Whats the best brew to start with as a rookie

I'm pretty ignorant to the life of a home brewer other than what I've read from forums and other Internet research. I will say one of the common things income across is the the first batch is often a failure. So to the HB vets out there what is a good brew to start with? My LHBS carries Brewers Best ingredient kits, what are your feelings on that brand and is there better ones out there?

Crock, I wouldn't say that most people's first batch is a failure. Maybe not as good as they'd hoped for, but not a failure. The first one (like many other things) is something you'll stumble through and make mistakes but you'll always learn something. Most people learn quickly how addicting this hobby can be. Brewer's Best makes some good kits by the way. Which one are you thinking of brewing?

Crock:
Try one of Munton's CHEAPER syrup kits: Thay are ALL no-boil. If you add nothing else(sugar, nutrient, etc.) and use only clean water(I used Poland S DW, changed to Wal-Mart DW at 88cents/gal.) you will not have to heat anything. They are hopped, but not dry-hopped.
This is good practice, and if you are adventurous, you can try different hops (trade with people) by hopping in the bottle: messier, but with only one bottle each, you can test a hop variety.

I'd say some kind of derivative of a mild-brown ale... It doesn't have to be spot on the style to be good.

As a rookie, you should use Dry Extract and spike it up with lots of nice grains like Crystal, a little chocolate grain, very little Black, through a process called STEEPING. It lets you get some freshness out of your extract brew while keeping things very simple.

Use classic hops like Northern Brewer or Golding, aim for an IBU around 20.

Use clean yeast, preferably dry yeast like SAFALE US-05.

I chose this pseudo-style because the brownish burnish taste is strong enough to hide the little mistakes you might make with temperatures, hop timing, etc.

You can use BeerSmith to do the calculations...

Of course, some will tell you to use a KIT, but I hate kits, I think you don't learn a lot from them, I always prefered building my own recipes using beersmith and style books. Another way is to inspire yourself from specific style recipes and build those ingredients into beersmith... Beersmith is magical... ;-)

Those are just pointers... Do your research! ;-)

Good luck!

Do brew a beer style you like to drink, because you are going to have a lot of it.

Don't brew a beer style you have never had a commercial example of. How will you know if you did it right and the style sucks or you screwed it up?

Do buy a quality kit from a reputable source.

Do read the threads here for insight on how that kits directions may be 'incorrect'.

Don't rush your beer. Give it time and be patient.

Beyond that, hoppy beers can cover up a lot of faults. I didn't really notice my early mistakes until I stopped brewing hop bombs.

Thanks for the support…I'll probably pick up the robust porter and the cream ale…I want to eventually brew a vanilla porter but my wife enjoys lighter beers. Being a stay at home dad I needed a new hobby so I'm excited to start.

I wouldn't go with any no boil kits unless you want the first batch to be a failure. And by failure I mean it will taste like crappy beer, regardless of how well you make it.

Buy a basic extract kit from Brewers Best or one of the online shops (AHS, Norther Brewer etc). Most people go with something straightforward like a pale ale or irish red because they're lower alcohol and will be drinkable sooner (they're usually less expensive too).

Personally, I'd go with a dry irish stout simply because I think the roasted malts cover up flaws in the brewing process (which you're bound to have the first time you brew). An irish stout is still low gravity (lower in ABV) so it will be drinkable in 3-4 weeks and develop nicely over time.

Whatever recipe you decide on, be mindful of sanitation and keep it fermenting under 70 degrees if possible. As long as the recipe is proven, good ingredients + good sanitation + controlled fermentation temperature will yield great beer every time.

And be patient with it. Good beer doesn't happen overnight.

I think a wheat is a great place to start. They are quick to turn. You can be drinking it in 4 weeks. I find the hardest part for many new brewers is the waiting.

buckeye2011 said:

I wouldn't go with any no boil kits unless you want the first batch to be a failure. And by failure I mean it will taste like crappy beer, regardless of how well you make it.

Buy a basic extract kit from Brewers Best or one of the online shops (AHS, Norther Brewer etc). Most people go with something straightforward like a pale ale or irish red because they're lower alcohol and will be drinkable sooner (they're usually less expensive too).

