Well, I placed an order today for some equipment to get into homebrewing. I should have pretty much everything I need to get started except bottles and an ingredient kit, both of which I'll be going to a nearby homebrew supply store for. I've been scouring the HBT forums and reading as much as I can to prepare. I'm really looking forward to it, but my wife is dismayed that I'm about to slide down yet another slope.
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Good idea on the local homebrew store for your ingredient kit. They should be able to help you through any issues with the first batch.

If you don't mind a little work you shouldn't need to pay for bottles. When you get to the homebrew supply buy some b-brite powder, fill up a 5 gallon pail with water and some b-brite, add bottles of beer you've finished after you've rinsed them. The b-brite will make most labels fall right off, a light scrub will remove the glue. You've got a month to get 50 so get to drinking!
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I think I'll just go for some new bottles. I don't have anywhere near that many empties and I don't drink that much beer over the course of a month. Plus I was thinking of going with 22 oz bottles and that would get pretty expensive getting the ones that already have beer in them.

On another note, how does that b-brite compare with oxyclean? I've seen a lot of people recommending oxyclean on HBT for cleaning and removing labels.
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I have never used the oxy, but have seen about it. Seems so much simpler.

I am lazy when it comes to de-labeling the bottles. I have decided I will just buy them bare from my local store.
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I use the off-brand, fragrance free oxy to clean bottles and remove labels (although I'm kegging now so haven't done it in a while).

I would fill up my laundry sink with warm water and mix in a scoop of the oxy stuff then let the bottles soak for a few hours. The labels would slide right off. I'd give em a good rinse and then set aside for sanitation/bottling.
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Dang...such a high price to pay :-)

:-)
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I subtract the cost of new bottles from the cost of the beer :-)

Most of my pals are on notice to save me any decent bottles, and I've got them trained to rinse properly so that I don't have mold in the bottoms.

I use oxyclean now, never seen it at a homebrew store though which is why I recommended b-brite. Same concept, just put a bit in the water. I keep the bucket full of solution in a closet in the kitchen, that way every bottle which happens into the house winds up label free down in the brewery.
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Maybe I should send you a "package" with some bottles after the first of the year...:-)
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Yep, same here. I also will toss in airlocks, stoppers, tubing, etc., just to have it ready the next time. I use One Step as my sanitizer
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Test run of my new two burner, single tier stand and 15.5 gal sanke keg HLT and BK tomorrow. I like the idea of double the beer in about the same amount of time. I need to plan it right because my temperature controlled chest freezer will only hold two 6 gallon better bottles at a time.
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The homebrew thread is a safe zone Steve...

but I've got about 20 gallons of filled bottles in the basement in case of zombie attack, plagues, etc... just sayin :-)
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A safe zone on CA...:-)

:-)
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Got my first brew in the fermenter. Nothing crazy just a blone ale. Starting with baby steps but had a good time putting it together. Im worried about the sanitation . Not me cleaning everything i was very careful, but my wife felt the need to just about put her face in the fermeting bucket and start talking to me in the process.Just after i pitched the yeast :-). She could not figure out why i was so upset with this after i had just spent time explaining the sanitation process and its importance to her. I guess i cant be to mad at her she did buy the kit for me. :-) We'll see what happens next week hopefully its in good shape.
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Stopped by my local homebrew store and grabbed the ingredients to do my first brew, an American-style Pale using their recipe. So now I have everything I need except the actual equipment, which I'm waiting on Midwest to ship. Having never been exposed to the raw ingredients for beer before, I have to say the grains smell amazing.
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Anyone interested in some bottles feel free to PM me.

Why?

I just recieved two 5 gallon kegs and the system from Northern Brewer yesterday!! hOOt:-):-)

Can't wait, we've got the Chinook IPA kit ready to brew, and we will not be bottling it! Can't wait to give kegging a try.
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Well the inaugural brew was a success. No issues to speak of. Got 10.50 gallons fermenting away. Just wished I had a bigger chest freezer because tomorrow would be a great opportunity to brew.
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I bought my first kit last week and it's due to arrive later this week. It's a cheapo kit-the Mr Beer Premium Edution Home Beer Kit. I saw the reviews on amazon were pretty good and when it appeared on woot for $25 shipped, I thought why not. Looking forward to seeing if it yields enough interest to make this a more serious hobby or not. I'm primarily interested in brewing hefeweizen and Kristallweizen.
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Dont judge homebrew on a Mr Beer kit. If you dont like the results from Mr Beer, dont give up on homebrewing.
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That switch to double the beer in the same amount of time is great. I went to a plate chiller when I switched and think I wound up saving time.

I brewed up an Irish Red that I'll be entering into our local clubs competition in a couple months. 5 gallons on some slurry from a scottish ale (wyeast 1728), and the other half on some marzen slurry (white labs 820). The 820 was slooowww the first time around, I hear the second round with it is usually faster though. We'll see...
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Just bottled my first brew a blonde ale. Not very impressed when i tasted it. Tastes like watered down coors light if thats possible. I know its not carbonated yet but i dont think its getting any better. Its a start up kit from Mr. Beer so im not to worried. it was more to get my brewing legs. Im already working on getting supplies for the next one.
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