The domestic fermentation consideration?

I brewed for about five years, though that was over a decade ago. If you are looking to save money on beer (as I had one friend ask me one time), it doesn't really help. Between the equipment cost and ingredients, you won't save any.

If you want to make good beer, it's all about good ingredients. Fresh hops (not pellets), good malt, and above all, good yeast strains--in particular liquid yeasts, though a friend told me that dry yeasts have gotten better since I stopped brewing.

It's easy to make a generic-tasting ale (even with basic ingredients) that tastes pretty good. If you want a specific style, and want a focused, distinctive taste, that's where the better ingredients come in -- better yeast, full grain mash instead of canned extract, etc.

Ale is easier as it ferments at room temperature. Lagers ferment at lower temps, so you would need a dedicated fridge.

You can make good beer with basic equipment, but more advanced equipment makes the process a lot faster and easier. Especially keg brewing instead of bottles -- you can get those 5 gal soft drink kegs that are great for home brewing (a lot easier than cleaning/filling 50 bottles), and a kit to to turn an old fridge into a kegerator.

The biggest concern is sanitation -- get ready for a LOT of cleaning prior to brewing/bottling. If you skimp on this step you risk ruining the batch with bacteria infection.

Best of luck! It's a fun hobby.

Home brewing is fun. There are a lot of books on the subject and a huge amount of info online. Check out YouTube. It's not too hard to make good beer.

Consumed massive quantities of beer in my day but never brewed it.

What I did make this fall with friends was apple cider/brandy/Calvados.

I built a hydraulic cider press to squeeze a hundred gallons of juice from my two mature trees.

We fermented it in 55 gallon food grade barrels using bread yeast and ran it through a still once for 40 proof and twice for 80.

We got eight gallons of 40 proof cider and two gallons of 80 proof Calvados.

I don't drink but guess what friends got for Xmas this year.....

Cheap but the washing up is also a downer cheers mines a Guinness :)

and remind me not to do the cheese, biscuits and beer at < I > 's XD

I once tried to concoct a home brew using petri-dish-verified, fermentation-trained armpit bacteria.

The BEST beer I've ever tasted. ... I kid you NOT.

Don't sell your home brewing virginity cheap to sissy, store-bought yeast.

Yes, I AM a mad scientist; and DANG proud of it, too. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFPYy0m-GJ8

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^-^,...,~ My daddy could be downright nuts at times. ... Shhhhh: His home brew tasted like crap. lol

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I will stir my lazy self to raise my glass of Newcastle Brown Ale to you in tribute, darling...that's more work than I'd want to put into getting myself a drinkable beer, but I'm sure you'll do it well!

Have a lovely Christmas, darling!!

(((RP)))