New to brewing

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

dwhite269

New Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2018
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I will be moving into my first home in about a week, and thought this might be a good time to try and brew my first beer.

Any recommendations for recipes or supplies I would need to brew a nice hoppy IPA in the next few weeks would be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum!

You gave a style of beer, but you didn't mention a method. Have you settled on one?

Choosing extract or all-grain would be helpful.
 
https://www.morebeer.com/products/deluxe-home-brewing-kit.html
Use code START15D to save 15% (~$20)

The 5 gallon pot will handle extract batches just fine. If you want to start with all-grain (or move there later) you will need a 10 gallon pot and a fine mesh bag like Wilser's. I still use my 5 gallon pot to heat sparge water, as a tub for sanitizer, to roast the Thanksgiving turkey, and so much more so I don't see it as a waste at all.

In 3 weeks, you will need to bottle or keg. For my bottles, I spoke to the owner of a local sushi restaurant and he saved his Sapporo and Kirin Ichiban bottles for me. Every weekend I could pick up enough to bottle 5 gallons. My boss also started bringing me his empty Grolsch bottles, but it took me a couple of years before I had enough of them to bottle a full batch.

A few years later my wife found a kegerator at a yard sale for $100. They are usually $400-$800.
 
Last edited:
As Kent said, you need to decide on method.
Also, as important, you need to decide on batch size. I recommend you start small, say 2 to 3 gallons which will keep costs down and easier to handle when starting. Also you can get more experience trying different recipes and ingredients.
 
I honestly started with a Mr. Beer kit. I made a few batches with that and decided that I enjoyed making beer enough to invest in a starter kit from my LHBS and made 5 gallon extract batches. After making a few beers with Brewer's Best kits I started making my own extract recipes. Now I'm brewing all grain BIAB and kegging my beers.

If you want to jump right in and buy a lot of gear (and believe me, there is no shortage of stuff to spend money on with this hobby!) then do it and have fun. Starting slow and upgrading as I moved along worked really well for me.
 
I too started out with Mr. Beer. You can make a decent beer with their kits. Like novacore said there's no shortage of stuff to spend money on. I started out with plastic fermenters, then went to glass, now I'm using stainless steel. I recommend starting out with a Mr. Beer kit, or even a brew demon kit. Both are great kits to start out with. This is just my opinion, but i feel that it's best if you start from the bottom, & learn your way up. You will get a better idea, & feel of how beer is made. Hope this helps. Welcome to home brewing, & to the forum.
 
Most of us here started with Mr Beer. They have good kits, but they limit you when you want to move up to bigger batches. Although, if I hadn't melted mine, I would probably still be using it to brew small test batches.

I would research local homebrew supply stores in your area. Yes, you can get cheaper ingredients/kits online, but most LHBS stores are run by people who started out just like you are now, and are more than willing to help you get started (and make some money along the way). A lot of them host local brew clubs as well. If you ask, they will tell you when the next meeting is, and you can ask the members for help and information. You might even find someone willing to let you "ghost" their next brewday to really see if this is for you.

If you've read much on HBT, you will see that the vast majority of us are more than willing to help out our fellow brewers. That's the best thing about this hobby/obsession...it's not that competitive, and by helping out new brewers like you, we ensure continued interest in homebrewing.

Not to make this post too long, but you should also read How to Brew by Jon Palmer. There is an online version, or you can buy the latest edition at your local bookstore or Amazon.
 
Back
Top