How and with what to start ?

[beeronious]

huge beer lover and wanna be brewer one day, turns to you awesome people for guidance !
so i decided to undertake my 1st brewing experience so im asking with what should i start
keep in mind that even though i have been drinking everything and from everywhere, i know nth about brewing
so pls give me some pointers !!!

beerly yours
beeronious

 

[DrunkleJon]

Budget?
Available Brewing Space?
Indoor/Outdoor brewing?
Time?
How much you want to brew?

Basically this will help you decide which equipment you want. If you are in a smallish apartment you can go with something as small as 1 Gallon batches, or the 2.5 Gallon I think Mr. Beer Brews. Otherwise there are the 5 Gallon starter kits that many of us started on or still use. They will have almost everything you need except for bottles or a brewpot (some include pots though).

Then you have your choice of brewing styles. There is the simplest which is all extract (sort of like the Mr. Beer approach) where it is Can A + water, Boil, cool, add yeast and ferment. By far the quickest method. Secondly its extract w/ specialty grains where you have some specialty grains to add color/flavors. The next level of time/difficulty is the Minimash/Partial Mash with which you use grains for sugars and flavors, and less extract. This takes longer and a little more atention to detail as you need to mash the grains then add extract/hops/boil then ferment. Lastly and most time consuming and more of an investment is All Grain where you take out the extract entirely and use all grains, then proceed as usual.

The above is a very simplified explanation of the methods. Most people start with extract/extract with specialty brews to spend as little as possible to start to make sure they enjoy the addiction...err hobby. You can get ingredient kits from your Local Home Brew Store (LHBS) or online versions like Midwest Supplies, Austin Homebrew Supplies, More Beer, Adventures in Homebrewing, etc. which you can usually get an ingredient kit with your equipment order in a package deal though looking at your location in Macedonia, shipping from the US may be prohibitive, but I would search around for a LHBS or some place that will ship cheaply, or locate a Home Brew Club and inquire where to get good deals from there.

We do reccomend that you read How to Brew, which an older version can be found at howtobrew.com for the basics on how the process works, and remember to relax, and not worry, as beer is hard to completely screw up. It may not be perfect but it will end up being beer.

 

[twistr25]

I would highly recommend How to Brew as well. Afterwards, take advantage of the excellent search feature for this site at the top for clarification on any of the procedures. If all else fails, come back an ask a question.

If you do a search on getting started, there are likely dozens that already have a good bit of information. Welcome and get ready to spend some money! (All for a good cause of course!)