Hi all

I'm interested in home beer brewing kits, but I'm terribly ignorant on the subject.
Any home brewers out there?
Any pointers for prospective brew kit buyers?

Thanks,
Sharps

Find a local supplier of home brew supplies. Check your phone book.

Go down and say "HI". Explain that you are interested, they will be more than happy to show you the ropes. Some have classes you can sign up for.

Stick with cans of malt first. The beer won't be the greatest, but it is sure easier than trying to make your own malt.

Start collecting beer bottles (non twist tops).

Learn how to sanitize EVERYTHING in your kitchen (ruined many a batch when being sloppy).

Make sure you put in the "fine" white powered sugar only  right before you bottle the beer.  I made the mistake of mixing everything together in one sitting.  Turns out the powered sugar is what makes the beer carbonated.  I came home to find beer ALL OVER my kitchen, even in the ceiling light fixture.  Wish I would have been there to put my mouth over that gusher.  Good luck. Oh and start drinking some "Grolsch" beer with the resealable bottles.

Two ways to go: forced carbonation setup ($1K) or simple fermenter/carboy kit with airlock ($50 including beer kit).  Your local homebrew supply store should be able to hook you up with a basic setup.  Make sure the airlock is set up properly - you usually need to add a few teaspoons of water so it will seal.  Without the airlock and a sealed vessel for fermenting, you'll end up with vinegar or worse.  With a sealed vessel with airlock, brewing is a non-event that requires just a couple hours of time and some patience.  

Wash the bottles thoroughly.  Dishwashers work fine.  Avoid twist off bottles if you can - I seem to have a higher breakage rate with them.  Red Stripe is terrible beer IMO but their bottles are great for reloading.  Oh, and check for cigarette butts if you have friends that smoke - discard those bottles. :)  

Beginners should try making beer kits that are styled after existing commercial beers that they like.  These kits are often named similarly to the original beers - 'memories of muller lite' or 'bleu' or 'breweiser' or something similar.  This avoids buying heavily hopped barley wine as your first homebrew experience.

Make the beer according to directions and save 1 cup of sugar (whatever you're using - usually dextrose, but common table sugar will work fine) as your priming mix.  After the conclusion of the brewing period, siphon the beer into a sterile (very dilute bleach and hot water works fine - just rinse very well) pail and add that one cup of sugar.  Siphon into bottles and cap.  Place in a room temperature location for about two weeks, then chill.  That cup of sugar will ferment in the bottle and create all the carbonation for your beer.

Enjoy!

(edited to fix the seal...)

Thanks guys. All good ideas. I knew ya'll would come through.
Just the kind of info I was looking for.
Anyone else can feel free to chime in.

Regards,
Sharps

I used to but I stopped. As as hobby its interesting --- time consuming though ( I guess a hobby is supposed to consume time though.)

I'd recommend you use a glass carboy for the fermentation stage. I used the hop "pellets" vice the actual hop 'flowers'.

The glass instument for measuring the alcohol content is not necessary. Just make sure you let the brew COMPLETELY ferment out before you bottle it. If you don't....kaboom. When you prime it with corn sugar you know how much of that you are adding. The problem is if you don't let it completely ferment out you don't know how much sugar was left in the brew. The first couple times I would wait until you think its done, then let it fermet another couple days, maybe even an extra week.

After you bottle it you need to wait some more, maybe a month or so, before the brew is really ready to drink.

I'd do as the others have suggested - find a store that specializes - they will be able to help you pick out your equipment.
Enjoy.

Hey Beerslayer.
I just noticed your profile.
Where 'bouts you from?
I'm from Ashland, over in Clay County.

Oh... I just remembered one really good thing to get.

Buy a huge tub. Big enough to put the 5 gal bucket in and the glass carboy in.

Reason: I have had many "active" sessions that foamed out and made a mess. The tub catches all the spillage. Also, if you live in a warm climate, you can fill the tub with water and frozen 1 liter bottles to control the temperature.

Ended up with a spare bed room that still smells of beer [:)]. It is also nice for storing all your "tools" when you want to take a break.

With all this talk, I think I will dig out my gear tomorrow and start up a batch.

Hmmmmm Beer!