Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

www.beertown.org.

This is for the website for the Association of Homebrewers. Great source for kits, recipes etc. Of course they also put on the Great American Beer Fest, right here in Denver (GREAT EVENT).

Your best bet is to look for a local wine/beer supply store. Usually a kit is less than $100, each recipe batch is about $40, should make about 5 cases. Its a little tricky at first, but follow the Bible, and you can't go too wrong. Next time make a beer style that you are more familiar with, so you can make a better judgement.

Oh, and let the beer age a little longer and you'll be happy.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

I've been wanting to do this for a long time now. I think this might be just the motivation I need.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

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I've been wanting to do this for a long time now. I think this might be just the motivation I need.

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Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

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I've been wanting to do this for a long time now. I think this might be just the motivation I need.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is pretty fun. I'm only doing the BMX version of homebrewing too, because I buy the malt. The 10-speed version is doing a full mash of the grain, but I haven't worked up to that yet.

The batches can turn out surprisingly good. But I agree with the poster who talked about sterilization - if you don't, it sucks to find out a month later that your batch was no good.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

If the haziness bothers you, you can get some additives to put in the fermenter that helps clear it up. Also if you rack your beer to a secondary fermenter it will also clear it up quite a bit.

As far as bottling, I would highly recommend purchasing a keg kit. They usually have like 4 mini kegs that can fit in your fridge. The biggest pain in the ass of homebrewing is cleaning the bottles. Sediment at the bottom of a long neck can be difficult to get out even with the bottle brushes they sell. The keg kit makes the cleaning a snap.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

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I figure I'll start with kits to get my feet wet, but move as quickly as possible beyond them. Any other reviews of kits, or what to lok for in a kit, would be appreciated. Also, any info on homebrewing that is hard to find elsewhere. For example, my damn kitchen is really small. Not only does this mean that I don't have a ton of room for pots and whatnot while actually brewing, I don't exactly have a ton of room for the stuff to sit around and ferment. How much of a footprint does a typical batch of beer have? I'm assuming that kegging my beer will take less room than having a hundred bottles sitting around.

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If by kits you mean something like Mr. Beer, I'd recommend going beyond that right from the start. You need a basic equipment set-up, like here. You should be able to get started with something similar for about $50 at any homebrew store.

Space required depends on how many batches (yes, I spelled that right) you have going at a time. The initial process is like making soup. You just need a big stock pot on the stove. That then goes into a 5-gal. pail, which needs to sit for a couple weeks in a cool place. Then you bottle it. You'll get about two cases of beer, which have to sit for at least 2-3 weeks (I recommend 4-6). Soon as you bottle it, you can start another batch.

A standard batch is 5 gallons. There are mini-keg systems, but I have not looked into those. I just keep all my old Sam Adams bottles. It's doing my bit for recycling.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

[ QUOTE ]
www.beertown.org.

This is for the website for the Association of Homebrewers. Great source for kits, recipes etc. Of course they also put on the Great American Beer Fest, right here in Denver (GREAT EVENT).

Your best bet is to look for a local wine/beer supply store. Usually a kit is less than $100, each recipe batch is about $40, should make about 5 cases. Its a little tricky at first, but follow the Bible, and you can't go too wrong. Next time make a beer style that you are more familiar with, so you can make a better judgement.

Oh, and let the beer age a little longer and you'll be happy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Passworded.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

http://www.beertown.org/

remove the trailing "." and it works.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

Why? What does the period denote after the org? Ive never seen that before.

Re: My first attempt at home brewing
 

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http://www.beertown.org/

remove the trailing "." and it works.

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Thanks!