the_great_ontex
Title: This is what cool looks like
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I am going to become an amateur Brew Master
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I have just bought a bunch of beer brewing equipment and a Witbear ingredient set
Time to craft some beer!
Any brewers here?
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cobane
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I am going to become an amateur Brew Master
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Swirly.
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"See that the men are thoroughly insulated, for we shall encounter extreme cold." - Dr. Zarkov
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Ptilk
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I am going to become an amateur Brew Master
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I home brew from time to time. It's interesting for a while, but never really got the bug to do it all the time like some people. Probably because I don't really like beer. I mean, yeah....I like it, but I don't LIKE it. It's just something to drink with dinner or while waiting for the liquor store to open after you drank your last bottle of scotch. 
Seriously though, I got really into it back in my 20's and early 30's. Drove everyone I know crazy talking about it, planned trips around going to home brew stores that had unique and interesting products, it was mostly illegal back then which was a bonus. Spent way too much on hydrometers, fermentation vessels, and bottle capping devices. It was a lot of fun, but I got busy with my "career" and discovered the joys of small batch bourbons....so I switched from brewing to distilling. Bad idea btw.
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the_great_ontex
Title: This is what cool looks like
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I am going to become an amateur Brew Master
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I love the taste of beer :P I've tried to get into wine tasting of recently, but I just think it isn't as fun though I do hope to revisit it someday. I love tasting all different kinds of beer (especially wheat beer). I don't like getting drunk though, so it's not really the alcohol for me. Its the taste and the complexity of the taste.
Wheat beer to me, is much more complex than most other beers as far as how you're able to manipulate it and make it your own
Distilling does sound interesting. My granddad used to do that. Dangerous though 
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Ptilk
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I am going to become an amateur Brew Master
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I'm too much of a hick to ever really appreciate wine. 2 buck chuck is fine by me.
I like wheat beers, but much prefer a stout or porter. I did make an American version of a witbier once though that was pretty damn amazing. I filtered it (because people in America think cloudy beer=spoiled or something), tons of orange a lime peel, no hops, everyone loved it. Was never able to pull it off again. Every attempt resulted in a slightly sour and acidic drink that wasn't enjoyable at all.
My advice to you then is to WRITE DOWN what you do when making a batch. I could be a bajillionaire now if I knew how the hell I made that beer everyone loved.
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Rhint
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I'm a brewer. Mead, Beer, Wine, it's all good.
If you are running from kits, you can't screw it up. If you are going scratch, the most important thing is to find a good brew shop and make friends with the people that work there. They will have tons of experience and will guide you through the process from making gasoline to making fine beverages.
It is a lot of fun, just don't get discouraged if your first brew or two turns out poorly.
And don't put too much stock in brewery forums, many of those people are either liars or have abhorrent taste.
Oh, and to echo what Ptilk said, write everything down. In fact charts with areas for notes are great. If you keep a good log on your brewing, you will avoid making the same mistakes twice and won't lose your good recipes.
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the_great_ontex
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Awesome. Yup I am going with kits for right now until I get a feel of the flavors and how they turn out. Ill be sure to keep a log, defiantly what I was planning to do.
I have noticed there's a lot of subjective opinion our there regarding how to brew certain things, right now all I've done is read the basics and I figured I'd just craft according to my taste.
I was wondering... I got 24 bottles and oxygen sealed caps coming... Can I also use old beer bottles as well? No harm in recycling old beer bottles right if they are thoroughly washed right?
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Ptilk
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You would be insane not to reuse your empty beer bottles. Twist off cap style bottles can be used from what I remember, but I always used non-twist caps. My bottle capper worked fine with them and I had no problems with any of them ever losing a seal.
I bought a case of bottles when I started out, never bought a bottle again. Perfect use for my empties was to refill them with better beer than they were full of when I originally purchased them.
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Rhint
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All I use are old bottles. Make sure to clean them right after use and get a capper. All you need to buy are the caps which are cheap.
Just search for beer bottle capper or find one at your local brew store.
Oh, and don't use dish soap to clean the bottles, use the same brewing cleaner that you use for your equipment.
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the_great_ontex
Title: This is what cool looks like
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I am going to become an amateur Brew Master
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Right on, will do. Sounds good. Yup I am getting a bottler also.
Do you guys add carbonation tablets to your beers?
Also do you use plastic or glass carboys for fermenting? I am going with a plastic one as that seems to be the most popular among forum goers vs a glass
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Ptilk
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I am going to become an amateur Brew Master
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I used a 5 gallon pickle bucket (plastic) I got from work for free for years as a fermentation vessel. Added a bit of invert sugar to each bottle before I capped it. Never had a problem with carbonation.
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Rhint
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I use glass but plastic works great. I've never used carb tablets as I think they are not needed and there are other ways to carbonate. Just add a bit of sugar at bottling and it will do the trick.
Carb tablets are also out for me because I don't put anything thats not natural in my brew.
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