FrewBrew
Well-Known Member
I'm just sitting here, and decided that what this forum needs is an FAQ for the newby's out there. And what better place to post it thant he beginners brewing forum!?
Before you even think about starting, I strongly recommend picking up a book and doing some reading... this was the best thing that I would say, coming from someone who did it, is the most important step. I recommend Charlie Pappazian's "The complete Joy of Homebrewing". It goes through in decent detail whats going on at any given step of the way, and why you should do it.
So, starting from the very begining of the process, the first thing you'll need is equipment and ingredients. Where to get them, you ask? And indeed, I have an answer:
http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=701
The linked thread contains links to many different suppliers, some good, some not so good. There's feedback on them as well, Great thread!
As far as which kit to get? That all depends on how deep you want to get into the hobby. The basic starter kits contain a fermenter (generally a plastic 6.5+ gallon bucket. This will work fine for the new brewer. I still have mine now, although Im now using glass.
This brings up another topic: Glass vs. Plastic. They both have their ups and their downs. Generally you're going to be able to get a better seal with glass. The lids on the plastic fermenters aren't perfect, but will suffice. The fewer outside contaminants that can get into your fermentation (through the air or any other way) the more likely you will be to have a good brew. Plastic, on the other hand, doesnt break as easily, and is easier to clean. In the end, this is just a preferencial call.
There are also many ingredient kits available to the home brewer on the sites above. For the new beginner, I recommend doing a few extracts first, they're simple, and generally have good outcomes. Later on in your brewing "career", you can move onto partial mash, and all grain kits, but worry about that later... they're generally more costly setups, and take much more time to start the brew. Get the basics down first, and save yourself from ruining a few batches with the much simpler extract kits.
Once you have your ingredients and equipment, you're ready to brew, right? Wrong. Before you even think about brewing, you want to make sure that you first sanitize ALL of the equipment that's going to come in contact with your wort (beer before its fermented). There are many options out there for sanitation, some easier than others. There's a whole thread dedicated to the different sanitizers, and I recommend taking a look at it:
http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2956
At this point you can start brewing... there are generally instructions that come with your kit, and I recommend reading them top to bottom before starting your first brew. It's better to know what's coming up, so while you're waiting for your boil, you can get everything ready that you need.
----more to come ----
Before you even think about starting, I strongly recommend picking up a book and doing some reading... this was the best thing that I would say, coming from someone who did it, is the most important step. I recommend Charlie Pappazian's "The complete Joy of Homebrewing". It goes through in decent detail whats going on at any given step of the way, and why you should do it.
So, starting from the very begining of the process, the first thing you'll need is equipment and ingredients. Where to get them, you ask? And indeed, I have an answer:
http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=701
The linked thread contains links to many different suppliers, some good, some not so good. There's feedback on them as well, Great thread!
As far as which kit to get? That all depends on how deep you want to get into the hobby. The basic starter kits contain a fermenter (generally a plastic 6.5+ gallon bucket. This will work fine for the new brewer. I still have mine now, although Im now using glass.
This brings up another topic: Glass vs. Plastic. They both have their ups and their downs. Generally you're going to be able to get a better seal with glass. The lids on the plastic fermenters aren't perfect, but will suffice. The fewer outside contaminants that can get into your fermentation (through the air or any other way) the more likely you will be to have a good brew. Plastic, on the other hand, doesnt break as easily, and is easier to clean. In the end, this is just a preferencial call.
There are also many ingredient kits available to the home brewer on the sites above. For the new beginner, I recommend doing a few extracts first, they're simple, and generally have good outcomes. Later on in your brewing "career", you can move onto partial mash, and all grain kits, but worry about that later... they're generally more costly setups, and take much more time to start the brew. Get the basics down first, and save yourself from ruining a few batches with the much simpler extract kits.
Once you have your ingredients and equipment, you're ready to brew, right? Wrong. Before you even think about brewing, you want to make sure that you first sanitize ALL of the equipment that's going to come in contact with your wort (beer before its fermented). There are many options out there for sanitation, some easier than others. There's a whole thread dedicated to the different sanitizers, and I recommend taking a look at it:
http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2956
At this point you can start brewing... there are generally instructions that come with your kit, and I recommend reading them top to bottom before starting your first brew. It's better to know what's coming up, so while you're waiting for your boil, you can get everything ready that you need.
----more to come ----
). 
