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LIVING & TRAVEL 99 BOTTLES OF BEER IN MY BEDROOM by Ethan Zuckerman Are you at risk of becoming a homebrewer? Take this simple quiz and find out. True or false: 1. I like beer. I mean, I really like beer. I watch those Sam Adams commercials and bond with the guy doing the voice-over. 2. I like a bunch of different kinds of beer. Newcastle tonight, Pilsner Urquel tomorrow, Anchor Steam over the weekend. Or Bud, Bud Light, Bud Longneck, and warm Bud left over from last night. 3. I think that Ice Beer is a bad joke. 4. I like spending my Saturday afternoons hanging out in the kitchen. (Either in front of the stove, stirring a pot, or with your head in the refrigerator.) 5. I am a patient person, or I play one on television. 6. There's a bottle opener on my keychain and it gets more use than my housekeys. 7. I believe in phone psychics. The Psychic Connection worked for me. If you answered "true" to four or five questions, you're likely to enjoy homebrewing.

There are ninety bottles of beer in my bedroom. I'm not throwing a party, and contrary to popular opinion, I'm not an alcoholic. Instead, I've been seduced into the world of homebrewing and I can't get out. Nor would I want to -- homebrewing combines two of my great loves: cooking and beer. And as a hobby, it sure beats stamp collecting. It's remarkably easy to start brewing at home. To get started, you need less than $100 of equipment and about 4 hours of time, split between two weekends. Plus you've got to have access to a decent kitchen and it helps to have a dishwasher and a bathtub. Oh yeah, you'll also need a few folks to help you drink the brew afterwards. A couple of warnings: Don't take up homebrewing to save money. Yes, once you've built a good brewing kitchen, you can brew two cases of fine beer for about $20. But by the time you've built a good brewing kitchen, you'll be hooked and buying all sorts of neat homebrewing gadgets and spending even more money. This is a great hobby but a lousy money-saver. Don't become a homebrewer and expect to recreate your favorite beer. The taste of a beer has a lot to do with the mix of malt and hops, which you might be able to recreate. But it's also got a lot to do with the water, which is something you probably won't be able to recreate. (Though I know a guy who moved to St. Louis to have access to the same water supply as Anheiser-Busch.) What is Beer, Anyway? Building A Brew Kitchen Choosing A Beer Recipe The Brewing Process Ethan Zuckerman is Tripod's Director of Research and Development. He also drives a pickup and likes to drink beer after five. Tripod employees are happy to let him reinvent the concept of Research and Development -- his next project is to determine which beer bottles will fit into our Squeeze Soda machine.