I was thinking brewing a cooper's type wheat beer (no real boil, no real equipment as of yet) and using a hefe type yeast, Bavarian? Id be brewing at about 68-70 degrees in the basement. Rack to secondary atop some raspberry puree. As a first beer and not alot of knowledge on beer brewing I'm looking for a pretty straightforward kit with good instructions, suggestions on kit type and yeast type? I'm open to all, thanks alot!
First beer, is this a decent idea?
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A load of kits are available online, but your best bet is to go through a reputable site. Austin Homebrew is my new favorite (promise I don't work for them...), their more advanced/custom made recipe kits are epic in every way possible, and every kit comes with everything you need to brew including thoroughly detailed instructions: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_45
Good luck & good first brew!
A load of kits are available online, but your best bet is to go through a reputable site. Austin Homebrew is my new favorite (promise I don't work for them...), their more advanced/custom made recipe kits are epic in every way possible, and every kit comes with everything you need to brew including thoroughly detailed instructions: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_45
Good luck & good first brew!
beerandloathinginaustin
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Oh fizniltee! This response made me cry from laughing! Granted I'm deep into the Little Sumpin Wilds but holy 'kill-those-infidels-in-the-name-of-Allah' was that shizzle funny! :cross:
Umm...did I read 'no real boil'? Are we making wine? I'm confused.
Anyway, AHS is legit. I'm there all the time. They're cool guys and their recipes are good (even though I always insist on adding more hops and using the wrong yeast). I'd be happy to pass along things like how to alter the hell out of their Tripel IPA and win a novelty trophy.
No I'm not making wine. Condescending much? I was trying to simplify the explanation that I do not have all the equipment or money at the time to do a full boil or any sort of partial/ full mash. AKA I'm asking for suggestions for a no nonsense extract kit and a yeast to pair it with. Yeah I know you "boil" kits and need a large pot but not its not the same.
He wasn't being condescending, he's just confused... relax.
I am a bit too, to be honest. But mostly about precisely what you mean by "no 'real' boil".
Can you boil at least a few gallons? If you can't boil even just PART of the full volume (aka partial boil), there's not a whole lot of kits that would really even work to begin with. So it's important to be as clear as possible about what you CAN do.
I am a bit too, to be honest. But mostly about precisely what you mean by "no 'real' boil".
Can you boil at least a few gallons? If you can't boil even just PART of the full volume (aka partial boil), there's not a whole lot of kits that would really even work to begin with. So it's important to be as clear as possible about what you CAN do.
beerandloathinginaustin
Well-Known Member
LMAO! I really was confused sir. I'm 40+ batches deep into partial mashes. I have yet to brew all grain. Done plenty of extract. I just was always under the impression I was 'fully boiling'.
If you can do extract, partial mash is barely much more work and can be especially helpful if you're trying to clone things. Additional costs include a couple bucks in grains and a grain bag. Hardly a difference. (I feel like) It can get you a lot closer.
What I'd advise from the beginning is get a program like BeerSmith and build (or at least plug in) the recipes you're using. That'll help you a ton in figuring out IBUs, hop schedules, etc.
Scruffy1207
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emjay said:
Yeah, he means like partial boil (from what I understand)
prrriiide
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I've never bought a kit from the LHBS that didn't have a packet of dry yeast suitable to the style already in it.
FWIW, (and you can take the advice or leave it...) I think for your first time out of the chute you might want to just get a complete kit and do it straight up, no additional secondary or fruit or anything. If you really want to brew quality beer over the long haul, getting the process down to its simplest form is really important. Those kits are darn near fool-proof, but when you add your own twists into it (racking to secondary, adding ingredients, etc.) the chances of something (infection, wild yeasts, other nasties, etc.) getting into your bottles go up.
I know that for me, having brewed a few kits straight up gave me more confidence when I moved to all-grain and started making my own recipes.
If you're going to go ahead and rack to secondary on top of some fruit, make sure to do some in-depth research on the many threads about that on this site. There are a lot of tips and tricks to make it go better for you.
FWIW, (and you can take the advice or leave it...) I think for your first time out of the chute you might want to just get a complete kit and do it straight up, no additional secondary or fruit or anything. If you really want to brew quality beer over the long haul, getting the process down to its simplest form is really important. Those kits are darn near fool-proof, but when you add your own twists into it (racking to secondary, adding ingredients, etc.) the chances of something (infection, wild yeasts, other nasties, etc.) getting into your bottles go up.
I know that for me, having brewed a few kits straight up gave me more confidence when I moved to all-grain and started making my own recipes.
If you're going to go ahead and rack to secondary on top of some fruit, make sure to do some in-depth research on the many threads about that on this site. There are a lot of tips and tricks to make it go better for you.
