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View Full Version : Are there any home beer brewers in the crowd?



C Scott McDonald
02-08-2011, 7:10 PM
Hi folks,

So we got my younger brother a home brewing kit really as a joke for Christmas. Well, we go over and give it a try and it was a lot of fun. This is a basic kit that comes with everything needed to make one batch of beer. I wish I could remember the brand name of it. The tank was in the shape of a large plastic football. Anyway, amazingly enough the wheat beer turns out really well!

So now we have the brewing bug. Did the normal google thing and of course it returns its normal 4,433,778 results. So anyway is there a trusted source for a real kits or the parts needed to make beer? Same with the ingredents for the beer itself? I would imgine yeast has a short shelf life? There a Sawmillcreek type forum for Beer Brewing?

Thanks for the input. Kind of funny that what started out as a joke turned into a lot of fun.

Thanks!
Scott

Howard Garner
02-08-2011, 7:19 PM
Use to, but have not for a few years. Just too busy.
One location is ebrew.com They are the ones that I used.

Howard Garner
Pickens, SC

Michael Weber
02-08-2011, 7:38 PM
Like Howard, I used to also. Still have my equipment which is all pretty simple stuff. You will need to graduate to some better equipment than in you're starter kit but it's all pretty cheap. My advice is to keep the recipes simple for best results. I used to make a great dark beer and the last time I decided to try it the people at the supply place kept pushing stuff on me to 'make it better'. Big mistake. Also, the equipment must be kept clean, clean, clean. It's a lot of fun.

Rob Steffeck
02-08-2011, 7:48 PM
There a Sawmillcreek type forum for Beer Brewing?


Yes, just google "home brew talk". Should be the first hit. They have a subforum dedicated to beginning brewers.

Shawn Pixley
02-08-2011, 11:40 PM
I have brewed for about 25 years. Typically I brew all-grain and do a variety of styles. I have won a number of awards for some of my stock brews I have a low opinion of kits. See if you can hook yourself up with a brew club or a mentor. You will learn a lot more that way and have better beers as well. There are a number of on-line suppliers of brewing materials nd instructions. You can start or ~25$ or so for basic tools and another 20 bucks for malt or extract and hops. PM me if you want more info.

Marty Paulus
02-09-2011, 7:02 AM
I too home brew. Got into it when a friend got the same kit your brother did. I still brew on occasion but time constraints make it tough. One online source that I have found to be good is http://www.williamsbrewing.com/. However check around your area for a local store. They are usually extremely helpful when it comes to getting your started. My local store's prices are in line with online stores and I save the shipping. Not to mention the impuse buys while I am in there and the occasional 'sample' when someone trys out a new style.

Personally I have gotten away from bottling my home brew and keg it now. However one tip for you is to get away from the 12oz bottles. I have both 16 and 22 oz. I found that filling the 12oz bottles was more of a PITA then it was worth.

Charles Goodnight
02-09-2011, 7:25 AM
Easiest and best thing is to find your local home brew supply. They will have books they can recommend, probably some on site recipes, and usually somebody who will talk your ear off. I started with Papazian's Joy of Home Brewing, but I don't even know if that is still in print. Home brewing is as easy or complex as you want. Its dead easy to make great tasting beer, but if you want to go back to grinding grains and converting starch to sugar it can be an enormously entertaining mix of cooking and biochemistry with a little bit of history thrown in.

Kevin Groenke
02-10-2011, 9:22 PM
Beer here!!

182192

I've been brewing for about a year. I started with extract kits (using liquid or dried malt extracts - ie fermentables) and now I've starting to mash my own grains and growing hop vines. There is nothing wrong with extract kits (I've made 18 of them and none were bad) but you may get bored with them before long. Last weekend I brewed a "blackstrap scotch ale" with: blackstrap molassas, peat smoked malt and cardamom... you're not going to find a kit for that.

I just made my 20th 5 gallon batch, so now moving on to the next 100 gallons.

It can be a rather slippery slope (not too different from woodworking): you might get your feet wet with a Mr. Beer, but if you get into it, you will soon be looking for stainless steel sinks, firing up turkey fryers, kegging with CO2, finding a homebrew exchange, etc... You can certainly get a good 5 gal brewkit (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-starter-kit-w-better-bottle.html) for less than $100... you'll spend a bit more if you want a good kettle, a capper etc...

I am fortunate to have two big local brew stores with national mail order reputations within a 15 minute drive. If you don't have a brewstore nearby, pick a mail-order place, find a forum you like and go with it.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/
http://www.northernbrewer.com/


-kg