Best advice to give a new brewer?

[balrog]

Patience.
Take notes.
Want to try different process or ingredients? Don't change too many things or you'll lose sight of what change affected the outcome. I'm not suggesting going full bore, full factor experimental design or anything either.
Read.
Patience.
Have fun.
Learn to taste, then try to learn to describe what you taste.
And finally,

patience.

 

[ncbrewer]

Get one of the setups available to infuse the wort with pure O2 to oxygenate before pitching the yeast.

I would go the other way and suggest dry yeast, with no worry about aeration/oxygenation. It's much easier for beginners, and dry yeast quality has improved to the point that many commercial breweries use it. I actually aerate a little by pouring the wort into the fermenter from shoulder high.

 

[jerrylotto]

My other rule is no brew before two (pm).

Mine is to brew when my spouse is out and about. She can't stand the smell of anything beer related ::-(

 

[Golddiggie]

I would go the other way and suggest dry yeast, with no worry about aeration/oxygenation. It's much easier for beginners, and dry yeast quality has improved to the point that many commercial breweries use it. I actually aerate a little by pouring the wort into the fermenter from shoulder high.

I still use the information included in the Yeast book. I don't use dry yeast since I've always used liquid due to the (back when I started brewing at least) the vastly greater information available as to what the yeast will do for the beer.

IMO, being "easier for beginners" is BS. Even if you don't use a starter, a Wyeast smack pack is NOT difficult to use.

Then again, I also went all grain for my third batch and never looked back. That was also when I started making my own recipes. It's always been easy for me to figure out how to get the flavor profile I want by looking at the descriptions of grains and then using BeerSmith to get what I want. I might tweak a recipe from time to time, but I've yet to have to make any significant changes.

 

[NewJersey]

Waiting to drink some beers until the boil isn't a hard rule for me, but I have found it to be the best fit for me. I tend to start brewing at 10am/noon.
Many people here always suggest starting small with extract kits and cheap equipment.
I'd actually recommend seeing other people's setups and spending more time researching and then bit the bullet and buy what you really want.
I'd avoid gas setups and plastic fermenters too.

 

[bkboiler]

The more I've read about brewing the more I learn how devilishly simple it is.
The arguable first batch of beer was "yesterday's gruel" bowl filled with a bit of water to "soak and get clean" and set outside the cave in the sun.
But we complicate things so much and forget the lessons learned from years past.
Historically, breweries established over-top of underground acquifers made good beer. Since they would blend that underground water (which was the same temperature year round) with a proportion of boiling water to get just the right strike temp for their mash. And they'd only brew in fall to spring in some places...to avoid hot months causing too much esters (why marzens are brewed in March to lager until Oktoberfest, when brewing is permitted again).
And they'd brew styles well suited to their water.
Then lastly, they'd refine their recipe and freeze it...then focus on making sure their ingredients were of the highest quality and purity.
To summarize: pay attention to your water, your ingredients and pick one or two types of beer you like to brew for a little time until you get good at it. This will give you the best chance to improve your process basics.

 

[Spartan1979]

Waiting to drink some beers until the boil isn't a hard rule for me, but I have found it to be the best fit for me. I tend to start brewing at 10am/noon.
Many people here always suggest starting small with extract kits and cheap equipment.
I'd actually recommend seeing other people's setups and spending more time researching and then bit the bullet and buy what you really want.
I'd avoid gas setups and plastic fermenters too.

I always wait until the first hop addition, usually with about 60 minutes to go. I also have to have everything I can cleaned before I draw my first beer, but I don't care what time it it is. It's usually before noon.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

As many have said don't jump into it all at once. Sure you could spend thousands of dollars all at once buying all the things you think you might need but I've found it's best to make smaller equipment purchases and figure out if they work for your brew day. Doing lots of research and reading here what others have tried is extremely helpful. Everyone brews a little different so you'll find a knack that works best for you and the equipment you need to get there. All the fancy equipment doesn't mean you'll brew fantastic beer. Learn the basics first then make improvements as you go - that goes for brewing style and equipment. Best of all make it fun!

 

[seatazzz]

In addition to all of the above great advice, I'll add; see if you can watch a brewday at your local brewery, especially if it's a small one; most of these guys/gals started out as homebrewers, and many of them are more than willing to share experiences/advice. Some may even have some of their old homebrewing equipment lying around that they'd be willing to part with. I got very lucky this way. Even if you can't join a brewday, most are wiling to chat and provide great advice. This may have to wait until this pandemic cr*p has calmed down, however.