Beer Noob

[Dextersmom]

Hi All

Name's Kyle, I've been tossing the idea of home brewing around for years. Ever since my uncle and grandfather were brewing. They did a great deal of it and offered their equipment to me once it looked as though I was interested enough. They've done beers, ciders, and mead.

Around this same time last year i was looking into purchasing a kit from one of the many websites, but I really didn't know what to get for a beginner and I didn't want to make the mistake of buying a setup that was too advanced or a setup that wouldn't allow for any growth. This past christmas my mother gave me a Mr. Beer which jump started my desire to brew again. If anyone could suggest a good setup for a beginner that will still allow for growth that would be fantastic. I'm looking to get into all grain brewing as fast as possible and would prefer not to mess around with malt extract kits.

Thanks in advance for any help and I'm very excited to have gotten my brewing training wheels and found this forum. I look forward to learning and chatting.

 

[TexLaw]

Welcome to brewing!

You're taking the right attitude to plan and think a little before you jump. That'll pay off in the long run. Any setup that allows you to do a full wort, five gallon boil will take you a long way and allow for growth.

Just about everyone should get into all-grain brewing, if you really want to have the most fun with the hobby. However, it's not always a great idea to jump right in. You ought to, at least, do a couple extract beers to get the feel of the boil, fermenation, conditioning, sanitation, and recipe formulation without bringing in the variables that come in with mashing. The more you reduce your variables at the beginning, the easier it is to spot and correct any problems you may have with your process. Once you understand what's going on with all that post-mashing stuff, you can expand into all-grain.

You don't have to restrict yourself to extract kits, either. You can formulate your own extract recipes with a little more homework. I did that for years and was very happy with it. With the quality of today's extracts, and if you do full wort boils, you can make some excellent beers.

Whatever you do, though, have fun!


TL

 

[Dextersmom]

Oh good call...I'm glad you said that becase I had no idea about the extracts. And you're right the less chance to mess up in the beginning will probably make it more fun and more forgiving to start off.

Any suggestions as to where I might want to purchase a kit? theres a bunch of websites, but is any one particular site better than any other? I did a search of my local area and wasn't able to find any stores which was what my grandfather suggested. He said that the employees at the supply stores are usually really helpful with beginners.

thanks again!

 

[Yooper]

If you can find a local homebrew supplies store, they usually are very helpful. I don't have any local, so I've ordered from austinhomebrew.com, midwestsupplies.com, morebeer.com, and northernbrewer.com. All of them are good and easy to deal with. I've ordered kits from austinhomebrew.com for several beers (they have TONS of kits that are their clone kits of some of my favorite beers)

Also, read howtobrew.com and that will really help! I still read it all the time, and refer to it. Also, check out our wiki (link is just above) for great information.

Welcome to HBT and to the brewing obsession!

 

[AnOldUR]

Any suggestions as to where I might want to purchase a kit?

Austin Homebrew
http://www.austinhomebrew.com

Midwest Homebrewing
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/

These are my most used sites, but there are many more that are just as good. And may I suggest that you brew up that Mr Beer while you are waiting for your order to arrive. It will get you familiar with the basics of sanitation and you’ll have something to compare with when you really get going.

 

[Joker]

Extract with steeping grains is a good way to start also. This will get you started on temperature control and researching/understanding grains which will obviously help when you go all grain.

Craigslist is also a good source to find brewing equipment I was able to get $300 worth of equipment for $75 when I got into brewing.

 

[Dextersmom]

Austin Homebrew
http://www.austinhomebrew.com

Midwest Homebrewing
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/

These are my most used sites, but there are many more that are just as good. And may I suggest that you brew up that Mr Beer while you are waiting for your order to arrive. It will get you familiar with the basics of sanitation and you’ll have something to compare with when you really get going.

already brewin heh!

thanks for all the suggestions. Gonna check out the suggested links also. Glad I found this forum, work is flying by today!

 

[TexLaw]

Any suggestions as to where I might want to purchase a kit? theres a bunch of websites, but is any one particular site better than any other? I did a search of my local area and wasn't able to find any stores which was what my grandfather suggested. He said that the employees at the supply stores are usually really helpful with beginners.

I'm fortunate enough to have a couple good local shops, so I do very little online ordering, but the sites mentioned by the others are quite good. My usual haunt, DeFalco's, also does mail order, and they've always been great to deal with. Your grandfather is right that the folks at a shop usually are very helpful with beginners. There are some grumps out there, though, so don't let that turn you off too much.

And, when I mentioned extracts, I did mean extract with steeping grains. Steeping specialty grains adds very little complexity to your brewday, but it improves your beer quite a bit and open you up to most styles.

Have fun!


TL

 

[rpucci]

If that is Bridgeport CT. there is a really good homebrew shop in Monroe on Rt. 25 called Maltose Express. some of the things thay have are a bit pricey but it is a great place to pick up information as well as some supplies.

Welcome!

 

[Dextersmom]

If that is Bridgeport CT. there is a really good homebrew shop in Monroe on Rt. 25 called Maltose Express. some of the things thay have are a bit pricey but it is a great place to pick up information as well as some supplies.

Welcome!

yeah actual i'm in shelton but its a joke i have with my friends. see youtube video "bridgeport anthem" (completely unrelated to beer). but wow for some reason my google search must not have done the job. Thank you a ton! Monroe is really close and I'll probably check it out this weekend. are they usually pretty good there?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[rpucci]

yeah actual i'm in shelton but its a joke i have with my friends. see youtube video "bridgeport anthem" (completely unrelated to beer). but wow for some reason my google search must not have done the job. Thank you a ton! Monroe is really close and I'll probably check it out this weekend. are they usually pretty good there?

Thanks again everyone.

Lots of help if you need it. They have a good stock of grains and such and the prices aren't bad. I go there once every 2 mos or so to stock up.