iconLog In  |  Register

The five best home brewing websites

Posted in FOOD & DRINK to Hop Politely by Matt Fender on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 2:59 pm

Champaign-Urbana has a host of experts on home brewing. Knowledge abounds in groups like B.U.Z.Z., retailers like Friar Tuck and Leisure Times, and right here at Hop Politely. But where should a home brewer go for quick access to beer info?

Whenever a brew goes wrong and I enter panic mode, the internet is the first place I turn. There is a vast amount of home brewing knowledge available on the web, but I have found a few websites that are really top notch when it comes to content and community.

In no particular order ...

Home Brew Talk

This is a website in the typical forum format, but the subject matter is far from the average, lewd not-safe-for-work post. Master home brewers are constantly posting recipes, discussing brewing techniques, and answering your questions. There is a solution to every home brewing issue on this site.

How to Brew

John Palmer's widely touted book on brewing, called How to Brew, is largely available for free on this website. Mr. Palmer covers plenty of subjects, ranging from your first brew to an all-grain brew. Truly informative and accessible, this is the best place to begin your research.

Midwest Supplies

Shipping costs for ingredients and equipment can be high. I've found it's best to buy locally, or through a supplier that is relatively close. Brewers in C-U should check out prices on Midwest Supplies for their home brewing needs. Always make sure you can buy from a local supplier first, but with the hop shortage it is often necessary to outsource.

Northern Brewer

This is another great place to get your ingredients. I have heard this supplier touted above all others by many home brewers.

Beer Advocate

Tastings, reviews, articles, and a forum: Beer Advocate pretty much has it all. This site is great for finding out what others think of a beer you just tried. They keep detailed information on almost every commercial beer out there. If you are looking to expand your knowledge base, this is the place to do it.

If anyone feels I missed a major paragon of internet home brewing, please post a link in the comments.

1 comments

username

Phil

02/26/09 at 02:26
#1

For creating a homebrew kegerator, Brewers Discount has tons of supplies with minimal markup.
http://www.rcbequip.com/
For whole hops, I like Freshops.  They had a limited supply last year, but look like they have a wide range of hops around $2 an ounce.  You can even buy the rhizomes to grow your own!
http://www.freshops.com/

Add A Comment

A note about our commenting policy.


Comment
  4. captcha arrow

Most Recent Food Comments

{username}

You can probably tuck in thinly sliced Romas. But for anything juicier like cherries, brandywines, etc., I would go with Pepin’s method of combining them with bread chunks. Zucchini contains a lot of water, too, so you’re probably best to use it solo or with onions. Saute…

Posted by Anna Barnes to the entry 'Repairing gratin's reputation on 09/08/10.
Timbo avatar

Any tips for incorporating tomatoes or squash?

Posted by Timbo to the entry 'Repairing gratin's reputation on 09/08/10.
{username}

may cai’ bon. nuoc’ ngoai` biet’ j` ve van hoa’ viet nam

Posted by vietnam forever to the entry 'Xinh Xinh Cafe a definite winner on 09/06/10.
emma reaux avatar

I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…

Posted by emma reaux to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/02/10.
{username}

Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.

Posted by Pete to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/02/10.
Joel Gillespie avatar

@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.

Posted by Joel Gillespie to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/02/10.
Rob McColley avatar

“more beer is drank”   Awesome. Way to go “editors.“

Posted by Rob McColley to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/01/10.
Annie Weisner avatar

You left out the best part—you have to REMEMBER your number after the beer chugging!     Yeah, I’m a member.

Posted by Annie Weisner to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/01/10.
{username}

Great article, man. Like you, I didn’t really know Daniel all that well, but I felt the impact of his death. I too was inspired by him and it pleases me to see that he continues to live on in the spirit of the community.

Posted by Jeremiah Stanley to the entry 'Flatlander fundraising off to a tasty start on 09/01/10.
Justine Fein-Bursoni avatar

Thanks you guys…I love living in a community that can connect, share, and create through food. It’s inspiring…

Posted by Justine Fein-Bursoni to the entry 'Flatlander fundraising off to a tasty start on 08/31/10.

