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I have decided to call my first batch of beer "<strong>Beta Brew</strong>" since this really is a test to see how things work out. nA very important item to keep in mind is temperature, especially when you are fermenting your beer. Since it's Winter where I live my house would stay pretty cold. I took an indoor thermometer and tested temps around my house and found that my bedroom closest is best place to keep the beer during fermentation. nn<br /><a href="http://hypobrew.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/20121230-215555.jpg"><img src="http://hypobrew.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/20121230-215555.jpg" alt="20121230-215555.jpg" class="alignnone size-full" /></a>nnThe closet stayed within <strong>Mr Beer's</strong> recommendation of 65-72 degrees. So that's where it will stay for at least the next 7 days. nnThere is a chance that this will take longer than a week. I'll have to peek in on it after 7 days to see if fermentation is complete and I will have to bottle the beer.

So here I am, sitting at my computer, creating a blog and thinking…what they hell do I write for my first post?  In my <a title="About This Blog" href="http://hypobrew.wordpress.com/about/">About page</a> I've already discussed my intentions. So I figured I'd jot down what started me on this brewing adventure.nnTo put it simple, <strong>Mr. Beer</strong>.  I have been drinking beer for a while and a little over a two years ago I starting drinking different beers than what you'd normally find on tap at a local watering hole.  Now, mind you I started with Pabst and other wacky brands, but over time that developed into craft beers.  I started keep track of what I've been drinking using an app called '<a href="http://www.untappd.com">untappd</a>'.  I've logged in over 100 beers in the past few months.nnAfter tasting the difference in quality from a beer like <strong>Pabst</strong> to a craft beer like what comes from <strong>Southern Tier</strong> I've seen what small batch beer can do.  It's like eating a burger from a Mc Donalds and trying a burger from mom &amp; pop burger joint.  You may like a Quarter Pounder With Cheese (or not), but you certainly taste a difference when you dry a thick cut bacon burger with mushrooms and brie at Joe's Burger Shack.  I also know the kind of burger I can make at home (a pretty good one).  So why not try it with beer?nnThe initial cost of homebrewing can be expensive.  One can spend upwards of $200 for starter kit alone without every tried doing it before.  Now I could completely suck at brewing beer and then what would I do with $200 of brewing equipment?  Enter Mr. Beer.nnFor about $40 you can get a kit with pretty much everything you need to make beer.  The things that don't come in the kit are in your kitchen (a spoon, a pot, water, etc).  The first thing I decided to do was watch the DVD that came with the kit to see what the hell I was going to do.  Here it is:n<p style="text-align:center;">[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2HsvmEE_bg]</p>n<p style="text-align:left;">After I made the beer and it started fermenting I have to admit I got bit by the bug.  I have already started looking at other videos and checking out recipes online for how I am going to go beyond Mr. Beer and get my own kit.  But first I have to wait a couple of weeks and see how much I screwed up.  Wish me luck.</p>n&nbsp;