theKman
Active Member
Hi everyone. My name is Ken, and I'm a Lowell boy who finds himself in Danvers. I've been lurking the boards for the last week trying to learn as much as I can. I've been enjoying good beer for the last decade or so. Drinking a Belhaven Wee Heavy right now, in fact. I tend to like the malty-er beers, like Scotches or Dunkels. This weekend I'll be buying my first homebrew kit. I think it's kind of appropriate, being National Homebrew Day and all... I'm heading to Strange Brew in Marlboro. Looks like they're planning a nice party there. Two simple question right off the bat:
1. I'm new to the scene, and the brew-fest in Marlboro says BYOB. Since I've never brewed before, is it okay to bring some store-bought brews to enjoy, or is it mostly for home-brews?
2. I'm considering buying a better-bottle carboy for fermentation. The ones with the ports seem like they'd be more convenient, but the way I understand it, I'll need to go from fermentation to a bottling bucket. In that case, is the ported carboy simply to make it easier to rack to the bottling bucket? Or possibly racking directly from the carboy to bottles with a "priming-tab" (sorry, forgot the exact term) instead of priming?
Anyway, looking forward to use the experience of the other members here to help me learn and grow. And I've found the North Shore Brewers website, so I may be joining you guys at a meeting soon.
And I listen to heavy metal. Megadeth, Fear Factory, Suicidal Tendencies, Pantera. Rock on!!!
Oh yeah, and cooking. In the oven, grill, or smoker. Give me some meat.
And I work at a Toyota dealer. Okay, I think that's all. Thanks everyone.
1. I'm new to the scene, and the brew-fest in Marlboro says BYOB. Since I've never brewed before, is it okay to bring some store-bought brews to enjoy, or is it mostly for home-brews?
2. I'm considering buying a better-bottle carboy for fermentation. The ones with the ports seem like they'd be more convenient, but the way I understand it, I'll need to go from fermentation to a bottling bucket. In that case, is the ported carboy simply to make it easier to rack to the bottling bucket? Or possibly racking directly from the carboy to bottles with a "priming-tab" (sorry, forgot the exact term) instead of priming?
Anyway, looking forward to use the experience of the other members here to help me learn and grow. And I've found the North Shore Brewers website, so I may be joining you guys at a meeting soon.
And I listen to heavy metal. Megadeth, Fear Factory, Suicidal Tendencies, Pantera. Rock on!!!
Oh yeah, and cooking. In the oven, grill, or smoker. Give me some meat.
And I work at a Toyota dealer. Okay, I think that's all. Thanks everyone.