gear

3 ft tubing with clamp

Hydrometer

❌ No

Yeast and nutrient

✅ Both

Sanitizer or cleanser

✅ One Step cleanser

Extras

Spice packet, temperature tape, funnel

Honey included

❌ No

Check price

Bold I'Land

Fermenter

1 gal glass jug

Airlock

✅ 3-piece, with stopper

Transfer gear

Auto siphon and bottle wand

Hydrometer

✅ With test jar

Yeast and nutrient

Not stated

Sanitizer or cleanser

✅ No-rinse cleanser

Extras

Funnel, how-to guide

Honey included

Not stated

Check price

Jigger N' Dash

Fermenter

1 gal mead jar

Airlock

✅ With stopper

Transfer gear

Racking cane, tubing and clamp

Hydrometer

❌ No

Yeast and nutrient

Yeast; nutrients mentioned

Sanitizer or cleanser

Not stated

Extras

Funnel, manual

Honey included

Not stated

Check price

Home Brew Ohio

Fermenter

Not stated

Airlock

Not stated

Transfer gear

Not stated

Hydrometer

Not stated

Yeast and nutrient

Chemicals included

Sanitizer or cleanser

Not stated

Extras

Recipe and instructions

Honey included

❌ No

Check price

Mead Kit Reviews

Each review sticks to what the manufacturer lists. We note what is missing as well as what is included, because the gaps decide what else you need to buy.

Craft A Brew Mead Making Kit

Craft A Brew's kit is the one we would hand to a first-time mead maker. The listing covers every stage: a 1-gallon glass carboy with airlock and rubber stopper for fermenting, a racking cane with tip and transfer tubing for moving the mead off its sediment, a funnel, yeast, yeast nutrients, sanitizer and the company's own guide to making mead. The manufacturer says the kits are assembled by hand in Orlando, Florida, and that you can make your own honey wine in about 4 weeks.

Best for: beginners who want one box that covers mixing, fermenting and racking. Missing: honey and a hydrometer.

Check price on Amazon

FastRack Shepherd Made Mead Making Kit

FastRack's kit is the simplest and cheapest way into mead in this group. You get a 128 oz (1 gallon) clear glass jug, a 3-piece airlock, a rubber stopper, yeast nutrient and mead yeast, plus directions; the listing's pitch is that you only add honey. What you do not get is any way to move the mead off the sediment, so plan on a small siphon such as the Fermtech Auto-Siphon Mini and a second jug if you want to rack and age properly.

Best for: a low-cost first batch, or a second fermenter alongside a fuller kit. Missing: transfer gear, sanitizer, honey.

Check price on Amazon

Must Bee Mead Making Kit (Metheglin Style)

Must Bee builds its kit around a specific recipe: a spiced mead, or metheglin. The listing includes a glass carboy, airlock and stopper, mead yeast, yeast nutrients, a "Spice Melody" packet of sweet and bitter orange peel, coriander and cinnamon, a funnel, 3 feet of tubing with a clamp, temperature tape, One Step no-rinse cleanser and a step-by-step guide. The recipe uses 2.5 lb of honey and a yeast that ferments it dry, and the maker says its method gently warms the honey rather than boiling it.

Best for: anyone who wants a flavored mead with a tested recipe to follow. Missing: honey and a hydrometer; the result is dry by design.

Check price on Amazon

Bold I'Land Complete Mead Making Kit

The Bold I'Land kit is the only one here that lists a hydrometer and test jar, which you need to measure your starting gravity and to confirm fermentation has finished. It also lists an auto siphon and a bottle wand, a 1-gallon glass jug decorated with a honey bee, a 3-piece airlock, a stopper, a funnel, no-rinse cleanser and a step-by-step guide. The listing does not mention yeast or nutrient, so check before you order and pick up a packet of mead or wine yeast if needed.

Best for: buyers who want measuring and bottling gear from day one. Missing: honey; yeast and nutrient not listed.

Check price on Amazon

Jigger N' Dash Mead Making Kit

Jigger N' Dash lists an instruction manual, mead yeast, a 1-gallon mead jar, airlock and stopper, a racking cane, siphoning tube with clamp and a funnel, and says the kit is assembled in the US with a US-based team you can call with questions. Its gear list matches Craft A Brew's closely; the differences are that sanitizer is not listed and nutrients are mentioned only in the product description.

Best for: beginners who value phone support. Missing: honey, sanitizer and a hydrometer.

Check price on Amazon

Home Brew Ohio Mead Making Kit

Home Brew Ohio's listing is the shortest: a one-gallon mead making kit with all the equipment necessary, plus instructions, a recipe and the chemicals, with honey not included. Because the listing does not itemize the equipment, compare the photos on the product page with the other kits before choosing it.

Best for: buyers who already trust the brand. Missing: honey; equipment list not itemized.

Check price on Amazon

How to Choose a Mead Making Kit

Every kit here will ferment a gallon of honey wine. The differences are in how much of the rest of the process the box covers.

The Minimum a Kit Should Include

Look for five things: a 1-gallon glass fermenter, an airlock with a matching stopper, a wine or mead yeast, yeast nutrient and written instructions. Glass is easy to clean and lets you watch the mead clear; for bigger batches, our guide to carboys and buckets compares the options.

Transfer Gear Matters More Than It Looks

After 2 to 3 weeks the mead needs to be moved off the yeast sediment, the step the American Homebrewers Association's mead tutorial (2018) calls transferring to secondary, and again when you bottle. A racking cane with tubing, or better an auto siphon, does this without stirring up the sediment or splashing. Kits without transfer gear are fine, but add a small siphon to your order.

Why a Hydrometer Is Worth Adding

The AHA tutorial says the only surefire way to know fermentation is complete is with a hydrometer: when readings stay the same for 1 to 2 weeks, the yeast has finished. The same reading at the start tells you how strong the mead will be. The Beer Judge Certification Program's 2015 mead guidelines put a standard mead at an original gravity of 1.080 to 1.120. Only one kit here includes a hydrometer; see our guide on how to use a hydrometer if you add one.

Plain or Flavored

Most kits are for a traditional mead of honey, water and yeast, which lets the honey speak for itself. Must Bee is the exception, with a spice packet for a metheglin. You can flavor any kit later with fruit or spices once you have the basic method down.

What the Honey Will Add

Honey is the main running cost. The Must Bee recipe uses 2.5 lb for a gallon, and most kits fall in the 2 to 3 lb range. Honey is mostly fermentable sugar: the USDA's FoodData Central lists 82.1 g of total sugars per 100 g of honey (SR Legacy, 2019).