home brew mail?

[jeepinjeepin]

Yah, you're right... I've never seen even Sierra Nevada at my WallyWorld. I think he got Cost Plus World Market mixed up with WallyWorld. Geez.

Dang, $50 is enough to find a decent brew kit on Craigslist and start the process. Guess it's easier to ask. Remember that guy about a month or two ago that was begging and he got removed.. if I remember correctly.

I try to stay out of Walmart if at all possible. I do remember mine usually having SN Pale and/or Torpedo, Shiner Bock and there is usually some Fat Tire and sometimes some NB seasonals. Of course there is Boston Beer Co.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

hey did any of you use coopers at one time?

I spent a couples months on Mr Beer.

 

[brewski08]

Have you tried Miller Lite? It's triple hopped so it's kinda like an IPA.

i cannot stop laughing at this comment.

 

[Yooper]

hey did any of you use coopers at one time?

I did. Once. Unfortunately, it did not make a drinkable beer for me.

My best "beginning" beers were Brewer's Best kits from a home brew store- they all came out pretty good. Just try to get them from a place with high sales/turnover so they are fresh. Otherwise, I really like these kits: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/produ...=1113&osCsid=91983e5fec17bb55308d390f4de46ec7

Dry yeast is fine for those kits. One tip- keep the fermenter UNDER 70 degrees and the beer will be much better.

On Saturday, Austinhomebrew.com has free shipping on orders over $49, so you could buy two kits and not pay any shipping! They have excellent instructions, and they will make a good beer.

 

[Yooper]

As was mentioned, shipping beer is very expensive. I've sent four beers to a competition, and it was $17 to ship it to Illinois. That's why no one is stepping up to send you beer- it cost more to ship it than it would be for you to go buy a sixer of excellent beer.

What kind of beer to you want to try? We can give you some good tips on which brands to start with. If you are brand new to craft brewing, you could start with something very simple, like New Belgium's Fat Tire (kit I linked to above). It's available just about everywhere and it's a good "beginning" craft beer. It's an American amber.

If you've never had Newcastle, I'd recommend trying that because it's a standard that most people have had.

Goose Island has "Honker's Ale" and if you like that, we can give you some more ideas.

 

[dcott]

If you have a wine shop in your town, I would check there before going to WalMart. They almost always have a far better craft beer selection than a big box retailer would. It may not be a beer focused place, but I guarantee you can get something more interesting than what you might be able to otherwise, and they often let you do mixed six packs.

My advice, try an IPA, a Dry Stout, an Amber, a Belgian Triple, a Brown Ale, and a Wheat Beer. All of these are fairly easy to brew (some more than others), and will get you started in the ale category. From there, try a pilsner, some german lagers (bocks, etc), and other lagers to determine if lagering is a path you would like to go down. From there, you can move on to more obscure things like Saisons, Sours, High Gravity Ales, Experimental Ales, etc.

Just remember: if you buy your beer at Wal Mart, the beer wholesalers often do the inventory, and compete with each other for space. The only reason you even see any craft beers is because they happen to be distributed by the same guys as BMC. They would just as soon see you buy the cheap crap; hence the cases and cases built into a wall of blue boxes. It's all promotional (that's the game that BMC plays: it's all about shelf space). On the other hand, If you buy your beer (or wine) at a locally owned shop, chances are that the product was carefully considered for selection by the shop owner, and they will be more likely to bring in more new and interesting products for you to try in the future if you ask them nicely. Plus, you're supporting your local economy.

Just my two cents.

 

[Indianhead_Brewer]

I am always pleasantly surprised by my local Walmart and what decent selection of craft brews they have for being such a huge chain and me living in the styx. They consistently have SN Pale Ale & Torpedo, usually some Widmer selection, Red Hook, Shiner Bock, Longboard, some Summit selection, Fat Tire, and the best of all since I live in WI at least 4-5 varieties of New Glarus. If I just had to shop at Walmart for beer I would be doing OK with the selection of brews they have locally. Heck my local gas station convenience store even has a comparable selection of good craft brews and I live in stinkin' BFE. I think the OP will be able to find himself some decent beer to drink.

cber8860: One thing that I do when I get into a major metropolitan area once or twice a month I make a point to visit a bottle shop and pick up a selection of stuff I haven't tried before. I never buy the same thing twice and that has helped me to figure out the styles I truly enjoy (as well as the ones I don't enjoy but would still drink if someone wanted to to send me a six pack via UPS :cross

 

[AdamPag]

you should google Beer Distributors near by, go there, find a beer youve never had before, and Buy it... thats what I do. I look, and if I havent had it before, I buy it... then I drink the whole god damn 6 pack in like 2 hours so im F**king wasted off of beer ive never drank before and it makes me happy.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

You know how they say once you start drinking dark beer you'll never go back to light beer? Try a michelob. It will get you hooked!!!