tips for my first brew
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cuttsjp
Well-Known Member
1. Buy The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian and read at least the first section of the book. No one puts it quite like he does, and this is just the definitive text on hombrewing (you may already have it).
2. For your first batch, brew something that will be ready somewhat quickly like a brown ale or a pale ale (or bitter) of some sort (this is just personal opinion), that way you can taste the fruits of your labor more quickly, then decide where to go from there. It is also kind of nice to brew something for which you have some comparison as well...if you do things right you are likely to find that your beer is actually better.
3. When you do brew, KEEP EVERYTHING IMMACULATELY SANITIZED. This is probably the absolute most important thing about brewing.
2. For your first batch, brew something that will be ready somewhat quickly like a brown ale or a pale ale (or bitter) of some sort (this is just personal opinion), that way you can taste the fruits of your labor more quickly, then decide where to go from there. It is also kind of nice to brew something for which you have some comparison as well...if you do things right you are likely to find that your beer is actually better.
3. When you do brew, KEEP EVERYTHING IMMACULATELY SANITIZED. This is probably the absolute most important thing about brewing.
Start your brew day respectfully early, like 0600 on a Saturday. Try to have a Founders Breakfast Stout on hand, seeing it's breakfast time, actually.
Make sure your assistant brewer shows up on time with a decent assortment of craft-type beers.
If asst brewer gets cranky, just have the wife call his girl to come get him since he's drunk at 0930. Keep the craft beers.
Make sure your assistant brewer shows up on time with a decent assortment of craft-type beers.
If asst brewer gets cranky, just have the wife call his girl to come get him since he's drunk at 0930. Keep the craft beers.
duffman2
Well-Known Member
Bad Skmo, bad!
It's really up to you. I agree to find something you like that has a quick turnaround - pale ale, wheat, hefeweizen, or whatever. But no matter what you brew, remember that it will take forever to be good. You will drink it before it's ready, so relax and have a beer 1 week after bottling, have another after 2 weeks, and then dive in at week 3. And if you can punish yourself and hold out for longer, you should do so.
Sanitation is key and it's easy to do. Before the boil - no worries. After the boil - everything that will touch the beer should be cleaned and sanitized. Spray, dip, or otherwise immerse equipment in sanitizer before use.
Other than that, have fun. Brewing isn't rocket science. You'll probably do better the first time when you don't have information overkill messing with your head. (And that will happen later, trust me!)
So - don't worry, brew happy!!!
Cheers!
It's really up to you. I agree to find something you like that has a quick turnaround - pale ale, wheat, hefeweizen, or whatever. But no matter what you brew, remember that it will take forever to be good. You will drink it before it's ready, so relax and have a beer 1 week after bottling, have another after 2 weeks, and then dive in at week 3. And if you can punish yourself and hold out for longer, you should do so.
Sanitation is key and it's easy to do. Before the boil - no worries. After the boil - everything that will touch the beer should be cleaned and sanitized. Spray, dip, or otherwise immerse equipment in sanitizer before use.
Other than that, have fun. Brewing isn't rocket science. You'll probably do better the first time when you don't have information overkill messing with your head. (And that will happen later, trust me!)
So - don't worry, brew happy!!!
Cheers!
The main things that mess up a beer for starters IMO is fermentation temp and water (depending on location).
Typical ale yeast should ferment around 65-68 max. Over 70 and you will start to get off flavors. Some yeasts you want to ferment warmer, all depends on what you are brewing.
Now with water, safest bet is to buy clean water. People's tap water can vary. If you have hard water, or your water has an odd taste or smell, don't use it on light colored beers. They will not turn out. Hope that helps a little. Good luck. Keep in mind if you accidentally go over ideal fermentation temp, don't stress. It will probably be fine. Takes a lot to crank out an undrinkable beer.
Also, what they said, sanitation post-boil, with everything.
Typical ale yeast should ferment around 65-68 max. Over 70 and you will start to get off flavors. Some yeasts you want to ferment warmer, all depends on what you are brewing.
