Don't you just have to buy something called a beer machine?

That delightful object to the right is The Beer Machine. The self-contained unit allows amateur brewers to make, condition and dispense their homebrew "as easy as brewing coffee." It's on sale now for a cut rate of $89 (a savings of $25) and makes a great addition to the rec room in time for football season.

The process by which The Beer Machine works is fairly simple - and their Web site even has Beer Mixes (which do sound a little gross) so that you can churn out a batch of suds after you assemble your machine (which is really easy to do and cool to watch). And it only takes up as much room as a six-pack of beer made by "professionals."

You already know that Philadelphia is a major market when it comes to microbrews; the beer-loving scene here is as strong as any city in the country. Buying this machine not only gives you entry into a hobby you can be passionate about, but it also affords you the opportunity to...er.. tap into the beer-making subculture here who patron places like Keystone Homebrew in Montgomeryville.