Home Brewing I need help please?!
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It's very easy, the only hard part is WAITING! my boyfriend and I just started brewing, we make homemade soda as well.
Homebrewing.org is a great place to start, to get all of your supplies and to get information. And really, you don't need a lot of space to brew either. We live ina 1 bedroom 750sqft apt and we have 2 brews going at once. We keep the carboys in the closet and all of the supplies on shelves. Big thing with homebrewing is SANITIZING. Sanitize EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that will come in contact with the brew.
Find a nearby homebrew supply shop. They'll have everything you'll need to get started; many offer all the equipment as a starter package. They'll also be able to put you in touch with nearby homebrewing clubs.
At a minimum (assuming you avoid the dreaded "Mr. Beer" route) you're going to need:
- John Palmer's "How to Brew" or Charlie Papazian's "Complete Joy of Homebrewing" (I prefer the former)
- A large pot for boiling. A 7.5G turkey fryer works great, but you could start with something smaller (but at least 4G).
- A fermenter with airlock. Many people use 5G food-grade plastic buckets. 6.5G Glass carboys are better but more expensive.
- A bottling bucket with wand. In theory you can siphon directly from the fermenter to the bottles, but the bucket is a great investment
- Bottles, caps, capper. You can just save non-twistoff bottles, preferably brown.
- Cleanser and Sanitizer. PBW and StarSan work great. Avoid "1-step" cleaner/sanitizers.
- Misc small equipment
You'll also need ingredients, obviously. Your homebrew shop can set you up with an "All-extract" recipe.
An additional source of great information is the Brew Strong show on the Brewing Network.
Have fun! It's a great hobby!!
I started with a Cooper's Micro-Brew kit, which was great - I still use it. It comes with basically everything you need including an instructional video. And you can make all kinds of beers with it.
I recommend also finding your local home brew store, as the owners of these are usually more than willing to help out a newbie and will give you lots of free tips and advice
www.homebrewerypro.com
Start with http://byo.com and click on the resources button. That will help you find local supply shops. Don't go there yet. Start with a copy of Papazian's book New Complete Joy of Home Brewing. Read the first 40-odd pages to get the theory. Then get your supplies (check byo.com and eBay). For small orders, the local shop may be cheapest. For large ones, check the list of BYO advertisers.
Avoid doing Mr. Beer. It teaches some bad practices a long the way. If you go to any local homebrew supply store or even order kits online you should be able to get a great kit for $100. It'll come with everything you need including a bottling bucket and fermenting bucket. Which will allow you to make 5 gallons of beer vs Mr. Beer's 2.2 gallons.