First Ingredient Kit for a novice

[Mactrekr]

Hi Guys,

Well, I did dig around a bit on the forum, but really specifically what I need is a recommendation on a very easy to brew, hard to screw up, everything included, malt extract, no grainbag, light, crisp, easy to drink ingredient kit. I have two goals in mind. One, being my first brew, I want something that is easy and relatively painless, (I'll get into the more advanced stuff later), Two, I'd like something that I can share with friends and family who don't have an appreciation for things like micro-brews and other darker more flavorful beers. (i.e., my wife will ONLY drink Corona) From everything I've read, I'd like to order from Austin Homebrew Supply, they seem to be uber cool, and have great pricing, but I'm totally open to suggestions. (I also am not totally adverse to steeping the grains if I have to)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Mac

 

[Darth Lefty]

My first brew was an Irish Red Ale. Yum!

The grain bag isn't difficult enough to worry about. Go ahead and use it.

 

[Jamo99]

Try a blonde or a kolsch. They are the light and crisp, low on hops, and definately the best way to introduce a bit more flavorful beer to BMC drinkers if you don't have the means to lager. AHS is having a sale this weekend, 10% off everything. Check out on the AHS site: Beer Recipe Kits-->AHS Recipe Kits-->Golden Ales. Those should be pterry straightforward. They also have an AHS Gold Seal section under there that are specifically geared towards beginners, but I'm not sure what the differences are.

 

[tbone]

Just pick a beer that you like. All of the extract with steeping grains kits are easy to do and are pretty much fullproof if you follow directions.

 

[Yooper]

If your wife is a corona fan, she might not be too wild about homebrew at first- it's just more flavorfull overall even if it's not hoppy. Still, you could get a kit like "American Micro Light", which I saw as a Brewer's Best kit. AHS probably has something very similar. That would be ready to drink pretty quickly, and not too different than what most American beer drinkers are familiar with. Stay away from pale ales and India pale ales if you're trying to please lighter beer drinkers for now.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

+1 on the blonde or kolsch. A simple cream ale might be a good idea too, especially as we move into summer. These brews won't scare the BMC crowd, and will taste a lot better.

I know I'm stocking up on lighter brews, in anticipation of weekends by the pool.

 

[Mactrekr]

Well, I ordered the Gold Seal Cerveza from AHS, I figure if the wife likes it, it's one less battle I've gotta fight. Thanks for all the great ideas.

Mac

 

[Mactrekr]

Well, my kit arrived, I must say, I was a bit dissapointed at first, the malt extract had been placed in the box upside down and had leaked all over everything. BUT!!! One email to AHS and I quickly had an appology and another tub of ME on the way. As others on this board will attest, AHS is awesome! Special kudos to them for prompt customer service, great prices and great product!

Mac

 

[malkore]

A lot of time, those kits come with a one-time use grain-bag that's just the right size for the steeping grains you'll be using.

There are a variety of ways to use grain bags...often its just for steeping grains on an extract kit, but there are all grain methods that use a very large grain bag for mashing.

While you wait for your kit to arrive, you should check out www.howtobrew.com if you haven't already. great learning resource. the full book is good too.

 

[MX1]

My first brew was an Irish Red Ale. Yum!

The grain bag isn't difficult enough to worry about. Go ahead and use it.

This is going to be my first brew. It seems like a popular choice for first timers.

Tim

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