I haven't come across a kit that isn't straightforward. Generally you throw out the instructions that come with the kit (except for hops schedule/other additions) and follow the extract brewing instructions you can find on this website or on John Palmers free online book- How To Brew.
In a nutshell you boil the DME/LME, throw in the hops/other additions on schedule, cool, transfer to primary then pitch your yeast. After 3-4 weeks you bottle. You could do a "partial boil" where you boil 2-3 gallons of wort and top off with 2-3 gallons of sanitary water if you don't have a large enough pot to do a full 5g boil.
You might want to clarify this:
beerandloathinginaustin
Well-Known Member
prrriiide makes good points.
Here's the thing. Read as much as you can. Every time you're about to do something you think could be questionable, stop and google it or straight up search HBT. Your first batches are learning experiences though. Hell, every batch is. Just gather as much info as you can for how to do things as intelligibly as you can and learn along the way.
The 2nd beer I brewed, I added 10 rather sour blended kiwis (in a grain bag) to the last 15 mins of the boil of a blonde beer. It came out a little sour and wine-like but very drinkable. If you can keep your mistakes along the learning curve within the realm of drinkable beer you're doing well good sir.
Here's the thing. Read as much as you can. Every time you're about to do something you think could be questionable, stop and google it or straight up search HBT. Your first batches are learning experiences though. Hell, every batch is. Just gather as much info as you can for how to do things as intelligibly as you can and learn along the way.
The 2nd beer I brewed, I added 10 rather sour blended kiwis (in a grain bag) to the last 15 mins of the boil of a blonde beer. It came out a little sour and wine-like but very drinkable. If you can keep your mistakes along the learning curve within the realm of drinkable beer you're doing well good sir.
What recipe you do for your first beer really has hardly any bearing as to how good it will be. Your sanitation and fermentation control do. Sanitation is preached pretty well in most literature for beginners, but making the yeast happy isn't nearly enough IMHO. Proper pitching temps, pitching rates, aeration, and temperature control during fermentation can make or break a beer. So my advice, read up a little bit on making our microbe friends happy, then worry about what you're going to brew.
I would really recommend at least getting some basic equipment, especially some sanitizer like Star San or Iodophor if you don't already. Don't really know what you mean by "no real equipment," but hopefully a means to start a sanitary siphon is included in what you have.
I would really recommend at least getting some basic equipment, especially some sanitizer like Star San or Iodophor if you don't already. Don't really know what you mean by "no real equipment," but hopefully a means to start a sanitary siphon is included in what you have.
First thing that came to mind as well (in addition to WTH does no "real" boil mean) is that the fruit may be too ambitious at this point. Not just because it creates more opportunity for screwing up, and not just because it makes a potential bad batch SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive (especially when the dude should be saving for some decent equipment!) but also because it takes the focus away from just brewing a solid BEER, and on to the extraneous stuff that doesn't really matter until you've got the meat-and-potatoes nailed down.
Newer brewers DO tend to go straight to the complicated stuff. I can certainly see why - a well-brewed Raspberry Weizen could be a fantastic beer... but you need to be able to make a great weizen first. So it's actually a good sign that one is progressing towards a more "intermediate" brewer when they start settling down and realize that they have to build a solid foundation if they really want to reach for the sky. Funnily enough, you can often separate an intermediate brewer from a more advanced one based on the complexity of the recipes they've designed and even just tweaked - but that's a totally different issue.
Newer brewers DO tend to go straight to the complicated stuff. I can certainly see why - a well-brewed Raspberry Weizen could be a fantastic beer... but you need to be able to make a great weizen first. So it's actually a good sign that one is progressing towards a more "intermediate" brewer when they start settling down and realize that they have to build a solid foundation if they really want to reach for the sky. Funnily enough, you can often separate an intermediate brewer from a more advanced one based on the complexity of the recipes they've designed and even just tweaked - but that's a totally different issue.
Thanks everyone for the input and suggestions, I'll try to be more clear in my future posts, I guess I'll just nix the fruit and try to get a good weizen down first from a kit, then move on to more complicated boils! Too ahead of myself....
And as far as real equipment I meant equip for beer making(big boil pot, mesh bags, strainer ect. Idk!) I have everything I've needed to make quality wines, meads and ciders. I'm decently educated on fermentation and sanitation process'. Trying to make a step into beer, guess I'll just read more and save some cash.
That's one of the best parts about homebrewing anything: equipment is, for the most part, interchangeable for different brews. Would suggest (if you don't have them already):
-Hydrometer
-Digital thermometer (not some crappy store brand, but a good quality meat or liquid thermometer like you find at cooking stores)
-Auto-siphon & wine thief
-Extra tubing (you never know when you'll need more--best to keep a stock on-hand)
-Extra sanitizer (a must)
-Any & all bottling supplies if you're going that route: capper, caps, priming solution, bottling wand, etc.
:rockin:
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