So I've been getting into making my own beer, I made a small 1 gallon batch where everything went wrong and the beer ended up tasting like putrid ass, I wanted to try again because I was told of a simpler way of doing it. So I bought a bigger kit and made my second batch, a more easier full proof way. I'm really getting into this it's been the first week and everything is looking much better.

So I was just wondering if anyone has done any homebrewing whether its beer or whine or whiskey or shine anything.

What do you brew?

Whats the process you use to do it?

How was your first batch?

Props for you, Gilga-homie. I wish I know how but I'd be more of a drunk than usual; but then again, my laziness would prevent me so. Luckily, I can afford it.

It is also unfortunate, General Discussions do not appear on the front page.

Its something I plan on doing sometime this year. I haven't decided if i want to brew beer first, or distill some hard stuff. Its interesting stuff. My brother has gotten into it but I haven't talked to him too much about it. If I may ask, what were the two ways that you did it? I have brewed beer before at a brew place (dont know what to call it) but basically they have all the stuff to brew there, and you go and brew beer according to one of their recipes, than you come back after 2 weeks i think and bottle it. never seen another place like it.

Basically the same as you describe but I'm spending $100 for the equiptment. 

My first kit was a gift, it was just a small 1 gallon starter, I had to boil the grains and oats making sure everything is at a specific temperature doing many steps and what I ended up doing was I had my heat to high and I boiled off to much liquid I ended up with half the amount I was suppose to have. Anyway the instructions said add water if low (I was REALLY low). So I popped the airlock on it and let it sit for two weeks like yours. After that I bottled it, siphoned everything with a hose, it was very easy I used plastic bottles with a twist cap, very simple with the same result.

After another two weeks of sitting around it was just ready to drink (the minimum amount of time, some people leave it for almost a month after bottling). It was horrible barely drinkable even after a month of being bottled.

So I got a lot of advice from the owner of a brew shop and he showed me a full proof way. I got my kit online for $100 and it makes 6 gallons or about 60 beers. The instructions was super easy. You just get a can of malt extract ($20) and a bag of dextrose (just a sugar $5) put it in a big bucket (came with the kit), add 16 litres of boiling water, stir, stir, stir and then fill the rest with cold water. Let it cool down, I had to put it in my bath tub of cold ice water (the faster the better), then add yeast mixed with a little warm water (don't stir). Leave for 24 hours sealed with airlock and then open and stir everything together. The trick I guess is to switch between buckets many times to get as much as the sediment out as possible that collects at the bottom, so leave it for 5 days move to another bucket, leave for 7 -10 days then move to another bucket, bottle then leave for minimum two weeks.

Very excited to see how this second batch turns out I've done everything right so far.

I figured I'm saving about $500 a year if I make my own beer. I can't afford not to lol