Brewing on the cheap?

[rypkr]

Hi everyone this is my first post and I'm a complete novice. I'm in college so obviously have a love for beer. I had a sears gift card that had been sitting in my wallet for a while and was having a hard time finding something I needed/wanted. Then I came across a mr. beer cheapo starter kit and a refill pack. So I bought it.

The refill kit came with 4 different HME extracts. I brewed one a few weeks ago and have it bottled currently. I made an additional fermentation container and have two more separate batches fermenting at the moment. I still have no idea how any of them are going to taste, I may wind up with 6 gallons of junk.

I picked up some malt extract at a nearby brew store (which everything seemed to be extremely pricey at) but they didn't have any HME. I'm wondering what my cheap options are for ordering some more supplies for upcoming batches? What about the "booster" junk that mr beer includes in their kits? I've read it's junk but without it I might as well be drinking 3.2 beer. But I like my beer strong! I added additional honey to one of my brews, brown sugar to another, and malt extract to the third.

As I'm shopping around for new supplies what would be an economical way to brew an extract beer in the 6-8% range that doesn't taste like complete crap. Grant it, it can probably still taste like partial crap as I'm just a college kid.

Thanks in advance

 

[jmprdood]

rypkr:
You can easily brew beer "inexpensively", though some people look down on it, it can be done.

Get started in the hobby and build up to the more advanced equipment and techniques, hop additions, etc

I built a 5 gallon plastic fermenter (< $5 w/ lid at Homedepot - food grade HDPE #2), ordered a bottling spigot and fermometer on ebay for <$6. Drill your own hole and mount the spigot and for about $10 you have a fermenter (no airlock, but enough headspace for 5 gallons of lower gravity beer like below, no problem).

You can easily find hopped malt extract on ebay delivered to your door for about $14 for 3.3 lbs. Quality brewers yeast can be found for about $.70 a sachet on ebay as well.

Add a couple of pounds of brown sugar (< $1.50) and you have beer - is it award winning, no. But you are into the hooby for less than $27, and you have 5 gallons of beer.

Use the Sun brand knock off of oxyclean from Wallyworld or the dollar store to clean and household bleach to santize (make sure to rinse well so you don't smell bleach anymore), use 16-24 oz recycled plastic soda bottles and caps (cap securely and store in the dark because sunlight will skunk the beer) and 1/2 teaspoon table sugar to prime each bottle, and you are brewing 5 gallons for less than $30.

Read this site - ask questions, check out youtube, watch videos and away you go.

Add equipment each time you brew - a hydrometer is essential, IMO, and about $6 on ebay.

Get into it, enjoy it, and don't let anyone discourage you from trying.

PM me if you need step by step to make it work.

Cheers!

 

[JoeyChopps]

rypkr:
You can easily brew beer "inexpensively", though some people look down on it, it can be done.

Get started in the hobby and build up to the more advanced equipment and techniques, hop additions, etc

I built a 5 gallon plastic fermenter (< $5 w/ lid at Homedepot - food grade HDPE #2), ordered a bottling spigot and fermometer on ebay for <$6. Drill your own hole and mount the spigot and for about $10 you have a fermenter (no airlock, but enough headspace for 5 gallons of lower gravity beer like below, no problem).

You can easily find hopped malt extract on ebay delivered to your door for about $14 for 3.3 lbs. Quality brewers yeast can be found for about $.70 a sachet on ebay as well.

Add a couple of pounds of brown sugar (< $1.50) and you have beer - is it award winning, no. But you are into the hooby for less than $27, and you have 5 gallons of beer.

Use the Sun brand knock off of oxyclean from Wallyworld or the dollar store to clean and household bleach to santize (make sure to rinse well so you don't smell bleach anymore), use 16-24 oz recycled plastic soda bottles and caps (cap securely and store in the dark because sunlight will skunk the beer) and 1/2 teaspoon table sugar to prime each bottle, and you are brewing 5 gallons for less than $30.

Read this site - ask questions, check out youtube, watch videos and away you go.

Add equipment each time you brew - a hydrometer is essential, IMO, and about $6 on ebay.

Get into it, enjoy it, and don't let anyone discourage you from trying.

PM me if you need step by step to make it work.

Cheers!

+1 and awesome brewing is imo more about the experience then the product jmp is great for these cheap ideas

 

[Waynep005]

IF you make the equipment as laid out in last post you can get recipe kits from on line companies like more beer that come out to abot 50 cents or so a beer. I am sure many of the other supliers have kits that are cheap also