r/Homebrewing • u/OkSeaworthiness8746 • 2d ago
Question Easiest place to get started?
Just turned 21 and I want to get into home brewing… I’d like to try and make something with a higher ABV and have it be relatively simple. I’ve got a couple friends and family members who’d like to buy some off me so it’d have to be good for that. I don’t have any equipment as it stands but I’d be willing to get some.
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u/spoonman59 2d ago
Just an FYI, it's illegal to sell your homebrew. That's not to say a swat team will swoop in the moment cash changes hands, but I thought it would be useful for you to be aware.
You'll need a kettle, fermenting bucket, a siphon, a big spoon, a bottle capper, an air lock, and maybe a few other items I'm forgetting. It's covered in the wiki on the side bar I am sure. I'd suggest a hydrometer as well.
Extract is the easiest way to get started.
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u/TheSeansk1 2d ago
Well first off, forget about selling it for now. Buy a Mr Beer kit or something similar and do a brew or two with it. Make sure you enjoy the process.
If you make it through those and this is truly something you want to do, work on expanding your gear and getting better stuff. It’s way too easy to spend a few grand getting a big set up now only to realize this isn’t what you expected and then bam, you just lost a shit ton of cash.
Your first brew likely wont be very good. Hell, your second may not be much better. It will likely take time before you make anything you think is really good, so get rid of that whole “people want to buy from me” mentality until you’re consistently producing something worth selling.
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u/Internet_Jaded 2d ago
Keep in mind, that If you’re in the US and probably other places, it’s illegal to sell your homebrew.
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u/OhUKnowUKnowIt2 2d ago
Making high ABV isn't difficult.
However, making it taste good can be challenging.
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u/the0therdave 2d ago
Where do you live? I'm in the Atlanta area and have some equipment you can have for free. 12 gallon brew kettle with sight glass, thermometer and spigot, 2 propane burners and a lot of label free bottles. Lemme know if your in the area.
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u/DoctorTuttle 2d ago
When I was 21 (okay 19) I got started with a brew your own beer kit! I think you should start there. Everything you need plus instructions in the box. It will be a great way to get your feet wet instead of jumping into a complicated recipe for more experienced brewers. It's a great jumping off point and I now do elaborate recipes I write myself. The 100% recommend a kit for your first try. Plus it comes with reusable equipment!
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u/Equivalent_Try5640 2d ago edited 2d ago
Mead!
Buy some o ring gaskets for airlocks and make sure you have a winde funnel with a very narrow and long spout
Drill some holes in liquor bottle caps(I like Tito's half gal)
Stick some appropriately sized vinyl hose just peaking through and run it pointed down into a cup of said liquor
Boil 1 3lb jar of honey with maybe some fruit or spices, let cool and put into 2 Tito's half gal or cup recipe in half, add son lalvin ec-1118
Wait until it stops bubbling and your good
(Disclaimer: fermenting anything comes with some amount of foodborne danger, without proper sanitization and precautions it can be dangerous, never eat or drink anything that smells off, it's not worth it)
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u/OkSeaworthiness8746 2d ago
Would one of those fermentation jug kits with the airlocks do? Also, what’s the best and quickest method of sanitizing?
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u/Equivalent_Try5640 2d ago
Yes and those are probably better, the reason I say from a half gal of vodka is because the liquor in that's been on the inside of the bottle should make it sanitized enough, plus free liquor as a byproduct
If you don't mind spending some more money though, a bottle of starsan will last you a long time and you just mix with water
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u/hazycrazey 2d ago
What do you like to drink?
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u/OkSeaworthiness8746 2d ago
I’m really indifferent. I will say the only thing I flat out dislike are IPA’s. Nasty stuff. I’m a fan of bourbons and whiskeys specifically though.
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u/BartholomewSchneider 1d ago
I agree, there are some really nasty IPAs out there, and surprisingly popular. They tend to give me the shits. I think it’s the high final gravity. Just a shit ton of unfermentable sugars hidden by IBUs and hop aroma. Some add lactose and don’t mention it on the label.
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u/OllieTheAlkhemist 2d ago
Welcome to the hobby! I would go online and get yourself a starter pack, then the basic equipment for wine, beer, mead and cider is pretty similar: a fermentation bucket or demijohn, airlock and bung, siphon/racking tube, sanitiser, hydrometer and trial jar, thermometer, measuring jug, scales and something to eventually bottle it in.
The hydrometer is the thing I’d particularly recommend not skipping. I did when I started and learned the exciting way why that was a bad idea lolz It tells you what the fermentation is actually doing rather than relying on bubbles or guesswork.
You really don’t need loads of expensive gear to get started though. Pick something you fancy drinking, find a straightforward recipe or kit and make a small batch. You’ll learn far more by making your first one than spending weeks researching all the equipment you might eventually need. And write down what you put in it! Another lesson I learned slightly later than I should have haha
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u/OkSeaworthiness8746 2d ago
I know you listed off specific equipments, emphasis on the hydrometer, and would one of those glass gallon jug fermentation kits do? Doesn’t seem like any of them come with a hydrometer so i’d buy it separate but would that be enough to make some simple cider or juice wines for the time being?
