A good second beer for a noob?

I've brewed one batch so far, a dark stout, I was wondering what would be a good second beer to brew as a second batch? I was leaning towards an English bitter, or maybe a wheat bear. What are the opinions of you out there in the HBT world?

eaterofsmoke said:

I've brewed one batch so far, a dark stout, I was wondering what would be a good second beer to brew as a second batch? I was leaning towards an English bitter, or maybe a wheat bear. What are the opinions of you out there in the HBT world?

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Just make something that you want to brew. I would suggest something low to medium alcohol so you don't have to age it very long

In the end its all about what you want to drink

blowmax10 said:

In the end its all about what you want to drink

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That's what I was thinking!

My second beer is the North Coast Wheat from BYO's 150 Clones.
It was very easy. Can't wait to try it...

You can brew any style you want- but you may not want to do a barley wine or an oaked beer that takes a long time to age!

What commercial beers do you like? If you like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, you could very easily do an APA that would be similar in body and taste. If you like hefeweizens, make a hefeweizen!

Most beers can be made with extract only, extract with steeping grains, or all-grain, so you can pick just about any style you want. I'd stay away from lagers, though, if you don't have a way for precise temperature control and the patience of a saint. Otherwise, you can make whatever you'd like.

If you're a beginner, sometimes it's easiest to purchase a kit, where the ingredients are already put together for you, along with good instructions. I really like the kits at austinhomebrew.com, and their website is great. It has the styles of beer, the commercial clone kits, and reviews on them right on the website. They have very good instructions, too!

Brew what you like to drink! Like everyone said, you can pretty much do whatever you want, which is one of the reason brewing your own beer is such a rewarding hobby.

Perhaps you might want to try something seasonal? Right about now would be a good time to brew a pumpkin ale, or a bigger holiday ale - that will require patience though!

One of my favorite beers to brew is the Harpoon IPA clone from BYOs 150 clone recipes mag. If you like IPA this is a pretty good recipe and I have had a lot of luck with it. Also, it will introduce you to the world of dry hopping which is great to have done once or twice. If your interested and don't have access to the magazine, PM me and I'll send you the recipe.

One thing to think about is the season - if you will be brewing now it means your finished beer will be at its best in the winter season. An oatmeal stout is a great winter beer. An English bitter is also a good choice. I usually try to avoid having summer styles on tap during the winter (like wheat beers, wits, etc). Like everyone says above - it is really about what you want to drink - but I happen to have some beer finicky friends who think the season is important.

I definitely agree with brewing what you like to drink.
If you like English Bitters, they are very easy to brew and really tasty.
I wouldn't brew a wheat bear, but I might consider a wheat beer.

-a.

I'll echo what others have said about the beauty of this hobby - brew what you like to drink! I want to brew a pre-prohibition pilsner, but I still don't have a way to maintain pilsner/lager temps so that's on the back burner. I normally prefer ales to lagers, so I've got that going for me.

Kits are key, especially those with good directions. I will show some love to a high school classmate and tell you that Annapolis Homebrew has some very good kits (go with custom ones) with good directions. They're also available via an 800 number for questions. It's a small shop, with two brothers that love to brew.

My first was a Nut Brown Ale, second was a Irish Pub Ale, third was Russian Imperial Stout. Then, through the magic of internet (aka HBT & BMW) and Papazian's books, I struck out on my own. I personally think that my recipes are better than anyone else's, because I can tweak them to MY tastes.

Damn, this is a great hobby...

Thanks for all of the advice. This is a great hobby, it just feels like you start by throwing yourself into the deep end of the pool, and then learn how to swim. But I will keep all of your idea's in mind.

D

When you decide what style, post it here and we can help! Once you choose, that's when the real work begins. And believe it or not, lots of the people here actually enjoy looking at recipes and helping out.

Personally, I'd do a lighter style and call it good for the season. I just did a wit, and now I'm heading back to pales and IPAs for the winter.

But just choose what you want to drink!

I would do a brown ale and start getting your pipeline going.

Nut brown ales are great for the season, as are ESBs. I'm brewing Yooper's version of a California Common (or "steam") ale, which is a great light-to-medium body beer with an earthy quality. Next up for me will be an ESB or an IPA, though I'm tempted to do a Christmas Ale.

I'd honestly go with something spiced if you like that kind of thing. Goes with the season, and it's really easy to throw in a spice pack the last 5 minutes of the boil. I like spiced beers because they're generally out of the norm compared to what can be commercially bought over here (aside from a wit). Just a thought. Maybe I'm just overly excited about the pumpkin ale I have going in the secondary right now..

If you were already leaning towards a bitter anyway, then I say go with that. It's quick and easy. A good style to practice on while you nail your technique.

I agree with brewing what you like and paying attention to seasonality and have something else to throw out there.

When I first started, I was having so much fun brewing that I brewed a different style every time I brewed. It was fun and I quickly built up a "cellar" with about 6 diff beers. Afterall, that was part of the fun. After you brew a few, if you are happy with the quality, keep going, but if you feel you really want to hone your craft, I would pick a style that you really like and brew it several times in a row, taking it to trusted friends/brewers to review and make sure your technique is down pat. When you brew a different style everytime, it's hard to notice process improvements or recognize areas for improvement.

Sorry if that's jumping ahead a little. Right now, have fun and brew what you like!

BackBayBrewing said:

One of my favorite beers to brew is the Harpoon IPA clone from BYOs 150 clone recipes mag. If you like IPA this is a pretty good recipe and I have had a lot of luck with it. Also, it will introduce you to the world of dry hopping which is great to have done once or twice. If your interested and don't have access to the magazine, PM me and I'll send you the recipe.

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How close is that recipe to the real thing?