It is so eazy-peazey I can’t believe I was paying 7 & 8 bucks a sixpack for so long. Once you amortize the bottles (which you don’t even have to buy since you’ve been stockpiling them), even buying kits and paying shipping you’ll come out ahead. I’ve gotten several from www.williamsbrewing.com. The first one I made was the Weizenbeer. One thing - if you do end up buying more bottles, go right to the 22 oz. Capping 5 gallons in 12 oz bottles takes way too long.
One recommendation: when you start out, make a moderately dark ale (brown, red or porter) or a pale ale with lots of flavor. Don’t try to start out with trappists, stouts, or lagers. Good ales have thick taste profiles that don’t crumble if the brew isn’t made exactly right.
Don’t even ever try to make a Bud/Miller/Coors copy. (If you are going to do that, why even homebrew when you can buy the swill a lot cheaper.)
I will say, for ‘beer’ drinkers whose entire taste is mass-produced American* ‘lagers,’ the good stuff that homebrewers make will be a big turn-off.
Finally, be patient! If the brew tastes off, let it age a bit, and make a few different kinds to try out what you like. It’s like cooking, you have to find recipes that work for you.
*Hard to call them American, since the Big Three are all foreign-owned now!
Place marker for my husband to read.