How has it taken them this long?

[rallen]

Ha, this thread is taking me back. Made my first homebrew back in '71 with a can of Blue Ribbon hopped extract from the baking aisle of a local grocery, a bag of sugar and some bread yeast. I'm sure it was dreadful, but the novelty was such that I never lacked consumers.

 

[Sadfield]

Ha, this thread is taking me back. Made my first homebrew back in '71 with a can of Blue Ribbon hopped extract from the baking aisle of a local grocery, a bag of sugar and some bread yeast. I'm sure it was dreadful, but the novelty was such that I never lacked consumers.

Great. I'm assuming you just dissolved everything together and pitched the yeast?

Had this quick and easy way of brewing completely dissappeared in the US, between then and now?

 

[rallen]

Great. I'm assuming you just dissolved everything together and pitched the yeast?

Had this quick and easy way of brewing completely dissappeared in the US, between then and now?

I think I only mixed the malt and sugar with warm water and then added the yeast. Everything went into a pickle crock with a towel on top for "sanitation." There weren't many ways to find directions back then ... home brewing was illegal in the U.S. until 1978. The only written source I could find was this small paperback that may be familiar to some of the more mature readers. Actually, I believe that there are some mix-and-ferment brewing kits being released now, so maybe the whole thing is coming full circle again except with a lot more quality control and good directions.