Stone Cold Lead Pipe Lock'd N00b Advice

[FlyGuy]

A solid how-to book is almost essential when getting into homebrewing. Two outstanding books that will last you a lifetime are "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian and "How to Brew" by John Palmer. A predecessor of the latter book is available online for free at http://HowToBrew.com.

 

[FlyGuy]

When bottling, you really want to make sure your priming sugar is the correct amount and that it is thoroughly mixed into your beer in the bottling bucket. It has a habit of just sinking to the bottom meaning that some bottles will get little or no carbonation, and others will get so much they will ruin the beer and possibly explode!

 

[FlyGuy]

Three excellent internet resources for brewing better beer:

• http://www.homebrewtalk.com (become active; soak up knowledge; share it)
• http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com (listen to the Jamil show podcast, and other stuff)
• http://www.basicbrewing.com (download the radio and video podcasts; their retail videos could be worthwhile for beginners)

 

[FlyGuy]

• If you are new here and you have a question, look in the stickies first.
• If it isn't there, do a quick search before you post because chances are it has already been asked and answered before.
• If not, fire away -- lots of expertise is here to help.

 

[Orfy]

• Brewing a Budweiser clone is not easy and probably not worth it on a cost basis alone.

 

[Orfy]

Things that will help you get a good response to your thread.

• Make it easy to read.
• Use something that at least resembles correct grammar when typing a post. Capitals, full stops (Periods) and paragraphs always help.
• Use a descriptive title.
• Post in the correct forum.
• After you give the relevant information make it clear what your question is.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

olllllo, delete this after reading it. Perhaps a better thread title is:

Quick tips and advice for beginners

When I read "Stone Cold Lead Pipe," I almost ignored the thread entirely.

 

[Revvy]

olllllo, delete this after reading it. Perhaps a better thread title is:

Quick tips and advice for beginners

When I read "Stone Cold Lead Pipe," I almost ignored the thread entirely.

I was thinking the same thing, this is a great thread...It seems to have everything on the most oft asked questions and threads started by people new to brewing, or worried about their beer.

Maybe "Noobs read this before starting a thread!"

 

[Chriso]

o DO NOT try to "Add more alcohol" to your 1st-5th batches. Brew them as-is and enjoy them! You have to figure out what you're doing first, before you can modify your process second.

o If you have a crazy idea for your 1st-5th batch, and you 've already 100% decided you're going to brew it that way, then don't ask the "Should I?" question in the first place. Just brew it how you want to, let errors occur, and then learn from them, or else search/ask the "How do I?" part of your question instead.

o If you're looking for a homebrewed beer that is "accessible", and can help you get your friends into drinking new beers other than Light American Lagers, then you are probably looking for EdWort's Haus Pale Ale, EdWort's Bee Cave Kölsch Biermuncher's Litehaus (Boulevard) Wheat clone, Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde, Biermuncher's Aberdeen Session Haus Ale, or Orfy's Hobgoblin, among many others. Extract versions of these should be accessible with just a little bit of reading. Please don't make a new thread unless you're looking for something specific.

o If you're looking for something, please search first, post second. Try searching through both Google and HBT, both search boxes are right there on the site. We're not asking you to do this because we're mean, or want to "teach you a lesson", we're only asking because we shouldn't have to "re-invent the wheel" every day, but instead build upon what we learn.

o Just because a recipe is written for all-grain doesn't mean you can't use it. You can find conversion tools to help you by searching both this site and Google, and are very good practice for familiarizing yourself with what "makes" a recipe go together.

 

[FlyGuy]

olllllo -- perhaps you could just keep this thread for reference/posterity. But un-sticky it and create a new stickied-thread that summarizes the essential elements of this thread. It will probably be easier in the long run than modifying this one anyways.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

If you're looking for a light-tasting beer that is "accessible" enough for your BMC drinking friends to enjoy, then you are probably looking for EdWort's Haus Pale Ale, Dude's Lake Walk Pale Ale, Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde, or one of a handful of other common, easily searchable recipes. Please don't make a new thread to ask what you should brew, unless you're looking for something specific, not just something "accessible".

