What would you need to make your own beer?!
Answers: Not much. A fermentation vessel (big plastic bucket works fine) something to let air out but not let it in (called a fermentation lock), and ingredients. Barley malt, hops, water, and yeast! Homebrewing is great fun!
a brewing kit hops your own beer recipe and some people to test it
A brew kit:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/...
A Recipe:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/...
Some empty bottles:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/...
Some time:
About a month.
A book would help too:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/...
Realisticly you can be up and brewing for about $100 to $150 for your first beer if you go with a recipe kit like I linked to above. Not a bad price when you realize that 5 gallons makes about 50-54 12oz bottles. Two bucks for a beer that isn't half bad... Sound alright to me.
a few buddies and some cold beer while your fermenting
Start with an instruction book. Papazian's The New Complete Guide to Homebrewing is, IMHO, the best but the For Dummies series has a good one too. Once you've read thru the instruction part, you can start putting a kit together or buy one already assembled. You can often get a good deal on eBay. While you are waiting for the kit to arrive, make the acquaintance of the proprietor of the nearest homebrew shop. He will be your best source of advice because he will see you as a potential repeat customer if your first batch turns out well. Supplies may also be as cheap there as they are online or by mailorder (once you factor in the shipping). If there is no local shop, go to the Brew Your Own (magazine) website and click on their list of advertisers. That will have links to their catalogs.
Suggestion: start with an all-extract brew and, once you can do that, start adding specialty grains. Eventually, you may go to all-grain brewing.