brewing beer

the kit i have is probably about as simple as it gets. i haven't tasted my beer yet though (patty's day)
it's a Mr Beer Kit
you can get a lot of different flavored beers in it

 

Cooper's or Munton's are the industry standard. look up a local homebrew supply store and see what kits they carry

 

I've been brewing my own beer for about a year now. I got a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas last year, and I've brewed a Pale Ale, several Octoberfest recipes, Powerful Patriot Ale, some plisners, and several others. It's so easy - takes about an hour or so to prepare the brew for fermentation, then two weeks to ferment, then bottle it, wait another two weeks for carbonation, and after a few days in the fridge, it's ready to drink. I'm going to brew a wheat beer tonight, and have several others I've been thinking about. The initial kit costs about $40 unless you find it on sale, which gives you the keg, bottles, and enough materials to make one batch. Refills are about half that much (give or take), and it's fun to do. I've been told that they taste as good as or better than a lot of domestic beers, such as Sam Adams. There are a few other items that are handy to have, such as a hydrometer to determine the alcohol content, and extra bottles (which are re-usable) so one can have a batch brewing/carbonating while enjoying an earlier batch. You can check out mrbeer.com for more info, supplies, etc.

 

My butt lives about 3 miles from a home brew supply store (Northern Brewer) and I am just saving up enough money to get a good starter kit with glass carboys.

 

Brewing beer is always a fun experience! I love tasting the green beer and speculating what the end product will be. My favorite batch to this date is the lemon shandy I helped my friends make. I grated an entire bag of lemons to obtain enough zest for the batch. The end product was magical! Light and fruity with enough of a kick to sate the darker beer drinkers. I'm a fan of stouts myself, but even I really enjoyed this!

 

It is cool you mentioned that, because I have that same issue with hops. I rarely hear this mentioned by people.

 

I've never heard of this before, but I don't like the sound of that!

 

wow i had no idea hops had female hormones in them. just did a google search and learned a lot. thanks!

 

I'm a member of a brewing club in Houston. Right now I have a Belgian strong ale going but going to do IPA next since hopsplosive ales are really my current love.

 

My last batch was a coffee stout. I just made a stout and then added a whole pound of coffee beans during secondary fermentation. That was WAYYYYYYYY too much coffee.

Ill have one once in a while, but everyone else hates it. Lol.

 

Look up the Speidels. BIG improvement over carboys.