New member from MN

[najel]

Hello!

I am a newbie to homebrewing and of course discovered these forums. I have already found tons of useful information on here (some if which I should have read before I put together my equipment kit).
I am currently going to school in Mankato, MN, and I am originally from Bielefeld, Germany. I have always been quite interested in how beer is made and decided to start making it myself when I discovered we had a homebrew store in town here.
My first beer was a Munich Helles from a kit, which I royally screwed up by underestimating how much water I will lose in the boil and forgetting the fact that I am really not equipped for lagering. The beer was still pretty taste though. Right now I have a batch of Hefeweizen in bottles, should be able to pop one open next week or so. And then today we put together a batch of Hard Apple Cider.
Anyway, just wanted to say hi and I hope that some day I will have learned enough to be able to contribute and not just ask questions

 

[BrewerinBR]

Welcome to Home Brew Talk and the sweet passion of Home Brewing!!!!

 

[QueenCityALER]

Welcome aboard the ship o' home brew scholars! Stick around, and you'll find all that you need in technical support, recipes, friends, and boundless knowledge. You're in the right place! Hope those Hefs turn out great for ya, and on the subject of Helles, that is exactly the bier I have on deck. Bought my grain bill for it yesterday. Right now I'm drinking my version of a Vienna Lager, and it is OUTSTANDING!! So good luck, welcome, and happy brewing!

 

[najel]

Thanks for the welcomes! I am quite excited about the Hefe. It is probably my favorite style, it's just so refreshing yet has good flavor. That will probably be my last kit, so from now on I will try putting together my own recipes. I am already hooked.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

welcome to the hobby and to HBT! this place is a great source of info on all things brewing. out of curiosity, are you shopping up here at one of the big guys (Midwest or NB) or is there a good LHBS in Mankato? there's a couple smaller HBS up here in the cities worth checking out if you're already making the drive to shop.

 

[najel]

So far I have only shopped at the local place here in Mankato, Brew N Wine Creations. I think the guy just kind of runs it on the side, it's only open a few days of the week. The prices are also kind of on the higher side compared to what I have seen in other places online and such. I am also not sure how fast they go through stuff and what their freshness is like for ingredients.
I was definitely thinking of driving up to Midwest and NB some weekend just to check them out and compare. One of those you'd recommend over the other? And which other small stores are good up there?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

well, they're both great stores. both have pretty much everything you need and both have an awesome selection of kits, but i'm partial to Midwest. the place is like Toys 'r Us for brewers! warehouse type store, with almost anything a brewer could want. amazing stuff, great prices (for the most part) and they're surprisingly helpful for a big place. i'd definitely check them out, but if you're making the drive, check out NB too. i've only been to the St. Paul store, but there's a new Mpls location not terribly far from Midwest. also, if you're up in the cities, there's some great pubs for good food and beer, there's the Happy Gnome over in St. P., in the Selby/Dale area. great food and like 100+ beers, try the short ribs, they're heavenly. Town Hall Tap in Mpls is great too, definitely worth a look. for just a good hang out bar, Bryant-Lake Bowl on Bryant and Lake in S. Mpls is alotta fun, good food, like 20+ taps mainly craft, and some decent specials on local and regional brews, and an 8 lane bowling alley, the complete MN bar experience.