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What is Midwest Supplies?
Midwest Supplies is an online retailer of home fermentation supplies, covering wine making, beer brewing, and kombucha. It sells both the equipment and the ingredient kits, so a beginner can buy a single starter kit and a seasoned brewer can restock yeast, kegging gear, or recipe kits.
Its catalog is organized around what you're making rather than around brands:
- Wine making — starter equipment kits plus wine recipe kits (Master Vintner®, Winexpert, RJS Craft Winemaking), with the site claiming over 180 wine kits and recipes from around the world.
- Beer brewing — recipe kits, equipment kits, and kegging systems.
- Kombucha and mead — the shop carries dedicated yeast, including strains pitched for fermenting honey must.
- Soda — syrup options for a home draft system.
A practical example: someone who wants to try making hard cider from a fall apple crop would look at the cider yeast comparison article, pick a yeast strain, then buy it alongside any missing equipment in the same order. That combination of an educational article next to the product listing is the site's main convenience.
The trade-off is typical of a broad homebrew retailer. A wide catalog means more browsing and more decisions, and the site's own editorial content is a starting point rather than a neutral reference. If you already know exactly which strain or kit you want, a narrower specialist shop may be faster. If you're new and want equipment, ingredients, and instructions in one purchase, the bundled starter kits are the sensible entry point — check what's included before buying, since kits vary in how much you still need to add.
As a next step, decide which beverage you want to make first, open that category, and compare a starter kit against buying the pieces separately so you can see which is cheaper for your situation. Midwest Supplies
What equipment is needed for a beginner wine making kit?
A beginner wine-making kit typically bundles the equipment you need to ferment juice into wine, plus instructions and sometimes a first ingredient kit. Midwest Supplies describes its Master Vintner® Starter Kit as combining easy-to-follow instructions with a complete set of equipment for beginners and experienced makers alike, and it sells wine-making starter kits and wine recipe kits as separate categories.
Typical equipment in a starter kit
- Primary fermenter — a food-grade bucket or vessel where the juice and yeast start fermenting.
- Carboy (secondary fermenter) — a narrow-neck vessel for clearing and aging the wine after the first fermentation.
- Air lock and stopper — lets gas escape while keeping air out.
- Siphon and tubing — for transferring wine between vessels and into bottles.
- Hydrometer and test jar — measures sugar and alcohol levels so you know when fermentation is done.
- Cleaning and sanitizing supplies — the step most beginners underestimate.
- Bottling equipment — bottles, corks or caps, and a filler or corker.
- Ingredients — grape concentrate or fruit, yeast, and sometimes additives like clarifiers or stabilizers.
What to check before buying
| Decision point | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Wine from concentrate vs. fruit | Concentrate kits are simpler and more consistent; fruit wine recipes need fruit, sugar, water, and wine yeast, as Midwest Supplies notes in its fruit-wine article. |
| Kit size | Smaller batches are cheaper to start and easier to store; larger ones need more space and bottles. |
| Included ingredient kit | Some starter kits include a wine recipe kit; others are equipment only, so you buy the juice separately. |
| Bottling plan | You need enough bottles, corks, and a corker before the wine is ready, not after. |
As a practical next step, decide whether you want to begin with a concentrate-based wine or a fruit wine, then pick a starter kit that matches that choice and confirm it includes a hydrometer, air lock, siphon, and sanitizer. If you want recipe ideas, Midwest Supplies publishes wine recipe kits and articles such as its guide to turning apples, berries, plums, and pears into homemade wine. For broader equipment comparisons, you can also look at Adventures in Homebrewing and Northern Brewer.
How do I choose the right yeast strain for making hard cider?
Choose cider yeast by matching the strain to the flavor you want, not by chasing a single "best" option. For a clean, apple-forward cider, pick a neutral wine or cider yeast that ferments dry without adding much aroma. For a rounder, softer result, choose an ale yeast that leaves some residual sweetness and fruit character. For a funky, complex farmhouse-style cider, a saison or Brettanomyces strain is the tool, but it demands patience and separate equipment.
Midwest Supplies covers this trade-off directly in its guide "Comparing Yeast Strains for Hard Cider," which is worth reading before you buy, because the same juice fermented with different strains produces noticeably different ciders.