Most Popular Food Articles (60 days)

  1. The man that was and will always be Flatlander Chocolate featured_postPosted to Food & Drink by Jeremiah Stanley on 07/28/10
  2. Flatlander fundraising off to a tasty start featured_postPosted to Food & Drink by Seth Fein on 08/31/10
  3. Taking the work out of pasta sauce Posted to Food & Drink by Anna Barnes on 08/11/10
  4. Time to make the dream a reality Posted to Food & Drink by Smile Politely Editors on 08/18/10
  5. Learning to dislike corn Posted to Food & Drink by Anna Barnes on 07/27/10
  6. The green of all greens Posted to Food & Drink by Anna Barnes on 07/13/10
  7. Mug club! Posted to Food & Drink by Smile Politely Editors on 09/01/10
  8. Market Watch: July 31, 2010 Posted to Food & Drink by Smile Politely Editors on 07/30/10
  9. Market Watch: July 17, 2010 Posted to Food & Drink by Smile Politely Editors on 07/16/10
  10. Market Watch: August 6, 2010 Posted to Food & Drink by Smile Politely Editors on 08/06/10

Most Recent Comments

{username}

take two seconds to do this. this dude works hard.

By Elzie Sexton to the entry 'Vote for Cameron McGill & What Army at the Deli Chicago on 09/09/10.
Jeff Kohmstedt avatar

What I also like about the Hessel to Centennial run is that I can easily make it a 10 miler (if I run to Hessel and back when I’m done and add an extra loop at Centennial) and still be at most two miles from home. I’ve…

By Jeff Kohmstedt to the entry 'C-U's Best: Running on 09/09/10.
{username}

I’m not sure the graphic is for State St. I drive down it daily and there is no parking on the far west side where the bike lines are. Looks to me that parking will only be allowed on the east side of the street, two car…

By gamera to the entry 'Spotted: Bike lanes going in on State Street on 09/09/10.
John Steinbacher avatar

This is a great list—thanks. I find the run between Hessel and Centennial to be incredibly boring, excepting the few blocks of nice homes, which I admit make for interesting scenery. Have you been to Homer Lake? They seem to have some great trails, though none are…

By John Steinbacher to the entry 'C-U's Best: Running on 09/09/10.
Tracy Nectoux avatar

Angela, I believe they played at C-U Pride Fest, and they were fantastic.

By Tracy Nectoux to the entry 'Emerald City Lounge is now open for business on 09/09/10.
{username}

to you. http://www.theonion.com/articles/free-condom-harsh-reminder-of-sexless-existence,1377/

By Here's to the entry 'Latex: labor or love? on 09/09/10.
Timbo avatar

Speaking of regular commutes getting safer- White Street now open over the great divide east First Street. Woo Hoo!

By Timbo to the entry 'Spotted: Bike lanes going in on State Street on 09/09/10.
{username}

I’m not sure that’s what Fred is saying. But the response of “You should just be happy to have a job!“ is a far too common excuse for employers’ bad treatment of workers. It’s also way too common in C-U.

By Robert Knilands to the entry 'Jimmy John's employees form worker's union on 09/08/10.
Doug Hoepker avatar

My regular commute to work just got a whole lot safer!

By Doug Hoepker to the entry 'Spotted: Bike lanes going in on State Street on 09/08/10.
{username}

@Fred While I agree that if your employer is treating you badly (e.g. shitty shifts, not honoring break/meal times, or just generally being an asshole) you should look for something else. However, as we all will experience at some point or another, we sometimes have to take…

By Elizabeth to the entry 'Jimmy John's employees form worker's union on 09/08/10.
{username}

I was very excited to see this lane put in place.  This area is one of my regular, and sometimes scary, routes.

By Elizabeth to the entry 'Spotted: Bike lanes going in on State Street on 09/08/10.
{username}

Not that they aren’t great mash-ups, but I’ve seen them twice in concert and was just frankly kind of bored. Probably won’t be going tonight. Maybe I just don’t like fun.