Now with water, safest bet is to buy clean water. People's tap water can vary. If you have hard water, or your water has an odd taste or smell, don't use it on light colored beers. They will not turn out. Hope that helps a little. Good luck. Keep in mind if you accidentally go over ideal fermentation temp, don't stress. It will probably be fine. Takes a lot to crank out an undrinkable beer.
Also, what they said, sanitation post-boil, with everything.
Shizog4
Well-Known Member
One thing that helped me was take at least a week before brew day to search the threads for ANY questions you may have, believe it or not, the dumb, silly or outrageous questions have already been answered. Read through the new threads daily to get ideas for new searched questions. When you think you're good to go, read more.......
Sanitation is key, fermentation is key(see swamp cooler) other than those two set it and forget it. It's hard to do but you will appreciate it way more. 3/4 weeks fermentor, 3+ weeks in bottle......but the main thing is to relax....RDWHAHB!!
Sanitation is key, fermentation is key(see swamp cooler) other than those two set it and forget it. It's hard to do but you will appreciate it way more. 3/4 weeks fermentor, 3+ weeks in bottle......but the main thing is to relax....RDWHAHB!!
My tip is to read the stickies and current discussions on homebrewtalk.com, THIS ENTIRE PLACE IS ONE BIG SERIES OF TIPS.
I alone have posted something like 26,000 tips on here...And I'm only one of 40,000 members.....so you have plenty to choose from.
Oh and relax, you can't f- this up.
I alone have posted something like 26,000 tips on here...And I'm only one of 40,000 members.....so you have plenty to choose from.
Oh and relax, you can't f- this up.
I believe, at last count, it was 26,104. Well, 26,105 if you count telling him to read as a tip. I'll give you that one
beergolf
Well-Known Member
Like Revvy says.. Read all of the stickies. Tons of good info there. I spent so much time reading them before my first brew that my wife started calling my beer porn. There is a ton of great info on this forum.
From a relative noob here are some tips I learned.
First learn what RDWHAHB means.
Start collecting bottles as soon as you can. I am finding that I am brewing faster than I can collect bottles.
Read the directions many times before you start your first brew.
I even suggest a checklist of the steps so you can check them off as you go so you don't forget anything.
Patience is the hardest part.
Oxyclean rocks.. soaking bottles in Oxyclean the labels just fall right off.
Starsan for sanitizing. Don't fear the bubbles. Also keep a spray bottle of it around and whenever in doubt just spray everything down.
Use a blow off tube. Just in case. I have not had anything blow off yet but one batch got very close and my wife would be pissed if I blew beer all over the ceiling.
Don't be in a big rush. Many kits recommend transferring to a secondary or bottling too quick. Follow the directions up to the fermentation part, then listen to what everyone here says. Letting your beer sit longer will give you better beer.
Use a short tube to connect your bottling wand to your bottling bucket and then set it on the counter over the open door of your dishwasher. Brilliant idea that makes cleaning up easy.. Just shut the door.
After bottling just let them sit long enough to carb up properly. Life is too short to drink bad beer. You can use the extra time to collect more bottles.
Most of all, have fun and enjoy your new hobby (obsession)
From a relative noob here are some tips I learned.
First learn what RDWHAHB means.
Start collecting bottles as soon as you can. I am finding that I am brewing faster than I can collect bottles.
Read the directions many times before you start your first brew.
I even suggest a checklist of the steps so you can check them off as you go so you don't forget anything.
Patience is the hardest part.
Oxyclean rocks.. soaking bottles in Oxyclean the labels just fall right off.
Starsan for sanitizing. Don't fear the bubbles. Also keep a spray bottle of it around and whenever in doubt just spray everything down.
Use a blow off tube. Just in case. I have not had anything blow off yet but one batch got very close and my wife would be pissed if I blew beer all over the ceiling.
Don't be in a big rush. Many kits recommend transferring to a secondary or bottling too quick. Follow the directions up to the fermentation part, then listen to what everyone here says. Letting your beer sit longer will give you better beer.
Use a short tube to connect your bottling wand to your bottling bucket and then set it on the counter over the open door of your dishwasher. Brilliant idea that makes cleaning up easy.. Just shut the door.
