The ways to go easy involve doing a moderate-gravity beer using a single-infusion mash without a ton of timed hop additions, and then use dry yeast. I'm assuming you don't have fermentation temperature control, so pick a dry yeast that can handle a wide temperature range.
The question you should ask is "what type of beer can I brew and be mostly likely to get great results?" The answer is probably
not a SMaSH; they are simple and clean and won't hide a lot of flaws. It doesn't really add complication to have more grains in your grist, especially if your home-brew store will sell you a pre-measured mixture. (Also, there are a few good online retailers that will.)
Instead look for something like
- an Irish-ish dry stout using Nottingham or London yeast: not overly complicated grist, single hop addition, forgiving yeast, and it'll be nice and roasty no matter what.
- an American brown ale, again using Nottingham. Again a darker beer and strong flavors.
- a Belgian brown ale (not a Dubbel) using Abbaye. Strong flavors, and you'll be ok if you don't get the high attenuation that you need for Trappist beers.
Basically, ask yourself what temperature you're likely to hit when fermenting, pick a yeast that'll work there, and work from there to a darker style you think you'll like. So if you're fermenting cool in your basement or garage, a California Common with W34/70 would be reasonable, whereas if your beer is going to be sharing your ~70 F living space, a Dark Mild with London would be better.
I started out reading Josh Weikert's "Make your best ____" series. You'll get a decent recipe, and he explains why he's adding each of the ingredients in it. He tends toward complicated grists and always uses liquid yeast, but post a recipe in the Recipes and Ingredients forum and someone will point you towards a dry yeast that works, and maybe some good simplifications.