H3 A practical comparison
| Goal | Strain type | What you get | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crisp, dry, apple-forward | Neutral wine or dedicated cider yeast | Clean fermentation, high alcohol tolerance | Little yeast-derived aroma; can taste thin |
| Softer, fruitier, slightly sweet | English or Belgian ale yeast | Esters that complement apple; rounder mouthfeel | Lower alcohol tolerance; may finish sweet |
| Complex, spicy, farmhouse | Saison yeast | Peppery, fruity notes | Sensitive to temperature; can stall |
| Funky, leathery, sour-adjacent | Brettanomyces | Barnyard and pie-cherry character | Slow, needs dedicated gear to avoid contaminating other batches |
H3 What to decide before ordering
- Dry or sweet? Most wine and cider yeasts ferment to dryness. If you want sweetness, either choose a lower-attenuating ale yeast or plan to stabilize and back-sweeten.
- Temperature control. You likely ferment in a cool basement or a temperature-controlled fridge. Match the strain's preferred range to what you can actually hold; a saison at 65°F tastes very different from one at 85°F.
- Alcohol target. Cider often reaches 5–7% ABV. A strain with a tolerance well above that gives you headroom if you add sugar.
- Time and space. Brettanomyces and some saison strains need weeks to months and separate plastic or glass. If you only have one fermenter, stay with a clean strain.
- Juice quality. Good fresh-pressed cider needs less yeast character; bland store juice benefits from an expressive ale yeast.
A useful next step: buy two or three single strains rather than one, split a batch of the same juice, and ferment them side by side under identical conditions. Keep notes on gravity, temperature, and taste at bottling. One season of that comparison teaches you more than any description. If you want a concrete starting point, read the strain comparison article on Midwest Supplies, then check whether the strain you pick is sold as dry or liquid, since dry yeast is easier to store and ship but liquid cultures often offer more specialty options.
When should I harvest hops for homebrewing?
Harvest hops when the cones are ripe, not on a fixed calendar date. Midwest Supplies' own guidance suggests hops are usually ready by late August or early September depending on your location, but the key is checking the cones themselves. Pick too early and you get grassy, low-oil hops; wait too long and they turn brown and lose aroma.
How to tell they're ready
- Squeeze a cone: it should feel papery and dry, and spring back rather than stay squashed.
- Look at the lupulin: the yellow powder inside the cone should be abundant and smell strongly citrusy, floral or spicy.
- Check color: cones shift from bright green toward a slightly lighter, matte green; brown edges mean past their best.
- Listen for the rattle: when you rub a cone, ripe hops feel lighter and the seeds inside may rattle slightly.
H3. A practical test Pick one cone, rub it between your palms and smell. If the aroma is intense and pleasant, start harvesting. If it smells like hay or green grass, wait a few days and test again. Harvest in dry conditions, ideally in the morning after dew has dried, then dry the cones promptly in a well-ventilated, dark space.
H3. Why timing varies Day length, temperature and variety all shift the window. A Cascade in a warm backyard may ripen earlier than the same variety in a cooler region. Midwest Supplies' "Bottled Knowledge" article on hop harvest is a useful starting point, and you can compare notes with other homebrewers at Homebrew Talk or check variety-specific guidance from Brew Your Own. For supplies and recipe kits, see Midwest Supplies.
Next step: test a few cones every two or three days from mid-August onward, and harvest in batches rather than all at once so you catch each plant at its peak.
How can I make wine from fruits other than grapes?
Making fruit wine at home follows the same basic path as grape wine: extract flavor and sugar from the fruit, ferment it with wine yeast, then let it clear and age. The main differences are that most fruits bring less natural sugar and less natural acidity than wine grapes, so you usually need to add sugar and adjust acid or tannin to get a balanced, stable wine.
Midwest Supplies frames this directly on its site: one of its “Bottled Knowledge” articles is titled “Harvest More Than Grapes,” and the page states that all fruit wine recipes involve some combination of fruit, sugar, water, and wine yeast. That is a useful mental model to start from. The site also sells wine recipe kits and winemaking starter kits, so if you want a guided first batch rather than designing a recipe from scratch, a kit is the lower-risk route.
