far_side

I've been making homebrewed beer for years.

I find that it takes me about two hours spread over six or seven days to brew and bottle a batch from start to finish that yields 48 half-litre bottles.

In other words, it's dead easy and not time-consuming at all.

The Cooper's beer kits from Australia are a solid choice if you're just getting into beer-making. You can snag 'em at virtually any supermarket. They're relatively cheap (under 20 bucks), easy to get going, and they'll give you a good feel for the homebrew process.

What gear do you have?

For equipment, all the items you really need are these:

--a five gallon food-grade plastic bucket
--a five gallon food-grade plastic carboy with a stopper and airlock
--a sheet of plastic to cover the bucket, with an elastic to keep it tight
--a siphon hose with a clamp on the end
--a hydrometer
--a plastic testing cylindar for taking hydrometer readings of the beer
--a plastic gravy baster for drawing out samples for testing
--a long-handled ladle
--six or eight dozen beer bottles with caps. (For ease of use, I prefer plastic beer bottles with screw-on caps. When I need these, I buy 'em from a local U-brew outfit.)

After five or six batches, you'll have the gear paid for.