luigi13191
Member
what would be the best first beer i know it woould be from an extract kit but would it be a lager or ale and any other specifics
What would be the best type of beer for first beer
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Unless you have temp control, which most brewer's don't have just starting out, then a lager is out of the question.
Ales are more room temp tolerant.
Ales are more room temp tolerant.
How about a style that you like but that isn't too complicated? It will be a big confidence booster if you produce something pretty good on the first try. Maybe stay away from really big beers, adjuncts, and extras like fruit, coffee, chocolate, liquor, etc.
It was dumb luck, but for my first brew I chose to do a hoppier than normal amber ale with just cascades. It was nothing amazing, but it was much better than what I thought was possible, having had no homebrewing friends at the time. It really got me jazzed about the hobby.
It was dumb luck, but for my first brew I chose to do a hoppier than normal amber ale with just cascades. It was nothing amazing, but it was much better than what I thought was possible, having had no homebrewing friends at the time. It really got me jazzed about the hobby.
mychalg9
Well-Known Member
Don't do a high alcohol beer, as it will take a long time until it tastes good. My first beer is a year old right now and is just finally tasting right. Do an amber or pale ale.
SoonerDoc
Well-Known Member
Pale ale would be good.
Many say to do a wheat beer first because they're more tolerant to mistakes. While that's probably true and they are good beers, it really doesn't teach you anything about what you did right or wrong.
Many say to do a wheat beer first because they're more tolerant to mistakes. While that's probably true and they are good beers, it really doesn't teach you anything about what you did right or wrong.
dummkauf
Well-Known Member
Any Ale.
Whatever style you like. Thats the great thing about brewing. A pale ale would be easy.....but with many of the kits they a re all simple. Look up austin homebrew supply, they have about any extract kit you could ask for.
Pale Ale, it lets you know the entire process of brewing, it improves with age (unlike some wheat beers) and is pretty easy to make. It's also very easy to do All-Grain, Partial Mash or Extract w/ or w/o steeping grains. An all grain wheat beer takes some know-how.
jgln
Well-Known Member
I know way back when I was just starting out brewing from kits any dark rich beers (lagers?) usually came out fine which I believe is because of the richer malt helping to cover up anything mildly wrong with the beer. But I did make a good IPA which may have been for the same reason. But this was all 30 years ago or so, so my memory of it may not be so good.
yodalegomaster
Well-Known Member
Pale ale or a Cream Ale, they are what you expect from homebrew.
ToastedPenguin
Well-Known Member
If you are going to be brewing extract/partial extract and want to use kits I would suggest kits from Northern Brewer. My first brew was their Caribou Slobber, which is an American Brown Ale. I also recommend their A3 called Waldo Lake. Both kits come with specialty grains which you steep while heating the water to boil and this make a HUGE difference in the quality of a extract brew.
David
David
ToastedPenguin
Well-Known Member
A double imperial dry hopped oatmeal russian stout...Seriously though, anything in the 1.050 range, don't go for a big beer right out of the starting gate like many do.
Very good point. A friend of mine quit brewing after only his 2nd brew because his 2nd brew was a scotch ale. First issue he had was not using a blow off tube so his primary blew out the airlock; all over the closet walls and flooring....second issue was that he got a little impatient and didn't let it sit long enough in the bottles to carb up. Needless to say because of these issues he up and quit. Luckily he didn't invest a lot of $$$ in the hobby by the time he quit.
BrewBoy19
Well-Known Member
4.5 lbs amber DME (dry malt extract)
1.5 oz cascade hops
.5oz williamette hops
2 tsp gypsum
english ale yeast
boil 2 gallons water add DME and cascade hops. Boil 60 min. turn off heat; add williamette hops and cover ten minutes. Fill primary with 2.5 gallons cold water. pour wort into primary add enough water to fill up to 5 gallons. pitch yeast at proper temp and cover.
This is a very easy Ale I just bought supplies to make it yesterday cost around $30.
remember to strain the wort to get the hops out. I forgot on my first brew and it tasted pretty bitter and gross. Not a good hop bitter.