This one requires an edit. Dude's LWPA is a hop-heavy IPA, not a light BMC-friendly beer. It's great, but not in that category.

 

[olllllo]

Maybe I'll unsticky this one. Then move the succinct posts to a new stickied thread with a better title.

The point of this was to take the negative energy of the double secret probation thread () and just post the advice here.

Once again. I'd like to keep it very simple. No more paragraphs of info. Just a sentence or two. Nothing controversial or complicated.

 

[InkPouchMan]

Don't repeat my mistake: When using a plastic fermenter with a grommeted lid, be careful not to let the grommet fall into the beer. It's best to insert the unfilled airlock into the lid before placing the lid on the bucket.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Don't let your roommate stick his finger in it "to see if it tastes like beer yet."

Seriously, stop trying to prove yourself the second coming of Jesus H Anheuser-Busch with your vanilla honey rose pineapple porter with a 2 pound boost of dextrose. For the first couple batches, just try to follow the recipe.

If you're in a hurry, hefeweizens are a good way to go. They can be ready in about a month.

Another way to hurry up a beer and get it done quickly is to keep the gravity low. Less alcohol = less fermentation time = less conditioning. Shoot for about 3.5-4.2%ABV and the beer will be finished quicker. But generally there is no shortcut to good beer. Even these beers will benefit from a bit of aging.

 

[TexLaw]

Never rush a beer. Let the beer tell you when it is ready to rack, bottle, or drink. Rushing a beer only creates problems that would not have existed had you just waited. Once fermentation has begun, it is never a big mistake to wait a week before acting, and it usually is the right thing to do.

 

[Brewpastor]

Dry yeast is good. Use it.

Not all yeast is the same, choose carefully..

 

[Brewpastor]

Start with a good recipe and brew it as is. Next time change only one thing. Proceed this way and learn.

 

[TexLaw]

Have fun. This is brewing, not brain surgery.

 

[BierMuncher]

I don't care:

What you dropped in your wort...
How bad your blow off was...
How much yeast you spilled when you popped your smack pack...
How much airlock fluid got sucked into your fermenter...

Your beer is not ruined.
Ferment it.
Bottle it.
Drink it.

 

[BierMuncher]

If you don't post a recipe and a process (the cliff notes version), don't expect any useful diagnosis of, or recommendations for your beer.

 

[BierMuncher]

When it comes to meaningful posts, less is more.

...you're not getting paid by the letter...

 

[BierMuncher]

If your post is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic or otherwise witty, use the smileys. That's what they're there for...

See what I mean...

 

[Poindexter]

No homebrewer ever stopped kegging and went back to bottling.

 

[Poindexter]

No sanitizer is best. Some will fit your process better than others.

 

[Chriso]

No sanitizer is best. Some will fit your process better than others.

But regardless of your preference, use a sanitizer, preferably a good one. "Clean" is never clean enough for bacteria, don't trust soap.

 

[Poindexter]

It is important to be familiar with beer styles so you can talk to other people who also know beer styles.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Spell check.

Informal/conversational writing is fine, but use capital letters and punctuation.

DON'T use txt-spk.

Though it may seem nit-picky, following this simple advice will result in better answers to your questions.

 

[BierMuncher]

And don't start a thread with ambiguous titles like:

Should I ...

Can I do this ...

Will this work ...

Or especially the queen bee of all worthless thread titles:

Question...

 

[Brewpastor]

Pay attention to style as a means to learn and develop your brewing palate, not as a straightjacket for nazi brewer wanna-bes.

QUESTION...

 

[imasickboy]

Controlling fermentation temperatures are important in preventing unexpected flavors. Find out what your yeast requires, and do it.