The most important thing is sanitation (bottles, fermenter, stirrers, hydrometer, thermometer, anything that touches the beer after the boil) and that is pretty easy to do with sodium percarbonate.
I'd recommend getting a copy of The Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homeb...
It has enough technical detail explained in everyday terms, and with it you can start simple and grow into more complex brewing. At its simplest you could just buy a can kit (hopped extract with dry yeast) add water and boil in a large pot. You also need other inexpensive equipment and bottles, too. I have collected bottles from a local bar and paid them the deposit. (They can be a bit dirty so soaking in bleach solution is advisable the first time.) I have bought swing top Grolsch bottles on Ebay that can be used repeatedly without needing a capper or caps. Glass bottles are more satisfying, but plastic ones with screw on tops will work. ( I never use plastic bottles.)
There are thousands of recipes on line, and you will find hundreds of ways to make English bitter beer that will please your palette. There are also online sites that you can enter your proposed recipe and it will automatically calculate the approximate alcohol content and the bitterness based on the fermentable sugar and the hops you have chosen. that way you can easily take an existing recipe and tweek it for something new.
Charlie's book explains the whole process, the equipment options, and the chemical reactions that happen to create the flavor, alcohol, and carbonation.

You are amazing! Thank you, I most certainly will :-)

REcipe: (end of page 1):
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.p...
Homemade Dogfish Punkin Ale Clone video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TGZr5zG...

Let me know how it tastes. Good luck!

Agreed!!

Exactly, taxes should e some kind of formula that keeps them below that regression point, or eliminated.

Good grief!!! That's robbery!! It curtails business transactions I'm sure. What a scheme!!

I wouldn't mind trying this. How technical does it get? Not that I couldn't do technical (I'm an environmental engineer) but am just wondering how easy/hard it is to screw it up.

Also do you think it's possible to create an English style bitter this way?

Yes, I sent a chip to a guy in England, so I couldn't fudge the price due to insurance and he got stuck with 40.00, on top of the 92 we spent to ship it, on top of the 196 it cost. added up real fast. Shipping is ridiculous too. I thought I would outwit the pirates buy getting the motherboard from Amazon, and the check out had the cost and shipping, and then when they sent me the invoice they had tagged the VAT onto it as well. Never again.

It was that way here until last year. And there was only one dry town, right next to us, left in the whole state. The vote came back last year with a resounding YES! to allow alcohol sales. There is one store in the entire town, and the owner bought the empty attached bank and is putting in, I believe, a wine and cheese shop. Can't wait!

Brilliant! There's a brewery I like called Dog Fish Head, and they make one of my faves in the fall. Punkin' Ale. VERY limited production. They only sell it in 4 packs.... You've given me an idea, freedom... Thanks!

I have always thought that was archaic, but it's also rigged. Those guys have a monopoly. When I visit family out there, I can't stand having to remember where the distributor is so I can bring something to the inevitable get togethers. The wine I bring from though. :-)

The VAT is pillage! That is the only real aggravation about traveling there. We had a case of "olive oil" shipped back. As wine, it would have had a higher tax. Still painful, though.

I'm liking the way you thought that through.

🍻A perfect solution, freedom! Cheers!

Dang! What am I still doing HERE??

well, we don't have a State income tax in TN. -- j
.

Wow, I would have thought the Left Coast would be up there, it's kinda weird that the southeast is king. Must be a bible belt relation?

Chris, that isn't as bad as living in WA and working in OR, and paying Income Tax in Oregon and Sales tax in WA. Unless you buy everything on the way to/from work. A lot of Intel people have that headache. The worse thing tax wise is the dreaded VAT in Europe: 20% on almost anything, new, used or whatever. Socialism is expensive...

Actually I 'lived' in Portland for a while on a consulting engagement, but my 'home' was in Texas with no state income taxes.

Thanks, Jan. Nice to know someone who understands my self interested sacrifices ;^)

Sounds like you have lived in Vancouver, WA. I did for a while and remember working in Washington, but making big ticket purchases in Portland to avoid the sales tax.

We all admire your sense of selfless dedication to this worthy cause...

Jan

Thanks, jdg!

Forgot about that even though I'm 75% Irish and heavily invested in beer and wine!

The heavy Irish influence don't you know ;)