DIY: Brew beer at home

BillyBrew.com, beer ingredients

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Although brewing (Read this article to see a complete description of the process.) looks complicated, homebrewing is much simpler.  You can even brew beer in a bag, according to the Wikipedia article on homebrewing:

Brewing in a bag (BIAB) is a technique developed in Australia, which generally requires a single brewing vessel only, and a fine mesh bag to hold the grain. Adding the grain to the water is what defines the BIAB process. A fine mesh bag, usually made of nylon or fashioned out of a voile material, lines the brewing pot to which the grain is added. After the mashing period the grain bag, holding the spent grains, is removed and the brewing process proceeds as normal: boiling, cooling, pitching and fermenting. The brewer adds the total water volume to the brewing kettle at once, which differs from traditional mashing methods which use a specific water to grain ratio.

Unbeknownst to me, while I was depending on World of Warcraft for my virtual beer kick, homebrewing was booming, "Cheers! All 50 States Embrace the Home Brew Boom."  According to Jenna Woginrich in "Green Beer: Homebrewing," brewing beer at home is a green solution and it's simple.  My definition of 'green beer' comes from my college days and it means the batch hasn't been aged long enough -- it tastes raw and gives the drinker the runs.

This forum -- HomeBrewTalk -- has lots of information and gives some good advice.  It looks popular:  1,561,894 views of the topic "Show us your sculpture or brew rig." There's also the American Homebrewers Association for news and community activities.

Interesting that homebrewers call their brewing setups 'sculptures'.  For more pictures of sculptures, take a look at Popular Mechanics' "9 Serious DIY Beer-Brewing Rigs." Also from PM is this slideshow "How to Make Beer (Cheaply, Simply): Step-By-Step Guide."
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Popular Mechanics.com, gravity-fed beer-brewing rig

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There is also WII's Homebrew Channel, a self-updating homebrew (as is homebrewed software) application loader.

-- Marge