New brewer in need of advice

[BeardsAndBeer]

Hi all, I'm new to the site my names Luke and I currently have not completed ANY brews. That being said I do have a lager made from a canned extract fermenting at the moment. Because of my lack of experience and knowledge i have been reading all threads throughout this site but I'm finding it hard to keep up. So many people use terms I don't understand. At the moment all I know is the basics of beer ingredients: water, hops, malt and yeast, I'd like to know more about all grain brewing. What should I start of with? I'm going to do a few more extracts before attempting an all grain brew but I figured if I start the research now than it'd be allot easier. The type of beer I'm trying to achieve is something not to bitter with a nice smooth texture. I don't expect you guys to give me your hard earned recipes but just something basic to get me started would be great, and put into plain English so I can understand haha. Thanks guys I hope someone can help me.

 

[budchx]

Hi and welcome to HBT.
a good start is the book of John J. Palmer "how to brew" also available on line.

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

Hi and welcome to HBT.
a good start is the book of John J. Palmer "how to brew" also available on line.

Thanks my friend, once I have some money I will look into ordering it.

 

[BrewerBear]

Thanks my friend, once I have some money I will look into ordering it.

An early version is online for free http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html

It has good info.

 

[Fizzycist]

Welcome the hobby.

Yeah the first edition there is free and it's a great start. Also, trawling this site definitely helped me get going. Lastly, see if there is a homebrew club near you and just ask them if you can assist (or split cost on a first batch) on an upcoming brew day. I'm sure most people would jump at the chance of introducing someone new to the hobby.

 

[ahaley]

I made a partial grain / extract Irish Red about a month ago, I personally thought it would be like killians, but I think mine was better all I used for that batch was the ingredients, a 5 or so gallon pot, 6gal x2 buckets ( 1 fermenter and 1 bottling bucket ) standard stuff for brewing, spoon, scale, measure cups ect; it wasn't bitter to me or the wife. But I got quite a few compliments on it, even when some of the bottles were luke warm!

I can't take credit for making the recipe, I was a local home brew shop (LHBS) kit that had all the ingredients, yeast and directions for it.
If you want the recipe shoot me a message or reply here an ill post everything for you.
Good luck!

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

An early version is online for free http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html

It has good info.

Thanks man

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

I made a partial grain / extract Irish Red about a month ago, I personally thought it would be like killians, but I think mine was better all I used for that batch was the ingredients, a 5 or so gallon pot, 6gal x2 buckets ( 1 fermenter and 1 bottling bucket ) standard stuff for brewing, spoon, scale, measure cups ect; it wasn't bitter to me or the wife. But I got quite a few compliments on it, even when some of the bottles were luke warm!

I can't take credit for making the recipe, I was a local home brew shop (LHBS) kit that had all the ingredients, yeast and directions for it.
If you want the recipe shoot me a message or reply here an ill post everything for you.
Good luck!

Hey mate thanks for the reply, sounds like a beer I'd like! I'd love to give it a go, of you can be bothered could you post instructions aswell please, thanks mate

 

[optaka]

I just started my first brew 2 weekends ago having no idea what I was doing. Searching around this site and posting about 565456402654 questions helps a lot. I did get the Palmer book and am reading through it, but mostly just looking around here and googling things. There are also several youtube channels like CraigTube and BeerGeekNation that are helpful.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, everyone here has been really helpful to newbies. And if you have figured out what trub is by this point then you are doing better than I was https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/buildup-fermenter-bottom-324938/. I feel like such a newb having asked that one, but we all start from somewhere.

 

[ludomonster]

Going all grain is a big jump from extract. There's a significant equipment cost and switching to all grain equipment usually entails dealing with issues that aren't always apparent in extract brewing. Much of the challenge in brewing relates to the process itself. Many of the problems people encounter with their beers don't have as much to do with the recipe as it does with their brewing system.

 

[duboman]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f82/

^^This^^ is the recipe database link and here you can find all types and styles of great beers from people on this site, both All Grain and Extract as well as partial mash.

If you are really just getting started I would highly recommend your first step being the book mentioned above. It will educate you on the process of brewing beer, steps involved, things to be aware of and problems that can occur. Also as mentioned and link provided is the free online version, it's a little dated and there is a new 3rd edition but you have to buy that.

