Neophyte Brewer's Questions Round 1

[Hinez57SouthernScotsman]

First I'd like to say I'm very thankful for a community like this and ANY sage wisdom y'all may impart will be very much appreciated. For the record I'm in Mississippi and don't have contact with a single homebrewer here... I've decided to take the dive anyway! Could you help me with the following questions...

1) I must say before asking this question, I'm piecing my material/kit together in parts. I have 5 gallon food grade containers (friends in the food industry). What capacity batch size can I create with 5 Gal fermentors? How many inches of space do I need between the lid and wort?

2) Would it hurt to brew a "half" batch size of 2.5 Gals in my 5 Gal fermentors? (I'm under the impression that to much "air space" is a bad thing.)

Followup questions to #2)
2A) How do I brew 4 gals? I know the simple answer is reduce everything by 1/5th moron! But!!!!!!!!!!! If I reduce the water by 1/5th and leave the other ingredients as is, will I end up with a stronger beer that's drinkable?

2B) Is it a possibility to send a batch as discribed above throught primary fermentation and add the extra gallon of sterile cooled water when transfering to secondary fermentation?


3) In an attempt to ease into the brewing disciplines I'd like to start with extract brewing. Opinions... is this the way to go?

4) I'm trying to get a natural food store here to stock/special order malt extracts for me. Am I better off to start with brewing from a premade pack? My hope is to get extracts and be left to online order the yeast and hops (or any other flavorings/special ingredients the beer I brew needs). Is this realistic?

5) Finally WHAT TO BREW!!! Without going throught the long list of what I like in a beer... I'll summarize. I'm more likely to like porters and other dark beers usually. My fav. medium/light bodied beer is Boddington's Pub Ale. A British Pub Ale, any thoughts on a recipe of what I should brew? Specific simple recipe (or link to said recipe) please. FWIW another favorite is John Courage... anyone got a simple recipe for this style beer (Scotish Amber/Dark Ale)?
What I really need here is an, "If I were you I'd start with a forgiving dark beer like such and such available as a kit at such and such".

Thanks in advance guys. I'm on an island and need some answers here... I'm sure I'll have more questions!

Phillip M

Ps Any fellow Mississippians here?
_________________
"Here's a $20, bury two". These words were uttered by Univ. of Alabama FB coach Paul Bryant when reporters were passing a hat asking for $10 donations to help bury a fellow reporter.

 

[RichBrewer]

You can easily do 4 gallon batches. I just did up a quick recipe that you could use for your first brew. The Liquid malt extract should be pre-hopped so you don't have to deal with adding hops to the wort. This will give you a starting gravity of about 1.049.
A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 4.00 Wort Size (Gal): 4.00
Total Extract (Lbs): 4.80
Anticipated OG: 1.049 Plato: 12.06
Anticipated SRM: 9.7
Anticipated IBU: 0.0
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
68.7 3.30 lbs. Coopers LME - Amber Australia 1.038 16
31.2 1.50 lbs. Muntons DME - Light England 1.046 5

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Yeast
-----

 

[HYTEK-REDNEK]

Where abouts in Ms?
I used to live north of Jackson about 50 miles.
I now live outside of New Orleans.
It don't get much easyer than that Rich
After you make a brew or two You'll get the hang of it.
Don't go too fancy first out the gate, make it tasty it'll make you want to
do it again.
http://www.homebrewing.org/
that's a good place to order, I placed an order last tuesday morning,
It hit my door friday, brew 15 gals saturday looking good today.
good luck, I'll help best I can

 

[Whelk]

I've bought a bunch of kits from http://www.williamsbrewing.com. I've made a stout, bitter, brown ale, and Scottish ale from them, all have turned out very, very well. They provide all the ingredients--fresh pellet hops, LME, liquid yeast, and the priming sugar for carbonation. Definitely encourage you to check them out, they make it really easy.


Edit: the link isn't showing up for some reason, so if you can't see it, I meant to put www.williamsbrewing.com down there.

 

[mjm76]

One thing I can recommend to you as someone who is new yet somewhat seasoned ( I think I have brewed about 1/2 dozen different batches) is to read "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" it covers about everything you could think of and it is very readable. As some others have said most of the online ordering places are good, reasonaly priced, and quick in shipping.

