First timer needs advice!

[bailey3415]

Hello everyone,

First time posting on here!! Let me start off by saying that fiancé is really into brewing his own beer. It’s what he loves to do and I fully support him 110%....I’ve helped him out a few times but have never done the actual brewing myself. Honestly, I’m still confused on some of the things he had me do or told me but I’m getting there!! But I made sure to pay attention enough to where I have some basic knowledge.

I’m looking to get into brewing myself to make that something we can do together on occasion. I am more into ciders but have adopted the concept of “I’ll try anything at least once” - even if it’s a triple IPA!

He has a braumeister (spelling?) so it’s all in one but I was hoping to try and do something on my own while he’s gone for a work trip, then surprise him when he gets home. I won’t use his system because I’m not familiar with it at all and don’t want to risk something going wrong, so I am going to use a kit. SO! My first question is what is the best type of beer to start with, what kind of kit should I use, what should I make sure and NOT do, etc.?

Sorry for such a long post. Just want to make sure I get all my thoughts across! Thanks in advance for the information

 

[GoeHaarden]

IMO, I find that dark beers and IPAs with higher IBUs are the easiest to make for beginners, as these bold flavors can mask a lot of unwanted flavors. Or combine them and do a Black IPA (a.k.a. Cascadian Dark Ale - for those of you who want to beat me up for terminology)...

The kit depends on what you want to do. If you're going the extract route then you really only need a big pot and a food safe bucket to ferment in...All-grain will require some additional equipment...

Just remember to sanitize everything that comes into contact with the beer after the boil!

Cheers!

 

[Martys1]

Hi ,I wanted to brew something easy so I found a recipe from the1800’s for ginger beer. Ginger beer is like hard ginger ale kinda like cider.which is also easy to make

1c of chopped ginger
1lb sugar I use 8 oz sugarand8oz of molasses
1 gal water
Plk of cider yeast (I’ve even used bread yeast and a lemon quartered
Boil the ingredients.in a pot stir it
Not a hard boil more like a hot simmer let it cool to 100 den put strain it and add yeast
Divide in 2 growlers put Saran Wrap on the top with rubber bands and prick it once w a pin
Now the co2 can escape put in cool place ferment 5 days
Get 8 grolsch bottles fill and add1/4 tsp sugar to charge the ginger beer wait a week or so and it’s ready
About 2 weeks start to finish
Good luck and keep on brewing

 

[Pappers_]

IMO, I find that dark beers and IPAs with higher IBUs are the easiest to make for beginners, as these bold flavors can mask a lot of unwanted flavors. Or combine them and do a Black IPA (a.k.a. Cascadian Dark Ale - for those of you who want to beat me up for terminology)...

The kit depends on what you want to do. If you're going the extract route then you really only need a big pot and a food safe bucket to ferment in...All-grain will require some additional equipment...

Just remember to sanitize everything that comes into contact with the beer after the boil!

Cheers!

This is great advice. Get an extract kit for an American Stout or Pale Ale and you're good to go!

 

[myndflyte]

Totally agree on the getting the extract kit. It's a perfect way to brew your first beer by yourself. As others said, all you need is a big pot to boil in and it doesn't even need to be able to hold all the water. It's totally fine if you can only boil in, say 3 gallons, and then top it off once it's in the fermenter.

 

[RM-MN]

Be careful with this. Some guys have a lot of pride in their creations and don't react favorably to being showed up on your first try. Make an adequate beer so it is drinkable but not a stellar one or you may be looking for a new partner.