First beer kit, some advice please

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gpogo

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I successfully finished my apfelwein, and it is delicious(next week it should be fully carbonated!). I probably need to start another batch soon, but I wanted to try doing a holiday ale. Austin Homebrew Supply is having a sale, so naturally it seems I should order today.

I was looking at picking up this: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=2319 (22qt Stock Pot - $34 before sale)

and I was looking at this kit:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_42_173&products_id=354

I'm thinking extract would be good for my first beer attempt. What I'm not sure about is which yeast option I should go for and if yeast nutrient would be worth it.

Also if you have any advice for brew day bring it on. I'm planning on getting any water I need from the store as the sealed spring water. As far as cooling my wort I'll probably just use the icey sink method then transfer to an ale pail later racking to a 5 gallon better bottle carboy.

Thanks.
 
I am by no means an expert on this topic, I'm still new myself. But when you start thinking about what you want to brew, start with what you like to drink. I just had a particular beer for the fist time yesterday (SNPA) and today I sent off for the clone through AHS. It was great and I want more.

Yeast options are really just a preference. There are more varieties of liquid yeasts, but you typically need to do a starter for them. Dry yeasts are cheaper and don't require a starter just a little re-hydration and they're ready to go. You don't hear too many stories about fermentation lagging when a dry yeast is used.

Ultimately, the decisions are all yours. My own personal recommendation that has worked on my first few batches is brew a beer I like to drink. I think the 'safe' approach would be the dry yeast. Others will have different opinions and this is just mine.

Regardless, you'll still brew good beer!
 
I'll pass on the advice I was given on my first batch - which was "sanitize, sanitize, sanitize". And make sure you keep a log of the ingredients and the method you use, so that in case you accidentally make an awesome beer, you'll know how you did it for future reference.

I also forgot to keep the lid off the pot during the boil, and instead had the pot covered most of the time. Apparently that's bad as it stops certain stinky chemicals from evaporating out of the wort.

Also, make sure you have loads of ice - I was amazed how quickly the kettle of hot wort melted all the ice in the sink. Other than that, it'll take a few hours, so it's a good idea to have some cold beers and good music to hand.
 
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