Jeßus wrote:
> "Steve B" > wrote:
>
>>Does anyone here make beer?
>
> Yep.

Check out rec.crafts.brewing and www.mrbeer.com.

>> I believe I will get the stuff together and
>>brew some this winter. I would like to hear just from people who have
>>actually done it, and some pointers, and sites that are good.
>
> Do you intend starting from scratch (prep your own grains, etc) or use
> a 'kit' that has the wurt pre made? Nothing at all wrong with the
> latter, IMO. I use the kits all the time, as there are many good
> brands out there and I really don't think I can improve on them to any
> appreciable extent. And they are one *hell* of a time saver, without
> necessarily compromising on quality.

I suggest starting with kits and see if you enjoy it before moving up to
the high effort of malting your own grain.

The lowest effort kit I've seen was a sack style one I bought at Trader
Joes years ago. It was a sack already filled with malt syrup and hops
extract. Add near boiling hot water, shake, let cool for an hour, add
the yeast, close the lid, wait a few weeks then drink.

I love my Mr Beer kit system. It's easy and it makes 2 gallons not 5
gallons. I don't drink enough to justify a 5 gallon set but we recently
bought a 5 gallon carbouy as decor. I'll likely make mead in it rather
than ale.

> I have just received three hops rhizomes (Pride of Ringwood), which
> will be planted this week. Look forward to having my own fresh hops
> (which is not particularly cheap)

rec.gardens.edible is the place to go.

> Basically, I've found that if you follow the instructions to the
> letter, take your time, and use common sense - you'll get a great
> result every time. Almost all commercial beers taste like crap to me
> now

If you're fussy about commercial beers that can stop being true. I've
made nut brown ale in my Mr Beer that was not quite as good as Samuel
Smith's Nut Brown Ale. They've been at it a few centuries so they make
it better than I could pull off. On the other hand the pilsner kit that
came with the Mr Beer made a brew about as good as any imported pilsner
ever gets.

About half the time I use my Mr Beer to brew ale from kits and about
half the time I use it to brew small batches of mead from scratch. So
far I've never gotten together the equipment to malt my own grain from
scratch. The racks are pretty big so plan on using most of the back
yard.

> The *one* thing I've done 'wrong' thus far is not use any kind of
> sterilising agent on any of the equipment. After about 40 brews -
> never had a problem... I simply clean everything with a worn nylon
> scouring pad and rain water.

The first time I made root beer from scratch I was not careful about
sterilsing the equipment. Most of the bottles exploded in my back yard
shed.