1.5 oz cascade hops
.5oz williamette hops
2 tsp gypsum
english ale yeast
boil 2 gallons water add DME and cascade hops. Boil 60 min. turn off heat; add williamette hops and cover ten minutes. Fill primary with 2.5 gallons cold water. pour wort into primary add enough water to fill up to 5 gallons. pitch yeast at proper temp and cover.
This is a very easy Ale I just bought supplies to make it yesterday cost around $30.
remember to strain the wort to get the hops out. I forgot on my first brew and it tasted pretty bitter and gross. Not a good hop bitter.
The recipe looks good! I'd leave out the gypsum, though, because I have hard water and most people don't need it.
You dont' have to strain your wort- once the hops are boiled, they don't contribute further bitterness or flavor. If it was bitter and gross, it wasn't because of the lack of straining! I don't strain my wort and my beer is pretty good!
You've pretty much got to stick to ales until you get a good grasp on the basics. Lagers require more yeast, complete temperature control, and a couple of months to mature.
What kind of beer do you like? English brown ales are easy (I have a simple recipe posted, under my avatar), most stouts are easy, and American ambers are also forgiving. Pale ales are good, if you like hoppy beers, and wheat beers (like a Blue Moon clone) are pretty simple.
BrewBoy19
Well-Known Member
True on the gypsum. I had to blame something; I just picked the hops. Its like blaming the hockey stick.
+1 on avoiding high grav beers. They're harder to nail down, and the last thing you want on your first batch is beer that won't taste right for months (even when you get it perfect). Pale ales are good, a simple porter would be great too. In my experience you'll probably bottle as soon as it's done fermenting rather than giving it a good post ferm rest (I know I did) and the dark roasty porter flavors really do nicely with a little Acetaldehyde.
ETCS
Well-Known Member
This was the first batch that I did, aside from the Mr. Beer my wife bought me for Christmas a long time ago. Anayway, it's a extract with specialty grains, good news is you can do it on your kitchen stove with basic equipment, once it was done, I took it to a 4th of July party and people couldn't get enough of it. Here is the URL:
http://www.robshomebrew.com/ScottishAle.html
http://www.robshomebrew.com/ScottishAle.html
rodneypierce
Well-Known Member
I also did a true brew red ale kit. It is down right disgusting! Granted, its still young, and only 3 weeks old... but its going to take alot to bring this beer around!! So I would stay away from the "true brew" brand red ale kit. just not a good beer at all. My second batch, that I just bottled last weekend was a AHS Bavarian hefewiesen. This one is too young to tell if it will be any good or not. Perhaps its my brewing thats bad, but i sure hope not!
Hefe's should be ready pretty quick. They don't really need any age. A red, in my experience, doesn't need long either.
rodneypierce
Well-Known Member
its only been in the bottle a week tomorrow. thats what I meant by young. Its barely carbed.
OP
OP
luigi13191
Member
thanx for the feedback guys
BMan1029
Well-Known Member
+1 on the Northern Caribou Slobber kit. That was the first kit I brewed. Turned out good and I was impatient with it even. Also, it comes with specialty grains that you steep pre boil. My second kit (amber ale) lacked any specialty grains and I was highly disappointed. Most importantly though is do a kit that you want to do. No need to go high alcohol the first time out, go for something that tastes good to you. Very rewarding having your first batch taste wonderful....you'll be hooked.
A Pale Ale or Blonde Ale (Like BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde)
My first pale ale was rather simple and was delicious with 2-3 weeks bottle conditioning and about a week in the fridge. (Note - it is a ~2.5 gallon recipe)
Linky: http://hopville.com/recipe/334489/american-pale-ale-recipes/almost-flying-dog-pale-ale
You can omit the dry hopping if you like. However, with the dry hopping, the beer is pretty damn close to Flying Dog's "Doggie Style" Pale Ale.
My first pale ale was rather simple and was delicious with 2-3 weeks bottle conditioning and about a week in the fridge. (Note - it is a ~2.5 gallon recipe)
Linky: http://hopville.com/recipe/334489/american-pale-ale-recipes/almost-flying-dog-pale-ale
You can omit the dry hopping if you like. However, with the dry hopping, the beer is pretty damn close to Flying Dog's "Doggie Style" Pale Ale.