Reading threads on this site is also a tremendous resource but with out the basic knowledge you will probably get lost pretty quick. If you have an LHBS anywhere near you, pay them a visit and ask them lots of questions about getting started, they will be a great resource as well.

Good luck and Welcome to the hobby!

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

I just started my first brew 2 weekends ago having no idea what I was doing. Searching around this site and posting about 565456402654 questions helps a lot. I did get the Palmer book and am reading through it, but mostly just looking around here and googling things. There are also several youtube channels like CraigTube and BeerGeekNation that are helpful.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, everyone here has been really helpful to newbies. And if you have figured out what trub is by this point then you are doing better than I was https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/buildup-fermenter-bottom-324938/. I feel like such a newb having asked that one, but we all start from somewhere.

Another thing I just realized is the sticky's which is helping a lot, I had no idea what trub was either haha. I applaud you for attempting something not knowing much about, I on the other hand wouldn't even know the first step to take haha I hope your brew turns out good for you though

 

[ahaley]

Hey mate thanks for the reply, sounds like a beer I'd like! I'd love to give it a go, of you can be bothered could you post instructions aswell please, thanks mate

Hey no problem! When I get home from work and get some sleep today I'll post it here, I'll give you everything my page has

 

[boscobeans]

Do a Youtube search. There are a lot of videos (some good and some not so good) that will at least give you an idea as to what is involved in the various methods of homebrewing.

OMO

bosco

 

[brewvac]

Hey, it's nice to see other newbies here. I'm only 3 batches into the hobby and I'm definitely hooked!

So far the biggest help I've gotten has been from my local home brew shop, 2 books: The Complete Joy of Home Brewing & How to Brew, this forum, and watching Brewing TV (love this show!). Using the sticky about easy partial mash https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/ I was able to start learning how to work with actual grains by my 3rd batch (which I'm bottling this weekend)

I agree with what others have said, everyone here seems very willing to help and offer good advise.

Let us know how the first batch comes out.

 

[ahaley]

We all start somewhere! This is my 2nd batch with grains, vanilla oatmeal stout, the other like 4 were extract only.
The phone app is pretty useful at work

 

[RM-MN]

Hi all, I'm new to the site my names Luke and I currently have not completed ANY brews. That being said I do have a lager made from a canned extract fermenting at the moment. Because of my lack of experience and knowledge i have been reading all threads throughout this site but I'm finding it hard to keep up. So many people use terms I don't understand. At the moment all I know is the basics of beer ingredients: water, hops, malt and yeast, I'd like to know more about all grain brewing. What should I start of with? I'm going to do a few more extracts before attempting an all grain brew but I figured if I start the research now than it'd be allot easier. The type of beer I'm trying to achieve is something not to bitter with a nice smooth texture. I don't expect you guys to give me your hard earned recipes but just something basic to get me started would be great, and put into plain English so I can understand haha. Thanks guys I hope someone can help me.

Aah, but a lot of people have already done the recipe posting for you. These recipes are tested, commented on, and free for you to use. They are even listed by style and have the type (extract, partial mash, all grain) listed with the list of recipes so you can choose which you want to try. At the top of this page there is a redish-brown stripe and the third entry on this stripe is called, "RECIPES". Enjoy!

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

Hey, it's nice to see other newbies here. I'm only 3 batches into the hobby and I'm definitely hooked!

So far the biggest help I've gotten has been from my local home brew shop, 2 books: The Complete Joy of Home Brewing & How to Brew, this forum, and watching Brewing TV (love this show!). Using the sticky about easy partial mash https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/ I was able to start learning how to work with actual grains by my 3rd batch (which I'm bottling this weekend)

I agree with what others have said, everyone here seems very willing to help and offer good advise.

Let us know how the first batch comes out.

Unfortunately my local (and only) brewery shop just shut down about a month ago which is a shame because that was my first idea of attaining information on this subject. Does that brewing show air on foxtel? Not sure if your in Australia... Also where can I find the ingredients? Is it ok to order them online? Not sure if that would be a good idea or not. Hope your brew turns out how you'd like, I'd love to hear your results! Thanks. BnB

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

We all start somewhere! This is my 2nd batch with grains, vanilla oatmeal stout, the other like 4 were extract only.
The phone app is pretty useful at work

Haha yeh I'm on the phone app too! Took me a while to find the sticky's though. Mmmm vanilla oatmeal stout sounds delicious! Good luck would love to hear your results! BnB

 

[ahaley]

Haha yeh I'm on the phone app too! Took me a while to find the sticky's though. Mmmm vanilla oatmeal stout sounds delicious! Good luck would love to hear your results! BnB

Ya I got lost a few times using it lol, I can't wait until its ready! Then I'll have something for breakfast time! Hah

 

[tre9er]

If you're brewing extract (from the cans of liquid syrup) get used to that. You're doing the last half of the brewing and understanding the boil, hop additions, cooling, pitching yeast, and fermentation.

