General Fermentation Questions

So I've been wanting to brew for a while and had some questions. First off, what material container should you ferment in??? I have heard plastic containers, but if it involves boiling water, wouldn't that melt it??? Also, what type yeast??? The book I read on brewing didn't really give any specific types. Last question: what is yeast nutrient??? I heard it is important, but I'm not sure of the type to get or at what point in brewing to add it. Any help would be very appreciated.

welcome to the forum! the first place you would want to check out is the beginner brewers section.. there are some sticky spots on the top with some walkthroughs and answers to your basic questions that may be easier for you to get most of your answers all at once..

for your questions though:

- your beer is already cooled once you put it into the vessel you use for fermenting, so just about anything that is food grade would work, just that it does not let oxygen through

- there are hundreds of different types of yeast, and it all depends on the recipe you are using, and for the location you are able to keep your beer for the correct temperatures.. the basic rule of thumb is ale yeasts can handle higher temperatures than lager yeasts

- yeast nutrient is just a product you typically add to help the yeast get started.. i believe it is only used in making yeast starters (at least that's the only place i've used them) though i could be wrong..

good luck and let us know if we can help you along

Welcome! I would definitely suggest checking out the beginner brewers section like the above poster noted. Also, read as many posts as you can even if they don't answer a question you have. You will learn a lot on these forums!

-As far as fermenters, I would use anything food grade that has low oxygen permeability. Most beginners use plastic brew buckets that come with brew start up kits. Others use plastic and glass carboys that both have pluses and minuses. The plastic ones should hold up to boiling water or wort, but I don't think this should be necessary in the brewing procedure.
-The type of yeast would depend on the type of beer you intend on making and what temperature you would ferment. For a general dry yeast, I would suggest safale-05.
-Yeast nutrient is basically vitamins for yeast. It is usually already included in a dry yeast pack. You will only really need to use it for yeast starters, beer with high adjuncts such as corn, rice and sugar, or high gravity beers. I wouldn't worry about it just yet being a beginning brewer.

Thanks a lot, both of you!!! I really appreciate it.

Read through the first and second sections of www.howtobrew.com for a good introduction. You can also order DVDs that introduce you to brewing from www.basicbrewing.com. Both are highly recommended resources.

When starting out I think the easiest way is to start with an extract kit. I like the ones at northernbrewer.com. They have been running a 40% off sale on their deluxe brewing kit. I don't know if it is over or not. The brewing kit comes with a good DVD on how to brew. The extract kits come with all you need except yeast and bottling sugar but in the order process they give options for ordering them.