Personally, I'd go with a dry irish stout simply because I think the roasted malts cover up flaws in the brewing process (which you're bound to have the first time you brew). An irish stout is still low gravity (lower in ABV) so it will be drinkable in 3-4 weeks and develop nicely over time.

Whatever recipe you decide on, be mindful of sanitation and keep it fermenting under 70 degrees if possible. As long as the recipe is proven, good ingredients + good sanitation + controlled fermentation temperature will yield great beer every time.

And be patient with it. Good beer doesn't happen overnight.

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Plus the Irish stout is in season!

There is no "certified best" place to start for a beginner. That being said, I would NOT fo a no boil kit; if you have an interest in actually learnign to brew, why bother going through the motions of something that you will never use once you step up to "real" brewing?

Pick a beer style that you enjoy, and get an extract kit for it. Ideally you would do a kit that has some steeping grains, and one that you do actual hop additions during a boil.

Pick something relatively simple - don't do something with fruit, extra spices, chocolate, etc. Otherwise, you'll be fine, and you'll be practicing the skills that youwill use forever when brewing.

Incidentally, OP - my first batch was quite good. Beer is kind of hard to screw up to the point hwere it's not drinkable, if you just bother to educate yourself the tiniest bit. Since you are posting here to ask for help, you are WELL on your way.

One of the greatest causes of off flavors in new brewer's beers are contamination and lack of fermentation temp control. You can't be too careful with sanitation when you first start to brew. Luckily, you're starting at a time of year that pretty much anywhere you might live in the US should have pretty cool ambient temps. Normally, I would say darker beers or belgians (the dark malts and esters respectively help cover some minor flaws). You should be fairly safe brewing whatever you want. As others have said, brew something you like to drink.

homebrewdad said:

Incidentally, OP - my first batch was quite good. Beer is kind of hard to screw up to the point hwere it's not drinkable

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I wonder how many of us, if able to revisit that first batch, would still think it was good :cross: I know that when I first started brewing, every few months, I would go back and try a beer from a month or two before and think, "how did the hell did I drink that?!? And why did I make my friends suffer?!?" :rockin:

Depends if you are buying a kit, or simply following a recipe. If the former, I'd ask the supplier for an easy kit for a style of beer you like. If the latter, darker beers (stouts, porter, browns) are genreally easier to brew than lighter beers, and are not as challenging. pale Ales can be deceptive; it is often difficult to get a good balance of hop, malt and dryness in a pale or IPA.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Cheers!

NanoMan

PS. Sanitation. Sanitation. Santitation. Oh and did I mention sanitation?!

Do you already have the basic equipment to brew? Full boil or partial?

Definitely obtain a copy of Palmer's "How to Brew" and read Sections I and II to get a good basic understanding of the whole brewing process and to get you started.

Then do a simple extract brew with steeping grains, either from the samples in that book, a recipe found here, or from a purchased kit.

For example, I started out with a simple extract kit (steeping grains were included) from http://www.homebrewery.com. My first brew was a Yellow Dog Pale Ale and that gave me a base of what was involved in home brewing and what a home brew tastes like. Without that first (basic) brew I would be flying in the dark for a long time. It turned out great, and tasted like beer!

The only thing about kit instructions in general is that NOT all the DME (or LME) should be added at the beginning of the boil. Half at the beginning of the boil, and the rest 10 minutes before or at flame-out, which is the consensus on this board. I don't know if Palmer has revised or modernized any techniques in his 2nd edition.

Some kits have the (bittering) hops mixed in the extract, which doesn't give you the option to split the extract additions, but that is a minor issue, for the first beer. Some kits are better than others, so look around here to get some ideas.

After your first brew you will better understand the process and from there on learn more and slowly brew more complicated recipes with dry hopping etc.

Important Note:
One road to success is meticulous sanitation. Until it becomes second nature, each time you want to touch the wort (after the boil), or the yeast, STOP! Then review for yourself: "Did I sanitize?"

