Geordie IPA Kit: How to Brew a Great English IPA at Home
Share
The Geordie IPA kit is one of the cheapest ways to brew a proper English IPA at home: 40 pints for £11.75, which works out at under 30p a pint for the kit itself. Brewed straight from the tin it makes a light, easy-drinking IPA. With a few inexpensive upgrades, it gets genuinely close to the classic English IPAs you'd find on a pub bar. This guide covers both.
What Is an English IPA?
India Pale Ale started life in Britain in the 1800s, when brewers made pale ales with extra hops for the long voyage to India. The English style is the original: a biscuity malt backbone, firm but balanced bitterness, and earthy, floral, slightly spicy hop character from traditional English varieties like Goldings, Fuggles and Challenger.
That's quite different from the modern American IPAs most people picture today, which lean on citrusy, piney or tropical American hops and often a drier, more aggressively bitter finish. If you prefer a pint that's hoppy but still smooth and malty, English IPA is the style for you.
What's in the Geordie IPA Kit?
The kit contains a 1.5kg tin of hopped IPA malt extract and a sachet of yeast. You add water and 1kg of fermentable sugar, and it makes 23 litres (about 40 pints). There's no boiling, no grain and no hop additions required, so it's an ideal first kit if you're new to home brewing.
It's ingredients-only, so you'll also need basic equipment: a 25-litre fermenter, airlock, hydrometer, syphon, and bottles or a pressure barrel. Our starter kits bundle all of it together.
How to Brew the Geordie IPA Kit
- Clean and sanitise everything that will touch the beer, using VWP to clean and ChemSan to sanitise.
- Soften the tin by standing it in hot water for a few minutes, then pour the extract into your fermenter.
- Dissolve the extract and 1kg of brewing sugar (or spray malt, see below) in a few litres of hot water.
- Top up with cold water to 23 litres and stir well. Take a hydrometer reading.
- Pitch the yeast once the wort is around 20°C, fit the lid and airlock.
- Ferment at 18–20°C for 7–10 days, until your hydrometer reads the same on two days running.
- Bottle with one carbonation drop per 500ml bottle, or prime a pressure barrel.
- Condition somewhere warm for about a week, then somewhere cool for at least another week.
For full step-by-step detail, see our Geordie beer kit instructions.
4 Upgrades That Turn It Into a Proper English IPA
1. Swap the sugar for spray malt
Plain sugar ferments out completely, which can leave a kit beer thin. Replacing some or all of it with light spray malt gives a fuller body, a better head and more of that biscuity malt backbone English IPA is known for. It's the single most noticeable upgrade you can make.
2. Upgrade the yeast
Kit yeast is chosen to be reliable rather than characterful. Safale S-04 is a classic English ale yeast: it ferments quickly, drops out clear, and adds a subtle fruitiness that suits the style perfectly. Not sure which strain to pick? Compare them all in our yeast selector.
3. Dry hop with English hops
This is what gives an IPA its aroma. Once fermentation has finished (or nearly finished), add 25–50g of English hop pellets straight into the fermenter and leave them for 3–5 days before bottling. Good choices:
- Goldings – the classic English IPA hop: floral, honeyed, gently spicy
- Fuggles – earthy and woody, great blended 50/50 with Goldings
- Challenger – a little spicier and more robust
A 50/50 blend of Goldings and Fuggles is about as traditional as it gets. Use our hops selector to compare varieties.
4. Give it time
IPA improves noticeably with conditioning. It's drinkable after two weeks in the bottle, but three to four weeks lets the hop and malt flavours settle into something much smoother. For a bright, clear pint, add beer finings a day or two before bottling.
How to Dry Hop a Kit Beer
Dry hopping sounds technical but it's simple:
- When: after the main fermentation has calmed down, usually day 5–7. Adding hops too early means much of the aroma escapes with the CO₂.
- How much: 25g for a subtle aroma, 50g for a punchier one, per 23 litres.
- How: sprinkle the pellets directly onto the beer, or use a sanitised hop bag for easier removal.
- How long: 3–5 days. Much longer can bring out grassy flavours.
Dry hopping adds aroma and flavour but very little bitterness, so it won't make the beer harsher.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the Geordie IPA kit take?
Around 7–10 days to ferment, then at least two weeks conditioning in the bottle or barrel. Most brewers are drinking it three to four weeks after brew day.
Do I need to add sugar to the Geordie IPA kit?
Yes. The kit needs 1kg of fermentable sugar. Brewing sugar works fine; light spray malt gives a fuller-bodied, better-tasting beer.
How strong is the Geordie IPA?
It depends on what you add and how fully it ferments. Take a hydrometer reading before pitching the yeast and another before bottling, then use our free ABV calculator to work out the exact strength.
What hops should I use to dry hop an English IPA?
Traditional English varieties: Goldings, Fuggles or Challenger. A 50/50 Goldings and Fuggles blend is a classic choice.
What's the difference between English IPA and American IPA?
English IPA is maltier and more balanced, with earthy, floral English hops. American IPA uses citrusy, piney or tropical American hops and is usually drier and more bitter.
Can I put the Geordie IPA in a pressure barrel?
Yes. Prime the barrel with a small amount of sugar, keep it warm for a few days, then move it somewhere cool to condition for three to four weeks before serving.
Ready to Brew?
The Geordie IPA 40 pint kit is in stock now at BrewCo. Pair it with spray malt, a sachet of S-04 and 50g of Goldings and Fuggles, and you'll have 40 pints of proper English IPA for a fraction of pub prices. Browse the rest of the Geordie range or all our home brew beer kits.