Home brewing

[Ole and Lena]

Looks like I might finally have time and money to get into this hobby. I've got a good creepy damp old farmhouse basement for it!

Can anybody recommend a good starter kit and other stuff I might need. Mostly interested in brewing basic lagers and Pils for now. Maybe a Hefe Weizen and bock once I get the hang of it.

 

[wyoDreamer]

My neighbors tell stories of putting theirs in the closet to brew. Their corgi would sit at the closet door and bark at the monster in the closet.

 

[CaroleM]

My Mum's neighbour put the home brew under the bed to ferment nicely. Sounded a great idea - until - he discovered his Scottie dog uncontrollably drunk - the fermenting booze had gone BANG and no-one had noticed or heard. Needless to say one nosey Scotty found his new 'hobby' of munching/drinking anything strange, got a bit more than bargained on. Ever seen a Scotty with a hangover? It's quite a sight!

Female ginger cats with a hangover are quite another thing altogether. One Christmas I was spending the day with a friend and her puss, Honey. Now Pam was just a little generous with the brandy in the brandy cream. Convinced Honey would not touch it, I put the tiniest amount on my finger, which got licked off quickly - oops. To our amazement, before either of us could stop Honey, her head was in what was left of the brandy cream and it disappeared inside one puss. Later on, we were watching tv and both wondered where this very strange sound was coming from. Yep, one out for the count puss was snoring her head off, having obviously been on a cat sized bender. I gather the hangover left one cat in a very fowl (sorry about the pun but she was evil), mood for a few days afterwards and oddly enough Honey never touched anything containing booze in her life again. Moral of story - beware feline fancying trying her paw at anything shes not tried before

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I haven't used any kits, only brewed from whole grains, but the guys at the home brew shop would know the best ones. I defer to their wisdom when I am not sure & they have never led me astray.
I had a keg blow in my closet too. Didn't lose much beer, and man was it yummy.

Good luck. It is a really fun hobby.

ETA: In my experience the worst part about the kit is the gross yeast they put in there.
I usually make my own, and since I have done that my beer's flavor has improved greatly.
If you don't want to experiment too much with your first batch & are unsure of the yeast you have, add a
little dried cuttle bone to each bottle during bottling. It will eat up any yeast left after it has done its job,
and make your beer ready to drink a little faster. (It sounds weird, but it works.)