I make a lot of it.
the beer is good, but you really need a keg devise to get the proper flavor with CO2. a kegerator is best and most affordable on ebay or the like. The sugar method the kits tell you about works but proper CO2 in a keg dispenser system makes beer better then you can buy at the vendor for cheaper than coke a cola.
for wine, for $50-$60 range the only GOOD stuff is the wine coolers. niagra mist and island mist are both really good. I love the blackberry. it finishes in about 2 months and is fabulous. If you want real wine, be prepared to spend $100-$180 a kit for the good stuff, and it takes longer to make.. 4-6 months. But the wine you get from a $100+ kit is equivalent to the $15-$20 750ml bottles in the wine stores... pretty decent stuff. I won't buy a $60 wine kit, I think they taste like shit. and god rest your soul of you're buying the $30 kits from wallmart - that's for students and ugly chicks already drunk to keep them going and happy - not fit for human consumption. mind you if all you want to do is get drunk and don't care about taste or hangovers, the wallmart shit works good.
the main thing you need for wine is a filter machine. they're about $100 and about $3 per kit for the filters. it makes it similar to store bought quality. the kits say you don't need it - or can use coffee filters. they're full of shit. you NEED the pressurized filter machine to do it right. Specialty wine making stores usually have very educated people in them that can help you get going.
tempature in fermenting is a BIG issue. I do mine in my furnace room. You really need a stable tempaure to get good ferminatation. -
also buy a whine whip. they attach to a drill and are about $20-$30. they REALLY help to make better wine then stirring. You will DEF make MUCH better wine with them.
A corker is a good thing to buy - I like the big one, it's about $50. real easy to use.
GET a spout that fits on your tap for cleaning wine bottles. ASK you wine store about this, they work MAGIC in bottle cleaning and save you HUGE time. They're about $10.
if you recycle wine bottles, get into the habit of rinsing them quickly after you finish them. wine dries in them and is a pain to deal with if you don't rinse right away.
Have fun!