 

[Blender]

If I was you why not go ahead and get a larger fermentor and there are no worries about making your batch size. Northen Brewer (and likely others) has a 7.9 gallon bucket for 15.00 which will hold the largest fermentations you are likely to encounter.
Brew kits are definately the way to start and progress at your own pace. A lot of people start with brown ales, stouts and porters and the kits at Northen Brewer include yeast. Its very convienient and easy.

 

[Hinez57SouthernScotsman]

Thanks guys. There's some helpful info here.

For now I'm going to stick with the 5 gal fermentors, saving that money for carboys. Stay tuned I have LOTS more questions!

Phillip M

 

[Orfy]

www.howtobrew.com

 

[Hinez57SouthernScotsman]

Where abouts in Ms?
I used to live north of Jackson about 50 miles.
I now live outside of New Orleans.
It don't get much easyer than that Rich
After you make a brew or two You'll get the hang of it.
Don't go too fancy first out the gate, make it tasty it'll make you want to
do it again.
http://www.homebrewing.org/
that's a good place to order, I placed an order last tuesday morning,
It hit my door friday, brew 15 gals saturday looking good today.
good luck, I'll help best I can

Hytek I'm in Clinton MS. Just west of Jackson on I 20. So you're from north of Jackson... Holmes county?

 

[dibby33]

Does your name suggest that you come from the country of the three legged creature that runs around the hills?

 

[Hinez57SouthernScotsman]

www.howtobrew.com

I've already printed out most of that book, and am reading "home brewing for dummies" (my first dummy book!) It's good, authored by former AHA president Marty Nachel.

Hey Dibby... I don't come directly from the land of "3 legged" monsters.... but my heritage does. I have Mc in my last name and I belong to Clan Donald.... but oddly enough my last name isn't McDonald!

Phillip M

 

[dibby33]

I've already printed out most of that book, and am reading "home brewing for dummies" (my first dummy book!) It's good, authored by former AHA president Marty Nachel.

Hey Dibby... I don't come directly from the land of "3 legged" monsters.... but my heritage does. I have Mc in my last name and I belong to Clan Donald.... but oddly enough my last name isn't McDonald!

Phillip M

Close enough! Welcome. Good to see you brewing Scottish ales.

 

[NM68657]

Not that I'm any expert, but I'd splurge on a 6.5 gallon primary fermentor. They don't cost that much. I'd do this because most pre-made kits are designed for 5 gallon batches and the thought of doing a lot of math and fractions to get just the right mix seems abhorent to me, not to mention a possible waste of kit ingredients. Just my two cents worth... Good luck.:rockin:

 

[HYTEK-REDNEK]

Yup 57 Holmes County just outside of Goodman to be exact,
I used to work as a local truck driver in the Jackson metro area
so I know clinton pretty well.

 

[Ize]

2B) Is it a possibility to send a batch as discribed above throught primary fermentation and add the extra gallon of sterile cooled water when transfering to secondary fermentation?

5) Finally WHAT TO BREW!!! Without going throught the long list of what I like in a beer... I'll summarize. I'm more likely to like porters and other dark beers usually. My fav. medium/light bodied beer is Boddington's Pub Ale. A British Pub Ale, any thoughts on a recipe of what I should brew? Specific simple recipe (or link to said recipe) please. FWIW another favorite is John Courage... anyone got a simple recipe for this style beer (Scotish Amber/Dark Ale)?
What I really need here is an, "If I were you I'd start with a forgiving dark beer like such and such available as a kit at such and such".

Welcome to the hobby/obsession/way of life! :rockin: There are many more here that are far more knowledgeable than I, but you're off to the right start. The idea of getting a larger primary that the others have given you is a good idea. If you're going to do it, bite the bullet and do it. A secondary is mainly for clarifying your brew. You can do it with a primary alone. A secondary will help you make better beer, but if you're just getting going, and bucks are a concern, stick with a primary and go from there. You'll still produce a really good beer with a primary alone.

As for what to brew, brew what you like! If you like Porters and Stouts, do it! You're only limited by your own imagination.

As for supplies, many many of us have the same issue, no Local Homebrew Shop. (LHBS) The online stores you'll see mentioned a lot around here (Northern Brewer, Austin Homebrew, More Beer, etc.) are all great shops and the people that work there are more than helpful.

Welcome again to the best hobby there is! :rockin:

Ize