Any home brewers here?

[Stronghold]

Several of my friends have dabbled in brewing their own beer, and it's something I would like to give a try as well.  I've been doing a little research as far as what I should be getting to start up but would like some input from other experienced users as well. 

Any kits or must have items you can recommend?  Any stores or websites you recommend buying from?

I live in the Milwaukee area and am going to check out the Northern Brewer store.  Thanks for any input.

[Coleman]

Northern Brewer is good.

Start with something dark and hoppy. It hides imperfections. Also make sure you have a place that has a consistent temperature to let the beer sit

[MUbaseball49]

27 year homebrewer here.  The original Sprecher in the valley was my inspiration way back then.

Make sure you use liquid yeast and check the expiration date on the yeast and malt extract.  Also, add some of your own hops (not just what is in the kit) and if you feel like going a little further, steep some grains (easy to do).  Agree with the Bleuteaux that dark and hoppy is a good start.  Lots of videos online, so check those out before your first batch.

Good luck.

[Hards Alumni]

What you can spend is what matters most.  Depending on budget you can get all kinds of stuff.  One thing that is super cheap that I recommend is a wallpaper soaking tub.  Thing, plastic, and its great for sanitizing long thin items.... And theu are only a couple of bucks.  If you're just starting do a kit to understand the process.  Dark and hoppy are great suggestions.  No need for    secondary fermentation...  If you want to go all out I can recommend lots of stuff.  The guys at northern brewer can shop you a lot.  Id type more but  on my phone.

[jficke13]

Been doing it for 15 years. Also in the MKE area.

I'd start with the Northern Brewer "starters kit." That'll get you all the basic equipment things you need and shouldn't break the bank. Then I'd do one of their kits to start with. Follow the instructions, and you should end up with a good end result.

My #1 piece of advice is to sanitize EVERYTHING that isn't going to be boiled. The biggest thing that ruins beer is contamination. Stuff that gets boiled is sanitized by the boil, but once you're done boiling, make sure everything that will touch the wort is sanitized.

[real chili 83]

Great hobby.  I did it for a while in the early 90's.  It was easy back then, when it was very low tech.  Have fun!

[real chili 83]

Has anyone tried whiskey making yet?  Seems like it is starting to get popular.  A little more pricey than beer making if you get charred oak barrels.

http://www.hillbillystills.com/distillation_supplies_s/78.htm

[Jay Bee]

I need to get rid of two half-barrels (empties, but .. dirty...had beer in them long ago) and a keg tap pump.

Anyone in the Twin Cities that wants them for cheap, hit me up.

[Benny B]

It's been a long time since I was a beginning homebrewer, but if I had to pick three things I picked up early on that made a big difference in the quality of my beer:

1) A counter flow chiller - get your wort to pitch temp ASAP.
2) Control your fermentation temps.
2) Keg your beer.

NB is great.  You really can't go wrong by walking in and asking for advice and/or recommendations.

[🏀]

Has anyone tried whiskey making yet?  Seems like it is starting to get popular.  A little more pricey than beer making if you get charred oak barrels.

http://www.hillbillystills.com/distillation_supplies_s/78.htm

This is actually what I'm looking into doing.

[Stronghold]

This is actually what I'm looking into doing.

Thanks for all the tips.  I will definitely start with a dark hoppy beer then.  I've looked into the kits and they range anywhere from about $50-$200.  I was looking to spend $100 or so to get started so I should be in okay shape.  What is ideal temperature to let the beer ferment? I'm trying to determine where I am going to have it sit while I'm making it.

[Hards Alumni]

Thanks for all the tips.  I will definitely start with a dark hoppy beer then.  I've looked into the kits and they range anywhere from about $50-$200.  I was looking to spend $100 or so to get started so I should be in okay shape.  What is ideal temperature to let the beer ferment? I'm trying to determine where I am going to have it sit while I'm making it.

Depends on the style of beer.  Usually, basement temps stay constant enough for most ales.  Plus there is usually less variation in basements.  Keep the fermenter bucket out of the sun and not near a heat source and you should probably be fine.

[forgetful]

Thanks for all the tips.  I will definitely start with a dark hoppy beer then.  I've looked into the kits and they range anywhere from about $50-$200.  I was looking to spend $100 or so to get started so I should be in okay shape.  What is ideal temperature to let the beer ferment? I'm trying to determine where I am going to have it sit while I'm making it.

As Hards already noted, it depends on the type of yeast and type of beer you are making.  If you are moderately industrious you can convert any refrigerator/freezer into a temperature regulated chamber using a fish-tank thermostat.  Otherwise as he noted the basement typically works well if you are in the north.

[Benny B]

As Hards already noted, it depends on the type of yeast and type of beer you are making.  If you are moderately industrious you can convert any refrigerator/freezer into a temperature regulated chamber using a fish-tank thermostat.  Otherwise as he noted the basement typically works well if you are in the north.

Doesn't need to be a fish tank thermostat... any t-stat will do.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

This is actually what I'm looking into doing.

apple moon shine is durn good

[Spotcheck Billy]

1) A counter flow chiller - get your wort to pitch temp ASAP.
2) Control your fermentation temps.
2) Keg your beer.

my step-son briefly brewed andhe was able to have a hardware store bend 1/2" copper tubing to make a wort chiller much cheaper than you can buy them, after bending into a coil all you would need is 2 hose fittings and some hose - I wish I'd thought of that when I was getting my wort chiller

I would keg it but not practical for me - I'd have to keep the tapper in the basement and run downstairs for a fresh pour plus I like having 10-12 varieties to choose from at any given time so I have about 25 cases of old Huber Bock cases (cheapest quaffable beer 23 years ago when I started) that I ate the deposit on

[T-Bone]

Start with any two bucket kit.  They're easy, and if you expand the buckets are usable for things like sanitation and storage of grain.
Brew a couple kits.  They're easy and rewarding.  Then start figuring out what you like and how to get there.  Some breweries have recipes for their beers on-line.  Might be interesting to try. 

If your local HB store has a class/seminar, might be interesting to pay the $15 to sit through one. 

And keep the spent-grain:  http://food-bully.com/post/29832190061/spent-grain-pretzels
There's lots of things to do with it. 

[Benny B]

my step-son briefly brewed andhe was able to have a hardware store bend 1/2" copper tubing to make a wort chiller much cheaper than you can buy them, after bending into a coil all you would need is 2 hose fittings and some hose - I wish I'd thought of that when I was getting my wort chiller

I find that home brewers fall into two categories: the industrious types (aka closet engineers) and beer drinkers.  Even though nearly everything you can buy in a homebrew shop could be replicated/imitated for 10-50% of the retail cost, plenty of people are willing to pay for the convenience of pre-built gear... and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that; at the end of the day, I know guys who still make damn fine beer in buckets from extract, and I know guys (like me) who derive as much, if not more, joy from building and automating their rig than they do from the finished product.  Frankly, I've spent more time on yeast ranching and programming/refining my control panel in the past six months than I have brewing beer - which is perfectly fine by me provided the kegs don't all run dry at once.

I would keg it but not practical for me - I'd have to keep the tapper in the basement and run downstairs for a fresh pour plus I like having 10-12 varieties to choose from at any given time so I have about 25 cases of old Huber Bock cases (cheapest quaffable beer 23 years ago when I started) that I ate the deposit on

See, in my house, that's intentional... when I become too lazy to go downstairs for another pour, I know I've had enough to drink.  Sure, there's the obvious loss in variety (I have a 7-corny keezer, but only four faucets at the moment), but I recently procured a Blichmann Beer Gun, which will allow me to bottle from the keg - with relative ease - for "archiving" purposes.