Hello all, I am a first time brewer here and I am looking for advice/guidance in this. I have made a few batches of wine so far and had great sucess. I have a fast fermentor (connical) and am wanting to brew some beer. As a new brewer, what is the best type of recipe to start off with? I was told to start with a wheat beer. Is that the best way? Will any experience with wine making transfer to beer making? Thaks in advance.
First time brewer. Looking for some advice
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Start with a kit, keep it simple and relax. If possible go watch someone else go through a brew day, but if not, read a lot and enjoy the experience.
I second starting with a Kit - honestly I think the Extract Kits are relatively the same, so I would say go with your favorite beer type.
Never made wine so I can't really say if any of it will carry over. I would suspect sanitation techniques and possibly alot of the equipment will.
Never made wine so I can't really say if any of it will carry over. I would suspect sanitation techniques and possibly alot of the equipment will.
flars
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Take a look at the recipe posted here if you like wheat beers and that is what you want to start with.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/american-wheat-beer-extract-kit
Or perhaps a Hefeweizen.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/bavarian-hefe-weizen-extract-kit
Basic brews but still require sanitation, temperature control, and patience. You can also consider not using the secondary vessel.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/american-wheat-beer-extract-kit
Or perhaps a Hefeweizen.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/bavarian-hefe-weizen-extract-kit
Basic brews but still require sanitation, temperature control, and patience. You can also consider not using the secondary vessel.
m1k3
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OP has made wine so at least they have patience!
Most importantly- what do you like to drink? After all, if you're making a 5G batch, and you don't like the beer, then what a waste (of course you can always give it away).
I agree, start with a kit from a well-known online supplier or a trusted LHBS. And if you haven't already, read John Palmer's book 'How to Brew'. Coming from the other direction (74 batches of beer, 1st batch of wine), making wine is a lot easier than brewing a beer. But the rewards come a lot quicker with beer.
I agree, start with a kit from a well-known online supplier or a trusted LHBS. And if you haven't already, read John Palmer's book 'How to Brew'. Coming from the other direction (74 batches of beer, 1st batch of wine), making wine is a lot easier than brewing a beer. But the rewards come a lot quicker with beer.
I agree--the nice thing about a kit is that you don't have a bunch of decisions to make for which you are not yet prepared. But will be at some point.
And +1 for watching someone else do it. I did that before my first brew and it was nearly life-altering! That is, what I read about then made 10 times more sense.
And fourfarthing is spot on: enjoy the experience.
+1 on this, read How to Brew and go from there. Will answer enough questions to get you started.
BilliardGuy74
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I'd highly recommend a brewers best extract kit. The directions are very noob friendly. I'm using them right now too. Lol
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- do some research before you do anything (Palmer book is good), to increase the chances of success on the first try
- if there is any way at all you can swing it, place some priority on having a means of fermentation temperature control before you brew anything
- select a style you enjoy, and brew it. Make sure you pick a tried-and-true recipe. Go through the top 100 recipes on this site, and I guarantee you'll find one that interests you:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/homebrewtalk-top-homebrew-recipes-24-1.html
- if there is any way at all you can swing it, place some priority on having a means of fermentation temperature control before you brew anything
- select a style you enjoy, and brew it. Make sure you pick a tried-and-true recipe. Go through the top 100 recipes on this site, and I guarantee you'll find one that interests you:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/homebrewtalk-top-homebrew-recipes-24-1.html
How do I order off of the website of brewers best?
BilliardGuy74
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Brewers Best is the brand of the extract kit. They are sold most everywhere. Most homebrew stores or you can order them online from Northern Brewers or Midwest Supplies I believe.
flars
Well-Known Member
Here is a link to a Northern Brewer's recipe and instructions for brewing an American Amber Ale. The wort temperature for pitching the yeast should be in the low 60°F range for best results rather than just under 78°F. You will also need to decide whether or not using a secondary is necessary and how you will control the fermentation temperature from rising to high.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/AmericanAmber.pdf
Hope this answers some of your questions to help make your first brew go easier.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/AmericanAmber.pdf
Hope this answers some of your questions to help make your first brew go easier.
Photopilot
Well-Known Member
Build a basement or buy a fridge or freezer with a temp controller.
buzd
Well-Known Member
A swamp cooler worked great for my first brew. Took a washtub and filled it with 8-10 inches of water, then put an old tshirt over the carboy. Evaporative cooling kept the fermentation between 65-68 (with 75* ambient temperature). I added some ice to the water over the first 4-5 days whenever I thought about it, and just let it go after that.
madscientist451
Well-Known Member
I'd skip the kits and extract; get some grain, get it milled at the homebrew store, get a BIAB bag and get started. Brewing isn't all that difficult.
Read the free John Palmer book, and get this book on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307889203/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
There are lots of easy 1 gallon recipes, just multiply the amounts x 2.5, use a 3 gallon carboy (less than $25) and get a lot of batches done and gain some experience. Skipping kits gets you involved from the start of what malts to use and then you can experiment with changing different malts and getting different flavors.
If you don't have space or the money for a freezer with fermentation control, get a 24x24 carboard box, line it with 1" insulation board, seal insides with duct tape and use 1-2 liter bottles of frozen water to regulate the temperature. Its crude, but it works, you can get a steady temperature up to 10 or maybe 15 degrees F below ambient using an insulated box and ice bottles, for very little cost. It will take some experimentation to figure how many bottles and what size, but you'll figure it out. You can make a nicer fermentation chamber using wood, insulation, fans, and a thermostat but still rely on ice for cooling or use an old dorm size fridge. Here's a link to some ideas, good luck!
http://www.brewgeeks.com/build-a-ferm-chamber.html
Read the free John Palmer book, and get this book on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307889203/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
There are lots of easy 1 gallon recipes, just multiply the amounts x 2.5, use a 3 gallon carboy (less than $25) and get a lot of batches done and gain some experience. Skipping kits gets you involved from the start of what malts to use and then you can experiment with changing different malts and getting different flavors.
If you don't have space or the money for a freezer with fermentation control, get a 24x24 carboard box, line it with 1" insulation board, seal insides with duct tape and use 1-2 liter bottles of frozen water to regulate the temperature. Its crude, but it works, you can get a steady temperature up to 10 or maybe 15 degrees F below ambient using an insulated box and ice bottles, for very little cost. It will take some experimentation to figure how many bottles and what size, but you'll figure it out. You can make a nicer fermentation chamber using wood, insulation, fans, and a thermostat but still rely on ice for cooling or use an old dorm size fridge. Here's a link to some ideas, good luck!
http://www.brewgeeks.com/build-a-ferm-chamber.html
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BrewChaCho
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I would definitely recommend starting with a kit. Have you read any books on brewing? Palmer's "How to Brew" is a great start and will walk you through all the basics.
Good luck, you're gonna love it!
Good luck, you're gonna love it!
Savagejair
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All great advice. Got to ask do you have a kettle? Because I'm thinking with wine you pretty much use the fermentation bucket or vessels. So if you have a large pot then stay with a few gallons. 1 gal to 3 gal. Because in the end you have to either bottle or keg. So give us some details like if you have the equipment for large batches.
OriolesMagic
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So I just finished bottling my first beer. It was a CraftaBrew Kit beer called Orange Golden Ale. After I was done bottling I sampled some that I pulled before bottling and thought it tasted very "wheaty" The recipe didn't tell me what grains I was steeping but the hops were cascade both for bittering and aroma. The malt extract was Breiss Pilsen Light 2.0 Lovibond. Is it typical to have a wheaty flavor or does that indicate I might have not sanitized properly?
