newbie from Nova Scotia

Hey all. Just got back into making my own brew after being out of it for quite awhile. I'm definetly not into it as much as some of you are and I admire the work that you go thru.
At the risk of being flamed I've just used a 'box of wort' for lack of a better term and am extremely pleased with it. Our local supply stores sells this brand http://www.magnotta.com/FestaBrew/ProductList.aspx?SectionID=1&CategoryID=67&PageID=1 and I tried the Blonde Lager ...Mike

Welcome Mike! I started brewing on those FestaBrew kits, and they are actually pretty good. But I am guessing our American neighbors won't know about them (I don't think they are distributed outside of Canada).

You might also try brewing with the RJ Spagnols brand of kits called The Brewhouse kits. They are of similar quality, but aren't a full 23 L of wort, meaning that you can play with them a bit more easily (i.e. steep or partial mash specialty grains/malts). Once you go down that road, though, be careful -- it is a slippery slope towards building mash tuns and brewstands and all sorts of stuff for brewing!!

Best of luck!

Welcome aboard. I've made a bunch of those boxed wort kits, and some extract recipes with steeped grain. No all grain yet.

The FestaBrew are nice because they come with a more appropriate yeast than the BrewHouse sometimes do. I usually replace the supplied BrewHouse yeast. I even made a Barons and it was OK enough to drink.


Oh yes and lots of cider