[box_light]Do. Want. is a new weekly feature where we choose one object that we’re lusting over at the moment, and share it with our readers. These can be anything geek-related, as you’ll probably share a lot of the same hobbies as we do.[/box_light]
The first Do. Want. is a personal passion of mine: home brewed beer. It’s so much so, that we’re going to include it more regularly on the site and in our shows. While a few of my friends have been brewing their own beer for several years now, I’m just getting into to. As in, I just ordered my first kit and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. There are several ways to brew your own beer, depending on how much of a beginner you are and how much time and effort you’d like to put into the hobby. Either way it’s an incredibly fun and rewarding hobby.
This week we recommend the Premium Gold Edition Home Brew Kit by Mr. Beer, which makes brewing ale essentially as easy as making a pot of coffee. It may just take a few weeks before you can drink it.
Mr. Brew is known for being the ultimate easy home kit, but isn’t always considered a “serious” brewer’s product. What the products do well is to get potential brewers interested in drinking what they create, with the idea that they’ll hopefully move on to more elaborate setups as they get used to it. This one in particular, the Premium Gold Edition, is not only painstakingly easy but it’s also super-affordable. It runs for just 60 bucks or less at most retailers, but can be found cheaper online.
“Just Add Water” is the tagline you’ll find on the box, and it actually is that simple. Again: not the most elaborate, but the resulting beer does taste pretty good, and there’s a variety of flavors that you can purchase to brew. It includes packets of all of the ingredients that you’ll need, a mix of beer, and the mini-barrel to put it all together in. It’s a great little kit if you don’t have the time to be indebted to the hobby, and just want to try it out once in a while. Plus at that price it’s as cheap as can get without feeling torched. You WILL need to invest in some bottles though, or at least bleach out those Budweisers that have been sitting on your counter top.
If you plan on taking a bigger plunge into hobbyist brewing then you’ll want to invest in something a little more complete. The Gold Complete Beer Kit by Monster Brew is an excellent choice for beginners, and comes with much more equipment that’s needed to get a cleaner, fresher brew. Again, it’s not expensive and can be found for between $70 and $100 everywhere online. You’ll also need to pick up bottles for this one, too.
The kit contains enough gear to make a happy 5 gallons of brew, but is a bit more DIY than the Mr Beer kit. Monster’s kits require more cleaning and care, but they’re much closer to what you’ll be using if you intend on taking the hobby further.
Which I do.
It’s the first step to a fulfilling and rewarding experience, and one that will get you to appreciate beer a bit more the next time you chug one at Buffalo Wild Wings.
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