PaulO wrote:I have made many batches of homebrew. All were good, and some very good. Papazian's books are where I started. Most batches were made from malt extract: syrup or dried, or some combination. If you decide to buy a "kit" can of hopped extract with an envelope of yeast Do Not add table sugar when tou are making it. Add more malt extract. Special strains of brewing yeast are worth finding. In summary a canned stout kit and some dried malt can be an easy way to start brewing.
The man knows whereof he speaks...........no sugar! Next step up is to use adjunct grains, which don't add fermentables, but can add flavor. Step three is to do a partial mash, which adds some fermentables and is significantly more trouble and much more time consuming.........do it with some buddies and prepare some food and have some beer along the way. Do this at least once for the fun of it!
Step four, should you choose it, is the full catastrophy.........full mash brewing........something I have not done myself and have no plans of doing.........too much work what with me being a lazy old bastard.