Suggestions for a first recipe

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DaveMcPhee

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Location
Austin, TX
Hello expert brewers;

After wanting to brew my own beer for a few years now, I spent this week researching equipment and costs, and low and behold, got my budget approved by the wife. I'm pretty shocked.

I live in Austin so I'll be heading down to AHB tonight or tomorrow and figure I'll pick up ingredients for my first batch too, and this is where I got stuck. This forum helped me a lot for what gear is essential, important, unnecessary and a plain old waste of money for a beginner. But a good first beer?

Ideally I'd like to start with a Malt Extract only recipe without any grain. I'd list a bunch of beers I like here but decided I didn't want to influence the masters on these here forums. Although if you twisted my arm ... a hoppy IPA or a bitter german style pilz... would be pretty sweet to start the summer off with. But mostly I'm looking for an extract recipe that a newb can't really screw up. Anything goes.

Your expertise much appreciated!
 
I order from Austim HB they have tons of kits for the beginer. I would go there and pick out one that tickles your fancy. Decide what you want to be drinking in 6 weeks and go from there. Good Luck
 
Welcome! First of all, don't rule out using grain in your first recipe. The Austin Homebrew kits come with excellent directions, and if you can make a cup of tea, you can brew with steeping grains. I think you'd be very pleased with ANY of their kits. I particularly like their "clone" kits. If you go to their website, you can see that they have a ton of kits in every imaginable beer style. I've done their "Pete's Wicked Ale" clone, their "Fat Tire" clone, and a few others that I no longer remember!

I'd recommend doing an American pale ale (like Sierra Nevada), since you like that style. German beers tend to be lagers, and pilsners are especially tough for new brewers.

Any ale kit that you choose would be fine, though. They are all very similar in technique, so none of them would be too complicated. The only beer style to stay away from right now are lagers.
 
The Austin Homebrew kits come with excellent directions, and if you can make a cup of tea, you can brew with steeping grains. I think you'd be very pleased with ANY of their kits. I particularly like their "clone" kits. If you go to their website, you can see that they have a ton of kits in every imaginable beer style.

Holy ... [I should check if swearing is allowed on here :) ) you're not kidding, they have a ton of clones. I headed straight for my absolute favourite beer of all time and they have a clone. I'm impressed. I guess that answers the question then! It a full grain recipe so with your encouragement I'll go for it.
 
Holy ... [I should check if swearing is allowed on here :) ) you're not kidding, they have a ton of clones. I headed straight for my absolute favourite beer of all time and they have a clone. I'm impressed. I guess that answers the question then! It a full grain recipe so with your encouragement I'll go for it.

No, no- not an all grain recipe! Get the extract recipe. But they come with grains, as well. Which kit is it? If you provide the link, we can take a look and see if it's a good fit for you.
 
You could do either one of those beers. The Aventinus clone wouldn't be too hard for you, but I'll warn you that it will take longer. A higher alcohol, "bigger" beer takes a few weeks longer than a lower alcohol beer, especially one like the Aventinus that has some flavors that have to mellow. That's one caution.

The only other thing I have to add is the Aventinus requires liquid yeast. Since it's your first beer, I'd suggest getting three packs of yeast instead of making a yeast starter. That means about $18 in just yeast, but it's really needed for a bigger beer like that. (Dry yeast is an option, but you WON'T get the right flavor with it).

The pale ale can be made with dry yeast, so it's a little cheaper. Otherwise, if you get the extract version, either beer is doable.

In fact, if you do the pale ale, you should go ahead and get the dry yeast, the Nottingham which is suggested in the dropdown list, and not the liquid. Liquid yeast isn't any more difficult, but it usually requires a starter to ferment a beer of about 4.75% or higher.
 
"everything kit" from AHB
6qt pot
ingredients

6 pack to rehydrate and inspire as I cook
music
Camera on tripod to record progress and post thread on this forum
ass less chaps to make photos more interesting, gain notoriety, possible discounts from AHB
umm that's about it?!?
 
Is it wrong to spend 10-20 minutes in my garage in front watching the airlock? What about if I do it a couple of times a day? I'm scared my wife is going to catch me...
 
Is it wrong to spend 10-20 minutes in my garage in front watching the airlock? What about if I do it a couple of times a day? I'm scared my wife is going to catch me...

Wait until she catches you sniffing it............................

So, how did it go? What did you brew? What yeast did you use? We need details, man! :D
 
OK not sniffing it ... yet, although the Liquid ME was delicious - I have some on the brim of my baseball cap from frenziedly licking it off the lid of it's container ...

AHB's Real Ale Rio Blanco PA clone
0.5lb Crystal 20L steeped for 25m
7lb Extra Pale Extract for 60m

1oz Centennial @ 60
1oz Saaz @ 30
1oz Saaz @ 15 (I doubled this from the recommended 0.5oz because it smelled so good)
WL Dry English Ale yeast #007

Observations

* Liquid ME would be good on pancakes
* 2.5 gallons take a long time to boil. Need to factor this in before telling the wife "Oh Ill be done in an hour or so we can make dinner then"
* Wort smells a bit like beer, but doesn't taste like beer at all. Don't drink it.
* Instructions on primary fermentation mention taking SG samples to determine when fermentation is done - not sure how to do this without opening the fermenter?!?
* Need to figure out how to calculate how often I need to brew in order to hardly ever have to buy beer again
* Spent barley is my chicken flocks's favourite food of all time. I'm looking forward to tasting their eggs tomorrow.
* Bathtub full of ice water works perfectly to cool wort in under 8 minutes.
 
OK not sniffing it ... yet, although the Liquid ME was delicious - I have some on the brim of my baseball cap from frenziedly licking it off the lid of it's container ...

AHB's Real Ale Rio Blanco PA clone
0.5lb Crystal 20L steeped for 25m
7lb Extra Pale Extract for 60m

1oz Centennial @ 60
1oz Saaz @ 30
1oz Saaz @ 15 (I doubled this from the recommended 0.5oz because it smelled so good)
WL Dry English Ale yeast #007

Observations

* Liquid ME would be good on pancakes
* 2.5 gallons take a long time to boil. Need to factor this in before telling the wife "Oh Ill be done in an hour or so we can make dinner then"
* Wort smells a bit like beer, but doesn't taste like beer at all. Don't drink it.
* Instructions on primary fermentation mention taking SG samples to determine when fermentation is done - not sure how to do this without opening the fermenter?!?
* Need to figure out how to calculate how often I need to brew in order to hardly ever have to buy beer again
* Spent barley is my chicken flocks's favourite food of all time. I'm looking forward to tasting their eggs tomorrow.
* Bathtub full of ice water works perfectly to cool wort in under 8 minutes.

Sounds like you're a convert! You don't have to worry about gravity samples for at least a week or two. Keep the fermenter in a cool environment (mid 60s is perfect) and in a week or two, you can use a sanitized wine thief or sanitized turkey baster to take out a sample. Close the lid back up, and read the sample. Then drink it. If it's done, it will be in the range your directions suggest, and it'll taste like warm flat beer. Before you bottle, check the SG again, at least a couple of days later. If it's the same, you can proceed to bottling. Then, drink the sample. It's that easy.
 
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