I can't add much to what others on here haven't already said. Go with a kit from a good dealer, I've had good luck with Northern Brewer. I can't emphasize enough though 2 things. When adding extract to the boil, turn off the heat until you know it's dissolved. Then, do not assume that because your fermenter is in a room that is 68 degrees, your beer is fermenting at 68. Do what you can to make sure you beer is actually fermenting in the mid 60s. Those two things will be a huge factor in the flavor of your final product. Obviously, there is sanitizing everything, but I believe if a person does have a first time failure, the two things I mentioned usually seem to be major factors.

Pitch LOTS of yeast! Homebrewers typically underptich.

Cheers!

i'd just go strait to biab. it's too easy. don't even need a hydrometer. just hit your mash temps and hold em. forget strike temp too, just do a protein rest and bring it up to mash. much easier than playing with strikes

it's so freaking easy. you can get more detailed after you're impressed with yourself on the first batch

however. fermenting temp control is a massive factor in making quality this easy

use beer calculus to get rough blueprint of your brew.

if your wifey likes light i'd do 148 mash lagers and 152 mash ales %5 abv or less w/60 and 20 min hop additions and try for 20-30 ibu using mostly noble hops imo

I know i may be sounding reckless here (must be partially due to this fine pint-o-pilsner that i've almost finished), but if you've got the basic controls in place it's hard to screw it up. put some vodka in your airlock instead of water

I bought my brew kit off Craigslist…before I get reprimanded, it's the same kit I was going to purchase from my LHBS only $100 less and has only two brews under its belt. I appreciate all the input and have noted many first time mistakes. The LHBS is holding a home brew 101 class tomorrow and I'll have a better idea. I'm def starting with a brewers best kit first to get the methods down then I'll venture to beersmith and make my own beers.

One of my first solo brew efforts was Northern Brewer's Dead Ringer recipe.

It turned out real good for a first one, and I was stoked. They had it perfectly packaged with great directions. Probably can't go wrong with a lot of the kits from reputable companies. AHS, Midwest, Northern Brewer etc....

AlCophile said:

Crock:
Try one of Munton's CHEAPER syrup kits: Thay are ALL no-boil. If you add nothing else(sugar, nutrient, etc.) and use only clean water(I used Poland S DW, changed to Wal-Mart DW at 88cents/gal.) you will not have to heat anything. They are hopped, but not dry-hopped.
This is good practice, and if you are adventurous, you can try different hops (trade with people) by hopping in the bottle: messier, but with only one bottle each, you can test a hop variety.

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As was said by others, I"d skip the no-boil kit because the results aren't very good and it's discouraging, instead of encouraging.

Brewer's Best kits are fine (if fresh- look for a store with high turnover), but there are a couple of places that make much better kits with better instructions. One is austinhomebrew.com- they have hundreds of good extract kits with good instructions. Another is northernbrewer.com- not as many, but every type you can think of!

The only caution I have is to stay away from lager kits- they require some specialized skills like temperature control and yeast starters- so pick an ale kit. You can make a stout, brown ale, cream ale, pale ale, IPA, porter, etc, so you have lots of choices.

Crock_it_out said:

I'm pretty ignorant to the life of a home brewer other than what I've read from forums and other Internet research. I will say one of the common things income across is the the first batch is often a failure. So to the HB vets out there what is a good brew to start with? My LHBS carries Brewers Best ingredient kits, what are your feelings on that brand and is there better ones out there?

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6 lbs light liquid malt extract, safe ale s05 yeast, and 1 oz cascade hops.

should cost 24.00

5oz of priming sugar for the bottling stage, (after fermentation in complete. 7-14 days) and 55 caps. should 3.00

better and fresher than any kit ive bought,

The kits from Brewer's Best (on-line) look very decent, and the instructions are clear. As long as the cans of LME are fresh (and that's the important question) you should be able to make a tasty brew. Pick an easy beginners/intermediate recipe of a beer you like. Stay away from lagers, Belgians, fruits, and other fermentation/temperature-critical recipes for now until you've brewed a few ales. Ales are generally easier, and more forgiving. The darker ones being more forgiving than lighter ones.

