I've done a few batches of my own. As mentioned before you need to be OCD about cleaning bottles. Don't bother buying bottles from a store. Just have some friends save them for you (bud or coors bottles, miller bottles suck). Rinse them out, fill tub with hot water and a couple of cups of bleach. Let them soak for an hour then peal the labels off and rinse them with a bottle washer. The guy at the store will help you decide on what ingredients you want for the type of beer.

 

how much did your brewing setup cost you initially?

 

I originally bought it for wine so it came with a glass carboy. I buy from this shop http://www.brewersartsupply.com it's giving me an error but I think the beer kit was about 50. I usually spend about $30 on ingredients and get 52 bottles out of it.

basically plan on 80+ to get started and 30 for each batch

 

how long does a batch take on average before its drinkable?

 

2 weeks, yep it's really short. 1 week in the carboy fermenting, 1 week in the bottles carbonating.

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com

Also, I wouldn't go to a local homebrew shop unless you're really going to pick their brains (which you won't need to if you go to the link I posted) since their prices are usually higher than any of the online places. I prefer www.austinhomebrew.com for my supplies.

Stay away from Mr. Beer stuff. None of that equipment will transfer over. By a turkey fryer kit with the 7.5 gallon pot included. Clean and sanitize everything. Start with a partial mash kit for a pale ale or a Dos Equis Amber clone if that's more your style and eventually work your way up to all grain. You can make your own mash tun/lauter tun fairly easily. Really, just go to the above link and read everything. Everything.

 

am i the only one who thought this thread was going to be about the psp? h:

 

Yes.

 

Dark beer takes longer, and you can find a bunch of recipes online for any type of beer you can think of... But keep in mind that when you are cooking, and you add the hops.. it smells pretty bad, you may want to boil outside...

 

I really want to start making my own alcohol...there is a lot of information here:

http://homedistiller.org/wash-sugar.htm
http://www.home-distilling.com/
http://www.homebrewerswarehouse.com.au/index.html

I'm just a little intimidated...not sure why.