Anyone ever tried craft brewing?

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

So, I’ve made my own alcohol plenty before. Really had it dialed in when I was doing it all the time, I made some delicious 70 proof shine, but I’ve never tried doing my own beer. Or even looked into it. Anyone here tried that? What’s the process like, start up costs, quality, these are the sorta questions I’m going for. Any information is greatly appreciated.

[Hit Girl]

So you're the Beer Baron, huh?

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Dec 31, 2023 17:06:31 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

So you're the Beer Baron, huh?

Of course not………

[Hurbster]

Yeah, used to brew my own beer when I was a student. Back then specialist brewing shops were still quite common in larger towns, so getting the equipment and various kits for different brews was fairly easy.

Never tried my hand with mead though, always wanted to try that as it's as basic as you can get.

I'm talking about the UK but there must be a scene in the USA, maybe this will be of help?

www.northernbrewer.com/blogs/new-to-brewing-start-here/how-to-brew-beer-homebrewing-101

[Cranjis McBasketball]

My buddy did. I wasn't directly involved besides getting to drink some. It was ok. Thought probably way more hassle than it was worth unless you're going to get into it super seriously.

[Dan Royal]

I did it for a while. You can buy a starter kit off Amazon for probably around $150.

Things to consider are the following
- If you're doing it on your stovetop, it takes forever to get a 5-gallon pot to boil. Then you have to stand there for an hour to make sure it doesn't boil over.
- You're going to get beer/wort everywhere, so cleanup is a pain.
- After you're done the boil, you have to get the wort down to room temperature. Which can also be a process.
- If you don't have a kegging system, you'll have to bottle the beer which is also a pain.

It's similar to baking a cake. In that it's rewarding and it's cool that you make something from scratch. But eventually, you realize you can just go to the store and buy a cake and be done with it.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Jan 1, 2024 6:43:43 GMT -5 Dan Royal said:

I did it for a while. You can buy a starter kit off Amazon for probably around $150.

Things to consider are the following
- If you're doing it on your stovetop, it takes forever to get a 5-gallon pot to boil. Then you have to stand there for an hour to make sure it doesn't boil over.
- You're going to get beer/wort everywhere, so cleanup is a pain.
- After you're done the boil, you have to get the wort down to room temperature. Which can also be a process.
- If you don't have a kegging system, you'll have to bottle the beer which is also a pain.

It's similar to baking a cake. In that it's rewarding and it's cool that you make something from scratch. But eventually, you realize you can just go to the store and buy a cake and be done with it.

It’s like that meme, “After a trip to the grocery store, $115 later, I have discovered I can make a worse Pho than a restaurant”.

When Austin still did his podcast he had a couple brewmasters on talking about it. He said to do what Budweiser does is incredibly f***ing hard to make it taste exactly the same, all the time, no matter what. There’s so much fiddling and room for error and what not that goes into it, craft is a bit easier because people expect each batch to be a little different.

[Toilet Paper Roll]

I just sold my part in a brewery that I part owned. Of course I started by brewing beer. It’s all timing and temperature from beginning to end. Once you master that you can play with ingredients