Suggestions for home brew kit?

Hello. Looking to get a homebrewing kit for Stout for Christmas...anybody have any experience with any of them?

 

Talk to @Dunerunner drinking is his thing. opps brewing not not drinking. Not sure he actually admits to drinking

 

Williams Brewing Company. You can get a basic kit with the flavor of your choice pretty cheap. It's fun and educational and if you don't brew a batch of skunk beer by screwing it up, it can taste great. Hard to drink five gallons of crap.

 

Haha. Well, it beats wasting money a the store for 5 gallons of crap.

 

The opposite end of good beer, selling for $0.25 a can if you buy a case...........

 

Yeah, but my pride makes me drink my own home brew mistakes but I can pour out store bought crap or better yet serve it my friend who will drink anything I have in my fridge.

 

Hell, they can't make the can for that. That must be some skunk beer.

 

Worst beer ever. But, it was college budget cheap.

 

They simply do not carry stout in my area, barring one pub that has problems keeping a steady supplier, and it's over an hour away. If I can make it, I'm planting beer supplies this year.

 

Then there are stout recipes using crystal malt....

 

Now that is a nice link, and I saved a kit T. Riley for consideration. VERY nice prices.

I think that Kul would Kill me...the thought of drinking $.25 beer makes me want to cry and puke all at the same time. Never heard of Ice variety of beer before...

 

My friend (call him my drunken alcoholic redneck buddy) has been known to drink keystone light. He calls it his "layoff beer". Think I'd rather do without.

He earned the name because one very cold morning in February while on a hunting trip (Javelina), he appeared outside my tent standing shin deep in freshly fallen snow, in an insulated suit with insulated gloves holding an ice cold Budweiser. The sun had not yet risen. I was thinking more along the lines of hot chocolate or coffee. Silly me.

 

Sounds like some of the people I used to hang out with, minus the common sense to put on gloves. Brings back memories thinking about that crappy beer...wonder if it still tastes like moldy banana bread?

 

Might be a good idea to check out your AO and see if you can find a local brewers supply house. Once you get the hang of the basics, this would be the next step up! I love being able to craft my own and to select every thing I wish to try out, Plus, they almost always have good advice for newbs and vets alike! Also check around and see if there is a Craft Brewers Guild or club in your AO, might be a fun way to learn and grow your new hobby!

 

Nearest one is 2 hours out in another state...

 

I brew stouts and porters, but not from a kit. Imperial Stout is my all time fave, but too expensive for me to brew. My grain bill for a 5 gal. batch runs around $20. I wash my yeast, use white sugar, and use dark DME as a base with adjuncts thrown in from whatever I can swipe from the pantry, so my brew varies from batch to batch. The kits can be fantastic in duplicating a certain style that you enjoy. I'd recommend that you go to the HomeBrewTalk forums and check with those guys for what they would recommend. Good luck with your brewing & Cheers!!

 

Thanks yall.