So I have been flirting with the idea of trying to brew my own beer when I get home from Afghanistan. I am not very well informed on the whole process but it sounds like it might be fun. I am just wondering if any of you guys have tried it or know anyone who has. How did it turn out? How much of a pain in the @$$ was it? Is it worth it just to have a brew that is all my own?

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GO 'CUSE!!!

I brewed a couple of batches at home with a cheap kit. The beer turned out awesome, but my set-up was poor. So it was a ton of work and made a huge mess. I liked doing it, but with a cheap kit like that and little space, it wasn't worth the effort. I'd like to do this again, but in my opinion, you need a good amount of space and the right tools, so to speak.

Well I started to do this a few years ago. The girl I was dating had a brother who brewed his own and was VERY good at it. He helped me buy a few basic things and started my first batch - it wasn't difficult, you just had to know what you were doing as far as cleaning stuff properly, when to add malts vs hops, etc. Sadly (for the beer, not the girl) I broke up with the b... girl and the beer that was fermenting was at her brothers house. Too bad, the beer was going to be great, and she had a really cool brother.

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My favs are in my bio! You should do the same!

dennisking:

Every time you call in on your Ccom order, I suggest saying "All Hail the Beard" before you hang up. It's like a secret handshake.

Oh, and definitely don't go cheap on a kit. Hell, my stuff was under $75, including a batch of beer - but I did already own a large stock pot.

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My favs are in my bio! You should do the same!

dennisking:

Every time you call in on your Ccom order, I suggest saying "All Hail the Beard" before you hang up. It's like a secret handshake.

TatuajeVI:

Oh, and definitely don't go cheap on a kit. Hell, my stuff was under $75, including a batch of beer - but I did already own a large stock pot.

Any suggestions on where to get the stuff?

Is there a company like Ccom that wants to make a beer for the troops to send to us over here? That would make me unbelievably happy!!!

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GO 'CUSE!!!

lol, you can't brew beer legally in a combat zone!

I remember coming home after being gone 14 months - with no booze. It was amazing when we flew through Ireland. I had a Guinness. It was wonderful.

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My favs are in my bio! You should do the same!

dennisking:

Every time you call in on your Ccom order, I suggest saying "All Hail the Beard" before you hang up. It's like a secret handshake.

TatuajeVI:

It was amazing when we flew through Ireland. I had a Guinness. It was wonderful.

I did the same thing last time on my way home. They said only one beer, gave us about 2-3 hours to drink it. I prolly don't need to tell you this but I got back on the plane hammered.

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GO 'CUSE!!!

ejenne87:

TatuajeVI:

It was amazing when we flew through Ireland. I had a Guinness. It was wonderful.

I did the same thing last time on my way home. They said only one beer, gave us about 2-3 hours to drink it. I prolly don't need to tell you this but I got back on the plane hammered.

Lol. We only had about 45 minutes, I managed to take two down. My 130 pounds of pure awesome was definitely feeling it after that many months of no beer.

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My favs are in my bio! You should do the same!

dennisking:

Every time you call in on your Ccom order, I suggest saying "All Hail the Beard" before you hang up. It's like a secret handshake.

I was going to do this at one point and found this site

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

seems to be lots of good info. they even split it up for the people that are like "i want to start now!" vs. those that "want to understand the whole process".

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Bobby

I love derailing my own threads haha.


Anybody else have any experience with brewing?

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GO 'CUSE!!!

Scrambler is the one to talk to about home brewing here. I know there were others who had done it, but he's the only person that comes to mind. There is/was a pretty extensive thread quite some time ago, you'd have to dig deep though.

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When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Thomas Jefferson

Thanks Joe, I'll def. check out both of those leads

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GO 'CUSE!!!

Yeah Check the Mr. Beer homebrew kit they have a simple kit to start off with the basics to see if you even want to try and brew beer at home. It is like beginers level for beginners, very simple but makes some great brew. I have brwed about 4 batches with them and had no issues. I plan on brewing two batches as soon as i get home from Iraq in a few months!

The_Sir:

Yeah Check the Mr. Beer homebrew kit they have a simple kit to start off with the basics to see if you even want to try and brew beer at home. It is like beginers level for beginners, very simple but makes some great brew. I have brwed about 4 batches with them and had no issues. I plan on brewing two batches as soon as i get home from Iraq in a few months!

This might have been what I used...simple, pretty cheap. Then if you decide you like it, you can buy the right equipment to start making it in larger quantities.

Luko:

The_Sir:

Yeah Check the Mr. Beer homebrew kit they have a simple kit to start off with the basics to see if you even want to try and brew beer at home. It is like beginers level for beginners, very simple but makes some great brew. I have brwed about 4 batches with them and had no issues. I plan on brewing two batches as soon as i get home from Iraq in a few months!

This might have been what I used...simple, pretty cheap. Then if you decide you like it, you can buy the right equipment to start making it in larger quantities.

A friend of mine got this kit and was relatively disappointed. It cuts a lot of corners and basically makes cheap beer. The investment cost into a better kit will of course be more, but if you love good beer (which ejenne87 does) you're better off getting the stuff needed to make good beer. The two most expensive things are going to be a large metal pot (holds 5 gallons) to boil all your ingredients in, and something to ferment into: some guys use cheap 5 gallon buckets, or glass carboys for someone who doesn't mind investing a bit more.

I'm making my first batch this weekend, I'll keep this thread updated with how it goes. Lucky for me, I already had a large metal pot.

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My favs are in my bio! You should do the same!

dennisking:

Every time you call in on your Ccom order, I suggest saying "All Hail the Beard" before you hang up. It's like a secret handshake.