After bottling just let them sit long enough to carb up properly. Life is too short to drink bad beer. You can use the extra time to collect more bottles.
Most of all, have fun and enjoy your new hobby (obsession)
marnel
Well-Known Member
What i've learned is, don't take your first brew to seriously. Just relax and have fun follow the instructions on the kit and enjoy the experience. You are bound to mess up one thing like pushing the airlock in to hard and forcing the rubber grommet to fall into your wort. We've all done it 
Beer was practically formed on it's own by chance in nature so you've already got a leg up. Many of us have made really dumb mistakes and have had no infections as a result. Best piece of advice I can offer is to leave the fermentor alone and pretend it's not there for 1 month, this will be the hardest thing you will ever have to endure.
Beer was practically formed on it's own by chance in nature so you've already got a leg up. Many of us have made really dumb mistakes and have had no infections as a result. Best piece of advice I can offer is to leave the fermentor alone and pretend it's not there for 1 month, this will be the hardest thing you will ever have to endure.
Redpiper
Well-Known Member
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is to write it down. Get a spiral notebook and record what you do.
Basics:
Date of brew. Date of bottling. Date(s) tasted and how long in refrig. etc.
Original gravity (and later final) if you're measuring this yet.
Yeast used
How much sugar used at bottling
Notes on the screw ups and problems to remind you next time.
You'll figure out more as you go along. The tasting notes have been particularly helpful in convincing me to give beer time! The screw up notes have guided me for each batch - what to do better next time.
And ++1 to bottles. They have, until just recently, been the "bottle-neck" in my production. You're likely going to want a variety on hand even if you're not planning on doing all the drinking. You're going to want to give some out. Can't have too many bottles.
Oh and +++1 to these forums. Just about every weird question I've thought of was already here.
Welcome to the hobby!
Basics:
Date of brew. Date of bottling. Date(s) tasted and how long in refrig. etc.
Original gravity (and later final) if you're measuring this yet.
Yeast used
How much sugar used at bottling
Notes on the screw ups and problems to remind you next time.
You'll figure out more as you go along. The tasting notes have been particularly helpful in convincing me to give beer time! The screw up notes have guided me for each batch - what to do better next time.
And ++1 to bottles. They have, until just recently, been the "bottle-neck" in my production. You're likely going to want a variety on hand even if you're not planning on doing all the drinking. You're going to want to give some out. Can't have too many bottles.
Oh and +++1 to these forums. Just about every weird question I've thought of was already here.
Welcome to the hobby!
ongreystreet
Well-Known Member
Follow your recipe instructions the best you can, try to avoid modifications. Some changes or advice may be misleading, such as it's better to boil 5 gallons instead of the 2.5 or 3 or whatever your kit recommends. Sure there are advantages to a fuller boil, but your ingredient kit is most likely designed for the amount of water it tells you to boil, you will end up with a different then intended flavor, you might make a mistake such as steeping your grains in 5 gallons of water, or even worse your stove might not be able to boil 5 gallons of water. This is just one example for why you should stick to the script.
That leads me to another piece of advice, do a dry run, do things such as boiling water and siphoning beer and checking a hydrometer reading. Seems pretty easy, but if it's so easy, why are there so many posts on here where people screw up the simple stuff?!?!
I try to read my recipe top to bottom at every step, if I am on step 7 of 10, I read steps 1 thru 7, that way if I missed a step, I can find it sooner then later.
I also suggest the book "Joy of Homebrewing" and for a first beer I'd suggest a Brewer's Best Kit, they don't have fancy names, but they also aren't beer in a can. Everyone I've seen has extract and some grains, provide bags, yeast, hop pellets, and even caps. The instructions are very simple and they provide places for record keeping. A plus is you can look at their recipes on their website, so you can ask questions before you even buy the kit.
That leads me to another piece of advice, do a dry run, do things such as boiling water and siphoning beer and checking a hydrometer reading. Seems pretty easy, but if it's so easy, why are there so many posts on here where people screw up the simple stuff?!?!
