A new hobby

[m3d1k]

I know this isn't the introductions section, but I figured I'd get more responses in this forum.  I'm being medically retired from the Army tomorrow.  I also just received a starter kit for my birthday.  I have a 5.5 gallon pot, 7.5 gallon fermenter bucket, and a 7.5 gallon priming bucket.  I started my first brew a week and a half ago.  Bottled on Sunday.  The process seems to be going well right now minus one bottle that blew up.  It was the first bottle I filled and I filled too high.  All the other bottles are doing well and are filled properly. 

More to the point, I'm looking for some good resources.  I have a beginners homebrew book and I've got a pretty good grasp on all that's going on.  But I am excited and eager to learn as much as possible.  If any of you brewmasters out there would be willing to post your bookmarks to me it would be greatly appreciated! 

[Shakey_Dog]

Welcome and thank you for your service!

I go to a few other forums.  Northern brewer and B3.

There are a lot of books to choose from.  I know on the Northern Brewer they have several.

Don

[Beer_Tigger]

If you're looking for a great book, after you've had a few normal brews under your belt (I say under because after brewing enough batches your belly will sag over your belt. Grrrr! I hate that), anyway, I cannot recommend enough Radical Brewing.  Here's Amazon's link: http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Brewing-Recipes-World-Altering-Meditations/dp/0937381837.  Interesting read on beer history and some cool ideas on making unusual brews.

Enjoy the hobby.  I took two years as an extract brewer before the plunge into all grain.  That will make more sense once you've brewed  a couple dozen batches.

[m3d1k]

I had someone send me a link to www.howtobrew.com/index.html also someone on another board gave me a list of sites for anyone else curious. 

These are different message boards, and also alot of them are supplyers.

http://www.brewboard.com

http://morebeer.com

http://www.ratebeer.com

http://www.homebrewtalk.com

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com

http://www.tastybrew.com

http://byo.com

http://www.howtobrew.com

http://www.michiganbrewing.com

Some of the websites of different guys on this board that are quite helpfull for DIY projects.

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew

http://suburb.semo.net/jthornton/BeerHome.htm

http://yellowdogbrewery.com/default.aspx

http://wideopenwest.com/~gregmuller/photo_albums.htm

http://www.tomandteri.com/brewery/bob_recipes.htm#rec41


I figured I would share those here.  I have taken in a whole ton of information in the past few days.  Tomorrow I'm going to go buy more bottles and pick out all my own extracts, hops, yeasts, etc.... I just retired from the army today (medical) and I am hoping to start a new brew ever other weekend or so.  Maybe even more often then that.  I have a freezer that was left in the basement of the house I'm living in.  I plugged it in and it works, so I'm going to ask my landlords if they are attached to it.  If not I'm gonna build a kegerator.  I've seen quite a few people say they've gotten old corny's from pepsi distributors?  Does anyone else have any suggestions on that?  I don't need brand new ones, but I'm not sure about doing a bunch of maintenance on them.  Boy I'm excited

If there's anyone in the northern NY area let me know.  I'd like to emerge myself into the community as much as possible.

Thank you all for your links and resources.  I will make great use of them and share any info I get with anyone searching.

- Ian

[SOGOAK]

Welcome to the fun. Austin homebrew supply is another good mail order outfit.

+100 on tastybrew

3-4 guys on there helped me a lot.  There are a few really bright veterans here too.

Not to nose around- but IMHO you bottled too soon and may have more bottle bombs.  Did you measure with a hydrometer?  Just bottling per kit instructions or airlock bubbles is not always enough.  I think 3-4 weeks of ferment is better.  I rushed a few and they were syrupy.

Good luck and have fun.

[UselessBrewing]

"danceswithjager08"
Are you affiliated with any of the companies you have posted? That's great if you are, it just looks a little suspicious in that you have only posted links and not participated in any other discussions. If they are part of your business, we as consumers would like to know that.

A little Research:
I found it odd that everything posted on the two blogspot locations link to the same two websites that you referenced in other posts. I also find it odd that neither of the two sites you mention in your posts have any way of contacting the owner's of those pages. Which is a big indicator that there is something wrong! Reputable companies make sure there customers have a way for them to be reached in case of a problem.

I am not an "admin" but be assured that they have been notified along with all the "regulars" that frequent this site.

We are watching and are not amused.

Preston

[MaltLicker]

He lost me at "Mr. Beer"..............

possible phishing site or malware bomb?

[SOGOAK]

Hmmm Preston might be onto something.  I responded to a couple of that guys posts on my crackberry while undercafinated.

Now we know...