What changes when you leave grapes behind
| Factor | Grapes | Most other fruit |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | Often enough on its own | Usually needs added sugar to reach a fermentable strength |
| Acid | Naturally balanced | Often too low or too sharp; may need adjustment |
| Body and tannin | Skins and seeds provide structure | Often light; may need tannin or a blending fruit |
| Flavor intensity | Concentrated | Can be delicate and easily lost, so use ripe fruit and enough of it |
| Pectin | Lower concern | High in many fruits, so pectin enzyme helps clarity |
A practical starting sequence
- Pick fruit at full ripeness. Underripe fruit gives thin flavor and harsh acid.
- Clean and prepare it. Remove stems, pits, and bruised spots. Chop, crush, or freeze-and-thaw to break down cell walls.
- Add water and sugar. This is where fruit wine differs most from grape wine; you are building the fermentable base rather than relying on the fruit alone.
- Adjust acid and tannin. Taste the must before pitching yeast. If it tastes flat, a little acid blend or tannin can lift it.
- Add pectin enzyme and campden tablets, then wait before pitching yeast. The enzyme improves clarity; the sulfite gives you a cleaner start.
- Pitch a wine yeast suited to the fruit. Midwest Supplies stocks both dry and liquid yeasts, and its site notes Omega Yeast specialty strains and Fermentis SafMead yeast for honey must, which shows the range of yeast choices available.
- Ferment, rack, and age. Fruit wines often benefit from a few months of aging before they taste integrated.
Choosing your first fruit
Apples, pears, berries, and plums are forgiving starting points because they are easy to source and their flavors survive fermentation reasonably well. Stone fruit like peaches and apricots can be more delicate. Very acidic fruit such as cranberry or citrus usually needs dilution and sugar adjustment, and citrus is often better as a blending component than a solo wine.
If you want a structured first project, look at the wine recipe kits and starter kits at Midwest Supplies and pick a fruit style you already enjoy drinking. A kit removes the guesswork on sugar, acid, and yeast, so your first batch teaches you the process rather than the recipe math. Once you have one successful batch behind you, designing a fruit wine from fresh fruit becomes much easier to reason about.
What are the steps to start making kombucha at home?
Kombucha is a fermented tea, and the basic process is straightforward: brew sweet tea, cool it, add a starter culture, ferment, then bottle and flavor. The site's own materials focus more on wine, beer and mead, so treat the steps below as general home-brewing advice rather than a kit-specific walkthrough. Note that Midwest Supplies does list kombucha among the categories it stocks, so you can source tea, cultures, vessels and bottles there.
The core steps
- Brew the tea base. Steep black or green tea in hot water, dissolve sugar, then let it cool to room temperature. The sugar feeds the culture; it is not just for sweetness.
- Add the starter. Pitch a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) plus some already-fermented kombucha as a starter liquid. The liquid lowers the pH and helps prevent spoilage.
- Ferment (first fermentation). Cover the jar with a breathable cloth and let it sit somewhere warm and out of direct sun, typically one to three weeks. Taste as you go — that is the only reliable way to judge readiness.
- Bottle and flavor (second fermentation). Transfer to bottles, add fruit, juice or herbs if you want carbonation and flavor, and seal. This stage builds the fizz.
- Chill and store. Refrigerate once carbonation and tartness suit you; cold slows fermentation and keeps bottles from over-pressurizing.
Practical things beginners get wrong
- Temperature swings. A stable warm spot matters more than any single piece of equipment.
- Under-acidifying. Skipping enough starter liquid is the most common cause of mold.
- Sealed bottles too early. If you bottle before the first fermentation is tart enough, you can get gushers or bursting bottles.
- Contamination. Keep hands, jars and utensils clean, and avoid metal that can react with the acidic brew.
Choosing between a kit and à la carte
| Approach | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Starter kit | First-time brewers who want matched equipment | Less flexibility if you later change batch size |
| Buying separately | People who already brew beer or wine | You must source a consistent vessel, cloth and bottles yourself |
A useful next step: decide your batch size and vessel first, because that determines everything else. If you already have a large glass jar, a cloth cover and swing-top bottles, you may only need a culture, tea and sugar. If you are starting from nothing, a kit reduces the guesswork. Midwest Supplies is a reasonable place to compare options if you are already ordering brewing supplies: Midwest Supplies. For background on fermentation techniques more broadly, Homebrewers Association publishes beginner-oriented resources.
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