First time brewing

I ordered and got my Midwest deluxe brew kit in the mail in one day. (i am in wi)
I plan on brewing this sat night. I am very excited. I got the Irish red ale. Still working on getting bottles but shouldn't be a problem when it comes time to bottle. Any words of advice? I have been reading/ searching this forum for about 3 weeks. I also bought How To Brew from john Palmer. Watched the Mideast dvd that came with the kit. I am also in the middle of reading Home Beermaking book the came with my kit. Pretty much i understand sanitize anything that will or might make its way to the wort after the boil. My question is i have 3 glass carboys as well as a ale pail, which one should i use as my primary?

Thanks in advance to the replies.
Tim

If the glass carboys are 6 gallons or more, id say go for it..other wise.. pail it up.

Use the pail for ferm - as you gain experience and want to branch out you could split a batch between the two carboys and pitch different yeasts in each to see the difference.
Definitely read read read all you can - Palmer's book is an excellent resource. I read and re-read the whole thing online at least three times before my first batch. Charlie Papzian's books are very good as well. Good luck and welcome to the obsession.

Hehe, I'm in the exact same boat. I ordered the starter kit from midwest, only I opted for the bottles as well. Irish Red ale will be included and it should arrive tomorrow. I'm planning on brewing on sunday and will ferment in the pail, as the carboy they include is only 5 gallons.

My only concern is my fermentation temps. I don't know that I'll be able to maintain 70 degrees or lower anywhere in my house. Likely my ferm temps will be around 75-80 degrees. I've got a line on an old fridge that I plan on using, but not sure how that will work until I can get a temp controller hooked up.

I guess we'll see! Hopefully I'll get all the mistakes out of the way with the prepackaged kit before I try something else.

OP: Use the Ale Pail as your primary until you get your process figured out. Easier to clean, easier to sanitize, won't shatter into a bajillion pieces of razor-sharp shrapnel if you drop it.

Pyrenus: Search HBT for fermenter cooling techniques. There are lots of different ways to keep a fermenter cool without sing electricity or freon; they generally involve water and ice.

Bob

And don't be too discouraged about the ferm temps - get comfortable with the processes involved, make sure you sanitize properly and RDWHAHB. You will make a drinkable product and learn each time you brew. The temps are one thing I'm still working on and I'm 35 batches into it.

I have fermented at 75 degrees a few times and had no troubles at all. I was the same way just starting up, its actually very easy you just brew up a batch or 2 until your comfortable with it. then you think about what new ingredients you can put in it to improve a favorite recipe to make it perfect. its all fun everytime you do it.

Hey - Welcome to homebrewing.
Depending on your brew, I would always use the plastic starting off. Most beers now days I use a 6 1/2 gal glass carboy, and a bucket for meads/ciders.
Look up "blow off tubes" and rig one up, 40% of the time you will be glad you did.
Sounds like you did your research, now just do it and learn as you go. It's not that hard.

First rule is that you need patience. The best beer of every batch is usually the last one opened.

Enjoy!