Simple homebrew guide, would this work well?

[Patton191]

Simplest Homemade Beer

Since I am brand new to home brewing beer I was wondering how well this system will work. From what I have read previously the 2 liter bottles will be fine, but it seems like the 10 gallon pail, without an airlock, wouldn't work very well. Furthermore, the guide doesn't even call for hops or grain. As I said I am very new to this, but to my understanding wouldn't this beer be extremely sweet and undesirable to most? I understand most of you aren't in this for the cheap part, but I want to first make sure that this is a hobby I will enjoy and continue before loading up on equipment and other expensive items.

My main question is .. how do most of you believe this recipe will turn out?


Thank you and please excuse my ignorance,

Patton

 

[impatient]

You call that simple.

 

[Gonefishing]

It would work. I think you'd not want to use the sugar, but rather the 2 cans of extract. Their cost evaluation is way off though, one can of extract is more than that, slightly. I'll bet for the cost of that 10 gallon bucket you could buy a plastic fermenter at most shops, with an airlock. That would be far superior to leaving the lid loose. The author did mention hops, sort of. He said you could buy prehopped extract for more flavor. The beer would be very dry if you made it with one can of hops and all that sugar. It might also get in to the cidery taste range.. and it certainly wouldn't be a beer you'd be proud to give your friends. Making it without the sugar, with 2 cans of hops and the right hops, could produce some beer you'd be happy to say you made.

 

[TexasStu]

I can't really speak for the recipe (being such a n00b myself).
You can always buy an airlock for just over a dollar at most any HBS, (get a rubber grommet - based on the airlock and drill a hole based on the grommet).
I do not think *I* would use 2 liter soda bottles because of how thin they are.
What kind of budget are you talking about?
I think the biggest thing (I would be concerned with) is spending $$ on something that practically guarentees I won't be happy.
If you were a friend O mine and had $100 you could afford I'd refer you to where I got my inexpensive starter kit (HERE) because they are running a 15% off right now on all their Coopers line. I would suggest just getting the $99.99 kit. It should give you everything you need to produce a batch of beer (23 liters, thirty 740ml bottles - about 22oz. each?). Fermenter (that would take you into the future if you like making beer), 30 (reusable) PET bottles (with caps), a hopped Lager extract and brewing sugger along with sugar 'pills' you put in bottle when bottling.
You would not need a huge brewpot either.
There are other inexpensive kits (like MrBeer). I would also recommend a 5 gallon food grade bucket over the 10 gallon pail they show.
But others here are far more experienced than I and can probably point you in a better direction.
I went with the kit because I figure I can reuse most of it. Heck, if you HATE it I bet you could sell that fermenter! It's a really nice one.
FWIW, I have no affiliation with Coopers or makebeer.net. Other than as an end-consumer (use HOLIDAY for that 15% discount! )

 

[Surly]

See if there is a home brew club near where you live. Introduce yourself and ask if there is anybody that would be willing to brew with you if you buy the ingredients and share the beer.

Somebody will be glad to get a newbie into the hobby.

 

[Flattop]

To be honest it looks like crap... never NEVER use white sugar unless you want a cidery flavor or are inverting it for a Belgian style.
I don't know how much a fermentor is in the usa but plastic ones here are about $15-25 USD with a tap and airlock and a temp gauge on the side, it's worth the small investment to get the right gear, makes brewing and bottling so much easier for a few more bucks you can get a bottling attachment that drains the beer into the bottle when inserted. I'm with TexStu on the Coopers kits.
Twocans (or tucans) work really well but tend to make a bitter brew. Enrich is not a word i would use for bitter. If you do a tucan and also boil hops as a beginner you are going to get a really bitter kick.

The instructions are reasonably good but many malt extracts are pre-boiled.

Just my 2c worth

 

[Eves]

For the most part what everyone has said seems correct. I'm also a fan of the Coopers kit. For the money you get a good starter kit (fermentor, enough bottles for 6 gal of beer, hydrometer, and beer ingredients for a pre-hopped brew). That simple guide really doesn't seem nearly as simple as how homebrewing really is.

For what its worth you can use white sugar without a problem. There is even a thread on the subject somewhere that explains that it isn't so evil. The trick is to keep the white sugar below 20% (I think) of the total fermentables. I think it has also been mentioned that there have been numerous beers that have won awards that included white sugar as an ingredient.

 

[grammatron]

That link would make Craigtube proud!