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Expert: - 7/17/2011


Question
Hello,
I just bottled my first batch of beer and it was good. I made a golden ale and now i am looking to make something different. I live in the northeast so the climate is warm about 75 to 80 where I store the beer for fermentation. I am looking to try something different can you recommend some site to buy hops, grain, extract etc. On average how much will it cost to brew 5 gallons? Some sites where charging about 80 dollars for just the hops, grain, and malt extract. Any thing you can recommend will be great.
Thanks,

John

Answer
Hi John,

Great question - there are tons of folks who are just beginning to learn the homebrewing process and may not have ready access to a local homebrew shop (LHBS). And ordering online is a perfectly legitimate way to obtain everything you'll need to be off and running...err...brewing!

The cost of your beer will vary, based on its style. The ingredients for a basic brown ale may be as low as $20-30, while a high alcohol (and ingredient intensive) beer, like barleywine, may cost $50-75+. Remember - the yeast takes the sugar to make alcohol and CO2. The more alcohol that a beer is to have, the more ingredients you'll need to make that alcohol...and hops to balance out the sweetness in the equation. You'll just have to play around with recipes and see what works for you.

As for great sites from to buy your ingredients and materials, these are some really good, established ones:

http://morebeer.com/

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/


I hope this helps, but feel free to contact me with any more questions you may have!


Best,

Matt
--
Matt Simpson
The Beer Sommelier ®, LLC
www.TheBeerExpert.com
"My Cellar of Expertise to Your Table of Knowledge"

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Matt Simpson

Expertise

I can answer all questions about beer, the brewing process, ingredients, history, styles, glassware & serving temperatures, beer & food pairing, cellaring, the craft beer industry and much more. The only area in which I'm wholly unfamiliar (but still able to find out through direct, personal inquiry) is the purchasing of large-brewery equipment.

Experience

I've been involved with craft beer, in one regard or another, for almost 2 decades. I've taught craft beer courses at Emory University, I'm a BJCP Certified Judge, an Administrator for RateBeer.com (arguably, the largest beer website/database in the world, with over 100,000 members) and have been interviewed by ABC News, CNN, NPR, the Washington Post, FOX Business’s Cavuto Show, TheStreet.com, the Associated Press, the Houston Chronicle and many others. I'm an award-winning homebrewer, with multiple ribbons won (including the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition), and owner of one of the largest, most robust and comprehensive beer cellars in the world. I write the “Ask Beer” column for Beer magazine, “Beer Talk...From the Wings,” for Hooters Magazine, the quarterly beer column for In The Mix magazine, a beverage-oriented publication that reaches such hospitality industry establishments as The Four Seasons and Four Points Sheraton, and “Ask the Beer Sommelier,” for Atlanta’s Finest Dining magazine as well. I've been hosting craft beer tastings since the 90’s, and am truly privileged to call some of the most accomplished brewers and beer aficionados in the world, friends.

Organizations
BJCP, RateBeer.com (as an Administrator), GA Craft Brewers Guild, Final Gravity Craft Brewers.

Publications
BEER Magazine, Hooters Magazine, In The Mix Magazine, Atlanta's Finest Dining magazine, TheBeerCellar.com.

Education/Credentials
I'm BJCP Certified, taught "From Grain to Glass, a Comprehensive Study of Beer," at Emory University and a Rutgers University graduate.

Awards and Honors
Multiple blue ribbons for homebrewing, including a second-place in the National Homebrew Competition.

Past/Present Clients
http://www.thebeerexpert.com/testimony.shtml

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