I try to read my recipe top to bottom at every step, if I am on step 7 of 10, I read steps 1 thru 7, that way if I missed a step, I can find it sooner then later.
I also suggest the book "Joy of Homebrewing" and for a first beer I'd suggest a Brewer's Best Kit, they don't have fancy names, but they also aren't beer in a can. Everyone I've seen has extract and some grains, provide bags, yeast, hop pellets, and even caps. The instructions are very simple and they provide places for record keeping. A plus is you can look at their recipes on their website, so you can ask questions before you even buy the kit.
cms
Well-Known Member
+1 for the early start. My first go took a lot longer than it should have because of all the fussing about.
Also, keep copious notes on the times and activities so you can refer to them later.
I found it helpful to keep the sink filled with StarSan solution so I could continue to sanitize along the way (you'll have to sanitize your thermometer and hydrometer, spoon, etc. several times as you go).
Finally - try to relax and enjoy the process. There are only a few things you can do to blow it. Keep things sanitary and don't forget any ingredients and you'll make good beer.
Have fun! Let us know how it turns out.
wolverinebrewer
Well-Known Member
The first thing I would do, like Revvy said, is read and learn and read some more. Don't be in a hurry. I started reading this forum almost every day since last March and didn't even attempt to start a brew until the end of August. Maybe thats overkill but I never had to start a "Is my beer ok" thread on day 2 because I understood the process and knew what to expect.
There are a lot of helpful people here and tons of info. Everyone here would like you to have a good experience so you will stay in the hobby and that means having a PLAN!
There are a lot of helpful people here and tons of info. Everyone here would like you to have a good experience so you will stay in the hobby and that means having a PLAN!
Elshupacabra
Well-Known Member
Give yourself plenty of time and know the steps you have to do and what order to do them in. Take temperature readings often and take notes.
The biggest tip of all: have patience!
The biggest tip of all: have patience!
ongreystreet
Well-Known Member
I just did my first brew with a Brewer's Best Kit and thought it was very easy to do, while at the same time not overly simple. My second brew was from MoreBeer, their instruction sheet was like how to brew beer manual, way too much information, and too many options.
Here is a good example of one their kits(BB):
http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1007 American Amber.pdf
American Amber
5% ABV (not too weak or too strong)
30 IBUs (again middle of the road, maybe a little bit hoppy)
Good color
Extract and grains, 2 hop additions, 55 minute boil.
All extras included, caps, bottling sugar, bags.
I brewed the Altbier, and have been getting great reviews from friends and coworkers, after only 5 weeks.
Here is a good example of one their kits(BB):
http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1007 American Amber.pdf
American Amber
5% ABV (not too weak or too strong)
30 IBUs (again middle of the road, maybe a little bit hoppy)
Good color
Extract and grains, 2 hop additions, 55 minute boil.
All extras included, caps, bottling sugar, bags.
I brewed the Altbier, and have been getting great reviews from friends and coworkers, after only 5 weeks.
wolverinebrewer
Well-Known Member
Brew what you like to drink! There are tons of great recipes and I'm sure you can find something similar to what you normally drink. I used Midwest Supplies and Northern Brewer for my first couple of kits. I was already drinking good sh-t so I started with their Hophead Dbl. IPA and RIS. Do an online purchase and you will have it in a few days.
cms
Well-Known Member
I wish I had done this for my first brew. As I was tasting the hydro samples and the first few bottles, it was hard for me to know if it was 'right' because the style was unfamiliar to me. of course, in the end, you just care that you like to drink it, but being able to compare to what you know will help reduce your anxiety over 'it seems too bitter' or 'it tastes like banana'...
So this is very good advice, I think.
Bithead
Well-Known Member
Get a kit from online or LHBS. You'd probably like a pale ale. Perhaps this one http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/recipe-kits/extract-kits/extract-ale-kits/extra-pale-ale-extract-kit.htmlThat's where I started. Make it easy on your self first couple times. Get your procedures down and comfortable with the processes. Sounds like you've read lots and you have your gear so time to get in the game.
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