i got a nice beer brewing kit from the folks for christmas.  i can't wait to start making my own beer.  anyone out their brew?  please give me some pointers!

Use the search Luke.

I brew for many people, but every batch is *mine* at some point.

[url]http://www.bellsbeer.com[/url]

Actually, I'm not a brewer but a cellarman. Cellarman do everything in-between brewing it and packaging it. Babysitters essentially [:)]

Perhaps I couldn't answer ALL of your questions, but I definitely have resources.

Used to brew all of my beer. Haven't done any since I lost EVERYTHING in a real ugly divorce years ago. Keep everything clean!!! Use an enamel or stainless pot to boil your ingredients. Use corn sugar, don't use bread yeast, don't rush, follow the instructions for the first batch or so.

You didn't mention what type of kit you got. Is it one of the six pack at a time kits or the 5 gallon at a time kit? If it's the 5 gallon type, start collecting cases of long necks (crown cap type), you'll need them.

Once you start, you'll end up bottling regularly in order to have "back up batch" or two. If you get a friend or two into the craft, you can have bottling parties while testing each others brews. You can usually drink your beer after the first week, but usually is MUCH better after about a month. Get used to seeing some sediment in the bottom of your bottles, and if you rinse right after you pour beer, it will be a lot easier to clean your bottles.

Hope this helps some.

FWIW, I got one of the six pack types as a gift today. Looks like I'll have to start over again.

Forgot to mention. I started brewing because I LOVE stouts and good ales. Was much less expensive to brew than buy.

I brew my own beer and I believe that Beerslayer also does.

There is a couple of recipies floating around the boards.  Do a search and you'll see.

If you need more info, let me know.  Beerslayer is also a good resource too.

I've been dickering with the idea of trying it again. Can anyone suggest a good kit?

Well, there's the old stand-by of getting Charlie Papazian's book: "The Joy of Homebrewing".  Then, you'll want to get a stainless steel "turkey cooker" to brew with (available at Costco for $75), it will come in handy during the summer months when brewing inside would be unthinkable. Also, you'll want to look up the local homebrew store and ask if they have any classes (these are usually very low cost and only a couple of hours but very informative).  There is a growing community of homebrewers around and TX (along with my state of WA)is one of the states with a particularly large one. Look into hooking up with a local club of some sort (you'll be amazed at what you can learn).  And, last but not least, you need to set aside funds to get a proper keg setup (Ebay is a good low-cost source if your patient and buy the right parts for a good price).    

Scoop up any and all the champagne bottles you can during the holiday season--they are built to withstand higher pressures (which you will be asking your bottles to do) and will generally last longer than regular beer bottles. Also, be sure to buy the correct caps for these bottles.

[url]www.howtobrew.com[/url]

Just finished 10 gallons at my sister's graduation party and have 10 gallons ready to bottle. Damn, I need to start kegging - thats a lot of bottles to clean and sanitize.

Brewing your own beer is the greatest. The link above can answer most, if not all of your questions.

well my first batch of beer in in the primary fermenter and percolating away.  it was easy.  not as easy as buying a case from the store but I think it will be a good hobby.  the cost to get set up was about 100.00.  the kit came from [url=http://www.foamrangers.com]DeFalco's[/url] in Houston.  the boiling went off without a hitch so in about a week it will be ready to bottle.  I can't wait to try it and then start all over.

The Papazian book that headpulper mentioned above is well worth reading, there's a lot of good information there.  Good luck on your first batch - what are you brewing?

i don't really know.  it's supposed to be a "medium light" Ale and lighter than a brown Ale.  i am going to double stage ferment it.  i started it last Friday at 5:30PM and it has just started to slow down it's "percolation".  it's about 1.5 seconds between bubbles on the air lock.  my instructions call for it to be transferred to the secondary fermenter on Tuesday evening or when the bubbles fall to about 1 per minute (it's Sunday now).  

my ingredients.
coopers Australian "real ale" malt 1-3.75 LB can
LD Carlson Laaglander dried malt "extra light" 2-1 LB.
Hallertauer Hershbrucker "mild and spicy german hop"  1-1 oz
Nottingham brewing yeast Danstar.  1 pkg fr 5 gal.
water salts, bru-vigor.

can you help me to I.D.  what it will become?

thanks,

I'm brewing a batch right now...

[url=http://niflheim.darktech.org/]Posting pictures, too.  Need to update it.[/url]

This will be my third batch - I've decided to pass up bottling and go straight to kegging on this batch.

I just started brewing a few weeks ago. I got two 5 gallon batches in bottles and one 5 gallon batch in a carboy. I was gonna bottle the batch in the carboy today but I think it is still fermenting. The gravity (1.024-26)hasn't changed since thursday night, but I can still see very tiny bubbles appearing on the surface every once in a while. Can I bottle this stuff ? I'd really like to bottle it today since I have the time. The recipe says the gravitiy should be 1.012-15, but the first 2 batches I made never went below 1.020. The guy at the brew store says it should be below 1.020 before you bottle or the bottles could explode. Should I wait or what ?

How long was primary fermentation?  3-7 days is normal.  I'm assuming you are in secondary fermentation, which is generally 1-2 weeks after racking.

My personal opinion is that if the specific gravity hasn't changed in a couple of days, it's safe to bottle.  There are some serious heavy weight, high malt content beers that will NEVER get below 1.020.  Something that The_Beer_Slayer told me that might be a good "just-in-case" would be to bag your bottles for this batch in a garbage bag in case they blow up on you.  That way, they are where they need to be in the first place, and the mess is contained.

I'd suggest trying out another local homebrew shop, if available.  The best you can hope for is that one shop will have all the answers - products, prices, and knowledge - but unfortunately that isn't always the case.  My local homebrew shop has decent prices and lots of knowledge, but their product selection is slim.  Yeah, they can order it for me, but I'm an instant gratification kinda guy.

reject, today is day 7 that it has been in the primary fermenter. I don't bother with a secondary fermenter. I go straight from primary to bottles. FWIH the secondary fermentor is only to make the beer more clear with I could not care less about.

Then you are just like me!  [;)]

I generally bottle after 7-10 days in the primary fermenter.  Things have slowed down in this most recent batch - kreusen is gone now, can see top of beer now.  I will dry hop it in a day or two, then keg it a week or two after that.

This is something I've had interest in for quite awhile. Guess now I'll have to start brewing some of my own. What kind of alcohol content are you guys getting out of your batches?

Fair to "holy shit".  [:D]

Bubbles have slowed to 30 BPM.  

my first beer yum!
i think while i am transferring to the secondary i will reserve one bottle for myself!

Anybody want a beer brewing kit?

NIB, wife bought one for her father and he did'nt need it. (He had already bought one)

E-mail for details, I think it is a complete kit that ran around $100.

I don't know what she wants for it.

you can't return it and get your money back?

Well, with luck, my other carboy will arrive soon.  Fermentation has slowed down - krausen is nearly completely gone, airlock getting 1 bubble every 20 seconds.  Once it reaches 1 every 2 minutes, I'll dry hop it.  I'm hoping that the other carboy arrives so that I can rack the brew and avoid as much trub as possible from entering the keg.

It was a .com business that went bust! [:(]

w00t!  Dry-hopped the batch on New Year's Eve!  More pics [url=http://niflheim.darktech.org/]here[/url].