which home brewing kits are best for beer?
i want to try brewing beer myself. i've looked at several starter kits but does any one know which is best? also, why does the beer have to be bottled as opposed to leaving it in the fermentation bucket? how long does the whole process take?
www.homebrewheaven.com
that website will get you started on anything you need supple wise. I have been a homebrewer of beer, mead, wine, cider, and spirits for some time now. Getting started is always the hard part. Minimum needs….
–Food Grade Plastic Bucket W/ Lid(air tight with a hole of an air lock)
–I would recommend a glass carboy if possible
–Air lock(for top of bucket)
–A stainless steel pot to prepare ingredients
–Ingredients(malt extract, grains, sugar,hops, yeast….ect…..)
–Tubing to siphon
–Bottles or large jugs depending how much you want to drink at a time
The reason that you should bottle your beer is so that you can carbonate it and have it available in convenient serving containers at just the right size. If you left the beer in the fermenter sitting on the decaying yeast for long periods of time it would begin to get very off flavors from the yeast as the yeast broke down. also if you left the beer in the fermenter you would not be able to carbonate your beer. Last your beer would risk contamination from the outside bacteria every time you opened it up and wanted some beer….you would need to drink it all very very quickly to make sure that none of these things happen. But if you want decent beer you must bottle and maintain sterility. If you want fantastic beer you must buy a book and read up. Even a beginner level book explains intensely the basics of beer. Good luck and welcome to the club.
most brewing kits (with the exception of Mr Beer) are almost the same… just decied what amout you want to spend for what it can do, and where you want to buy it
as for why it has to be bottled… bottling allows it to become carbonated… you can't carbonate it in the fermentation bucket, since it doesn't hold pressure… it also allows the beer to mature, which can improve the flavor.
References :
I bought a Coopers Beer brewing kit. I liked it because you can brew 5 gallons at a time with it vs. just 2 or 2.5 with the MR beer kit. Also with this bigger kit you can grow into partial grain kits and make even better beer than you get from the extract kits. I did buy a Mr beer just because it was cheap. The beer you get from an extract kit is alright. Probably not beer you'd pay for in the store. Brewing with extract kits is a good way to get started but make sure you get a kit that allows you to get into more advance brewing. I used my coopers beer brewing kit to brew my first batch of wine ( I also bought a glass carboy). All said I like the Coopers kit but just do your research and decide for yourself, it is a pretty awesome hobby so have fun.
References :
http://www.cheapbeerkits.com/2009/03/coopers-beer-kit-review.html
Here in Michigan, most homebrew stores sell the "Brewer's Best" kits…they typically cost just under $30. But as others have said, most kits are pretty much identical. My local homebrew store also offers to assemble their own homebrew kits for you….these are usually around $10 more than the B.B. kits, but are handy if you're going to attempt a more personalized beer or else a beer that may not be quite as popular.
References :
http://www.GreatLakesLibations.com
The Source for Food & Drink in the Great Lakes State
http://www.homebrewheaven.com
that website will get you started on anything you need supple wise. I have been a homebrewer of beer, mead, wine, cider, and spirits for some time now. Getting started is always the hard part. Minimum needs….
–Food Grade Plastic Bucket W/ Lid(air tight with a hole of an air lock)
–I would recommend a glass carboy if possible
–Air lock(for top of bucket)
–A stainless steel pot to prepare ingredients
–Ingredients(malt extract, grains, sugar,hops, yeast….ect…..)
–Tubing to siphon
–Bottles or large jugs depending how much you want to drink at a time
The reason that you should bottle your beer is so that you can carbonate it and have it available in convenient serving containers at just the right size. If you left the beer in the fermenter sitting on the decaying yeast for long periods of time it would begin to get very off flavors from the yeast as the yeast broke down. also if you left the beer in the fermenter you would not be able to carbonate your beer. Last your beer would risk contamination from the outside bacteria every time you opened it up and wanted some beer….you would need to drink it all very very quickly to make sure that none of these things happen. But if you want decent beer you must bottle and maintain sterility. If you want fantastic beer you must buy a book and read up. Even a beginner level book explains intensely the basics of beer. Good luck and welcome to the club.
References :