Over one million beer lovers in the US have begun brewing their own beer at home. But odds are that even more are curious about home brewing, but have yet to try it because they're overwhelmed with where to begin.
Even if you've been home brewing for years, you probably remember that initial confusion when you decided to start brewing beer. Before I started home brewing, it just didn't seem possible that you could throw a bunch of ingredients into a pot, let your concoction sit for a couple weeks and have it turn into good tasting beer. Twenty years later, I'm happy to say that it most definitely is possible.
Fortunately, there are two options from the home-brewing world to help you keep things simple for your first time home brewing. The first thing you can do is get all the equipment you need by buying a starter home brewing kit. Starter kits come with absolutely everything you will use when brewing beer at home. Some kits will sell for as much as $80-$150. Or you can check out Beer College's Starter Home Brewing Kit which is currently on sale for $39.95.
The next option for your first batch of beer is to use a pre-made ingredient kit. These kits have already done the hard work for you of malting and mixing the ingredients it takes to brew your own beer. Some kits such as the "No Boil" kits don't even require you to go near an oven for your first batch. All you have to do is mix the kit in water and leave your beer to ferment.
On top of being time-savers, these ingredient kits also can be purchased fairly cheap. Some kits will let you brew excellent beer at less than $0.40 a bottle.
As with anything, home brewing can get infinitely more complicated. But do yourself a favor for your first time and keep it simple. Once you know that you can make your own great tasting beer at home, you can always experiment by trying different things on your next batch.