learning

Hello,
I am trying to learn as much as I can so I can brew my own beer, I have been brewing wine and brandy with my Uncle for a few years now, which leads me to my question. I mentioned to someone that I wanted to try to brew my own beer, so they got me a "beermachine 1000" kit, and from what I have been reading I think this thing may pretty much be useless except for making the powder mixes that they sell. When we make wine all we do is smash the berries add water, then after a week we add sugar and let it ferment for a month, and its done. I know there are alot of recipes out there where you boil the berries and such but my real question is, is there a recipe kinda like that where I dont have to boil stuff right away, so I can kinda use the kit I have and learn more about brewing before I accidentally blow up some bottles?
Thanks in advandce for any advice
p.s. please dont be too rough on me

Welcome to the world of homebrewing! You will be disappointed with your beer machine and probably won't get too much positive feedback from anyone on these boards on those type of kits. Most of us brew our stuff at home with simple set ups that you can find on the internet or at your local homebrew supply store. Most often these starter kits come with 2, 6 gallon plastic pales, siphon hose, cleaning and sanitizing solution, capper of some sort, racking cane, airlock and a kit with instructions on how to make your first 5 gallon batch. For beginners, the kit comes with some type of sugar(rice for example) and malt extract, hop pellets and some yeast. Very simple instructions and very easy to do. The initial investment is anyware from 70-100 bucks. Others will use hole grains instead of the extract and others will use varieties of yeast and hops. These kits are pretty much foolproof as long as you follow the strict sanitization instructions. Hope this helps. Good luck and happy brewing!

I have started reading about those kits, and plan to visit a brewing store in my neighborhood soon and get some pointers from them, so hopefully soon I will be brewing along with you guys

thanks

Welcome, and let me say, if you enjoy your brewing with your uncle...you're in for a treat with beer...I can't get enough of the process. The great thing about it is you can make it as simple as you want, or go all out and brew all-grain (from scratch with no extracts.) You should definately invest in a 6 gallon pail, a 5 gallon glass carboy, and the siphoning and bottling equipment you'll need. You'll also need a kettle to boil in...7.5 gallons is great, but you can use a 5 gallon one also. These boards are the best place to learn...lot of experts with good brew-knowledge and a great willingness to share. Let us know what you know of the process, and ask any questions you may have. Peruse the existing posts, too...they are chock-full of advice and tips. Again, welcome and most importantly....Have fun!!

Glad to hear of another person getting bit by the brew bug ! I started out some time ago with a Mr. Beer Kit setup, brewed one batch with it and promptly went to my local home brew store and bought a carboy and racking equipment. Now I'm working on going for all grain. The great think about brewing is that you can enjoy making your own beer no matter how you go about it. Plenty of people take pride in doing it the most low tech, do it yourselfer way possible, and others take pride in perfecting the most exactly controled and sophisticated techinques. To each his own! Just remember to have fun, and have a homebrew! -- D

D-brewmeister said:

Glad to hear of another person getting bit by the brew bug ! I started out some time ago with a Mr. Beer Kit setup, brewed one batch with it and promptly went to my local home brew store and bought a carboy and racking equipment. Now I'm working on going for all grain. The great think about brewing is that you can enjoy making your own beer no matter how you go about it. Plenty of people take pride in doing it the most low tech, do it yourselfer way possible, and others take pride in perfecting the most exactly controled and sophisticated techinques. To each his own! Just remember to have fun, and have a homebrew! -- D

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No matter how many batches I brew.......I still dont have much patience when its in the bottle....is it done yet....is it done yet....LOL

go to the library and get papazian's complete joy of homebrewing and give it a read in the throne room. it makes things very simple and managable process wise and also provides a good foundation for understanding the theory of what occurs to the ingredients during the brewing process.. the brewmaster's bible also has alot of good, well laid out info, as sometimes i think charlie was a bit wasted when he wrote the complete joy

then just do it! its a hobby you can read all about but hands on experience cannot be substituted.

have fun and soon i think i'll be crossing over and barelling some wine this summer and fall

Papazian is definitely a good place to start reading. Probably a ton of newbie stuff on the net too. Also this board.

Brandy, eh? You naughty folks you...