Assistance for new homebrewer....

[Techy]

Hey all...not exactly new to HBT but def new to homebrew. I've made some simple wine and cider up until now and I 've had the "bug" for a long time to try my hand at brewing some beer. I was curious if I could get some assistance from all you veterans or at least more experienced folks

A few basic ?'s to get started. I've been doing a lot of reading and watching YT vids on the homebrewing basics. I am not sure whether to start with an extract or BIAB batch. Can anyone recommend a good starter company to go with? If it helps, of course I am an IPA guy (DFH is local so I am kind of a nut for their beer) I am not sure what equipment I need to get started. I do have some equipment that I have used for wine / cider making....

-Hydrometer
-Glass carboy
-Siphon
-Sanitizer and Cleaner

I am interested in kegging beer instead of bottling...is this a good place to start since I already have a kegerator? I would need to pick up a homebrew keg and attachments. I believe I also need a brew kettle (just not sure what size to get 5 gallon / 10 gallon?) Stop me if I am getting ahead of myself

Suggestions / Assistance to get started (especially so I don't fail and makes me not want to try this again for another 10 years...lol)

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Northernbrewer and Midwestsupply are 2 of the bigger online homebrew sites. I think they're actually one and the same company. If you have a local homebrew store you could shop there too. I bought a starter kit from NB which came with all the equipment to get started and an extract recipe. Bought my 2nd recipe kit from a local homebrew shop which I have yet to brew yet. Good luck

 

[cubalz]

My suggestion is to find your local homebrew shop and buy your kit from them. Usually, they will offer starter classes and are always willing to offer assistance along the way which you will find invaluable. Your LHBS is the life blood of this hobby. My 2 cents....

 

[Techy]

One more question I forgot to ask...is it necessary at the moment for me to buy a brand new brew kettle if I have something at home that would work? I know its got to be at least a 5 gallon pot but the only thing is it's aluminum most likely and not SS (not 100% sure but just want I suspect).

And in addition to that it's been used for other things...making soups, iced tea brewing, etc...so it's kind of stained and stuff...not sure if any of that matters or what?

 

[Techy]

My suggestion is to find your local homebrew shop and buy your kit from them. Usually, they will offer starter classes and are always willing to offer assistance along the way which you will find invaluable. Your LHBS is the life blood of this hobby. My 2 cents....

Good suggestion...I may stop by there and talk to the guy. We have one local here in Dover. I also have a gift card my wife got me for my bday so that will at least buy me something

 

[catdaddy66]

Morebeer.com is also a great site for ordering online. All of the companies mentioned will have starter kit with all of the necessary equipment you will need.

I learned with extract but went to all grain ASAP. It gave me more control over more variables and my beer got better right away (per people who had my extract before).

If you have a local home brew store (LHBS) you should stop and talk with them as they are a great resource for not only ingredients and equipment but knowledge also. Good luck!

 

[Hopsimus]

I started with extract myself. Did 5 or 6 brews before switching to all-grain. I personally think doing a few extract brews first gives you a better foundation rather than jumping straight into BIAB or all-grain, but others will, no doubt, tell you the opposite. So that's mostly up to you.

As for equipment, it looks like you have the majority needed.

Depending upon your batch size, a 5 gallon pot probably isn't going to be large enough (unless you do partial boils with extract). BIAB you typically do full boils, which, for a 5 gallon batch, isn't gonna fit. Most people recommend getting a 10 gallon kettle for doing 5 gallon batches. Aluminum is fine, though you have to be mindful of the oxide layer.

You might want to pick up an immersion cooling coil (or some way to quickly cool after the boil). You can get away with a ice bath, but it takes longer.

A precision scale for measuring hops is useful.

Temperature control during fermentation will get you much better results. But, a cool basement will get you started.

Kegging vs bottling, if you already have a kegerator, I would go for kegging. I still bottle myself, so can't say much beyond that.
If you do bottle you will probably want to pick up a bottling bucket, bottling wand, and a bunch of bottles of course.

Welcome to the club!

Cheers

 

[passedpawn]

Start with extract. My first batches went right from a can to the carboy, no boil, and it turned out OK. Thank god for that, because my first try at all-grain was a SUPER disaster. If I had started with a disaster like that, I wouldn't be on this forum right now.

I'm not suggesting you start with a no-boil kit though, especially if you like IPAs. But if you start with extract, you can skip the "mash", which is a little tricky for new brewers.

 

[ancientmariner52]

Your aluminum kettle will be just fine. Clean it as you would for a pot of stew, don't try to remove those stains. They are aluminum oxide, and just what you want touching your beer, instead of bare metallic aluminum. The past warnings about aluminum for cooking vessels have been thoroughly debunked. You'll probably want stainless some day though, I know I did. Good luck!

 

[cubalz]

Good suggestion...I may stop by there and talk to the guy. We have one local here in Dover. I also have a gift card my wife got me for my bday so that will at least buy me something

Are you in Dover, DE?