Now, the only difference between all-grain and extract is that instead of syrup, you're producing the sweet stuff that will be boiled...via extracting it from grains.

It honestly doesn't take much more equipment. You can start out doing BIAB (brew in a bag, search and look at the stickies on it) using just a single turkey fryer (7.5g. or larger) pot.

You WILL need something to guide you with volumes and temperatures, though. That would be software such as beersmith (has a free trial) or some of the spreadsheets that are floating around...which is what I use, but I'd use beersmith first.

Once you get a decent recipe, it's pretty simple. You can order milled grains that are already crushed. You'd just weigh them according to recipe, heat the water to the specified temp, put the bag (made from "voile". Look for curtains sheer made of polyester) into the pot, add grains, stir, and maintain the recipe-specified temp for an hour. Then pull the bag out, squeeze it, set it aside and start boiling like you did with extract kits.

 

[brewvac]

Unfortunately my local (and only) brewery shop just shut down about a month ago which is a shame because that was my first idea of attaining information on this subject. Does that brewing show air on foxtel? Not sure if your in Australia... Also where can I find the ingredients? Is it ok to order them online? Not sure if that would be a good idea or not. Hope your brew turns out how you'd like, I'd love to hear your results! Thanks. BnB

Brewing TV is an online video podcast, so it's available everywhere you can get online. Here's a link to the site: http://www.brewingtv.com/

I'm not in Australia, so I can't help with any local stuff, but there are probably some great recipe kits that you can buy online and have shipped to you.

I'll be sure to share my results. Good Luck to ya & good brewing

 

[ahaley]

Alright, heres the Wilde Irish Red recipe.
Name: Wilde Irish Red
size: 5 gal
OG: ~1.056
FG: ~1.017
ABV: ~5.3%
style: scottish/irish ale
sub style: irish red ale
IBU: 35

Malts
10 oz 20* crystal malt
6 oz munich malt
1 oz chocolate malt
(steep all grains 45 minutes)

Malt extract
6 lbs pale ale liquid extract

misc kettle ingredients ( I didnt use any of these)
3 tsp burton water salt
2 tsp irish moss

boil time: 1 hour

hop shecdule
hop/form AA% qty purpose time

kent golding 4.4% 2 oz bittering 1oz @ 60min; 1 oz @ 30min
fuggle 4.2% 1 oz finishing 1 oz @ end of boil

fermenting/clarification
yeast: irish ale yeast. wyeast 1084
liquid/dry/rehydrated; liquid qty 125 ml
length in primary: 1 week (I forgot about it and it was in primary from 3/17/12 thru 3/26/12)
length in secondary: 1 week: (i did not secondary)

I waited at least 2 weeks from after bottling date to sample it, and It was good at 2 weeks, I didn't chill in fridge for 2 weeks just in a box in the garage. But I will admit it was a lot better like 4 days ago when it had been sitting for a long time.

I have step by step intrustions if you want those let me know and ill type the rest of the page!
brew on!

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

Alright, heres the Wilde Irish Red recipe.
Name: Wilde Irish Red
size: 5 gal
OG: ~1.056
FG: ~1.017
ABV: ~5.3%
style: scottish/irish ale
sub style: irish red ale
IBU: 35

Malts
10 oz 20* crystal malt
6 oz munich malt
1 oz chocolate malt
(steep all grains 45 minutes)

Malt extract
6 lbs pale ale liquid extract

misc kettle ingredients ( I didnt use any of these)
3 tsp burton water salt
2 tsp irish moss

boil time: 1 hour

hop shecdule
hop/form AA% qty purpose time

kent golding 4.4% 2 oz bittering 1oz @ 60min; 1 oz @ 30min
fuggle 4.2% 1 oz finishing 1 oz @ end of boil

fermenting/clarification
yeast: irish ale yeast. wyeast 1084
liquid/dry/rehydrated; liquid qty 125 ml
length in primary: 1 week (I forgot about it and it was in primary from 3/17/12 thru 3/26/12)
length in secondary: 1 week: (i did not secondary)

I waited at least 2 weeks from after bottling date to sample it, and It was good at 2 weeks, I didn't chill in fridge for 2 weeks just in a box in the garage. But I will admit it was a lot better like 4 days ago when it had been sitting for a long time.

