I want to start Homebrewing....

Check "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" out from the library and buy "How to Brew" by John Palmer. I spent about a month reading them before getting started.

Every so often Midwest offers a great Groupon deal (usually a starter kit, and an extract recipe kit and a coupon for a recipe kit down the road.) I'd keep an eye out for that.

If you guys know any homebrewers, ask if you could brew with them.

 

http://howtobrew.com/intro.html

In addition to reading, find a homebrew club and/or someone who will let you tag along on a brew day. It really helps to see the process beginning to end.

You are also welcome to tag along on any of my recorded brew days: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbipsg1bRdn9twlbOHu_f4nif7Q6d1eI5

 

The absolute best first step is to find a good local homebrew store. Depending on where you live, there could be several to pick from - do some research and go to the best one. Nothing helps ease the learning curve more than a store that has a wide array of ingredients and knowledgeable staff who can expertly answer your nooby questions.

Beyond that, start small. Packaged kits will make mediocre beer, but barring a big mistake, the end product will be quite drinkable. There's no shame in turning out a few batches using kits before picking out ingredients yourself for your first non-kit steep-and-extract batch - the instructions are pretty easy to follow, and it helps to not have to worry too much about your ingredients when you are still learning the mechanics of brewing.

 

Don't start out with 14% imperial stout. Start with a nice 6% APA, or a wheat beer or brown ale perhaps. Trust me, you'll be happy for it later.

 

Read and online search as much as possible before spending any money. It is exciting to get your first batch going. But good research and preparation will be the difference between drinkable beer and good beer on your first batch. And triple check any piece of information you get from your homebrew store or online.

 

I have been telling people about this for equipment since my buddy bought it a few weeks ago to get started and I still think its one of the best deals around.
http://www.valuebrew.com/collections/home-page-featured/products/valuebrew-starter-bundle

Homebrewing is like anything else, just youtube an instructional and then give it a shot. You will learn more as you go.

 

Alot of great info here from everyone, I'd like to add one tid bit...take notes of your brew day, it isn't necessary to get a brewing software yet but you can use it to help keep track of what went right or wrong, I use beersmith, you can download a trial copy of it to get your feet wet.

 

These threads would be a good place to start...
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/getting-started.49813/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...d-in-home-brewing-where-to-shop-online.49108/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/is-starting-out-with-extracts-really-necessary.54361/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/noob-help.31245/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/going-to-start-homebrewing.80299/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/posts/1077232/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/homebrewing-where-to-start.70838/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/equipment-where-to-start.58486/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/what-to-start-homebrewing-what-do-i-do.42144/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/what-kit-to-start-with.27498/

And of course...
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

 

DON"T DO IT!. That way lies madness.

...says the guy that just started brewing late last year and now has brewed 15 beers.....

MADNESS!

but a very tasty and a very satisfying mad adventure. Wish I was mad about this sooner.

 

I would suggest starting small. When I first started brewing the first couple batches I made were terrible and I was supper glad that I had started with 1 gallon batches. Plus its a good way to start because you can be more flexible in what you make and stagger your brews so that every week you have a new beer to taste. I’ve come a long way in the past couple of years and brewed hundreds of beers. I really dig small batches because I can test an idea and not get stuck with 5 gallons of experimental beer in the end.

There are several places that sell the 1 gallon kits, I think hophero.com has theirs on sale right now.

 

Start small. Buy the cheapest beginner brewing kit you can find and brew something "easy." Save up every bottle with a pry top you consume.

If you have a LHBS that does brew on premises, even better. May be a more of an expensive 1st batch, however if you find you really do not like the process, you are only stuck with the batch you made, but not left with all the equipment you probably will not use again.

On the flipside, if you find that you truly enjoy the process, you spend alot of time "dreaming" about how what you are going to brew next, your pipeline, upgrading your equipment, convincing your wife to dedicate a room in your house to be a fermentation chamber, etc......

It can become an addiction. Enjoy.

 

But wait, I thought that anytime someone posts something on the internet, that a new fact had just been created? Isn't the internet the "truth machine?"

 

That, I played defense at the recycling bin for a few months' worth of house parties.

Also consider a brew-in-a-bag style partial mash, maybe after your first steeping/extract brew. The step up in difficulty/cost is basically nonexistent (you need an extra ~2.5 gallon pot and a mesh bag), and it affords some additional control, lowers ingredient costs, and gives you some idea of how all-grain works.

 

I agree with the posts above about starting small. 1 gallon brews are great to start and experiment with. You really don't need any special equipment to do 1 gal batch, other than a couple rubber bungs and some 3/8" tubing as a blowoff hose. I just use a big stock pot for the boil and do my fermenting in growlers (or a Carlo Rossi jug).

 

I also started out doing 1 gallon batches, and still do many of them now. Great way to experiment. This 1 gallon kit from NB is $50 and pretty much everything you need (other than a hydrometer and a brew kettle):

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...er-kits/1-gallon-small-batch-starter-kit.html

Good luck and have fun!