Something Shiny

I like beer and I enjoy making it myself. It’s perhaps not the most healthy of habits, the making and drinking of beer, but competitive eating was just too difficult to break into. You had to sign up for events… go to those events… it all seemed like a huge hassle. Home brewing, on the other hand is much easier, especially if you have a quality kit and retailer to support you. It’s only slightly more difficult than making a large (5 gallon) batch of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Living in the Twin Cities, I have the good fortune of being conveniently located near Midwest Supplies, a fantastic home brew (and wine making, and hydroponic gardening, and cheese making) shop. The gear is great, the ingredients are fresh, and the pre-packaged recipe kits (the box of Mac ‘n’ Cheese, if you will), are outstanding.

So why am I blathering on about competitive eating, macaroni and cheese, and brewing my own beer today? Well, Groupon has a deal today for either $42 or $44 (depending on whether the page title or buy button are correct) to get you setup with nearly everything you need to brew your first batch of beer including most of the gear, and all of the ingredients. All you need to provide yourself is a really big pot and 48 empty bottles. Don’t have the empty bottles? Well, you have about two weeks from the time you start brewing to the time you need to bottle. I’m sure you can figure something out.

So, if you’re interested in brewing your own, pick up the Midwest Supply Groupon. It’s one of their holiday ones, so it actually runs for a couple days, good through Thursday, 12/16. Looks like you can either pick it up in store, or have it shipped to you for about $10. For the amount of gear you get, $10 for shipping seems more than fair.