I have step by step intrustions if you want those let me know and ill type the rest of the page!
brew on!

Hey thanks, recipe looks awesome! All sounded good until the bit about the yeast, is Irish ale yeast all I need for that part? Because after where you've said 'Irish ale yeast' I don't really understand the rest until the 'length of primary' part. Thanks for your help though mate, step by step would be a huge help to

Edit: oh and you would know those amounts in grams would you? Everything I go to order in Australia is in grams not ounces

 

[budchx]

Hey thanks, recipe looks awesome! All sounded good until the bit about the yeast, is Irish ale yeast all I need for that part? Because after where you've said 'Irish ale yeast' I don't really understand the rest until the 'length of primary' part. Thanks for your help though mate, step by step would be a huge help to

Edit: oh and you would know those amounts in grams would you? Everything I go to order in Australia is in grams not ounces

1oz is 28g
6lbs is a bit less than 3kg
For Liquid Malt Extract (LME) each can is 3.3lbs,1.5kg for coopers cans...
Where are you based is Australia?

 

[budchx]

1 oz is 28 gr
For liquid malt extract (LME) the coopers cans you can get are 3.3lbs,around 1.5kg.
So when the recipe call for 6lbs of LME just get 2 cans of coopers,it'll be be more around 6.6lbs but easier to calculate this way...
By the way where a you based in Australia?

 

[budchx]

Sorry for the double answer,I thought the first one didn't work...

 

[ahaley]

Hey thanks, recipe looks awesome! All sounded good until the bit about the yeast, is Irish ale yeast all I need for that part? Because after where you've said 'Irish ale yeast' I don't really understand the rest until the 'length of primary' part. Thanks for your help though mate, step by step would be a huge help to

Edit: oh and you would know those amounts in grams would you? Everything I go to order in Australia is in grams not ounces

No problem, and for they yeast it was a liquid "smack pack" so all you need is that packet, but I gave you the # and style so if you go to LHBS and they dont know what "irish ale yeast" is then you have the "science name" and also because some people may have better input for you about that, when I get home from work again I'll do a step by step, if you still have questions on the yeast let me know and I'll try to refine my answers!

Your grams / ounces got answered already luckily because I get mixed up going from the stupid US system to the smarter world system lol ( I'm American but wish we used metric... So much better..)

Most of what I read says do 1 week primary, 2 secondary, 3 bottle condition, but I forget sometimes and leave it in primary longer; my newest brew is the only secondary ive used because I added vanilla beans, but i haven't noticed my beer to have bad flavors. Also in the science parts from what I understand going longer can not hurt anything because once the yeast is done then they're done, and bottling too early may cause high pressures and bottle bombs, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong anyone! I don't want to give out false information!!

When I fermented it was a lot cooler, down in like 53* F I think is the coolest and hottest was like 70ish(?) F. And the beer was still good. Because I don't have my own place or a lot of money for gear I throw my fermenter into a black trash bag, so if it spills its in a bag and to keep it darker, and put it in the garage. But the generators don't really bother me for my first few brews

It is currently 0225 here in ca and I'll be at work until 0800, and I'll periodically check this to pass time so if you have another question I'll be here for some time lol. Good luck!

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

1oz is 28g
6lbs is a bit less than 3kg
For Liquid Malt Extract (LME) each can is 3.3lbs,1.5kg for coopers cans...
Where are you based is Australia?

Thanks mate, I'm currently in Kalgoorlie W.A making a move down to Perth later this year though. Starting to get cold this time of the year! What about yourself?

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

h

Thanks mate. To be honest I'm terrible at any type of number system! Is vanilla bean a common ingredient that people use? It sounds amazing, I no how good vanilla beans are in deserts very keen to hear how it turns out.
It's getting cold around my area this time of year, days are usually around 20-26 degrees and god knows about the night, I've got my fermenter on a heat pad with a bomber jacket wrapped around it at night which keeps it around 25 degrees all night, it's just sitting in the corner of my lounge room. In the day I turn the pad of and strip the jacket and it stays right at 25 still so it's perfect.