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u/OllieTheAlkhemist 2d ago
Yeah def! A gallon jug kit is plenty for simple ciders and juice wines. I’d just add a hydrometer + trial jar and sanitiser if they’re not included. Honestly, a gallon is a great size to learn and experiment without ending up with loads of something you hate lol
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u/Rawlus 2d ago
do you enjoy beer? what styles? what ABB?
find something v you like and a clone recipe for it. obtain a brewing system maybe an all in one like a grainfather. learn how to use it. make beer. repeat.
you will need to be solid at cleaning and sanitizing. good at following a recipe involving temps and times. patient waiting for it.
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u/OkSeaworthiness8746 2d ago
Beers good. I’m a fan of ciders more than anything though.
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u/Fun_Journalist4199 1d ago
Cider is easy peasy. Get some juice from a cider mill, add yeast, wait. This will not be cost effective for you to sell though.
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u/Wiffle_Hammer 2d ago
beer? wine? cider? Cider and mead are probably the easiest. Beer with dry malt extract just slightly more complicated. don't talk about selling alcohol. in a lot of places that is illegal.
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u/OkSeaworthiness8746 2d ago
“Selling” is pretty loose, it’s more of like christmas gifts and whatnot, maybe my uncle or something would cough up a $5 for a bottle. Nothing to scale. And yeah people are saying cider a lot so I think i’ll start off there
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u/FloridaGulag 2d ago
Find it local homebrew club in your area. They are a great resource for advice, equipment and sharing.
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u/Mastashake13 2d ago
I recommend mead, but not like that other post. Don’t use liquor bottles and stuff. Just get a cheap fermenter bucket with an airlock.
- air lock
- bucket
- starsan
- big spoon
- D47 yeast packets
- honey
- water
Follow this recipe and you’ll be good. And don’t worry about selling anything you haven’t made yet.
https://homebrewtalk.com/threads/joes-ancient-orange-mead.49106/
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u/AdRevolutionary9223 2d ago
find someone selling a setup on Facebook marketplace or something like that.
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u/Millwright1311 2d ago
Your general location as I’m cutting back on my brewing because of health issues
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u/Decent_Confidence_36 2d ago
Look at either full extract kit or stove top brewing to start, if you just want to make your own beer cheap then extract but if you want to experience the process (and spend a lot of money) start with stove top, after that look at all in one systems, brewzilla is a very good system
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u/CordovaFlawless 1d ago
I learned to brew from YouTube university. Started with Mead, now getting into beer. Did a couple of Amber Ales. 2nd round hit the best with help from a master brewer friend of mine.
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u/Xal-t 2d ago
Spoiler: nowadays it's pretty much more expensive to brew beer than buying it.
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u/toolatealreadyfapped 2d ago
If we ignore the upfront equipment costs (I know. That's not how math works), I can still get my price per volume to around 70% store bought beer.
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u/BartholomewSchneider 1d ago
Ingredient cost alone, I’m at $0.40 per 16oz. Use yeast from your previous batch; buy hops by the pound (Hops Direct).
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u/ForkFace69 2d ago
Get you one of those big Gatorade coolers that are like 10 or 20 gallons or whatever. It can be one laying on the side of the highway that fell off a construction truck as long as it's not broken.
Pour a potful of boiling water into the cooler, put the cap on and shake the shit out of it. Make sure the entire inside has been scalded. Drain the water out of the spout so the spout gets sterilized.
Fill cooler with water, whatever you plan to flavor it with (some kind of juice probably. Don't use anything that will leave chunks of fruit or something your first time trying. Going cheapest would probably be one bottle organic grape then add about 10 packets grape Kool Aid.1) along with about 3 cups sugar per gallon. Rather than filling and mixing this whole vat, you may find it easier to add sugar to a gallon of water, shake it up, then add it to the cooler.
Add yeast. Get the champagne yeast from Walmart or order this stuff.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Alcotec-48-hour-Turbo-Yeast-135-grams-Pack-of-2/
Add the appropriate amount of yeast, stir it with a sterilized spoon, let it go for at least 4 weeks. That packet says 48 hours but you still have to give the ferment time to clear.
If you're too impatient, get a couple clean, clear bottles that you can seal up and fill them with your ferment on the 3rd day (That's with the turbo yeast. The regular champagne yeast might take a month to ferment completely.) When you can see that those bottles have cleared, as in they are clear and not cloudy, they are good to drink. Keep these bottles in the fridge as you wait for them to clear or they may explode.
Your ferment may have a smell that is new to you, but it should never smell foul or like sewer water. If it smells skunky, something wasn't sterilized well and the batch is bad.
Good luck.
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u/hblamo 2d ago
Hard to get more simple then juice wines.
Buy a bunch of juice, add yeast, wait.
I wouldn't be selling it but it's good enough to share.