New to brewing: The Beer Machine - good idea...??

I`ve seen it. I also know someone who had this machine and sold it at a yard sale. He said beer was bordering on crappy (I assume it`s because it always sits on the trub) It also looks like an expensive start up price compared to buying a complete beer brewing kit. Also don`t forget the huge space it takes up in the fridge. Unless you have a second fridge, I wouldn`t bother. Go for the real thing, much cheaper and a whole lot more fun! Louise:o)

I would call around and find out if you have any local homebrew shops. They can get you started much cheaper and with better equipment. Just look in the phone book. If you can`t find anyone locally, check out some of the online sites. Some of the ones I have personally used and like: www.williamsbrewing.com www.grapeandgranary.com . There are many more and most of them have excellent starter kits available along with books that explain the process in easy to understand text... kevin

28 oz. of beer?? That`s less than 2 pints! Gonna take a long time to brew a case.

LOL :o) I missed that... Pretty funny!! Louise

beer will taste green, you can always use a regular kit and botling after 7-10 days and if you keg it will be ready to drink in just a few more days but letting our beer age a bit more is preferable in my view.
Not using a secondary will make a cloudy beer at least or as Louise said nearly crappy. The target group of a product like that would be the people who like gadget and just want to make cheap beer wittout any trouble. If you read a bit before starting you would learn to make realy good beer without much trouble.
Also don`t forget that if the machine is the dispenser, after drinking 28oz you don`t have any more beer for ten days untill a ew batch is ready... unless you have 2 or more depending on your consomation.
As for the temp of 11 dg. Celsius, it`s a good temp if you are making a lager.

You don`t really need a lot of space to brew beer. You can keep all your equipment in the basement, but you can keep your fermenting carboy upstairs in a corner or even in a closet. All it needs is a square foot. Louise:o)