Hey everyone, I just started brewing my own beer (my first batch has been fermenting for approx 2 days). I was wondering if anyone else home brews?

I've been wanting to get into it, a good friend just moved down the street from me and he is a very good brewer.

He just made an excellent wet hops Belgium.

---

 
http://down-time.com

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
-William Butler Yeats

Home Brewing is where its at!  You have the tools in your hand to create the best beer to fit your tastes.  At first I followed the instructions and recipes to a tee.  However, just like good cooking, you have to have experience, feel, taste, and an experimental attitude.  Once you figure out whats going on, don't be afraid to experiment with different hops, timing on adding the hops, etc.  It makes a big difference in taste, but you start to understand what each part of the process and what each ingredient adds to the total package.  Then you can start to make your own recipes.  You will really appriciate beer more now.  Happy Brewing man!!

Home brewer here too. I typically do wine but sometimes do beer as well. I come from an old Italian family and a lot of us brew at home and then trade our recent projects on holidays. And Stryker is right, really the only thing that matters in the instructions is to make sure you sanitize things so you get alcohol instead of rot.

Ask Madurofan, I believe he was thinking about dabling in it. Not sure how far he got into it though.

I'm still thinking about it, I bought the books and have perused the local home brew USA store numerous times. Just haven't been ready to drop $200 for the "starter kit" yet. Soon though, the neighbor and I are probably going to go in together and get the kit.

---

I don't wanna hold a job down if its just to make ends meet. I prefer rapid rise and faster falls, I wanna die the American dream.
~~ Josh Martinez

I've been brewing for a few years. Right now I've got a batch of hard cider ready to keg, and a batch of mead about to start.

Maddy, you can get a starter kit for a lot less than $200 - for that money you can get everything you need to brew AND keg. A basic kit will go for around eighty bucks. Look at http://morebeer.com/ or http://www.northernbrewer.com

I'd also invite you to check out the forums at www.realbeer.com - lots of amateurs and even some professional brewers there. You'll find me under the same username.

---

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be a convenience store - not a government agency.

I know you can get one for less but this kit includes everything to make 5 gallons and all the bottles. It also comes with everythign to make two batches of my choosing.

---

I don't wanna hold a job down if its just to make ends meet. I prefer rapid rise and faster falls, I wanna die the American dream.
~~ Josh Martinez

I know you can get one for less but this kit includes everything to make 5 gallons and all the bottles. It also comes with everythign to make two batches of my choosing. I'll definetly check out realbeer.com thanks for the heads up zoom.

---

I don't wanna hold a job down if its just to make ends meet. I prefer rapid rise and faster falls, I wanna die the American dream.
~~ Josh Martinez

I guess that's not a bad deal then if it includes two recipe kits... especially if it includes glass carboys or "better bottles" plastic carboys rather than just buckets (although there should be a bottling bucket, one with a spigot works best. And of course you're not paying shipping. I've never had a chance to check that shop out when I've been down that way.

I don't bottle much anymore, everything goes straight into soda kegs. For a while I used a Tap-A-Draft system but it's been collecting dust for a while, I need to sell it off. My current setup can support four 5-gallon soda kegs on tap at the same time; currently on tap are a keg of my cider, Sweet Cherry Stout, and some Classic Lager (from Blue & Gray Brewing in Fredericksburg - they'll fill a corny keg for $40, a bit more for seasonals).

---

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be a convenience store - not a government agency.

I always wanted to get a keg, the main thing that keeps me mostly doing wine instead of beer is just my hatred for bottling. I just put the wine into glass gallon jugs and stash it in the cellar for a few months. I need to get my stuff out and make another batch.

I've decided I'm going to dabble in home brewing/fermenting. I think I'm going to start by making some hard cider.

Costco.com has a kit that looks decent. It's a bit pricier than other kits around, but it comes with ingredients for a batch of Cabernet, and the price includes shipping. I'm gonna try a local store first, but I might just get that kit.

Damn Scram, how did i miss this post? Midwestsupplies.com is where i get all of my stuff from. And the people are extremely helpful and knowledgable. I'll have some applejack in the mail to you tomorrow, it's fresh off the still and i cut it with some traditional freeze distilled stuff, it's still a bit edgy(Read: it's a mother effin barn burner) but it will mellow over time, throw it over ice and you're good to go. I like it strong though ;)

---

We have done so much, for so long, with so little we are now qualified to do anything with nothing!

Thanks, midwestsupplies.com looks pretty cool. Shipping cost on carboys and bottles is gonna suck though. There is supposedly a local brew supply store opening soon, the closest one I have found now is 90 mins away.

Cider's easy to start with because you don't need to do any boiling or anything. I start with regular apple cider (Zeigler's is what I can get in my area). Check the ingredients, make sure it just lists "apples". If there is pottassium sorbate or anything else, fermentation will be inhibited. In the past I've used Red Star dry Cotes du Blanc yeast, this year I'm using a liquid cider yeast. Some folks use Nottingham or Champagne yeast, this will give you a much dryer (less sweet) finished product. Be aware that you may get a distinct sulphur odor during initial fermentation.

---

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be a convenience store - not a government agency.