First batch of beer ever!

Starting my first batch of beer ever today. Brewing an IPA. Any tips?

Keep it sanitary on the cold side (everything after you stop boiling), don't worry too much about the hot side. Also -- taste some wort before you add hops! It's good!

Will do! It doesn't smell like it will taste great.... Might have to pass on that.

I'm imagining you are using an extract kit with a start up set of stuff. Good for you! That is how most of us got started. If not, then good for you anyway.

I don't know what they gave you for a sanitizer, but if you like the hobby, invest in some starsan or some no-rinse sanitizer. Makes life a lot easier. Also, I would recommend a good thermometer that you know is somewhat accurate.

Take your time. You'll make some mistakes, but if you take your time you'll make less. In the end, have fun and good luck! Welcome to the hobby.

Thanks! It is an extract, and the kit came with some pretty cool things in my opinion. Floating thermometer, hydrometer, secondary fermenter, etc... Any opinion on S.G. Readings? I've heard of some people not taking them?

I would definitely recommend taking gravity readings. If you didn't that would seriously be throwing caution to the wind, especially for someone starting out. It tells you how efficient your brewing was, will tell you how much alcohol is in your beer, and most importantly for you, it will let you know when fermentation has ended before you can bottle. You want to have your final gravity be the same number for about 3 days in a row. I would let the beer ferment for at least 1-2 weeks before checking. I don't check until 3 weeks has passed, but then I don't use a secondary fermenter. If you don't know your Final gravity then you could end up bottling before fermentation is over and this could lead to what we call....bottle bombs.

So, I will say, enjoy this day. And if you think you want to brew more, then consider investing a few dollars in a book called "How to Brew" by John Palmer.

The kit came with that book. We've been reading it. We took the initial reading, and plan to take the other when it is moved to the secondary. Just was curious. Is it okay to open during fermentation to take reading?

Allab8 said:

Starting my first batch of beer ever today. Brewing an IPA. Any tips?

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Brew in the morning, and stick with coffee till you pitch the yeast. This advice will not go over well here, but if you want success on your brewday, you'll do it.

passedpawn said:

Brew in the morning, and stick with coffee till you pitch the yeast. This advice will not go over well here, but if you want success on your brewday, you'll do it.

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But coffee sucks...

passedpawn said:

Brew in the morning, and stick with coffee till you pitch the yeast. This advice will not go over well here, but if you want success on your brewday, you'll do it.

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this is great advice you can do it while drinking beers but results are almost always better sober and if you like what you did much better shot at replicating it
For what it's worth I don't always take my own advice

Allab8 said:

The kit came with that book. We've been reading it. We took the initial reading, and plan to take the other when it is moved to the secondary. Just was curious. Is it okay to open during fermentation to take reading?

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Yes, but I would wait until a week to 1.5 weeks have passed. If you are going to transfer to secondary anyway, you could test then. Your FG is most important when fermentation is complete. All in all, 3 weeks is a good amount of time to let beer sit in total fermentation before checking FG and deciding it's time to bottle.

Again, some folks like me don't use a secondary fermenter. Except for some specific situations, a bunch of us don't see the need, and leave it sit in the primary until fermentation is totally complete. It is fine to use it and you'll find many excellent, experienced brewers that like to use a secondary.

passedpawn said:

Brew in the morning, and stick with coffee till you pitch the yeast. This advice will not go over well here, but if you want success on your brewday, you'll do it.

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He forgot to mention that you need to add Bailey's or a solid blended whiskey to the coffee.

Whattawort said:

He forgot to mention that you need to add Bailey's or a solid blended whiskey to the coffee.

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this. haha. You gotta drink beer to make beer, come on guys. Well maybe not your first brew, you dont have any beer to drink yet! :fro:

It's great to see someone starting out. Welcome aboard.

I'm one of those guys who doesn't pay a lot of mind to the SG readings but that's only because I brew extract kits. I certainly do use SG readings to dictate when I bottle the brew and I'm not advocating ignoring the data. Take them and learn from them.

In my experience, particularly with extract brews, Organization and Sanitization are two of the legs on this three legged stool. Patience is the third.

Happy brewing, and good luck.

After the fermentation leave it in the bottles for at least three weeks.

chemman14 said:

this. haha. You gotta drink beer to make beer, come on guys. Well maybe not your first brew, you dont have any beer to drink yet! :fro:

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This is a chicken and the egg problem! How can you drink beer, if you haven't made it yet? Or, like me...I have run out of homebrew, and won't have any for my next brew day A true travesty.

we will be kegging our first brew. Any thoughts or suggestions?