Brewing your own beer

[Varg]

Any of you guys ever brewed your own beer? I am think I want to try it but I dont want to blow my money on expensive and/or shitty equipment. I found this site called Mr Beer and they have this kit for sale:
http://www.mrbeer.com/view.php?id=premiumkit&toplevel=Ingredients&currentitem=2&showgroup=Boxed%20Kits&menu=sub3&mactive=2&subactive=-1&toplevel=Brew%20Kits&currentitem=2&showgroup=Brew%20Kits&menu=sub2&mactive=1&subactive=-1

Any of you guys have any experince with this? Does this look like a good starter kit?

[Hawkes]

I'll check with my brother. I think he used that one before.

[miedward]

I knew a few people who did their own brewing, but I never got involved in the process.

You might see if you can find some good recepies online and check prices for kegs.  50$ seems like a lot of cash for a 1 gallon plastic keg.  I'll see if I can track one of them down and find out where they started.

[Arctic]

Ive tryed it its weired shake the bottle first befor drinking  otherwise people can make good stuff

[ch0wdah]

I did some homebrewing back in the day.  Trying to remember how much the ingredients were.  Usually made 5 gallons or so at a time?

[ch0wdah]

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780060531058&itm=1

Excellent book about homebrewing.

Let me see if I can remember much about the process.  It kind of smells bad while you are boiling the wort.  Depending on exactly what ingredients you use, boilovers can be a pain in the ass.  There are a couple of key moments in the process that can be a big difference in the finished product. 

Unless you use cheap ingredients, you're not really going to save money in beer bills.  Some of your batches will suck pretty hard.  I think once we tried to do a lager and it ended up as an ale (had to switch yeasts or something like that.  One batch of wheat beer tasted like shampoo.

Then sometimes you make some tasty beer. 

Like a lot of hobbies, getting good gear can make a great deal of difference.  A good bottle capper is nice.  Drinking a bunch of Grolsch and reusing those bottles is even nicer. 

Damn, varg, making me miss the old days of homebrewing.

[Stugots]

Wait a minute.

Did Varg just post something?

[Varg]

Sure did.

Thanks Chowdah, Im gonna buy that book.

[Stugots]

Um

Get in game now!1?

Logs in 1 day like 6 months ago and says "I can play" and then nuttin. pffft

[Bleezy]

I homebrewed for quite a while and I have to say DO NOT BUY MR. BEER!  It teaches you little to nothing about the brewing process.  Find youself a nice homebrew shop and talk to the people who work there.  They know what they are talking about and will be more than happy to help you out.

The initial setup shouldn't cost you more than $30-$50 and it is WELL worth it.  Usually a homebrew shop will have "kits" with all the gear you need for about $40-$50 (give or take).  You can also buy ingredient kits that have pre-measured malt and hops and yeast.  This is a good place to start as well.  Once you have the basics under your belt, you can start to combine your own ingredients.

One last tip...SANITIZE EVERYTHING!!!!  Seriously.  You are going to spend the majority of your time cleaning and sanitizing and it is time well spent.  Any little bit of bacteria will ruin your whole batch.  You are GOING to skunk at least one batch of beer, but try not to do it on your first run.  Otherwise, you'll get discouraged.

If you need a starting point, go to www.midwestsupplies.com

I have used them many times in the past and endorse them wholeheartedly.

[Varg]

Um

Get in game now!1?

Logs in 1 day like 6 months ago and says "I can play" and then nuttin. pffft

Yea,
The baby business kind of hampered my gaming time. I would sit down to try and play and feel guilty cause the baby's room wasent done. The baby came and I try to play then I feel guilty cause I am not helping the wife who has taken care of him all day. It is a little diffucult right now but once he becomes a little older I might be able to play.




Bleezy,
Thanks for the link. I may just order a kit from those guys, gonna do a bit more research to see whoelse sells "kits". I dont have any "homebrew shops" that I know of around here, so mail order will probably be it.

[Stugots]

Wait....you had a baby?

And didnt tell us?

Dam  CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  and stuff.

[Varg]

well, I think i have dropped the hint enough to the wife (about the midwestsupplies kit) for my birthday present. I will wait and see.

[Hawkes]

Stop it varg... you're supposed to play after the wife and kids go to sleep.  You need to start watching Matlock.... perhaps you'll understand it a bit better.

[Bleezy]

Let me know if you need any advice through the brewing process.  I think you'll find it quite rewarding.  I will warn you that brewing your own beer is as addicting as WOW.