So, Santa brought me a home brewing kit http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...rewing-starter-kit/deluxe-brewing-starter-kit Look out Sam Adams! HA Reading some of the forums on their site, I have a lot to learn. Luckily my cousin also does some home brewing and makes a damn good IPA. So I'll have a good mentor. Anyway, I hope Santa was good to you fellow swellies!
I am sure he will chime in! Metard, you are on a whole nother level! If you get that, i'll trade ya some brew for some shine.
"Relax. Have a Home Brew." One tip... grow some hops. Cascade is a versatile variety for bittering and aromatics, and grows profusely in the northeast. At one point I had five varieties growing in my suburban yard. You can order rhizomes online here: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/cascade-hop-rhizome.html
Read "How to Brew" by John Palmer. It concisely covers everything you need to know to get started. A lot of the forums recommend this too. Been brewing for years, great way to waste an afternoon when it's flat
Just finished my first 5 gallons, it was too easy, and it turned out well. Looking to dial it in more next round.
I wondered the same thing, but I think this is more about the satisfaction of, "I made that and it's focking good". HA Right now I am paying about $10 for a 6 pack.
Yea.. it's not a money saving thing. It's about making beer you can't buy, because you determine everything about it... what grains, what hops, what yeast. You control the temperature, the lager duration, the attenuation... all to meet suit your tastes. It's a DIY thing... I was even culturing my own yeast for a while, and won a couple of contests, too.
Kits aside, homebrewing is very inexpensive. Ingredients to make 5 gallons approximate- Malt - $15 Hops - $5 yeast - $5 Water Time and effort Basically if your batch comes out good, and with some experience they do, for about $25 you are getting about 50 12 ounce bottles of really tasty craft quality beer. The materials - plastic buckets, large pans, plastic hosing is minimal and can be reused over and over so isn't much of a factor. But yeah...the time and effort means you aren't doing it to save a buck. Its pretty fun and satisfying to experiment with the different combinations, lagers vs. ales etc.
