Anyone make their own beer?
How much did it take you to start? Do you have time? Have you succeeded in making some heavenly honey? 
I’m curious and broke (physically/monetarily.)
As soon as I post this I shall be pitching the yeast in a 5 gallon batch of dark lager I brewed yesterday whilst I was bottling 5 gallons I made two weeks ago. The only drawback is that it will be 30 days before what is in the bottles is carbonated. What I brewed yesterday will be ready to be bottled in about 10 days.
Getting started is cheaper than reloading (Dillon user here.) But like reloading, you want to buy the best and cry only once. Get a heavy duty, restaurant grade 5-gallon stock pot and one each 5- and 6-gallon glass carboys for fermenting/bottling. No plastic buckets. You will thank me.
If you have a shop nearby where you buy components/ingredients, you might start there. Otherwise, I got started through www.homebrewery.com. Their upgrades on brewing kit are good. Like Dillon’s techs, help is a phone call away. In either case, just as you need a reloading manual, you need a brewing guide. I use The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Read it first so you understand what you are doing.
Cleanliness is the most important consideration, IMHO.
Keep good notes and you will improve time management by using better techniques that you develop as you go. The main time issue, again, is waiting for the bottled beer to carbonate.
My wife likes what I brew. On vacation, we buy Sam Adams (and keep the bottles for reloading). She says mine is better. I can make it for half of what we pay for Sam Adams.
ETA: We all know how the rising price of base metals/chemicals has increased the cost of reloading. Wheat has doubled in the last year. Barley has risen a lot as well. Honey, too. Need I say anything about “buy it cheap, stack it deep”?
You’re a god among men.
Thanks for the tips! What do you use to sanatize? Is there any leftover yeast in the end product? (That’s an assumption, I assume you use some leftover yeast in the end to carbonate it.)
I have used the home brew kits at this point. They are pretty good as long as my brewing cohort stops adding too much cascade.
I’m cheap. I use bleach and lots of water. Yeast is used for fermentation; I generally carbonate with corn sugar boiled in water added just before bottling when I siphon from the primary fermenter to the secondary carboy. The book has alternate carbonation methods.
Razoreye,
Bear in mind you have 5 gallons of the same beer once the project is complete. I have a desire for more variety than that, and the homebrew outfits where I live are chocked full of odd ducks.
I created one batch (the equipment was a gift), and have always thought I would run another batch if there was an event that warranted the effort.
The homebrew stores in Phoenix carry a sanitizing powder that works wonders on everything (grills, percolaters, dog bowls, etc). Williams Brewing dot com is one of the best internet outfits, and send a beautiful catalog.
Also, Mr. Beer is not a bad place to start. Chincy but effective.