 

[eric19312]

Im also in the start with extract camp. Get a simple starter kit of gear from your LHBS and ask them for advice on an easy IPA extract kit. IPA is pretty forgiving but probably want to look for something in the 5.5-6.5% ABV range to start out. Also if there is any chlorine or chloramine in your water make sure to get rid of it. Campden is easy solution, if you have LHBS ask them what others in your community are doing.

On the starter kit I really mean get the lower cost kit they are offering. It probably has two buckets one for fermenting and one for bottling, hydrometer, thermometer, maybe a spoon and some other stuff like mesh bags for partial mashing/steeping grains etc. Buckets are great fermentation vessels for beer, don't assume you are going to want to get into glass or plastic carboys right away. The ones sold for homebrew should be 6.5 gallons and give you plenty of room for krausen, are easy to clean and store and don't break. Don't pay money (ever) for a 5 gallon stainless pot. Use the pot you have for now and look to getting a 10 gallon stainless pot in the future. 10 gallon will be fine for any of the various ways you might choose to make 5 gallon batches of beer in the future (extract, batch/fly sparge with a cooler mash tun, even up to full volume BIAB but to get you started with extract the kettle you have will be just fine.

Have fun!

 

[S-Met]

Like you, I started with wines, meads and ciders and had most of the necessary equipment already. I've only done extract brews. I keep meaning to jump to biab, but it involves more equip and more time than extract. I'm not opposed to it, but I have other projects.

Extract is a great intro to brew and you can make great brews from extract. Most important and first step in extract brewing is to lose the instructions that come in the kit. They aren't wrong, but they are dated and will only result in mediocrity.

Secondly, make sure you get fresh extract, especially if using liquid malt extracts (LME).

Third, KISS! KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. Get a solid base recipe and make limited variable changes so you learn what you do and don't like. Dont be afraid to cut a recipe in 1/2 and make a 2.5-3 gal batch. Plus you get to brew more often and get more experience.

Finally, have fun. If its comfortably stressful then you are doing it wrong. Relax, don't worry and have a home brew (or wine-cider until your 1st brew is ready).

 

[Techy]

Are you in Dover, DE?

"outskirts".....Felton....only one I am aware of is the Dover Homebrew Supply.

 

[Techy]

Just wanted to say a special thanks to everyone who has commented so far...to be honest I was really concerned with not getting too much assistance because you all see this type of thread every single day / multiple times a day. It really is a confidence booster when you know there are people out there that started like you as well and are there to answer questions....really appreciate it!

So far it sounds like the overwhelming consensus is the following: (Got it loud and clear
-Go to local LHBS to talk to them and pick up any necessary stuff
-Extract kit to start off with
-Existing aluminum pot used for other cooking things that I have at home right now will be fine

I am really on the fence about bottling vs kegging since I kind of have the infrastructure already in my home (kegerator). I would just need to buy a homebrew keg and different connectors. To me it seems like an easier process to keg versus bottle (plus the added expense of buying all the bottles).

In regards to fermentation, I've read a few thing where people have stated the optimum temp for fermenting (depending on style) is around 60-63 degrees...this time of year my basement is around 68 or so degrees...is that still ok for an IPA style brew?

 

[cubalz]

Cool. I go there all of the time. There or How do you Brew in Newark when I visit my daughter at UD. I live about 2 miles from DHS in Magnolia.

 

[cubalz]

If you ever need some help, let me know. I live close to you and have been homebrewing for around 27 years.

 

[eric19312]

I am really on the fence about bottling vs kegging since I kind of have the infrastructure already in my home (kegerator). I would just need to buy a homebrew keg and different connectors. To me it seems like an easier process to keg versus bottle (plus the added expense of buying all the bottles).

Given you have a kegerator absolutely go direct to kegging. Lots of advice in here about how to do it come back and ask if something about that process is not clear. I will say you will read a lot about closed system pressure transfers in order to reduce exposure to oxygen in recent posts here on HBT and elsewhere. I do practice this technique now myself but want to assure you it is not necessary to make good beer. Lots of homebrewers made great kegged beer before getting all wound up about oxygen exposure and you will too. Try not to splash too much and purge the keg's headspace well with multiple blasts when you seat the lid and you will be fine. Eventually you will likely get on board with closed transfers but just don't worry too much about that until you are making consistently good beer and looking for ways to make it last longer in your kegs (last longer without losing freshness ... done well the keg probably gets consumed faster )

In regards to fermentation, I've read a few thing where people have stated the optimum temp for fermenting (depending on style) is around 60-63 degrees...this time of year my basement is around 68 or so degrees...is that still ok for an IPA style brew?

That is going to be on warm side for most beers. It would be fine if your beer stayed at that temperature but during fermentation the beer is generating heat and without some way to get rid of that heat the beer will warm up to unreasonable levels. One solution would be to brew belgian styles...they are fine starting in mid to high 60s and ramping up to higher temperatures. But to do US and English ale styles you are going to want to keep temps in the mid to high 60s depending on the yeast. Low cost way to do this is to set up a swamp chiller. Put the bucket in a tub of water. Put a t-shirt on the bucket so the bottom of the shirt is in the water and the water is wicking up the shirt. Aim a fan at the bucket and as the moisture evaporates from the t-shirt heat will be taken away from the bucket. If you have an old fridge or freezer that you are not using it is also very easy to set up a fermentation chamber..inkbird makes some nice low cost controllers that work quite well for homebrew applications.

