Vast, huh?
I disagree with your disagreement.
Even a poorly handled FWK will turn out a far superior beer than an equally poorly handled goo kit.
Not as good as it gets, but far superior nonetheless.
BTW, I think it's a little unfair to assume that the 'vast majority' of k&k types have no idea about temperature, sanitation etc. While there are no doubt many who still think 28c is the ideal fermentation temp, those who frequent this site will definitely be aware of those factors, and even older (ie non-internet user) k&k brewers I meet seem to understand it more and more.
I half agree with your first statement... It will turn out far superior, but a polished turd is still a turd.
Regarding the "vast majority":
I agree that those who frequent AHB have a much, much better idea, and for most who have read and hung around here for a bit a FWK would be a HUGE step up from kits. However:
According to
this article, there were approximately 300,000 homebrewers in Australia in 2004. This number would've increased since then but anyway, being a media article, I don't believe the accuracy but you can believe the order of magnitude. For this argument, assume the number is a paltry 100,000.
We have 10,000 members (assuming >95% are Aussie), so at most 10% of homebrewers are members of this site. Only a third of members have actually posted; let's make a very generous assumption that half of the members actively visit here. So at very most, 5% of Aussie homebrewers frequent this site.
So, 95% of brewers don't come here and would likely rely on either the instructions (which are notoriously shithouse) and/or the advice of HBSs. Though not all HBSs are bad, many are, especially those geared at kit brewers ("You want grain? Don't bother with that crap, too much mess, too much effort, doesn't taste any better... Buy this tin, this bag of powder and a tiny portion of feral, manky, poorly stored hops shoved in a teabag..." but I digress). Most of these wouldn't necessarily be brewing absolute crap, but likely have no idea on the basics of brewing.
Based on my numbers and argument I guess you can judge for yourself but I certainly believe it's easily a vast majority (>75%) if not much, much more (when you take into account this is only assuming 100,000 homebrewers)
Jeez, typing that sure woke me up.