choosing our first beer style

[FerroPlasm]

I'm planning to brew my first beer right around the first of the year and have not yet decided what style to start with. The LHBS carries brewers best kits and I'd like to do one of the following: american amber ale, american pale ale, india pale ale, red ale, smoked porter. Can anyone speak to the quality of Brewers Best ingredient kits in general? More specifically, which would you recommend for a first time brewer? I'm leaning toward the IPA while my wife prefers the smoked porter.

 

[KAMMEE]

The Brewers Best red was a great first recipe for me. Their kits are fine, no problems with the ingredients as long as they haven't been sitting around for a long time. The red turned out great, and its pretty simple. I'd suggest something other than an IPA for a first kit because of the higher gravity, it requires a few different tricks to really get the yeast to attenuate (i.e. finish the job). A smoked porter would be fine though, and any newb mistakes would probably be covered up by the bold roasty flavors.

 

[Bluesssman]

Do the smoked porter, especially if your wife would like it! Trust me, it will pay you dividends in your future brewing!!!

Gary

 

[VTBrewer]

Well...one trick...making a starter which is the same process as making the beer minus the hops.

 

[FerroPlasm]

Hah, you're a wise man, Gary. We just got married in October, so I'm still learning the happy wife = happy life axiom. We'll go with the smoked porter as I'm certain there will be some newb mistakes and a forgiving beer will go a long way to improve our confidence. I can see these forums are going to be an invaluable resource as we're getting started.

 

[GetLooseontheGoose]

Do the smoked porter, especially if your wife would like it! Trust me, it will pay you dividends in your future brewing!!!

Gary

Wise words...