Maybe it's because I just look that dumb.
JUST KIDDING!
It is really pretty simple to do. It just gets difficult to do it WELL>
Local homebrew stores have all the ingredients you need- and if you don't have a local store, you can go to any of the MANY online stores. MoreBeer, Northern Brewer, Williams Brewing, The Barley Brothers, etc. They all have low flat-rate shipping for most items.
If you have a stove, a pot, and a 5-gallon bucket with a lid, you truly have all it takes to brew beer. If you have a funnel and some old 2-liter coke bottles, you can bottle your beer. It will be a pain in the ass, but you CAN do it.
Please learn about the proper ratio of bleach to water, to make a simple sanitizer, and you're ready to go!
Of COURSE, if you do that, it will turn out to be beer. Not necessarily great beer, but beer. In fact, my 51st batch is not good. It got an infection or something. I don't care because I make so much beer that it's a drop in the bucket.
All the other equipment I have (several hundred... um... over a thousand dollars worth, actually. Including Christmas presents...) is an effort to make brewing more simple, and more precisely. There is a cost savings in making beer from bulk grain and hop purchases.
If you want to get into brewing, understand that you will not realize a "savings" over cheap beer. You CAN realize a savings over craft beer, and make beer BETTER than you buy. It's a fact. However, in order to brew at this level you have to have control over your fermentation temperature. This is the MOST important "extra" step you can take to making great beer. Your yeast will throw off funky flavors if your beer ferments over the recommended temperatures. I say "extra" step because sanitation is a BASIC step, and you CAN make decent beer without a fermentation cooler, but your brewing ability will be determined by the ambient temperature.
If you have questions, please email me at andrew__AT__dahbrew.com
http://dailyinfographic.com/how-to-brew-your-own-booze-infographic
Are you going to tell anyone about the ASH brewout on National Homebrew Day on May 5th at Brewers Connection or is that a secret?
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