The entire world has changed with the advent of the Internet. You can talk live to people living as far away from you as it is possible to get, you can buy items from a Mom’n’Pop store in a village in another country, and you can watch sporting events taking place in front of a few hundred people in a country you’ve never been to. Everything has been touched by the Internet, and home brewing is no exception.

The Internet has exploded in no small part due to its social aspect. We have social networking (which takes up so much of people’s time it has been dubbed “social not working”), blogs and online forums that allow people to share information, debate and request help. And for a first time brewer, there is a real advantage to having this capability. You will surely take a couple of attempts to get your home brew just right, and you may wonder what you are doing wrong – the Internet is your friend.

Many people on Internet forums devoted to brewing will have had the exact same problems you have when you first home brew a batch of beer. They will know how they got around the problem and will be able to share this information with you. As most home brewers are non-commercial, they will not see you as a competitor in a serious sense and will be glad to help out. In the early days, this can make all the difference to a new brewer.