Hi from Chicago!

Hi everyone! I'm from Chicago and I have no idea what I'm doing with brewing beer!

Brewing is something I've wanted to do for quite some time now, but I had never had the money in the past.

Last weekend I was watching a show called Beer Nuts (on Mojo) and these college kids were brewing beer in their closet. I thought, wow! If these guys can do it... why can't I?! Wait... why am I not doing this..?

I'm now looking into buying a good book and the right equipment, but I honestly have no clue where to start. I've seen 'beer kits' but I'm not exactly sure what they are. I don't want a 'kit' that only makes a few batches. I want something that will make great beer for years!

I've got a whole lot of learning ahead of me. Look for me around, because I'm going to be asking questions. A bunch of 'em!

Hey Welcome.

I love Chicago, I think it is the most under appreciated city in the U.S.

Anyways, no need to buy a book just yet. Start with this:

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

This free book will serve you well for the next few stages of your brewing career. As for equipment, a basic starter kit is fine and will last you for quite some time. The things you will likely want to upgrade first are the pot that you 'cook' the beer in, how you package your beer (bottles or kegged), and then to a system that lets you make beer purely from grains (no extract).

Most 'beer kits' are actually referring to an all in one boxed package to make instant beer. Much like a box of cake mix. No doubt that it makes cake, but obviously grandma's scratch recipe is better. All grain brewing is making beer from scratch. Partial mash brewing is using some 'fresh ingredients' (grains and hops) with some pre-packaged ingredients (extract), as said above the beer kit is a 'just add water' beer.

If you are handy in the kitchen, or good at following instruction then I reccomend bypassing the beer kit, and going straight to an extract with specialty grain for your first brew.

I read this book all the way through before my first ever batch, and made a decent extract with specialty grain batch. 6 months later, I have brewed a half dozen 6lb Partial mash batches, and am on my way to all grain batches shortly. Much of my brewing confidence comes from reading and trying to understand that whole book.

Good luck, it is a fun and rewarding hobby!

Welcome - there are quite a few of us from the Chicagoland area. The book suggestion listed is a great start. Many of us started by reading the free online version of how to brew. It's nice to have a hard copy of the latest version, but it's not necessary.

Palmer outlines basic equipment needs too and you can but a basic equipment kit either online or at a local shop. Stay away from things like Mr Beer and get either a bucket or glass carboy set-up. An extract set-up is probably your best bet for starters. You can make some great beers and learn the process. Some continue making extract beers and others move to more advanced methods.

I love Beer Nutz - great show. Unfortunately, there are a pretty limited number of episodes.

Where about in Chicago are you? There are a few good homebrew stores in Chicago and several in the surrounding areas. If you're in the Schaumberg/Carrol Stream area, stop into Brew & Grow. It's a small store but the guys that run it are really cool and will help you out.

Also, Chicago has a really good homebrew club, and their are several in the suburbs that could be a good resource. Find out when they meet and go to one of the meetings.