haumana 1,220 Posted May 29, 2008 If so, do tell. The boyfriend's birthday is coming up next month and I was thinking about getting him a Mr. Beer or Beer Machine . He tends to like some of the fru-fru beer stuff (i.e. Michelob Honey Lager, Waialua Wheat (a local brewery makes it flavored with passion fruit), etc.). I'm not a beer drinker, and when I actually drank beer it was season (after canoe regattas and long distance races), and even then it would something like Hornsby. I researched about doing the more hardcore "home brewery" stuff, but it looks so complicated. Maybe I should just get him the krups draught kegerator and be done with it. Any suggestions?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemalt 10 Posted May 29, 2008 My parents bought me one of those Mr. Beer kits for my birthday years ago. I mixed the batch as the instructions stated, and then waited... It took too long to brew, so I drove to the grocery store, bought a case of bud light, and throw the thing away when I got back home! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FatDad 2 Posted May 29, 2008 i have a buddy that throws brew parties once a month. I made a raspberry wheat and it turned out great. He has a home build set-up and it didnt look like there was much to it. We store it in the old 5 gal pop canisters. His stuff is more or less like this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swaneejuggalo 0 Posted May 29, 2008 I would love to try it i know the brew equipment is supposed to be incredibly sterile and passion fruit beer!!"google's passion fruit beer delivery services"no luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polarkiss 1 Posted May 29, 2008 My husband does, and boy does he make a mess! I would recommend the SMALL kit, and don't go full bore on tons of equipment. It takes tons of patience to do. We have a mead that has been aging for over 6 months... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slopchops 1 Posted May 29, 2008 We tried it one time with a recipe from the Mother Earth News magazine and it stunk up my whole shop. But after letting it ferment for the right amount of time we all gathered around to take a wee nip. Gawd, that tasted so bad we threw the whole batch out. :'( As teenagers, one time, we tried to make some raisin jack and that was even worse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted May 29, 2008 I don't drink,esp beer... but I have thought about making some just to see if I could. A few years back the local RC cola bottler stopped offering pre-mix and I got about 30 of the stainless steel pressurized 5 gallon containers out of their dumpster (with permission) and sold a bunch on ebay. Beer makers love them and I never had one listed for more than a few hours before someone snapped it up. Even shipped 2 to canada. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest gracewriter Posted May 29, 2008 Our uncle made root beer once, everyone was pretty excited until all the bottles exploded in the kitchen. Mom was not happy, she was never happy anyway, but at least this time she had a good excuse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted May 31, 2008 My parents bought me one of those Mr. Beer kits for my birthday years ago. I mixed the batch as the instructions stated, and then waited... It took too long to brew, so I drove to the grocery store, bought a case of bud light, and throw the thing away when I got back home! Yeah, I'm wondering if that's what he is going to end up doing too. Then that'd be a total waste of a gift. :- I wonder what the secret is to make tasty home brew. Is it the ingredients, the method, or someone who actually like funky tasting beer? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutme 5 Posted May 31, 2008 i started home brewing hard apple cider last year with the simplest recipe i could find. the results were awesome!, some of the best cider i have ever had. what started it was an invitation to a cider pressing party at a friends family farm. in one afternoon we pressed one pick up truck full and two car trunkloads of apples. the stickiest fun you will ever have! my mother makes mead and wins blue ribbons at the state fair every year! brewing beer is more complicated than wine or cider, so i prefer to leave that to the professionals. bb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted May 31, 2008 bb - I'm going to ask even though I know that it's all relative - was/is the process difficult for making cider? I mean, outside of the mushing of the apples and stuff. I'm wondering about the part where you need to start having the brewing equipment. I saw that there is a 'make your own cider' home brewery kit, but didn't find any instructions for it online. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutme 5 Posted June 1, 2008 same as for wine, a fermenter bucket w/airlock, a carboy, hydrometer (to measure specific gravity), some food grade vinyl hose for fluid transfer, and a few bottles for the finished product. there is more, but this is all you really need. bb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slopchops 1 Posted June 1, 2008 A small apple here is now selling for 44 cents each or $2.69 a pound. Heck I can buy champagne cheaper than that. Our daily news paper said yesterday that people who are paying $100.00 a month in electricity can expect to pay $300. per month this summer etc. At least give us a kiss while we are getting screwed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted June 1, 2008 Don't know where you live,Chop...but around here,there are apple trees and people actually grow their own. Most people,if it's a good year,will give you all you want to keep them from rotting on the ground. When I was a boy,steeling an apple from someone's yard was about as much trouble as we ever thought about getting into. But I agree about the kissing part. I put out a garden,and it's doing well. No $3 a pound tomatoes and $1 cucumbers for me. I just wish I had the room to grow peanuts and the know-how to make my own peanut butter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest gracewriter Posted June 1, 2008 peanut butter is really easy. Just throw a bunch of peanuts in a blender. I add some honey. You can put in some oil to make it creamier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted June 1, 2008 peanut butter is really easy. Just throw a bunch of peanuts in a blender. I add some honey. You can put in some oil to make it creamier. I did that once. Not smooth enough. I am picky about my peanut butter,as it is one of the few things I can eat without getting heartburn. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest gracewriter Posted June 1, 2008 Well, you do need a good blender. I have a vitamix. Big motor, etc., etc., Makes all the difference. They are also insanely expensive. No chuncks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quvmoh 1 Posted June 2, 2008 heres what you do, go to http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=radio and buy the basic brewing video and after it comes subscribe your husband to this fellers podcast, the podcast is free and gets the juices flowing, so to speak :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
