[Pi]

I think its great you are ready to jump right in to brewing. I think it's great for you that a couple hundred bucks is chumpchange. One thing no one has really stressed here about brewing- extract or all grain- is proper sanitation. all the greatest equipment and ingredients are a big waste of time if you dont start with a a sound understanding of cleanliness. And throwing alot of money at something will not get your beer to taste good after its infected.
IMO you should start slow to get a good understanding about whats going on behind the glass (or stainless steel); pay attention to your process and cleaning techniques, and let your mind and tastebuds guide you forward instead of your credit card.
"Experience: it's what you get right after you needed it"

[ynotbrusum]

All are great comments.  I always say to folks who ask about homebrewing that its fifty percent janitorial skills, 25 percent artistic skills and 25 percent science skills!

[hopfenundmalz]

All are great comments.  I always say to folks who ask about homebrewing that its fifty percent janitorial skills, 25 percent artistic skills and 25 percent science skills!

Most would place the janitorial skills higher.

[HoosierBrew]

All are great comments.  I always say to folks who ask about homebrewing that its fifty percent janitorial skills, 25 percent artistic skills and 25 percent science skills!

Most would place the janitorial skills higher.

+1 in my brewery, for sure !

[S. cerevisiae]

Most would place the janitorial skills higher.

I have lost count of the number of people that I have met who assume that brewing is an extension of cooking.  However, being a great brewer has more to do with one's cleaning skills than it does with one's cooking skills. 

[a10t2]

I'm in freezer heaven now.

If you can hold off on buying, Freezer Heaven has a great Labor Day sale.

[hopfenundmalz]

Most would place the janitorial skills higher.

I have lost count of the number of people that I have met who assume that brewing is an extension of cooking.  However, being a great brewer has more to do with one's cleaning skills than it does with one's cooking skills.

I showed a young guy who had finished culinary school how to brew. He said it was more along the lines of baking than cooking, as ingredients were weighed and you did not know how it turned out until later. He said when cooking you taste and adjust on the fly, and the results are known quickly. I learned that with training one could just look at water when being heated and know the temp with some accuracy. When heating sparge water he told me it was at 170F, the kettle thermometer was facing away from him. The surface gets very still at 170F.

[69franx]

That's a pretty neat trick, I will have to look for it next brew day


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[denny]

I'm in freezer heaven now.

If you can hold off on buying, Freezer Heaven has a great Labor Day sale.

 

[Bill Wallace]

Bill, I recommend you take a look at this....http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/How-To-Batch-Sparge.pdf

I think I'm going to get my feet wet using the above recipe/method.  Any more of this on the site?  I heard there are some videos worth watching.  How do I find all this stuff?  I see the vids at the top of this forum.  Do I just sort of look around here and there for them?

[hopfenundmalz]

Bill, I recommend you take a look at this....http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/How-To-Batch-Sparge.pdf

I think I'm going to get my feet wet using the above recipe/method.  Any more of this on the site?  I heard there are some videos worth watching.  How do I find all this stuff?  I see the vids at the top of this forum.  Do I just sort of look around here and there for them?

On the main AHA page there are many resources, beginner to advanced.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/beginner/how-to-make-beer/

Using the handy dandy search function this was found.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/5-benefits-of-brew-in-a-bag-biab/

There have been some threads about BIAB (as it is called) on the forum.

[Jimmy K]

I have brewed several hundred batches of ale without the aid of forced attemperation (I do use forced attemperation with lager). 

And I've made thousands of posts without sesquipedalian loquacity.
 
 
Please let me follow that snide comment with a big smiley. -    - I mean no offence. I had to look up attemperation.

[HoosierBrew]

I have brewed several hundred batches of ale without the aid of forced attemperation (I do use forced attemperation with lager). 

And I've made thousands of posts without sesquipedalian loquacity.
 
 
Please let me follow that snide comment with a big smiley. -    - I mean no offence. I had to look up attemperation.

[dcb]

Awesome-- I got to look up and learn "sesquipedalian"

[klickitat jim]

I have brewed several hundred batches of ale without the aid of forced attemperation (I do use forced attemperation with lager). 

And I've made thousands of posts without sesquipedalian loquacity.
 
 
Please let me follow that snide comment with a big smiley. -    - I mean no offence. I had to look up attemperation.

Some posts force one to click reply. But then one realizes,,,, oh never mind. I've heard that I shouldn't judge unless I've walked a mile in the other person's shoes, but I don't even walk that far in my own shoes, so come sea come saw.