Having heard the good, the bad and mainly the ugly I had avoided it for years. Preferring to buy beer at the local bottleshop and picking up the odd discount to justify it.

To break it into units, where I live a case of beer costs around $6.30 per litre by the case of 24 or $7.60 per litre when you buy a 6 pack.

I gave homebrewing a go back in November and paid $100 to get set up with a full kit.That produced 23 litres of beer, which much to my suprise was highly drinkable ($4.35 per litre).

The brew took 5 days to ferment and 2 weeks to rest. At the end I started another brew. Already had the equipment, just needed a few bottles and a blend from the brew shop. Cost was $30 all up..23 litres again....$1.30 per litre. Now we're talking !

Following some easy principles on hygene, and added some commonsense and patience, this is pretty much idiot proof. The results go from average to SENSATIONAL ! The price rarely gets above $1.40 per litre and gets down to $0.90. And thats just me..a beginner and at the very basic level.

I used space in the kitchen and stored under the stairs. Had 150 litres on the go at one stage...that was Christmas...12 different types.

For every $100 you now probably spend on beer, you could try this out and spend around $18 instead...SAVE $82 per $100 you normally would spend. WOW !

Mograns is the brand I had the most success with...everyone was pleasantly suprised. They have a great range from Wheat Beer and a gorgeous Lager to Ales and Dark beers. The Dark beer was unabled to be distinguished from a bought one, as was the lager.Morgans is a well known Australian brand but I am sure there is plenty of Home Bre alternative brands out there which are fantastic as well.

If you haven't already tried it then give it a go. Maybe split the set up costs with a mate...you will be amazed at the results !

After you do 3 or 4 brews then it may occur to you that cleaning bottles is painful.

There are other options such as converting an old fridge or buying a kegerator. Once the brew has stopped fermenting instead of bottling it goes drectly into a keg, gets gassed up, has a beer tap attached and is ready to drink in 2 days. That cuts the cycle down big time. The kegerator is one of mans great great inventions !

There is investment required, but the results will pay for themselves in a couple of months.