Getting Ready to Start Home Brewing Again

With my daughter heading off to all-day camp next week it's looking like a good bet that I'll be getting started on the Homebrew Kit Throwdown for the next issue of The Hungover Gourmet.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up my Mr. Beer Kit yesterday – which I got during a recent "scratch & ding" sale – and discovered that it has malt extract kits for both Czech Pilsner and Mexican Cerveza styles.

I don't think I've made homebrew since trying to make a batch while, ahem, "altered" while I was living in Pittsburgh. I vaguely remember lugging all my equipment across the state when I moved back to the Delaware Valley in 1998 but I don't think I ever brewed again. (Though I wonder what the hell happened to all my equipment.)

The thought has crossed my mind at various times over the last dozen years but I never wanted to go all in again on the expense, not to mention the storage space required, etc.

Enter brew kits like Mr. Beer and its throwdown competitor from Brooklyn Brew Shop and homebrewing just got a lot more attractive.