Where to begin

It's like universally accepted that this is the best place to start:

Much appreciated.

I have an evening shift at work tomorrow meaning I have all the time in the world. Gonna read this and learn all I can.

Many thanks :D

Simon

If you prefer to work from a book, I recommend the Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian. I can't recommend any supply houses since I'm in the States.

Best of Luck

Scott

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 18:22:19 +0000 (UTC), "PieOPah" said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

It won't happen. You can always buy a cheaper beer than you can brew. Of course you can brew GOOD beer more cheaply than you can buy it.

Large pot to boil in - about 8 (US) gallons. Fermenter - a plastic bucket type is cheap and works well. Lots of little auxiliary things - thermometer, tubing, air lock, etc. Most suppliers have brewing kits for sale with everything you'll need. It's sometimes cheaper to buy individual pieces, but by buying a kit you know that you have everything.

is one UK source. Google returns quite a few places in the UK:

is a Yahoo list of some UK suppliers.

is a list of suppliers.

These should get you started.

"Kits" of dry malt extract, hops and yeast will usually yield more of what you want, unless you want to duplicate some common ales.

Ask your supplier, whoever it turns out to be, if he can supply you with what you'll need to brew whatever ale you prefer, if they don't list a kit for it. They can come pretty close. (The recipe of most commercial beers is known to a fair degree of certainty.)

Room temperature, or slightly below, is ideal for brewing ale. About

20C.

Then you'll also need a refrigerator in which to keep the ale, unless you like drinking it at room temperature.

That's easy. It's the step from extract to whole grain that's the difficult one. You start with a recipe that's close to what you want, then you refine it to be *your* perfect beer.

Good luck.

You can check a few of the sites that sell kits and then decide what you want to buy as individual pieces (save a little money).

I think a hydrometer has limited value and stopped using mine a long time ago.

I did add a digital thermometer with a probe and alarm. That has proven to be a good investment ($20 US). Good for getting to the stove before the wort boils over and warming the water for a grain infusion.

You don't want a warm place. Room temperature is warm enough - too warm for lager. A constant temperature is nice to have.

Kegging takes some investment in gear. I have korny kegs (at no small cost - kegs, CO2 tank and regulators hoses etc. and a chilled water circulator to keep the keg in) and quit using them. Bottles work better for me. I tried a few of the early (12 years ago) small refrigerator kegs and was unsatisfied with those, but the technology may have improved in that time. Bottles are a little more work, but offer portability and I'm not committed to drinking one style beer until it is finished.

Ditto that about cost. You can always buy that swill they sell with the word "beer" on the can, but real beer costs.

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 10:39:00 -0500, default said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

About the only things it can tell you are 1) whether you have your wort set up for the style you're brewing and 2) whether it's stopped fermenting.

It will also let you figure the efficiency of your mashing system.

------->Denny

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 11:03:01 -0800, Denny Conn said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

Good reasons to not use one, then, I guess.

Could be a little difficult.....

Well, after 225 brewing experiences, I wanna know a LOT more.

------->Denny

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 16:19:32 -0500, "N. Falcimaigne" said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

Not all news readers thread in the same order.

I saw the next thread anyway... Guy in Medford is selling his kit!

Ha! And I bought my first computer so I could save money on typewriter ribbons... fool, I! Then I saw a shiny new modem... then there was a mouse thingy... oh! more memory! bigger hard drive! On Dancer! On Prancer! :-)

If my humour is a little too obtuse, the point I'm trying to make is, that as a hobby that you grow into, there will always be an outlay of cash as you get deeper and deeper into the hobby.

As other have posted and you, yourself have said, you can brew better beers more cheaply than you can buy them in most cases. The economics is dependant largely upon the local authority's tax regime. In the US you can buy American swill for, say, $2 per six "pints". In Canada, Canadian swill will set you back at least $8 (I'm unsure, since I haven't graced the insides of a Canadian beer outlet in ages.). I confess that "cheaper" good beer was a factor in my decision to embrace the hobby but I remain because it is fun, conversational and even sometimes tasty. :-)

Steve

Hi

I live in South Africa and have been reading, on the 'net, about the 'Beer Machine'. Has anyone any experience of this machine? AusyG

Yep - stay away. The thing leaks like a sieve (my experience). There customer service is horrible.

- Scott L.