Ever Brew your own Beer????

[AlexanderSextus]

My Dad said we could experiment at making our own beer at home. Now i'm trying to find homebrew kits on teh interwebz but they all cost like $100 and up. Does anyone here know where i could get one a lot cheaper???

And, if any of you guys have brewed beer before, feel free to post your stories/tips!

[PBI]

Tried it once in my undergrad days. The results were actually surprisingly drinkable, although it did make us all weirdly drowsy.

Make sure you are very thorough in cleaning the vessel you intend to use, the main thing that can go wrong is bacteria getting in and ruining it. Also, there is a chance that it will spill (explosively) due to the gas building up, so make sure you do it in a room that is easy to clean up/you don't mind it smelling of beer forever.

The kit I used cost about 40GBP I believe, but I suspect that you very much get what you pay for; a few friends tried cheaper kits and basically ended up with vinegar (though I suspect that's because they didn't clean it properly). ~:cheers:

[Megas Methuselah]

The results were actually surprisingly drinkable-

Nice! Btw, good luck AS. If you live, mail me an unspoiled keg. :laugh4:

[AlexanderSextus]

The first one i make is gonna be an Ale. Preferably a dark one. I'm gonna call it Sniper Ale.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Never tried it. Good luck, I hope you get some drinkable stuff. Probably taste a LOT better considering you are the maker. Throw in something strange to make it your own :2thumbsup:

[El Diablo]

When I used to make the odd dark ale (years ago) I used to put in a handful of raisins.

Also put a few in each bottle when you get to that stage.

I also recommend using old plastic coke bottles to put your brew in rather that glass bottles.
They do not explode in the final fermentation stage. That and they are alot cheaper and quicker/easier to clean (as well as transport to a party/mates place).

A big thumbs up to super cleaning before you start.
Beer that is "off" is not that easy to determine in the home brew "smell" and getting your mates round for a night on the ales only to find out that the whole stock is vinegar is not all that cool.

Another one is don't have a couple and then drive. It is very hard to know the exact alcohol content of your beer and when you may have been previously able to have one beer and be under the limit home brew usually has a kick that could push you over the limit.

Be careful and enjoy!

[AlexanderSextus]

did using plastic coke bottles mess with the taste of the beer? I think this is why Brewing kits always have a glass carboy instead of a plastic one.

[Quirinus]

Only once, as a experiment in a school science fair. It was just sugar and yeast out of a packet into a beaker and covered with film. After leaving it overnight, my teacher thought it smelt good, but when I tasted it it tasted awful, but that may be because I was so young.

[Fragony]

Sounds like a great hobby, I have some unused space was thinking of installing a punching bag but beer>boxing. Hmmmm.

[Thermal]

Sounds like a great hobby, I have some unused space was thinking of installing a punching bag but beer>boxing. Hmmmm.

punch bag: release anger
alcohol: makes anger

your choice :laugh4:

[El Diablo]

did using plastic coke bottles mess with the taste of the beer?

I think that there is such variance in the taste of the home brew anyway that the ease of use of plastic bottles far outweighs any taste difference.

But that is just me....

Your call.

[AlexanderSextus]

Sounds like a great hobby, I have some unused space was thinking of installing a punching bag but beer>boxing. Hmmmm.

Put the puching bag in and make beer in ur kitchen. Then Get Drunk and beat the crap outta the bag.

[AlexanderSextus]

Only once, as a experiment in a school science fair. It was just sugar and yeast out of a packet into a beaker and covered with film. After leaving it overnight, my teacher thought it smelt good, but when I tasted it it tasted awful, but that may be because I was so young.

That's not beer.