Homemade Beer - Three Reasons to Make Your Own Beer at Home

Making your own beer at home is a fast growing hobby as people discover how easy it is and how inexpensive it is to get started. And who doesn't want to impress their friends with their own great tasting home brewed beer? Your friends will swear it's as good as their normal brand, and cheaper too!

Are you ready to start brewing your own homemade beer? Here are three reasons why you should start brewing your own beer at home today:

1. Getting Started is Quick and Easy: Making your own beer at home may sound intimidating at first, but it really is easy to get started. The ingredients, recipes and equipment you'll need are just a click away thanks to the Internet, and retailers are popping up everywhere as well. If you're on a budget you can always pick up deals on eBay or CraigsList; and if you're in a hurry to get started you can always pick up a kit.

2. Save Money. In today's economy, people are trying to save money, and for many that means brewing their own beer at home instead of going to the bar or buying retail beer. There's an initial investment to get started - purchasing equipment, supplies, etc. - but once you're setup and running, your cost per beer will be much lower than your typical retail beer. And definitely cheaper than going to the bar!

3. Better Tasting: In addition to being fun, easy and inexpensive, brewing your own beer at home means you have more control over how your beer tastes. You get to choose from thousands of beer recipes (most are free on the Internet, but you can purchase recipes from home beer retailers as well), and you can tweak the recipes to suit your taste. Choose from all different kinds of beers, including ales, fruit beers, wheat beers and more. You can't do that with a six pack!

You're ready to make your own delicious homemade beer, but how do you get started? You might want to start by visiting home brew beer forums and asking for advice. You'll be surprised at how much help the other members will be if you let them know you're new to home brewing and if you ask for advice, and you'll also be surprised at how easy and inexpensive it is to start home brewing your own beer today.

To start making your own home brewed beer, you'll need some basic equipment and ingredients. There are many beer making kits available with everything you need right in one box, or you can buy your equipment and supplies separately.

Here's a short list of what you'll need:

- one large container (5-6 gallons) to store the beer in while it's fermenting (also called a carboy)
- a large stock pot or bucket (should hold at least 3 gallons of liquid)
- a hydrometer (a thermometer will work if you don't have a hydrometer)
- a siphon hose
- bottles or something to store the beer in when done
- ingredients (will vary based on the recipe you are using)

Also helpful to have on hand are a long-handled stainless steel spoon and a funnel.

Whether you buy your own equipment or go with a beer making kit, you'll have no trouble finding all of the supplies and ingredients you need at one of the many online or offline brewing retailers.