i'm interested in brewing my own beer, right now i just plan on getting a kit, just to get the hang of things. so i was just wondering if anyone that has experience brewing beer, and if you could give me some tips. i know the kits aren't that great, but i need to get the hang of things first
My son brews beer. My advice is be sure to sterilize everything! If you can keep things clean, it is actually easy to brew! Use good water. Also, get a keg, bottling is a drag! My son has some "Gingerbread" beer going right now. Granny
I've brewed my own beer as well Like Storm Crow says, make sure everything is cleaned out and sterilized before using it. Follow the directions precisely and don't try to put your own twist on things before knowing what you're doing. I've seen people try to act like they're pros and end up with lousy beer when all they had to do was follow some relatively simple instructions. It'll take like three months before you find out how you did, so if you mess up it's pretty disappointing. You waited three months to taste a crummy beer and now you have to drink like three cases of it. But it's very fun and rewarding. I honestly think the IPA I made two years ago was one of the best beers I ever had. It tasted great and it was pretty potent. I'm lucky that there's a brewer's emporium about a half an hour from where I live. They have mass-produced kits and custom kits made by the store owners. They also have a huge selection of bottles to choose from and all the muslin bags, carboys, etc. So remember: sterilize thoroughly and follow the instructions to the letter.
Kits are fine. The average kit beer is way better than anything you'll ever buy at a store. When I say kit, I'm talking about pre-packaged barley, hops, and yeast, not extracts. You still have to go through all the steps of cooking, fermenting, etc. Custom brews are more of a pain, since you have to find all of the ingredients. If you have a big brewing store nearby this may not be a problem. I had to mail order everything. I'd second the recommendation on a keg system, or mini-keg. Bottling is indeed a PITA, unless you want some to give away. Clubs are fun, meetings are big drinking parties with huge amounts of fine craft brew for your enjoyment, and usually some good food too. It's a fun hobby, but time consuming and not cheap. I tend to be a beer pig; having a hobby that involved large quantities of alcohol wasn't a real good thing for me.