Are you planning on using a kit? I just brewed my 3rd ever batch today, and I've used the Brewer's Best kits on all three. From what I have seen, read and heard, they seem to be very consistent and high quality kits. The ones I have done (American Pale, Falconer's Flight IPA, and German Altbier) all contain grains to steep, so I've gotten a sense of the grain process even though it is an extract kit.