I'm starting this to have a place to exchange brewing tips, recipes, and general brewing information. If you've never brewed before and are a fan of beer, I highly recommend going out and picking up a kit. Homebrew shops are scattered all over the place, but if you don't have one close by there are countless websites willing to ship you your equipment.

A beginner's kit will cost you about 100 bucks. They generally come with everything you need to brew your first batch, minus bottles. The nice thing about that is, you get to empty your own bottles While the starter kits are good for, well, starting, I recommend picking up an intermediate kit. The main difference here is that you'll get a secondary fermenter (which should be a glass carboy if the place you're buying from has any clue what they're doing), possibly an auto-siphon, and a wort pot. Intermediate kits should run you about $150. You need this equipment to make a reasonable beer. If you cheap out and buy a plastic Mr. Beer kit, you will end up with beer that is sub-par to Keystone Light. Don't do it.

I'm going to grab my equipment from my old house in SD this weekend and when I get it cleaned up and ready to brew again, I'll take pics of the equipment and the process of brewing my next batch, with updates as things progress. I ought to be able to get this moving along in a couple of weekends.

I'm not the most experienced brewer, but I like to think I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm doing. To those of you who have brewed before, let's swap some recipes and brewing tips. I want to make this a serious hobby again. I want to get another extract recipe under my belt, but after that I'll be fabbing up some all-grain equipment and taking this operation to the next level. If you've brewed all-grain batches before, I'd love to hear about your experiences.

EDIT: Adding useful links that have been posted throughout this thread

Decent Beginner's Kits:
http://www.monsterbrew.com/Prod_NewB...HombrewKit.cfm

http://www.monsterbrew.com/Prod_NewB...HombrewKit.cfm


white labs yeasts: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/homebrew.html

 

haha it's funny you started this, some of my house mates are just about to bottle their 4th batch I think, it's an Octoberfest.

 

I'd like to brew an Oktoberfest, but I think I've missed the bus this year. It's a bit late. Time to start thinking about a nice winter beer... even though we don't really get any semblance of winter here in CA.

 

This whole brewing process just reminds me of how much I still have to learn about beer. For instance my housemates said their next batch is gonna be a stout which they are gonna get ready for Christmas time but I have no idea what makes a stout a stout, an IPA and IPA, a Lager a lager, etc. I need somewhere I can figure this all out. So far all I know is the names of the beers which I enjoy, I don't know the science behind it yet, but I will learn and I'm sure in the next few years, I'll brew some of my own stuff too.

 

I brewed for years with a couple of different roommates. Got quite good at it. Over four years, we brewed:
German Ale
Honey Lager
Bock
Chocolate Stout
Cherry Stout
Meade With winter spices (ended up 12% alc. and as carbonated as Champagne
2 Pilsners
Reg. Lager

I would recommend using non twist off bottles and preferably green or brown to maintain better seal and freshness. also, do not recommend second stage fermentation by adding to each individual bottle, add it to the mix, then bottle. Careful not to stir up the sediment or siphon it up as well. Storing under the house or in a dark cool basement is optimal for many.
Never be afraid to experiment to make each recipe your own.

 

CAB: it's all in the ingredients man. Certain styles of beer are determined by the grains used to provide the sugars that the yeast eats, the hops used for bittering and nose, the type of yeast used, even the water. There are people that use distilled water and add certain types of minerals to mimic the water from a certain region to really capture a particular style. Look up some recipes and you'll see what I mean.

railrunner: definitely have some good tips there man. I planned on touching on all of those points when I posted up my DIY walkthrough on my winter stout. I'm hoping to get this batch going next weekend. Any interested beginners should keep their eyes open for updates sometime soon, as I plan on a very detailed post with many pics.

 

my roommate and i have been talking about it. have a link to a good starters kit?

 

These are the guys I bought my kit from: http://homebrew-supplies.homebrewmar...t=products.asp

I bought kit 2, but it was about 130-140 when I bought it. That's a great kit to start with as it has just about everything you need except for a 4 gallon pot to boil in (any large cooking pot will work though) and an auto-siphon, which isn't necessary but highly recommended.

Decent Kit I have a few qualms with: http://www.monsterbrew.com/Prod_NewB...HombrewKit.cfm

First of all, they give you 48 new bottles to put your beer in. This is unnecessary as you're expected to drain your own bottles, sanitize them and refill them with your own beer (long neck bottles tend to work the best, btw). On top of that, they don't let you pick what your first brew is going to be and just give you ingredients. They also give you dry yeast. Don't use dry yeast. You'll get a better better fermentation and a better beer with a liquid yeast.

I'll try to find a few other options and I'll get them up in the next couple of days. If you find something that looks good to you, post a link and I'll tell you if it has everything you need and/or want in your first kit. Be ready to drop at least 150, maybe 200 with shipping and a few additional recommended items included though.

 

really looking forward to following this. It can be a great hobby with a friend or family member and can be very therapeutic with a great feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Man has been making beer since the dark ages and that is why he has such a long and loving relationship with it.

Just remember:

"Beer, it's not just for breakfast anymore."

"Beer, it's what's for dinner"

Beer. "Yes, you could of had a V8, but then we'd 'ave thought you were a ponce"

Beer: "The sixth food group"

 

haha, makes me think of our saying we have


Schlitz, it's the breakfast beer.