As Nanoman said, pitch enough (fresh) yeast. If the kit comes with yeast, make sure there is a useful date on it, or even better, replace with a sachet of Safale S-05 or S-04 depending on the beer you're brewing. You don't need to make a starter for dry yeast in medium gravity ales. That saves a step for now that you would want to visit later. Oh yes, starters can make all the difference, and are absolutely needed for all the liquid yeasts sold.

Have fun taking the class, and ask plenty of nuts and bolts questions.

yewtah-brewha said:

6 lbs light liquid malt extract, safe ale s05 yeast, and 1 oz cascade hops.

should cost 24.00...better and fresher than any kit ive bought,

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I'd make that 6.6 lbs (or 7 lbs if sold in bulk) of light LME or Pilsner LME (the lightest in color).

How about adding some steeping grains?

And yes, always best to use fresh ingredients, and it will probably be as good as or better than any commercial kit out there.

Price depends on where you live though, but should not be more than $30.

IslandLizard said:

I'd make that 6.6 lbs (or 7 lbs if sold in bulk) of light LME or Pilsner LME (the lightest in color).

How about adding some steeping grains?

And yes, always best to use fresh ingredients, and it will probably be as good as or better than any commercial kit out there.

Price depends on where you live though, but should not be more than $30.

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Sure why not. Add some steeping grains. the biggest mistake i made with my first was moving the primary around alot. I ws so excited. I would transport it up stair every few days to open it and smell it,,,, bad idea. leave it in a clean area and dont move it except to transfer from primary to bottling or secondary.

I also added (pitched)yeast to hot, get a wort cooler and pitch at 65- 70 degrees

Brewed my brewers best IPA…when should I begin seeing airlock activity?

The Scotch Ale kit from Brewers Best was my first batch in Nov' 12 and it was good. Lacked a little body maybe, but was good. My last kit I brewed was the cream ale around the end of Dec. beginning of Jan. It is bottled now and I am not enjoying it. It uses 2lbs of corn sugar to boost the ABV and gives it a flavor that I really don't like, Budweiserish kind of. I have since done 4 all grain batches and haven't tried any of them yet. 3 are in fermenters still and one has only been bottled a week. I am really looking forward to cracking open a bottle of my Guinness Foreign Extra clone that is in the carboy still for St. Patty's. 1.070 OG. Haven't measured FG yet. It looks delicious and the airlock smells wonderful.
You should see airlock activity within 24-72 hours. If you don't see bubbles your bucket lid could be leaking so don't sweat it. If you got the brewers best starter kit and are fermenting in a bucket you can shine a flashlight through the back side and see the krausen forming.
I am 11 batches in since Nov '12, welcome to the addiction.

Air lock activity can take up to 3 days, I have seen up to 5 days when the days have been really cold RDWHAHB

My first "kit" beer was an IPA, unfortunately my palate was not prepared for an IPA at the time lol Me favorite "kit" beer was brewers best Red Ale.

Airlock activity started around 18hrs after capped. And it's been constant for the past two days. Primary buckets is looking great and is sitting in a cool 70-71 deg closet. Looking forward to tasting this weekend when I transfer to carboy.

Crock_it_out said:

Airlock activity started around 18hrs after capped. And it's been constant for the past two days. Primary buckets is looking great and is sitting in a cool 70-71 deg closet. Looking forward to tasting this weekend when I transfer to carboy.

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I would get some small ice packs, put them next to the fermenter, then wrap a towel around it all. (easiest and quickest think I can think of) 70 - 71 ambient temp means a fermentation in the mid 70s. That's going to be a hair hot and could lead to some off flavors. You want to do what you can to keep it fermenting under 70.

Best solutions is usually a swamp cooler. Larger vessel, with cool water, that you put the fermenter in, then add a couple of ice packs or a 20 oz bottle of water frozen, to keep your temps lower.

This was the mistake I made on my first beer. It wasn't undrinkable, but certainly left some off flaovors in there fermenting that warm.

First ever batch brewed is an IPA. I racked it on day 6 to my carboy and plan letting it sit in there for 2 weeks. The smell is great and the color is a bit darker than I expected, but it seems so far so good. Chomping at the bit I had to get a small taste…it's a little more bitter than SweetWater IPA. So my question is what your opinion on how long for the IPA to stay in the carboy?