Question from a beginner.

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hjsismyhero

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I started off my home brewing with a mr beer kit and I used that for a number of years. That kit makes the process super easy. So I decided to get a little more advanced kit. So I got a Midwest Brewing 6.5 gallon kit. No glass carboy yet but I'm hoping to get that soon. I started off with a pre-put together kit from Midwest brewing (lemon coriander Weiss) and I just wanted to know if its a good idea to stick to the kits at first? Or should I start picking out my own stuff?
Also I am also up for any advice you have for a beginner.
Thanks!!!
 
It is always good to start with kits therefore you can see the different types of methods for different beers. I started off doing 3 kits then I decided to venture out on my own. Many of my recipes are based off of kits bit I change up the malts and hops to my liking.

Its only beer. Feel free to do whatever you think is right.
 
Read read read! "Yeast" is a great book and had the greatest effect on the quality of my brewing. "Everything home brewing" by Drew Beechum is a great beginners book with good recipes. Once you have a solid foundation this forum is a good resource, but until then it can do as much harm as good. Bad advice is as common as good, all with good intent but sometimes it's the blind leading the blind.
Brew simple recipes of beers you like. Then tweak one variable at a time when you brew them again. Try to learn from each batch, and they'll get better and better!
 
+1 on the previous comments. Kits reward you with great beer, teach the most important basics- cleaning, sanitation, yeast care. Read books- the great part is that you get a little out the 1st time, then more and deeper understanding as you brew more. I love the Yeast book, How to Brew, and Brewing Classic Styles. But once you are consistently making delicious, clean beer, then if you are so inclined, experiment away! If it isn't too good, friends will still drink free beer :drunk:
 
I also would start with kits until you have a good knowledge of the procedures. After that you can use online recipe software to design your own. I take a known recipe and make some small changes. I would also suggest that you look into Better Bottles or buckets instead of a glass carboy. Do a search for carboy accidents and you might save yourself a lot of pain and a visit to the emergency room when the carboy breaks.
 
Thanks guys! This forum has already taught me a lot. I was considering trying all grain brewing until I researched it. That is way out of my league. So ill stick to the kits for a little while and get some experience then move on from there.
If you guys know some good wheat or hefeweizen recipes let me know.

Thanks again!
 
Kits are great. That being said, taking a tried and true recipe (like some of those here on HBT that have multiple pages of successful brews) is just as easy to do.

All grain takes longer, but it's honestly not much harder than extract brewing. However, there is less margin for error in all grain... and you can still make world class beers with extracts.

I switched to all grain, but because I enjoy being able to fine tune every aspect of my process, not because I think I'm "better" because of it.
 
Thanks guys! This forum has already taught me a lot. I was considering trying all grain brewing until I researched it. That is way out of my league. So ill stick to the kits for a little while and get some experience then move on from there.
If you guys know some good wheat or hefeweizen recipes let me know.

Thanks again!

All grain is not out of your league. It looks tough to start and it seems to use a lot of equipment but you don't have to have every bit of bling to start all grain brewing. I went from extract kits to all grain by way of "brew in a bag" (BIAB) and did a half size batch in the equipment I already had except I had to add a paint strainer bag. It adds time to your brew day but it also adds options, more than you could believe. Read about it, think about it, do it.:ban:
 
I've only been brewing about 6 months, so in no way can I add to the ingredients question (or pretty much any question!) - still nowhere near that level! But I did just want say that I did 2 kits when I started out and then switched right over to all grain. It was kinda a scary transition, but nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. If your only hesitation is because it looks difficult, I say go for it. But keep in mind it's a bit more expensive for equipment (up front cost) and it takes a bit longer time on brew day (but it also gives me more time to sit outside and drink, so I call that a win!). And if you get in a bind, there's great info and people on here who will bail you out!

And I've just hit the level of opinion that I can impart based on my knowledge...
 
Like RM-MN said you can do biab with a decent size pot. 7.5g + If you think you will get into all grain I would go ahead and go for it. Don't make the mistake and buy 3 different size pots like I did because I started out extract, then partial, then all grain. If you have a 7.5 pot you can do BIAB with only a pot and a bag, and if you want to fly sparge or batch sparge later on you always can and don't have to get a bigger pot.
 
hjsismyhero said:
So in your opinion which is better tasting? All grain, partial grain or full extract?

Depends on the brewer! Attention to pitch rates, fermentation temperature and aeration makes more impact on beer quality than how the wort was made. Plenty of extract brewers win competitions. I use all 3 techniques and consider all of them effective tools for certain jobs. Each one has its place, just up to the brewer to pick the best tool for the job...
 
Man am I glad I joined this forum!
I appreciate the advise. I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more from me.

In fact, next question.…

I just finish conditioning my first batch with my new kit. I did a lemon coriander Weiss but there isn't much head retention.

I've read something's about it but just wondering if it was the lemon zest that was added or maybe a flaw in the brewing process?
 
Man am I glad I joined this forum!
I appreciate the advise. I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more from me.

In fact, next question.…

I just finish conditioning my first batch with my new kit. I did a lemon coriander Weiss but there isn't much head retention.

I've read something's about it but just wondering if it was the lemon zest that was added or maybe a flaw in the brewing process?

How long has it been bottled? It does take some time for the beer to get to where you get head retention. If you get a head with big bubbles and it's gone right away, try a little more time. The other factor is your glassware. Is it clean enough? Did it just come out of a dishwasher that used jet dry or something similar? Any soap residue kills head on the beer. You might go to washing your glasses by hand and rinse really well.:rockin:
 
I'm not 100% sure of the effect of lemon zest on head retention, but I certainly doubt it helps. Also, with something like lemon maybe that's best added fresh to the rim of the glass rather than your brew kettle. I always reccommend new brewers brew the simplest beer styles they enjoy. Simpler recipes offer greater chance for success, and are easier to diagnose when something isn't perfect...
 
I think you had something with the glassware. I just rinsed my glass and wiped it down really good and the head looks better already.
 
Just wanted to add, since you said that you started out with Mr. Beer, that the Mr. Beer LBK is an ideal fermenter for doing 2.5 gallon batches of All Grain, BIAB, brews. Handy if, like me, you only have a 5 gallon brew kettle.:mug:

And All grain (especially the BIAB method RM-MN suggests) isn't as difficult as you inevitably think, prior to trying. Was definitely intimidated, myself, by the thought of maintaining an exact mash temp for an hour, or more, calculating volumes of water needed, strike temp etc. Etc. It can be done in a very un-empirical manner and still turn out decent beer or you can pay attention to every single detail and, maybe, turn out some outstanding beer. As mentioned by others, above, if you have the processes of sufficient wort aeration/yeast pitching rates and fermentation temperature control you'll make great beer whether you do extract or all grain
 
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