During Prohibition, bootleggers made their own booze by burying grapes underground or catching moonbeams in a jar of water. Make alcohol the easy way with today's Groupon: for $64, you get a brewing essentials equipment kit (a $56.95 value), a steel bottle opener (a $14.95 value), your choice of either an Irish red ale, an autumn amber ale, or an Irish stout ingredient kit (up to a $25.95 value), an instructional DVD (a $4.95 value), and a $25 gift certificate for your second batch shipped from Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies (up to a $127.80 total value). A $12 shipping fee is not included in the price of the Groupon.

The hops-hobbyists at Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies provide equipment and encouragement to aspiring beverage crafters nationwide. Unlike puzzle piece of the month clubs, your brewing essentials equipment kit gives you everything you need in one handy package, except for bottles and the brew kettle itself. Ingredient kits yield five-gallon liquid harvests in flavors such as Irish red ale, a richly colored, aromatic quaff popular among home brewers and discerning drinkers. Autumn amber ale provides a roasty seasonal sip, and Irish stout sports a rich bittersweet brew topped with a creamy head. Whatever the favored flavor, Midwest's premium ingredients and handy 90-minute how-to DVD help to make consistent batches each time, aiding neophyte brewers in avoiding the embarrassment of turning out a spicy pilsner or bacon-flavored lager. Suds designers can continue to hone their skills using the $25 gift certificate for the next ingredient kit. Pick up one for yourself, or gift one to the discerning drinker or mad malt scientist in your life.