Hi! New brewer from Indianapolis here!

[MG46218]

Hi folks!

My name is Michael, and I just finished (and am close to finishing up!) my first batch. I used a kit from Brewers Best and made a decent Dunkelweizen. My father enjoyed helping me with it, and I enjoyed helping him with his first batch of pale ale in his Mr. Beer kit.

I can see this becoming quite regular part of life, and as such I am rather interested in methods of brewing that are less expensive...my dunkel ended up running about .75/12oz bottle. That is not too expensive, I realize.....but I still enjoy trying out other good beers and my budget can only go so far.

Anyway, thanks for having me, I am excited to learn more about this wonderful craft!

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Welcome to homebrewing and the forum. It doesn't take much to get hooked on this hobby. If you want to brew cheaper, start researching all grain brewing. Kits are a good place to start though to get the process down. Have you been to Great Fermentations? It's on 65th street just off of Binford on the east side. That's where I get most of my supplies. In the fall they have what they call the great grain sale and it's a good time to stock up. I live in Kokomo, about 50 miles north, so I make a trip down when the sale is on and get everyting I need for the whole year. They also have a brewers meet once a week, I forget what day it's on, where you can go hang out with other brewers, talk shop and drink homebrew.

 

[cincydave]

Welcome! If you're going to stick to extract kits, try some online stores. Northern Brewer has some good prices and good kits. As BBL Brewer stated, going all grain will decreae your ingredient costs substantially, but you will need more equipment. I do BIAB (brew in a bag) and the only thing I needed to switch from extract to all grain was the bag. 5 bucks for 2 at home depot. You do need an adequate pot, probably 7.5 gall minimum and a decent burner (most stoves won't cut it). Turkey fryer kit is ideal, if you can find one cheap on CL or a garge sale. BIAB is a good way to go all grain without sinking much money in equipment.