 

[Techy]

If you ever need some help, let me know. I live close to you and have been homebrewing for around 27 years.

Any assistance your able to provide since you live in the area just let me know I am game for learning for sure! Appreciate the offer....

 

[Techy]

eric19312

Thanks for all the input...wow...really really appreciate you detailing all that info!

I think you just helped me make up my mind and def go the keg route. Now about the fermentation temp....I hear what your saying about the swamp chiller and that's cool and all but I would be more apt to try and find a used fridge or something online (just looked and there are quite a few used ones) that I can use in the basement primarily for this reason. And I figure if it doesn't work out and I stop homebrewing then I use it for extra cold storage I've wasted more money on other stuff...lol

If I did go about the fridge / freezer router...how do you get it to be set at a temp reasonable for fermentation (60-65 degrees for ales)? I believe fridges are usually set at like 38 or 40? Sorry for the stupid ?....all new stuff for me here. Oh yeah, and about how big cubic foot size do you think someone needs for a fermentation bucket?

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I am really on the fence about bottling vs kegging since I kind of have the infrastructure already in my home (kegerator). I would just need to buy a homebrew keg and different connectors. To me it seems like an easier process to keg versus bottle (plus the added expense of buying all the bottles).

In regards to fermentation, I've read a few thing where people have stated the optimum temp for fermenting (depending on style) is around 60-63 degrees...this time of year my basement is around 68 or so degrees...is that still ok for an IPA style brew?

I think that Fermentis US-05 Safale yeast would be quite happy at 68 degrees.

 

[eric19312]

If I did go about the fridge / freezer router...how do you get it to be set at a temp reasonable for fermentation (60-65 degrees for ales)? I believe fridges are usually set at like 38 or 40? Sorry for the stupid ?....all new stuff for me here. Oh yeah, and about how big cubic foot size do you think someone needs for a fermentation bucket?

Get an Inkbird dual stage controller. This is the one:
https://www.amazon.com/Temperature-...ocphy=9004533&hvtargid=pla-395718471013&psc=1

Tape the probe to the side of your bucket and put a bit of insulating material over the probe and tape that down. A bit of foam camping pad worked well for me.

Then plug the fridge into the cold side of the controller. Get a ceramic reptile heater and put that in the bottom of the fridge. Plug that guy into the hot side of the controller. Set the controller to 68 or whatever you want and when temp hits setpoint + 0.5F the fridge comes on. If your fridge gets too cold the heater will come on.


As for dimensions a regular sized fridge (not a dorm fridge) can pretty easily accomodate 2 buckets/carboys. If you can get a chest freezer this is also good and has advantage that you can get even colder than a fridge for cold crashing purposes. There is a great thread here on HBT about exactly how many kegs/fermentors will fit in a chest freezer but I've not seen similar for upright refrigerators.

 

[catdaddy66]

eric19312

Thanks for all the input...wow...really really appreciate you detailing all that info!

I think you just helped me make up my mind and def go the keg route. Now about the fermentation temp....I hear what your saying about the swamp chiller and that's cool and all but I would be more apt to try and find a used fridge or something online (just looked and there are quite a few used ones) that I can use in the basement primarily for this reason. And I figure if it doesn't work out and I stop homebrewing then I use it for extra cold storage I've wasted more money on other stuff...lol

If I did go about the fridge / freezer router...how do you get it to be set at a temp reasonable for fermentation (60-65 degrees for ales)? I believe fridges are usually set at like 38 or 40? Sorry for the stupid ?....all new stuff for me here. Oh yeah, and about how big cubic foot size do you think someone needs for a fermentation bucket?

I will quote Sam Kinnison in the movie "Back to School"... "There are no stupid questions. There are only stupid people that ask them!" Lol

I would think any fridge or freezer bigger than 4 cubic ft would work as a fermentation chamber. There are many types of temperature controllers that will achieve the right temps to use on any batch. Some popular ones are STC-1000, the Inkbird, and Johnson has one also. They are pretty inexpensive and easy to set up.

 

[stodds]

Whenever there is a problem, you only want to change as few variables at once as possible. So, the current "problem" is that you don't yet brew. You are familiar with dealing with yeast and fermentation. So, the first variable I would change to fix this problem is to introduce boiling wort with hops for bitterness, and cooling the resulting mass (extract brewing), and then fermenting - with which you are at least fairly familiar.

Then, once you go through enough batches (perhaps as few as one - you decide), you can go to the mini-mash. Once you are comfortable with that, AND if you want to do all-grain brewing, you can do that. I'm sure you'll find plenty of people that are happy doing mini-mashes all the time. I have zero issue with that! But, personally, I enjoy the all-grain process, and having to "deal" with mashing.

Cheers!