New to Home Brew

[Zoidberg]

Hey my real name is Joe, you can call me by that if you want.

I started home brewing with a Mr. Beer kit as a gift. A HME kit I made day one but have still yet to crack a bottle on my first beer, it was a Classic American Light which I don't expect much from. It tasted like if vitamin water made a beer flavored, calorie free water. I got out to my local home brew store and made myself my own varied recipe on a Dry Irish Stout using DME and Specialty Grains.

I'll have some basic questions and will start another thread with some probably right away but this is just my introduction.

I'd really like to hear the single best piece of advice some members would have for a brand new brewer who wants to get serious about making great beer.

 

[chalkdust41485]

Read.

Read everything you can here on HBT and other websites as well.

I started with Mr. Beer and it quickly grew into a passion. I couldnt be where I am now without reading up on 'real' brewing here and with the help of the book, How to Brew. (There's even an online version, Google it). You can learn about different ways of brewing, equipment, and techniques. I spent months on here reading up on all of the threads, soaking up as much knowledge as possible. And before long the brewing process seemed much easier to understand from the grain, mashing, hops, yeast and the fermentation process. Although, its also how deep you want to get into the hobby. You can just do kits and extract recipies forever, the more you get into it you may be more inclined to get more advanced and create your own recipies and maybe go all grain.

Lastly, if you have the time and space, you'll definitely be getting a 5 gallon brew kit...

 

[greendragonbrew]

Knowledge is key. Check out "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian and "How to Brew" by John Palmer as a start.

Also, if you like pod casts, I have found Basic Brewing Radio to be a great way to learn, http://www.basicbrewing.com/.

 

[Zoidberg]

Thanks, I've read a large amount about extract brewing in How to Brew, I have it bookmarked online. Very useful for sure. I am definitely going to buy a 5 gallon fermenter soon. It's a matter of deciding what kind and at least tasting my first couple batches. I've been researching a lot and think I'm decided on a cheap 2 6 gallon (Ale Pail) bucket kit from my LHBS.

I have a question of Mr. Brew. It has 2 holes to release air as opposed to normally having a bubbler type thing on top? Which shows the fermenting when it begins to bubble I believe. I seem to be able to tell when each of my batches had started fermenting, it was pretty apparent. Is there any other big disadvantage to this type of vent? Will the open air holes let in bacteria?

I want to know because I'm considering buying 1 more Mr. Beer to use as a secondary or another fermenter.



I will check out The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. I'll probably be googling for free version after this post. I don't like listening to podcasts or talk radio in any form really, so I'll pass on the brewing podcasts.

 

[JR_Brewer]

Read.

Very sound advice. And it's also good to use the search feature here on HBT before posting, you'll usually find that someone else has encounted the same issue before.

It has 2 holes to release air as opposed to normally having a bubbler type thing on top? Which shows the fermenting when it begins to bubble I believe. ....

I want to know because I'm considering buying 1 more Mr. Beer to use as a secondary or another fermenter.

The bubbler type thing is an air lock. It's primary job is releasing CO2 while preventing backflow into the fermenter. It does give a general indication of whether or not fermentation is happening, however it is not a perfect indicator. Beer may still be fermenting after the airlock stops bubbling. A hydrometer reading is the only true way to judge whether the fermentation has finished.

My opinion on the Mr. Beer, I would just go for a real fermenter from your LHBS. The merits of secondary fermenters are debatable (and you can find plenty of those debates here). If you decide to get another fermenter down the road, get a "real" one.

Good luck!

 

[Zoidberg]

Ok cool. I think I will eventually but for now I'll stick with Mr Beer fermenter for a bit. I can do full boils very easily!

How much does the Mr Beer fermenter suffer in it's inability to airlock. Like you said the airlock prevents backflow, Mr Beer fermenter does not. Will this cause off flavors?

 

[JR_Brewer]

How much does the Mr Beer fermenter suffer in it's inability to airlock. Like you said the airlock prevents backflow, Mr Beer fermenter does not. Will this cause off flavors?

Not sure how well they prevent backflow. Does anyone else have any evidence of this? I have heard about them becoming clogged. This would cause pressure to build, and it indicates there's something stuck in there, something that could harbor bacteria. Just be sure to keep the vents (and the whole set up for that matter) clean and sanitized.

 

[Zoidberg]

Ok well I keep the fermenter in a tote container. So I will just thoroughly sanitize that as well.

I actually think my air holes got clogged day one when I made my Stout. Some had leaked into the inside of the tote and when I checked on it, it had leaked from the air holes. It had foamed up that much I suppose. It was down now but there was tons of pressure on the walls of the fermenter. When I unscrewed the cap and pop of air came out. Since then it's been fine.