Holy Smokes! Where to start?

[KC10Chief]

Well, I'm about to jump into this hobby. As soon as I can get back down to the brewing store here in town, I'm going to buy a good starter kit. I was there tonight, but right at closing time. They were super cool though and stayed late to talk to me. They advised me to come back when I have more time. Anyways, I am super interested in brewing my own beer. I know pretty much nothing about it. The kit comes with a brewing book, instructions, glass fermenters, etc. I'll get it all here, read about it and then ask more questions. In the meantime, where should I be setting this thing up at? A couple of guys at work are telling me that this can be kind of messy. How about my garage? Does the temperature matter? It's a heated garage and is usually around 65 degrees. But I live in Alaska. If the door is open for a while, it gets cold in there and takes a few hours to heat back up. Where is a good place to set up my stuff?

 

[Chuck_Swillery]

Well, my cousin lives in Palmer and has good results. He ferments inside the house in a closet I believe. Temperature control is as important as any of the steps. 65 degrees is dang near perfect for most ales. Depending uppon what train of thought you subscribe to the more steady the temp is kept the better the beer turns out. That is something to consider. Being messy can be controlled with fore-planning. Placing your primary in a plastic storage bin to catch any possible overflow during an overactive fermentation is one idea. Using blowoff tubes and catch basins (coffee can/water) is another. You should have great success with a little planning.

 

[Lunarpancake]

Sounds good to me although I would change two things. I would get plastic carboys (better bottles) and I would also use closet or basement space as my area to ferment in. As Chuck said 65 is right on the button for ales but the key is keeping that number steady and not fluctuating much.

 

[smizak]

Read this.

http://www.howtobrew.com

Then read it again. And again.

 

[COLObrewer]

Read this.

http://www.howtobrew.com

Then read it again. And again.

+1, I find myself sourcing it almost every brew day.

Keep on brewing my friends

 

[disconnex]

Your first brew should just be fun. Jump into it like a kid in a candy store. With that being said, read read and read before you do it. Pay attention to temp and sanitation and you will figure everything else out as you go along.

Pretty soon you will be experience the joys of smelling your airlock, and before you know it, you will be dropping you starter kit piece by piece for bigger and better equipment.

Welcome to the addiction.

 

[Erythro73]

+1, I find myself sourcing it almost every brew day.

Keep on brewing my friends

I would suggest to buy it. The book contains more information, pictures, etc, than the website, and it's downright cheap. And it's better, on brewing day, to have a book on hand than a website.

 

[PhelanKA7]

Any experienced brewer will tell you that 80% of the important work in brewing good beer is sanitization. Having an extra 5 gallon bucket set up with Star San or your favorite no rinse sanitizer handy is a must IMO. This will set your mind at ease to enjoy the rest of the process knowing that you are minimizing the risk of a bad infection.

Aside from good sanitization I really don't believe there is a wrong way or right way to brew beer. If you are having fun and geting something drinkable at the end of the process you're doing it the "right" way

 

[COLObrewer]

Any experienced brewer will tell you that 80% of the important work in brewing good beer is sanitization.

Yea, I wish I had a little slave gnome to do all the cleaning, it seems sometimes that's all I do. SWMBO stopped responding to the whip shortly after vows.

 

[marubozo]

How about my garage? Does the temperature matter?

Temperature is one of the single most important things when it comes to brewing consistently good beer. If your garage is usually at 65, that's a good place to start if you'll be brewing ales, which ferment great in the 60-70 degree range.

Obviously, when you open the door and get a shot of colder air that is going to create some temperature changes. But keep in mind that when you have 5 gallons of liquid there is a lot of thermal mass there, so if it briefly drops to say 55 in the garage for an hour until the heater warms it back up you're really not going to notice much, if any temp change of the actual beer at all. You could go even one step further and build a little insulated box to put around the fermenter to minimize air temp changes immediately surrounding it. Unless you have a better option in your house that maintains this temp range, the garage is going to be your best bet.

But really, as long as you aren't doing anything drastic like having it 65 in the garage during the day and let it drop to 40 at night or anything like that you should be fine if you keep the fermenter in a far corner away from the door.

 

[Hang Glider]

Yea, I wish I had a little slave gnome to do all the cleaning, it seems sometimes that's all I do. SWMBO stopped responding to the whip shortly after vows.

Hence the name - now she carries the whip...

 

[KC10Chief]

WOO HOO! My first batch of home brewed beer is boiling right now! It's so exciting!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

WOO HOO! My first batch of home brewed beer is boiling right now! It's so exciting!

Yup! I was amazed at the buzz I got from my first brew!

PS. Start in the garage, it's where you'll end up anyway.