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Home beer brewing is a fun and rewarding hobby.  Anyone who wants to brew great beer at home can be successful.  The procedures are so easy that over 90% of our new brewers are happy with their first batch!  As your experience increases, you'll learn how to make your beer even better. 

Getting started is inexpensive.  Starter equipment kits are available for around $50.  This equipment is a one-time purchase.  Then you just decide what kind of beer you want to make.  Annapolis Home Brew has recipes & ingredients for any kind of beer you can imagine.

Below are the answers to some questions that new home brewers often ask.  If you have questions which aren't answered here, feel free to contact us.

Can I really brew beer that's as good as the stuff I buy?
Yes you can!  In fact, home brewers have some advantages over big commercial breweries and even micro breweries.  Home brewers can use higher quality ingredients than commercial breweries, and a home brewer isn't under pressure to skimp on quality in favor of advertising or in-store promotions.

How long does it take to make my own beer?
Usually your beer will be ready to drink in 2 or 3 weeks, depending on the beer style you're making.  You'll find that beer tastes even better after the bottles age for a few more weeks.  Home brewed beer stays fresh for 6 months or more (again, depending on the style).  Stronger beers have a shelf life of years!  All of this, without artificial preservatives or vitamin-destroying pasteurization.

I’ve heard stories about exploding bottles, what about that?
"Exploding" bottles were common problems during prohibition-era brewing.  It was usually caused by the use of inappropriate ingredients, such as bread yeast, and poor understanding of brewing techniques.  After all, prohibition era brewers had few helpful resources.  Today, a simple measurement before bottling ensures that you will have perfect carbonation every time, with no exploding bottles.

How much does it cost?
While you're enjoying the art of brewing, you'll be saving money making your own top quality beer!  To get started, you'll need to buy a Starter Kit, which will include all of the equipment you need to brew and bottle.  The equipment is re-usable, so this is a one-time expense.  Starter Kits for brewing and bottling equipment can be bought for as little as $50.  There are other starter kits which cost a bit more, and come with more goodies. 

Make sure that your Starter Kit makes a 5-gallon batch.  This is the standard size for a batch of home brewed beer.  Kits which make a non-standard-sized batch can make it hard to find ingredients.

Once you've got the starter kit, you just need to get ingredients to make each batch.  Ingredients to make each 5 gallon batch (more than two cases of beer) can be had for as little as $20.00, but good quality recipes usually cost around $25.00 to $35.00.  Once you know what kind of beer you prefer to brew, you can save more money by purchasing your ingredients in bulk.

How much work is involved?
This is up to you.  You can go for quick-&-easy, or you can spend more time with your brew.  The quickest method of brewing (using no-boil beer kits) takes less than 20 minutes from set-up to clean-up. The most popular method of brewing (boiling your own recipe) takes from 90 minutes to 2 hours including set-up to clean-up.  

After about a week, you’re ready to bottle.  Bottling takes about 45 minutes. Your beer will be ready to drink a week or two after you bottle it.  Many home brewers prefer to use kegging systems, which allows them to skip the bottling procedures and serve their beer on draft.

As your brewing skills increase, you may wish to try some of the more complex brewing processes. Procedures such as "mashing" can add time to your brewing schedule, but some home brewers enjoy being more involved with their beer.

What is the alcohol content of home brewed beer?
Different styles of beer have different alcohol levels, so you can choose a style that fits your tastes.  You can add ingredients to a recipe which will boost its alcohol content, and you can also omit certain ingredients to lower the alcohol content.

Of course, there are practical limits to everything.  You can't make a beer with double the alcohol without changing the flavor!

Isn’t it dangerous or illegal to make alcohol at home?
Brewing beer is not a dangerous process.  The alcohol in beer comes from the natural fermentation process, which is perfectly safe and legal.   Brewing beer and wine is so safe that it's impossible to poison yourself.  Beer is one of the very few foods for which there are no known pathogens--in other words, no dangerous diseases can survive in beer. The alcohol contained in beer, and the essences of hops are powerful natural preservatives.

I tried someone’s home brew, and I wasn’t impressed.
Don’t be discouraged.  There are as many different types of beer as there are different foods.  If you didn’t like your friend’s beer... find out what it is, and don’t make that kind for yourself!

Many home brewers have been disappointed by low quality home brewing systems that are sold by other companies.  A hardware store or department store isn't the place to get your home brewing supplies!  These stores just sell gimmicky beer makers around Christmas time and Father's day.

You may also want to read our article on 5 easy ways to avoid off-flavors.  Off-flavors are tastes that don't belong in your beer.  Off-flavors are not very hard to avoid, but some home brewers don't have anyone to help them make simple improvements.  At Annapolis Home Brew, it's our goal to help you make great beer!

Where is the best place to get my supplies?
When any hobby becomes very popular very quickly, someone will try to cash in by selling an inferior product with good packaging and advertising. If you want to brew good beer, don't buy your home brew equipment or supplies from a supermarket, discount club, or department store. Those places will have some gimmicky "Beer Making Kits" during the holiday season and father's day, but come back in a month for more supplies, they are all gone... no supplies, no knowledge base, and no support.

If you want to be successful as a home brewer, buy your equipment and supplies from a home brew supply shop. They are specialized enough to have what you need all year long, and they'll be able to answer questions. Brewing is more of an art than a science, and you need the support of people who are passionate about their art.