Time to say hello to a new group of friends! I'm a 44 year old husband with 3 grown boys and a 5 year old daughter. We live on a small farm(ish) plot with 2 horses, chickens, dogs, cats and some wild animals that wander through the forest area that backs up to our place. I'm an electrician and an all around DIY'er, which comes in handy when you have your own home, shop and barn and 5+ acres of land to try and keep under control. :smack:I've always been curious about brewing at home, but it wasn't until recently while I was visiting a friend that my interest really piqued. We were gearing up for dinner when he asked me if I wanted a beer. I said, "Absolutely!" Then the fun started.
He had two batches kegged and invited me to enjoy each with him. As we sat and enjoyed the brews, my brain started to catch up to the fact that I was really liking his beer more than some of the beer I buy at the store when I have "a little extra money" to splurge and get "the good stuff". As my brain started to realize this fact - naturally, I started asking what I suspect are "the usual questions". I asked him how long it takes, how much the equipment costs, how much ingredients cost, how hard it is, how dangerous it is, and what kind of beer you can make.
When I got home, I started figuring out how I could save some money. - As it turns out, in about 3 weeks I'll be getting a days worth of overtime at work and when the check comes in I'll add that extra money to what I already have saved. Then I will be making some really exciting purchases.
I suspect things will go well since I was great in science class and I'm a pretty fair cook. Plus, I pretty much do everything I try well. However - having said that, I'm realistic enough to know that anyone can run into trouble. I've been doing some reading, of course. But what I'm really curious about is:
What should I spend my money on when I go to the brewing store? I know I can make beer with the $70 bare bones kit, but I just have a feeling I'm not going to be happy with that. I've seen kits that run as high as $180 that include some extras like a wort chiller for example. Should I piece my own kit together?
What are the "needs" vs the "nice to haves". And WHY are they nice to have? I don't mind spending money on equipment to make my life easier. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be doing this for a long time to come and probably will be teaching some friends and family too.
Comments?
