Beginner here! Whats a good first home brew?

[Caudery]

Just starting out (still need almost all the equipment) whats a good and easy first home brew? (maybe a simple lager) I will need help terminology and what equipment to use/buy.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

Lagering is not simple for a first timer. You need very good temperature controls.

A lot of people start with Ales or a Stout. It's a lot easier to keep in the 60-70F temperature range that the yeast requires. I would look at a Amber Ale, Irish Red or Stout. My first brew was a Dry Stout. It came out great and was so dark you couldn't see the sun thru it.

Buy a basic kit and add on if you enjoy the process. Make a swamp cooler using a tub, frozen water bottles and a wet tshirt to cover the fermenter.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Welcome to the hobby and the forum.

As you get your feet wet, you'll learn that lagers are anything but simple, and "simple lagers" are the least simple of the bunch. Most of us who've been brewing for years still consider brewing a light American lager well a feat.

I would stick to a moderate gravity beer (something that'll end up in the 5-6% ABV range). I'd say that a Hefeweizen would be a good start. As would an American Pale Ale. A Stout would be a good place to start too.

Since you're just starting, I'd make sure you get a few points into your head from the start-

• Use proper cleaner and sanitizer. The stuff that comes with kits is usually garbage. Cleaning and sanitizing are not the same thing, and are best handled separately, cleaning first, THEN sanitizing. Most "one step" products (that often come with kits) often do either one well and one poorly, or do both poorly. Unscented Oxiclean Free will work well as a cleaner, or spend the change and buy yourself some Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW) for cleaning. And then either use Star-San or Iodophor for sanitizing. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm much more partial to Star-San, as are most homebrewers I know. And then absolutely everything needs to be cleaned. Anything that will touch your wort starting at the end of the boil and until your bottles are sealed (including the bottles and caps) must be first cleaned, and then sanitized.
• Control your fermentation temperature. Simply sticking it in a cool room isn't enough, as fermentation creates heat that's often 5 degrees, sometimes 10 or even 15 degrees above room temperature. Place your fermenter inside a big tote bin, and then surround the fermenter up to the level of the beer with water. That'll do wonders to restrain your fermentation temp. Most ales prefer fermentation temps in the mid to high 60s, so a room around that temp with the bin of water (aka "swamp cooler") and you're good to go.
• Pitch enough fresh, healthy yeast. For your first beer, you're probably going to be using dry yeast. If it came with a kit that's been sitting on the shelf, throw it out and buy fresh yeast that's been stored in the fridge. And then either rehydrate your dry yeast (may have instructions on the yeast pack, otherwise check the manufacturer website for instructions), or to make it easy if you want to pitch dry, then pitch two packs. When you transition to liquid yeast, you'll want to start building up the cell count by making a starter, but that's a little much for your first beer. And even then, if you just sprinkle a pack of dry yeast onto your beer for your first batch, it's not the end of the world, although not ideal.
• Be patient, and trust your hydrometer. Especially for a new brewer, rushing the process will only hurt the beer.

Best of luck!

 

[jiggs_casey]

By far, I think the easiest thing to brew on this forum isn't beer, it's this. Find an local home brew shop (LHBS) and pick up a 5 or 6 gallon plastic carboy, airlock and yeast. The apple juice, you can pick up at the store.

When the fermentation is done, you can either bottle it or simply transfer it back into the same containers the apple juice came in.

Although not beer, it will give you a wonderful introduction into homebrewing! Not to mention a great buzz!

Welcome and happy brewing!

 

[ChelisHubby]

A porter or a Amber ale can cover beginner mistakes somewhat. The pale ales and Blondes and wheat beers are less forgiving! That said buy a kit in the style you like and don't expect perfection. You might be pleasantly surprised. Have fun!

 

[Kharnynb]

Get a good basic starter kit, should be around $60-80, a decent stockpot of about 8 gallons and some starsan.

Grab a extract kit of a beer you like to try, ale or wheat beer for easiest.

Once you've got a few extract kits under your belt, it's easy with this setup to go onward to brew-in-a-bag all-grain.

 

[Homercidal]

There are many options. Most ales are very similar in difficulty and the process is very much the same for most of them. The big differences are the specific ingredients.

Choose any basic ale recipe; Pale Ale, IPA, Blonde Ale, Wheat Beer, Porter, Stout, Amber...

Get an extract kit for that beer style and the basic tools you need like a good sized stock pot, hydrometer, thermometer, hose, buckets (One with a spigot for bottling, called a "Bottling Bucket"), Star-San Sanitizer, capper and some caps.

Follow the directions in the beginner's forum threads for an extract beer, and most of all, watch your temps when fermenting. If you don't have a place that stays a constant 60-65-ish, then consider setting up a swamp cooler to help maintain that temp. Google it.

I guarantee that if you start with a kit, use proper sanitation, and keep stead proper temps, you will have a nice beer at the end.

 

[ncbrewer]

An 8 gallon stock pot has been mentioned, but for extract, I prefer to do a partial boil , using late extract addition. A 4 gallon pot can do the boil, using about half of the extract. Then add the rest of the extract at flameout. I feel that this simplifies the process compared to doing a full boil. It can be cooled in an ice bath in the sink.

 

[MaxStout]

British/Irish ales are more forgiving, and are good candidates for the new brewer. The two main things to focus on are sanitation and fermentation temps. Keep those under control and you should end up with good beer the first time.

Sift through threads in the Beginners and Extract sections of the forum. Lots of good info.

 

[mauer_62]

i would say try an extract kit. very simple to brew. all ingredients are measured and packaged. learn the process of brewing before you start writing your own recipes. brewers best makes great kits of all different styles. http://www.brewersbestkits.com/

 

[hopbrad]

i would brew a style you enjoy too. otherwise youll have 2 cases of beer you dont like anyway so whats the point.
Pretty much all extract brews/kits are pretty straightforward and easy.

 

[kombat]

OP: That's a pretty broad question! Entire books have been written on the topic, a couple great ones to start with would be Charlie Papazian's "Joy of Homebrewing" or John Palmer's "How to Brew."

That said, if you post your location, I'm sure someone nearby will invite you to brew with them and would be happy to show you the whole process. After all, tomorrow is National Learn to Homebrew Day.

 

[ong]

Yup, an extract brown or amber or pale with some steeping grains and hops (not a pre-hopped extract kit). This will be complex enough to be interesting, but simple enough that you won't screw it up, and you'll get a nice drinkable beer.