BYOB (Brew Your Own Beer)

Nice thinking.

I'm a hophead myself, so I hop it up when I brew. Some people just don't dig them, though. A friend of mine won't even let you leave bottles of hoppy beer in his fridge...

For my fellow hopheads, if you can find Victory beers in your area try hopdevil or hop wallop.
Jp is right about Dogfish head, the 120 is worth the money, if you get your hands on a bottle or two try aging them, I just popped open a bottle I aged for a year and it was even hoppier than off the shelf. (only two more left)

I haven't tried brewing my own beer, what books, websites, etc... would you recommend to get started?

I live in Michigan. Home of Bells Brewing Co. They make a few excellent beers. My favorite is the one named oberon. It's an ale. Usually restaurants serve it with a slice of orange. Bells only makes this in the summer time, and it can be difficult to locate. Also, it has to be fresh, and finding it fresh, can be tough. You'll never forget the taste of a fresh oberon. poured from a tap.

Hey Sublime... good seeing you.

I got this book Extreme Brewing. It is written by the owner of dogfish head and is a nice overview book with some good recipes. They even put their 60-minute IPA recipe in there.

This book is much more in depth and goes over every little detail for brewing. It really is a science, so if you like details, I'd use this one. If you like diving right in, you could get away with just the Extreme Brewing book.

Also, since you're in the area, there is a small shop in Libertyville where you can get all your supplies and they are very helpful if you have any questions. Here is their website: http://www.undergrounddigital.com/

Thanks, its good to be back. I'll have to check those out.

Before I quit drinking entirely, I planted an entire hedge of hops(around 1000 ft of a strain that was developed for this area of the NE, it was a hardy perennial bush and needed cutting and tending) Ive let them go but they still thrive because I just flat ignored them and thats the best thing for hops, Dont futz with the bushes .
Then I quit making my own ales and drank Yuengling Chesterfield Ale exclusively. It was a very hoppy taste that went with PIZZA .
I miss hoppy ales. I was never knowledgeable about the India Pale ALes , I only knew a few and then got glued to Chesterfield.
OHH the head, and the flavor. I can still remember it and its been about 15 years.

Speaking of Hey and good to see you -- this must be old home week. Good to see you too jp!

Hey jp, don't I still owe you dinner and beer....

Where the hell ya been?

RH

Hey Farmerman... if those hop vines of yours are still producing, I'm buying if your selling.

Hey JPB, nice to see you too. How ya been? Sick of the snow around here yet?

Rockhead... I've been busy with school mostly. I forgot all about that. Have you been in the area?

Bottled my second batch last night... just one more week until I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Last fall I wnt through the hop bushes and hedge trimmed them. They will no doubt be producing like crazy. My wife actually picks the flowers and uses them in flower displays for the table. They look neat with zinnias and babys breath.

They usually produce florets by June and are full bloom and ready by July . Theyll bloom again if cut early.
Very aromatic florets, its amazing how something that fragrant can impart a neat bitter flavor to ales and beer.

Send me a PM before the changover in this site . You pay the postage and Ill send you a box when they are ready and dried . Find out what I have to do to mail foodstuffs (any special regs Im breaking?"

Fall... my favorite beer drinking time of the year.

I'm about ready to brew a batch of pumpkin ale and am very excited. I LOVE pumpkin ales.

I'm afraid I'm not enough of a beer connosieur to know what "hoppy" beer tastes like.

What does hoppy mean?

Hoppy refers to the amount of hops used in beer. They were originally used as a preservative but also add a bitterness to the beer to off-set the sweet taste of the malt. Depending on how you use them it also adds lots of aroma and flavor to the beer. So... a hoppy beer would be more bitter than say a Miller Light, but don't think of bitter as a bad thing. In this instance it is quite delicious. Try a Dog Fish Head 90 Minute IPA if you want to try a good hoppy beer.... MMmmmmm!

Back in Seattle, I'd be looking forward to the pending appearance of Red Hook's Winter Ale right now. Mmmmmm......

No chance I'll be brewing the near future, though. Broke my carboy while moving (goddamn those things shatter into a billion tiny slivers), and no time anywho...

i have wanted to learn how to brew beer and especially liquor.
for a while now.

Beer is not that difficult, but you have to be careful about contamination which can be kind of tedious. I've never done liquor but I've heard it isn't that difficult either. I know there are books out for brewing beer and I'm sure there are a few for liquor too.

Liquor is more tedious than beer (if you do it well) and illegal. Won't save you any money, either, unless you're making large amounts.

A friend brought over a five-pack. Yeah, I know.....
It contained: An Atwater Block Brewery Double Cream Stout. A Bells Vanilla Java Porter. A Bells Expedition Stout. A Virgils Cream Soda and a Yuengling Black and Tan. I'll let you know what I think.

Sounds delicious to me!