What do I choose? Like a kid in a candy store!

My dad used to brew but stopped years ago and is giving me his equipment, glass carboy, siphon tubes, bottling wand, airlock, hydrometer. The only thing I can see I'm missing are the ingredients. I think I'm going to want to go with an easy recipe for the first few tries... (malt extract) but if anybody thinks otherwise please by all means let me know. Sadly my dad is half a state away working for who knows how long so I'm on my own. So my question is this... What should I make? I've tasted probably hundreds of types of beer but never really made it a priority to learn the differences in what was what. (I just enjoyed drinking em all ) I think I'd like to do a Hefe but I'm not sure how difficult that'll be. From the sounds of things it might suit the temperatures this summer a little better since I don't have anywhere very cool to ferment. 70 is prob as cool as things are gonna get unless I use a rubbermaid and swamp it but i'd be concerned about the temp fluctuating all over the place. In "How to Brew" by Palmer he gives a recipe for cincinnati pale ale. Can anybody tell me what that's like? I'm a great fan of dark beers, and I'm from TX so I like Shiner Bock but that clone recipe sounds a little out of my league at least until I can get a fridge to lager it. Oh and the only time I tried Sam Adams Boston Lager I wanted to spit it out. It reminded me of pinesol.. Maybe I got a bad one but I never want to relive that again. I'll keep the pinesol for the floors... Oh and not exactly a fan of American Light Lagers. GAH I can't wait to crack a home brew open with my dad! So any suggestions on first try recipes are most appreciated!

stouts aren't too bad. I started out with a maple red that came out great. You could also do an IPA.

As far as temp, do you have a cellar that stays cooler?

You are pretty well stuck with ales at your ferment temps. Sounds liek you should avoid the USA grown "C" hops too, no Centennial, Cascade, Chinook and so on.

I would say start with the extract plus steeping grains for a a few batches.

You put about half a pound of grain in a pot for about thirty minutes, strain that into your kettle and add extract to it. No biggie.

For your first two brews use one each of Fuggles, East Kent Goldings, Saaz or Tettnang hops. Then get back to us about your hop palate. The C hops are pretty good when used judiciously.

If you're worried about temps getting too warm, maybe something Belgian? DO you like any Belgian styles? A saison is perfect for this time of year.

What size boil pot do you have? Hefe beers are pretty simple and can be fermented higher if you like the banana flavor.

One more thing good to have is patience.

Wyeast Laboratories. Belgian Saison™ 3724

BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 16

What would you guys suggest for keeping things cool for the primary and secondary stages? A fridge? It looks like I'm going to have to postpone my brewing adventure for a few months. Just got the call to go back out on the pipeline. In the meantime, suggestions on beer to try for some examples of diff styles? Dead Guy anything, try to find an IPA? I'd like to broaden my horizons by tasting some more catergories and what better place to ask but a beer forum. Just some varieties I might be able to find in a store that would be a decent representation of a couple landmark styles.