Got my beginners kit yesterday!

[Nexus555]

Well I got my beginners kit in yesterday! I ordered from Mid West Supplies. One thing that sucks is my auto siphon is broken, I have to get with them (and soon) and get that replaced.

I have a few questions. I have the 6.5 plastic fermenter and the 5 gallon glass carboy. Which would would you recommend using for the first brew? I'd much rather use the glass carboy, just so I can get a look at what's going on during the process

I think that I've heard that the instruction manuals that come with the kits suck. Should I discard the book that came with it, and just read Palmer's online book? Should I follow the first part of the online book, or skip to the second brew that has a little more detailed of instructions? The first brew of "Pale Ale" just seemed way too basic in Palmer's online book, and the second one seemed a lot better and goes into a bit more depth than the first brew.

Also, what type of beer would you suggest for a first brew? Easiness to make and good taste is a plus. I was thinking maybe brown ale (similar to New Castle.)

Just need a few more things too before I begin, like a thermometer, santizing agent (probably going with idophur), and ingridents. My parents (don't worry, I'm almost 22) gave me a 3 gallon stainless steel kettle. Curious, if there are sracthes in the kettle, should a new one be purchased? I'm at work right now and can't recall correctly, but it looked like the kettle has been through a few cooks. I'll try to upload some pictures when I get home.

Besides all that I think I'm ready to go. One other complaint about midwest is the bottle caps that came with it. I wouldn't dare put a cap on one of my bottles that says "Hooch."

 

[freyguy]

Best thing to do is to start your beer out in the plastic fermenter, leave it be for at least one week, then transfer to the glass carboy for secondary. I too like waching the primary, but sooner or later you can replace the plastic for a 6.5 gallon glass. You need the extra headspace for the kraussen since it will get high.

Palmers is pretty much the bible, so it's safe to go with his. But your instructions probably aren't worthless. Stick with something easy for your first couple brews. No need to get complicated. Maybe do something with not much specialty grains to steep, and I wouldn't mess with dry hopping until you have a few brews under your belt. A brown ale sounds good if it is one that you and your friends will enjoy.

In addition to Iodophor, I would probably still get some One-Step. I use it alot. It doesn't stain plastic, so I always set up my bottling bucket with a solution of one-step so I can sanitize and rinse things in it.

The pot shouldn't be too big of a deal. Before brewing beer, it's probably worth giving it a good scrubbing, then boiling some plain water for 20 min or so just to sanitize and get everything out. You only really need to do this once since the boil always gets rid of nasties. I'd keep that pot until you step up and get a big one to do full boils with.

And heck, with the caps, just use them, then get the Avery labels that are circles and make labels to go over them.

 

[AGBrewer]

For your primary fermenter you need 6.5 gallon capacity, use the glass carboy for secondary, I know my first brew I hated not being able to see the fermentation. Scratches in stainless shouldn't matter. I like the hooch brews bottle caps myself don't know why it would matter. Never tried midwests brewing kits, I just get recipes and buy the ingredients seperate. Brown ales are always good though.

 

[Blender]

You are going to want to use the plastic pail for primary fermentation. It will give you some headspace for the krausen. Use the carboy to put the brew into the clearing phase after fermentation.
What type of beer do you like? Brown ales are good starting brews but any pale ale is easy as well. No reason not to ask a bunch af questions before starting.

 

[Nexus555]

Thanks for the lightning fast responses! Yeah, I think I'll go with a Brown Ale. So use the plastic bucket for around a week, and then transfer it into the carboy? Can't wait to get my auto siphon replaced and get the rest of my stuff! Thanks guys, if I have any more questions or comments I will definitely let you know!

 

[Whelk]

My first brew was a brown ale--despite various newbie errors, everyone I gave it to had nothing but praise for it. Definitely a good beer to start with, I love a good brown ale.

 

[CBBaron]

My first couple brews were Brewer's Best Kits. I made the Red Ale kit for my first brew and made the Irish Stout a few weeks later. Neither are ready for drinking yet so I can tell you haw they are.
The kits came with everything you need including caps and the directions were very good. The kits include malt extract, specialty grains and pellet hops, everything premeasured.
I have a Midwest Oatmeal stout for my next kit. The Midwest kits don't have caps and the directions while sufficient seem a little more basic. Otherwise the kits are very similar.
A brown ale should be a good beer to start with as it is pretty basic and has plenty of flavor to hide and off-flavors that may occur from mistakes.
Good luck.
Craig

 

[BierMuncher]

If you're like me...you're going to be checking your first brew every few hours to see what's going on. The plastic bucket will work good for sneaking a peak and stealing a sample to take a hydrometer reading. Just make sure you sanitize everything that comes in contact and for crying out loud...don't sneeze in your fermenter.

Move it to the secondary after 1 week and then you can watch your brew (even though it will be doing a lot of nothing).

I'm long past my first brew but still have fond memories.

 

[Yooper]

Ditto on everything they said!

If you want a good kit, I highly recommend the Brewer's Best kits, especially the English Brown Ale. Very good instructions with the kit and it tasted like a fresher Newcastle! I think that was one of the first beers I did, and I liked it enough to buy the kit again a few months later. They have everything you need in the kit (even the grain bag and yeast) so you should be all set. You can buy a new package of Nottingham yeast, though- sometimes the yeast in the kit is older and you want to make sure your yeast is fresh.