I've made my own. It all started when I was 19. I was having a bit of insomnia and started flipping through TV channels at about 2AM when an infomercial caught my attention. It was for "The Beer Machine" and it looked like quite possibly one of the most useful products sold on TV to date. The only problem was that I was only 19 at the time, and I didn't know if you had to be 21 or if they'd even check. The possiblity of rejection was a risk I was willing to make so I dialed up the ol' 1-800 number and asked timidly for "The Beer Machine". Sure enough, before long I had a confirmation number and a new charge on my Visa - the 6 week wait time would prove to be almost un-bearable.
The day I came home from work and saw a brown box on my doorstep - the UPS label glimmering brilliantly in the sun - was one that would go down in my personal history as the day I "stuck it to the man" or at least to the UDABC. Here I was, a mere 19 years old and I could make my own beer - the PhotoShopped Illinois drivers license would see some rest soon. The machine was more sophisticated than the 5 gallon buckets I'd seen home brews fermenting in previously. This had a tap and a CO2 cartridge to keep it fresh.
So how was the beer you ask? Well I didn't have a lot of experience yet in the tasting dept., so after a couple weeks of fermentation I decided to take it to a party that a friend was throwing. He was an old high school buddy and played for the Snow College football team. He had several of his new team mates there and they all seemed very willing to give it a shot. The results were pretty unanimous - "Shelton, this is worst sh!t I've ever had!" - but they couldn't help themselves and continued drinking it until "The Beer Machine" was a mere plastic shell with a few wheat particulates sloshing around the bottom. So was the beer good? Absolutely not. Did it get some people drunk - indeed. Will I make sure to not leave any soap residue in future batches? I hope so - for God sake, I hope so.