first brew

Hey guys I ordered my first kit yesterday and it should be here (hopefully) on Wednesday. This is the kit I ordered https://secure.homebrewers.com/c=xCSFBC9Qlq1IKh4G1coUtaLnJ/s=www.homebrewers.com/product/1000/Beer-Making-Starter-Kit.html

I got an extract recipe with it which is https://secure.homebrewers.com/c=xCSFBC9Qlq1IKh4G1coUtaLnJ/s=www.homebrewers.com/product/ALP1005/Beartooth-Stout-Beer-Kit.html

What do you all think of that kit and recipe kit? As this being my first time trying to brew I'm trying to learn how to do it right so I don't completely ruin my first batch haha. I bought the 5gallon pot from that site also which i believe is aluminum. The site give directions for how to brew using their kits at http://www.homebrewers.com/c=xCSFBC9Qlq1IKh4G1coUtaLnJ/s=www.homebrewers.com/category/aatdvarks.beermakinginstructions/. I guess my main question would be are those directions good enough that if I follow them I'll get a decent brew? Thanks again for any help someone can give or perhaps better techniques than those directions.

Welcome to the obsession - er, hobby. My first suggestion would be to go buy a copy of How To Brew by Palmer. You can scan the older version online for free, but the book will be a great resource for years.

Kit instructions have a poor reputation, and I'm not going to read through yours. If you follow them, you will get beer. If you read, study, search out and scan some relevant threads, and ask specific questions, you'll get better beer. In the meantime, go ahead and get your feet wet (figuratively speaking of course) and regard your first batch or three as a learning experience.

Cheers!

Haha thank you frazier. Yeah I can't wait to get it and just go for it. I'll def check that book out do you know any good place to order it or just the normal places.. Barnes and nobles and what not? Any ways thanks for the encouragement I'm def excited to start!

Welcome! The first place to start reading are the stickies at the top of each forum, lots o great information to get you going and set your mind at ease.

The second thing is as you do your reading, take notes and plan out your brew day with a checklist including things like washing everything, sanitizing and how to use your equipment.

Once you get your kits and recipe be sure to inventory everything. There is nothing worse then being at a step in the process and realizing you don't have or forgot to do something!

Don't get drunk while brewing, accidents happen and things get forgotten.

Figure out ahead of time at what temperature you need to ferment the beer at and how you plan o achieve that-search swamp cooler

Sanitize!

Don't panic, in the end you will make beer! Cheers!

I was planning to ferment in my home at the normal house temp of 70-72...is that OK for a stout?

that would be a little too warm. If the room is 72, the yeast will create about 5 degrees, give or take, of extra heat in the fermenting beer. This would put your fermenting temp at about 77, which is too high. You will get some funky off flavors, and hot alcohol that can cause bad headaches at that temp. Easy way to lower the temp is get a big rubbermaid plastic storage bin, and place the fermentor in it, and fill the bin with water. cover the fermenter with a towel or t-shirt, and place a fan so it will blow on it. the towel will soak up water, and the fan breeze will dry it off, and cool it down. You can also place ice packs in the water for extra cooling. I'd suggest putting the setup together when the fermenter is filled with water before you brew, so you can get an idea of how much it cools.

OK neat idea thanks I woulda made a mistake already lol. What's an ideal temp for a fermenting stout?

kepling5001 said:

OK neat idea thanks I woulda made a mistake already lol. What's an ideal temp for a fermenting stout?

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It really depends on the yeast but generally mid 60's would be perfect. You can something as simple as a rope tub filled with water to maintain a consistent temp. If its still too warm you can add frozen water bottles to drop. The temperature control is important during the fist 5-7 days and then it's not as big a deal. Keep in mind that during active fermentation the temperature in the primary can be 5-10 degrees higher than ambient.

You may also want to learn about using a blow off tube

Yeah I can probably do something like that..my only problem would be having to be at work for 10+ hours a day leaving it in attended. Would the temps be jumping to much from that time to mess it up? Like if I left at 6:30 and put new ice bottles in the tub....would the temp going from low to higher when they melt hurt the beer? Or would it pro ally be OK until I got back from work to re ice? I'm sorry for all the questions guys haha..just nervous I'll somehow kill my first batch. Thanks again!

kepling5001 said:

Yeah I can probably do something like that..my only problem would be having to be at work for 10+ hours a day leaving it in attended. Would the temps be jumping to much from that time to mess it up? Like if I left at 6:30 and put new ice bottles in the tub....would the temp going from low to higher when they melt hurt the beer? Or would it pro ally be OK until I got back from work to re ice? I'm sorry for all the questions guys haha..just nervous I'll somehow kill my first batch. Thanks again!

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It's pretty hard to screw up beer! The water in the tub will maintain a pretty consistent temp even for 10 hours, much better than the fluctuations of ambient temps

Sounds good guys thanks again for the help