Beer brewing - I need help getting started

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I just arrived froim Germany with about sixteen cases of the standard beer bottles of Germany. I have been told they are excellent to store home brewed beer. Does anyone have any suggestions as to sources of materials and or brewing kits to get me started.

-- Lawrence Wybrant (lwybrant@hotmail.com), February 16, 2002

Answers

being a beginner myself I have no business giving advice but...

below are two links that I found/find helpful. a lot of information there if you dig a little. as for kits I like the one shown in the E.C. Kraus catalogue. more expensive than some but the primary fermenting vessel looks better than what I'm using. I think there's a toll free number for Kraus but I can't seem to find it just now. free catalogue for the asking. also go to the Archives area of this forum, which is accessed by scrolling to the bottom of the "new questions" page, and look in "brewing". goodluck.

http://byo.com/yourfirstbrew/ http://www.brewery.org/

E.C. Kraus Wine & Beer Making Supplies P.O. Box 7850 733 S. Northern Blvd. Independence, MO 64054 Tel. 816/254-7448 Fax 816/254-7051

-- B. Lackie - Zone3 (cwrench@hotmail.com), February 17, 2002.


Do a search on www.google.com on "home brewing". Do a search in your local Yellow Pages ditto for home-brew shops. Do a search (and talk to the staff) in bookshops ditto - you really need at least one good straightforward book to start (although you might pick one up with a home-brew kit).

We can buy home-brew kits here, and home-brew pre-mixed contents (a can of syrup (malt extract, sugar, flavoured with hops) with a packet of yeast taped to the lid). Add boiled water, allow to cool, add yeast. I find it best to get the yeast started in some warm sugar- water first, and have it bubbling strongly when I add it to the wort (say 24 hours). These kits are reliable and easy. They're not necessarily great (although the best of them are) but they're a good easy way to get started.

One thing: I'd find a way (possible at one of those home-brew shops) to check whether those bottles can be capped by whatever bottle-tops you can get where you are. It's likely, but you want to know for sure before it gets to the point where you're counting on it.

Beware: once you get used to the taste of real live beer, there's an awful lot of the commercial stuff you just can't bring yourself to force down.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 17, 2002.


My favorite supplier for top qualitiy ingredients and supplies is William's Brewing, in California, and I'm in Maine! They are at triple W, dot williamsbrewing dot com. I phrase it this way since listing the actual address always gets deleted on this forum. Good folks, reasonable price, fine products. GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), February 17, 2002.

Hi Lawrence-

Home brewing is rewarding, fun, and as easy or hard as you want it to be. The equipment requirements are minimal- you should be able to get everyting at a home brew supply center for $20-30, less if you have some food grade plastic 5 gallon buckets or glass carboys lying around your house. Check the yellow pages under Beer-Homebrewing Supplys and visit your local shop. Trust me, anyone who runs a home brew place is a wealth of knowledge. They can set you up with equipment, recipes and ingredients. Also, I highly recommend "The Joy of Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian, the acknowledged guru of Home Brewers. His book has great info and recipes/techniques. One personal word of advice. Follow the directions to a T. Especially as far as sanitation goes. Wash all your equipment with a diluted bleach solution. Not that there is dangerous microorganisms, but that free- floating wild yeast strains can spoil your brew if they get into the wort. The only people I have ever seen mess up with a proven recipe are those who are careless. Keep a clean work area and you'll do OK.

Relax, have a homebrew,

Jeff

-- Jeff (jeffcantara@hotmail.com), February 17, 2002.


do a search on Worms Way. all the beer stuff you need. store in st. louis

bro

-- randy in central missouri (rwybrant@coin.org), February 19, 2002.



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