 

[ahaley]

Thanks mate. To be honest I'm terrible at any type of number system! Is vanilla bean a common ingredient that people use? It sounds amazing, I no how good vanilla beans are in deserts very keen to hear how it turns out.
It's getting cold around my area this time of year, days are usually around 20-26 degrees and god knows about the night, I've got my fermenter on a heat pad with a bomber jacket wrapped around it at night which keeps it around 25 degrees all night, it's just sitting in the corner of my lounge room. In the day I turn the pad of and strip the jacket and it stays right at 25 still so it's perfect.

Wow I'm so jealous! I'll trade you, my California weather for your current weather! I love the cold, and I compare myself to yeast, when i get too cold, work production stops, and when I get to hot I die. (figuratively for the heat one of course )

The most common additive that I have been seeing is vanilla beans, whiskey / rum soaked oak chips, blue berries, there is like 2 more that I can not think of right now... But I'll let you know how it turns out, I make a thread about it labeled something about "vanilla oatmeal stout ____" so if you look for one of those usually in general beer chat, general chit chat, or beginners brewing if I'm asking a question, once I taste it I'll keep you in mind of you want the recipe and step by step. It looks like mud almost, and my trub had about the same viscosity lol.

I don't know if you trust online buying for brew stuff, I am a little cautious of it, but I can give you the website where I go to and see if they can do international shipping for you, my Wilde Irish kit was like 20$ or so, but I got charged for a cheaper one on accident, and the actual Wilde Irish is like 40$ I think for all the ingredients.

 

[ahaley]

I just realized I didnt post the step by step for you, I was super tired today and kinda vegged all day and slept before work.. I'll post it for you tomorrow.

 

[BeardsAndBeer]

.

I'm much the same, not a fan of the heat but can't say I like the cold either... Just a nice warm day with a cool breeze perfect riding weather! Vanilla oatmeal stout sounds good, problem is I've never tried stout other than Guinness and once I tried that **** I've never gone back to it. It could have been that I drank it warm straight from a shed but man it was funky! I'm fine with buying stuff over the net just as long as it doesn't cost me 50 or 60 bucks every time I want to ship something over you know. Don't feel rushed with the step by step either I've still got a few more months of extract brewing to get through first

 

[ahaley]

I'm much the same, not a fan of the heat but can't say I like the cold either... Just a nice warm day with a cool breeze perfect riding weather! Vanilla oatmeal stout sounds good, problem is I've never tried stout other than Guinness and once I tried that **** I've never gone back to it. It could have been that I drank it warm straight from a shed but man it was funky! I'm fine with buying stuff over the net just as long as it doesn't cost me 50 or 60 bucks every time I want to ship something over you know. Don't feel rushed with the step by step either I've still got a few more months of extract brewing to get through first

I love the cold, if I could I'd live in Antarctica and have people mail me beer supplies daily lol, ya guinness is a lot better cold, well if you want to check it out, the stores name is "the good brewer" and they sell supplies, ingredients, books, and many other things. But I'm not sure if they do international shipping :/

 

[epistrummer]

Welcome to homebrewing. I just started two weeks ago myself, and I just brewed my third batch. I did one Thomas Cooper extract, and two Brewer's best kits. I have learned a TON just by starting on these kits. I am also looking forward to going all-grain, but I think it was wise to start on them because now I have the confidence to try more technical brews. The extract kits give you some familiarity with the process of making beer, from boiling wort and adding hops to sanitizing your equipment. I have also been able to decide what additional equipment I want to have. I just ordered a partial boil kit. In the next few weeks I will be picking out all grain gear too, so just be prepared, this hobby can get a hold of you.

 

[ahaley]

Welcome to homebrewing. I just started two weeks ago myself, and I just brewed my third batch. I did one Thomas Cooper extract, and two Brewer's best kits. I have learned a TON just by starting on these kits. I am also looking forward to going all-grain, but I think it was wise to start on them because now I have the confidence to try more technical brews. The extract kits give you some familiarity with the process of making beer, from boiling wort and adding hops to sanitizing your equipment. I have also been able to decide what additional equipment I want to have. I just ordered a partial boil kit. In the next few weeks I will be picking out all grain gear too, so just be prepared, this hobby can get a hold of you.

I'm glad I started with an extract kit as well! It really made me look at beers differently, but it is a great experience that I've gotten into