I was wondering how many, if any of you guys homebrew.

I am thinking about picking up one of the kits from Northern Brewer and trying it out. For relatively little startup cost <200$ you can get beer just how you like it.

Any recommendations, sites to check out. I am already fairly active on beeradvocate.com and am admittedly a bit of a beer snob. Which has mostly been influenced by my Rugby team. But thats besides the point!

Let me know!

 

As a dabbler, I recommend plastic over glass fermenters ("better bottle" is the brand I have). My glass carboys are heavy and dangerous by comparison. I couldn't taste any difference. One more tip, cleanliness is at least as important as ingredients and process.

 

inb4 Keith M

 

I would say if you're ever going to do any long-term conditioning and/or lagering, to definitely go glass. If you get a handle, they're not too bad to move around.


You can cite startup costs, but be aware that you'll likely go equipment-crazy after you get into it (like anything else ) I think the startup kits and extract brewing can make damn good beer. You don't necessarily have as much control over everything though, versus all-grain brewing, and to me, you have a lot more control over the quality of your ingredients with uncrushed grains vs. extract that could have been sitting in a tin can for a long time on a shelf, etc.


It's definitely something you can get very nerdy with, which is fun. Even if you go all-grain, you can get away with not spending a large amount of money - grain mill is probably the biggest immediate hit to the wallet. Helps if you're handy (I'm not, really). The main thing is everything takes a lot of time.

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/ is a great site but there are others out there. Definitely a fun hobby but it takes time, some trial and error and patience. Make sure everything is cleaned and sanitized properly otherwise you will ruin your batch. Good notes also helps a lot. And when you're tired of cleaning, sanitizing, bottling and capping ~50 bottles/brew, you can always keg!

 

My homebrew porn: h4x0red chest freezer





I need to get off my ass and cut out the top of this Sanke keg I have for a mash tun so I can finally do a righteous doppelbock. Have to figure out what I want to do for a false bottom.