By ibx33 to the entry 'The Hood Internet: Masters of the mashup on 09/08/10.
{username}

I’d love to see DESAFINADO performing there!They play Brazilian music…Bossa Nova. Great band! www.desafinado-music.com   Angela

By Angela Piccoli to the entry 'Emerald City Lounge is now open for business on 09/08/10.
{username}

“The state’s attorney should be sending out subpoenas to bike club members”.....IF a plea bargain isn’t reached first. One dollar says no trial will take place and a plea aggreement will happen. If it is taken to trial, then this article by Annie Weisner may have been…

By Local Yocal to the entry 'UPDATE: Aggressive hit-and-runs unresolved on 09/08/10.
{username}

You can probably tuck in thinly sliced Romas. But for anything juicier like cherries, brandywines, etc., I would go with Pepin’s method of combining them with bread chunks. Zucchini contains a lot of water, too, so you’re probably best to use it solo or with onions. Saute…

By Anna Barnes to the entry 'Repairing gratin's reputation on 09/08/10.
Timbo avatar

UPDATE: He got a lawyer and pled not guilty. The case is next up for trial or for pretrial (can’t tell) on October 18, 2010 at 1:30pm in Courtroom L. Assuming it is up for trial, the States Atty should be sending out subpoenas to bike club…

By Timbo to the entry 'UPDATE: Aggressive hit-and-runs unresolved on 09/08/10.
Timbo avatar

Any tips for incorporating tomatoes or squash?

By Timbo to the entry 'Repairing gratin's reputation on 09/08/10.
Rob McColley avatar

You mean, once they’ve paid $140 worth of nickels and dimes in one calendar year the CPL issues them a waiver?   I’ll bet you’d get little argument from the CPL.

By Rob McColley to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/08/10.
{username}

Neat article, neat guy. In central IL however, there is little difference between Lincoln and Rambo (the C02 you just inhaled was ACTUALLY in Lincoln’s lungs once - seriously, i had a nice Urbana resident tell me once the old tree in her front yard was gnarled…

By Beard to the entry 'Abraham Lincoln and his Illinois on 09/08/10.
{username}

Hello my dear do not full prey to those hoodlums at they that call them self money lender they are all scam , all they want is your money and you well not hear from them again they have done it to me twice before I met…

By david gladis to the entry 'ARC loans available to those in need on 09/08/10.

Most Popular Articles (14 days)

  1. Flatlander fundraising off to a tasty start featured_postPosted to Food & Drink by Seth Fein on 08/31/10
  2. Meet the new blog on the block Posted to Culture by Joel Gillespie on 08/27/10
  3. The fall of Champaign-Urbana Posted to Opinion by Theo Long on 08/30/10
  4. Skate to the face: My night as a roller derby fanatic Posted to Culture by emma reaux on 09/03/10
  5. Waking to a new soundscape Posted to Opinion by Rob McColley on 08/31/10
  6. Zmick: Don’t fear the jam Posted to Music by Ben Valocchi on 09/01/10
  7. Mug club! Posted to Food & Drink by Smile Politely Editors on 09/01/10
  8. Local Music Roundup - September 2010 Posted to Music by John Steinbacher on 09/03/10
  9. The Overture: August 30 - September 5 Posted to Music by Ben Valocchi on 08/30/10
  10. The most dangerous job in America Posted to Opinion by P. Gregory Springer on 08/31/10

Recent Searches

  1. 1046 (10 Results)
  2. 2733 (1 Results)
  3. 1162 (18 Results)
  4. 5816 (1 Results)
  5. 1687 (78 Results)
  6. 6823 (1 Results)
  7. 6503 (4 Results)
  8. 5816 (1 Results)
  9. 4575 (1 Results)
  10. 90 second missouri (12 Results)
  11. destihl (1 Results)
  12. 1840 (11 Results)
  13. beauty salon (2 Results)
  14. twin (193 Results)
  15. 1901 (1 Results)
  16. link (8 Results)
  17. link (8 Results)
  18. link (8 Results)
  19. cycle (286 Results)
  20. seth fein (74 Results)

Log In



Auto-login on future visits

Forgot your password?