quick update on my homebrewing situation:
Fantastic! I was wondering if this was going to get buried and never heard from again.
i read that, and charles papazian's "the complete joy of homebrewing" - i thought the latter was slightly better and easier to get through. for a first book, "how to brew" got a tad too detailed at times.
The "other" bible. My first brew was from this book, and concur that it's easier to get through. How to brew is better for detailed answers on processes, and Charlie's book is best for complete overview. Follow him on twitter, he always has real brief articles he writes about simple, but important topics.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/ is a great forum, every question i've ever had has been answered at some point on this forum.
i've killed soooo many hours on that site over the past few weeks. there is just so much to learn about brewing.
The thing I enjoy most is the common understanding that everyone does things a little bit different. I've learned countless small improvements from this site. Primary for 3 weeks for an IPA and dry hop, no secondary clarification? Why not!
my first trip to purchase equipment was to MyLHBS in falls church. the guys there were incredibly nice but a little dismissive. having read tons and spoken with several people i knew exactly what i wanted to buy, but they were intent on steering me towards a plastic pail kit with somewhat cheap equipment. it was weird - they were discouraging me from spending more money on fancier gear. in the end their credit card machine didn't work, and it was late on a saturday (the staff were actively shutting down the store while i was trying to shop), so i left without buying anything. wasn't the best way to start but i get where they were coming from: i'm sure they've seen a million noobs get in over their heads, so they were trying to "protect me from myself". i appreciated the concern but it was misplaced.
anyhoo, the next day i drove up to the flying barrel in frederick. the place was at least 5 times bigger, huge selection, and much less crowded. they let me putz around for an hour and answered all my questions before i bought anything. another big plus for the FB was that they sell both grains and liquid malt extract in bulk. bought all the equipment i need and ingredients for my first 2 batches. unfortunately due to upcoming travel i won't be able to brew for another 2 weeks or so. dangit.
i love the homebrew culture. every single person i've met has been relaxed, welcoming, and willing to share their knowledge*. i guess enough alcohol does that to a person 
*they have also all been bearded. i'm learning that you can't be taken seriously as a brewer without copious facial hair.
Ahhh MyLHBS. I've learned to love their quirky approach to running that shop. Saturday is a brutal day for them, especially towards the end of the day. For me - The reason I give them business, is when you're shopping, you can tell they are making sure what you're doing makes sense. They are going through the steps in there head, making sure the ingredients, the hops, the yeast, the malts all are there and make sense together. I asked for 3# of crystal malt from them, and they immediately stopped me and said "for one brew?", and that's where we clarified that it's two brews and some will be left over. Small things like that are appreciated.
Good to hear about the Frederick store, I've never been up there. Will have to check it out shortly. What did you brew for your first two? Sounds like you peiced together all the ingredients yourself, which is the best way to do it. We are also on a brewing hold, switching apartments, so it'll be another month before we get something fermenting.
