Homebrewers

madurofan

I thought I'd seen that a few of you guys homebrew. Its something I've been curious about for a while. I've been looking at the Mr. Beer. Is this any good is there a better one out there for a beginner? One thats as reasonably priced as the Mr. Beer. My thing is I won't be able to convince the wife if the brew costs more than it would to just buy beer at the store.

kod

I have the Mr.Beer Homebrew kit it is alot of fun and easy to follow the instructions. And yes at first it will cost more. But the refill pacs of beer will only run from 15 to 46, and each batch of beer makes two gallons. What i like most about mr.beer is there are over 100 recipies to try and you can always make your own recipie. ____TIPS_____ This first thing you need to do is find a spot somewhere in your kitchen where the temperature is constant and out of direct sunlight. That way the beer will fermint properly. You want to use pure water it makes the beer taste better. If the recipie gives you a suggested "lager" time it is best to follow that suggestion, it will greatly increase the taste of the beer. Lager ageing the beer in their bottles in a fridge.

madurofan

Thanks kod. If I get it, which it looks like I will but probably a month or so off, I'll be asking you a lot of questions. Have you made the Irish Stout? Is it good?

kuzi16

my brother does home brew. im not sure of the set up he has going on but he has made some of the best beer i have ever had. As of late he is into honey mead. its very sweet and is hard to drink as "a drink" but after a big dinner it really hits the spot.

madurofan

Good stuff kuz. Ask him about the Mr. Beer if you would. I'm trying to do as muh research as I can. You know how it is.

kuzi16

madurofan:

You know how it is.

I do know.

kod

I have not tried the irish stout, but i am going to buy the "Novicane" recipie it just got back in stock and it is the strongest recipie they have, it is a Alc/Vol: 11.5%. And the flavor I hear is intense. Please note that the suggested lager time is up to a year so if you can wait the flavor should increase greatly. Two of the ones i have made are. Pot of gold, and classsic american pale, which is very nice. The pot of gold i just made and i have to lager it for around 4 to 6 months, i cant wait to try it. I should also add that you should get the professional box set it comes with enough material to make 3 two gallon kits. You get two sets of bottles. And best of all theey include the accessory kit which is a big help. And feel free to ask questions.

j0z3r

I've had an interest in home brewing for a while now, and i think when I'm ready to take the plunge this will be the system I go with. That novicaine brew sounds ridiculous, in a good way of course.

madurofan

I saw that novicaine is did sound pretty intense. I'm looking forward to getting started, thanks.

Big Dean

madurofan:

I thought I'd seen that a few of you guys homebrew. Its something I've been curious about for a while. I've been looking at the Mr. Beer. Is this any good is there a better one out there for a beginner? One thats as reasonably priced as the Mr. Beer. My thing is I won't be able to convince the wife if the brew costs more than it would to just buy beer at the store.

Madurofan, Please go to www.howtobrew.com. You can read the entire "How to Brew" book by John J. Palmer. This book is extremely informative. I haven't tried the mr. beer kit, but I looked at the website. I just think that whole setup is a waste of money. You should really explain to your wife that it will cost a little money to start brewing but after a few brews you will have made your money back and then you can start saving money brewing your own beer. Also explain that the satisfaction of drinking your own beer will be priceless. A good online supply store is www.midwestsupplies.com. They also have legitimate starter kits for just a little more money than mr. beer. Also. request a catalog at the midwest website. The catalog will show you many of there beer kits and equipment and grains and hops etc. I can't stress enough to read the "How to Brew' book. It would cost you like $15 anywhere else to buy the book, and the information is free at the website. THIS BOOK IS EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE.

urbino

I can hear it now, "But, Honey, I have to drink 2 six-packs a night. It's ROI!"

j0z3r

urbino:

I can hear it now, "But, Honey, I have to drink 2 six-packs a night. It's ROI!"

lol... "honey, I'm brewing too much damn beer. Now either I can drink it all myself or you can help me out...and get the kids too!"

kuzi16

j0z3r:

urbino:

I can hear it now, "But, Honey, I have to drink 2 six-packs a night. It's ROI!"

lol... "honey, I'm brewing too much damn beer. Now either I can drink it all myself or you can help me out...and get the kids too!"

... id just throw a party. BYOC (bring your own cigars)

madurofan

Thanks Big Dean. Already checking it out. Damn I love BOTL's

When I get my first big batch of brew right there WILL be a beach party and you're all invited of course. Might even supply a small cigar bar!

zoom6zoom

One of the online suppliers I use is northernbrewer.com. If you're doing an extract brew, you don't need much fancy equipment (you can get a starter kit with everything you need for well under a Franklin). Most recipe kits cost about the same as a Mr. Beer kit and make five gallons instead of two. I've converted a chest freezer into a kegerator. I can keep four, five gallon corny kegs on tap at once. I don't have it fully populated at the moment, but usually have a keg of my hard cider, a stout, and a root beer on tap. A great forum if you want to learn more about beer and brewing is at realbeer.com. The Palmer book online is indeed a great resource. The print edition that's available is a newer edition with more info, but you can get the basics from the online version. I've ended up with an entire bookshelf of books on brewing. OK, for some reason my paragraph breaks aren't working...

madurofan

Thanks zoom. Yea I've been reading the Palmer online book but I went and bought the Homebrewing For Dummies book too. I'm going to pass on the Mr. Beer now that I've seen it'll be cheaper and better in the long run if I get real into this to just buy the right equipment for a 5 gallon setup.

Also you have to use the HTML breaks to get paragraph breaks to work.

kuzi16

my brother brews 3-5 gallons at a time. i still havent talked to him about it because of the vacation and all but ill get on that at some point.

Smoke=Fire

DAMMIT! I had to look at this thread *facepalms*

Now I surf brewing sites, going "Hmmm"

This'll make the wife happy -.-

kuzi16

as much as this intrests me i cant do it. wife wont let me.

Smoke=Fire

kuzi16:

as much as this intrests me i cant do it. wife wont let me.

Neither will mine. She will only support so many "hobbies", and I can just imagine the look on her face when I tell her I want to boil "wort" in her good pot and stink up her kitchen. :P

Oh yes, it is ~her~ kitchen fellas, and make no mistake. But I'm good with that, cause she is a damn fine cook among other things

Bad Andy

Yeah, this one is hard to justify to the wife...maybe if it was wine it would be easier.

madurofan

HAHA My wife drinks beer so she's all about this. Shes actually really cool about my hobbies she hasn't balked at the cigars, the motorcycle nor the interest in making beer, yet. Well she doesn't get excited when I place a couple hundred dollar order but she doesn't get mad.

Bad Andy

Lucky man. Maybe I can get her the winefridge in turn for a beermaking kit. I must play this wisely. She like beer too but she enjoys wine more. Hmmmmmm. Mine doesn't mind the smoking cigar either, thankfully.

madurofan

You're going to use the wine fridge for WINE! ahh it should be used for storing cigars

Bad Andy

I know, I know...I will have to try to get the bottem shelf or something. She wants the 50 bottle fridge there will be enough room.