I'm sure this post will fade away soon enough, but I thought it's worth a moment to synthesize and summarize a few observations and hope it helps someone. After some years of brewing and a few months of reading this forum, I've talked to and heard from many new brewers. I've also noticed that nearly every mistake a new brewer makes is due to one or more of the following reasons:
1 - Lack of Information. Hey, no one expects a new brewer to be a walking tome of brewing knowledge, so don't sweat it here. If you have some clue what you're doing, you're probably ahead of 50% of other new brewers. Still, you'll probably make more mistakes because you don't know something than any other reason, so get used to it.
However, that doesn't mean that you need to stop learning. There's a lot out there, and you'll never learn it all. Just accept that fact that you know a whole lot less than you will know. In fact, revel in that fact. The early days are the most fun times to learn, so have that fun!
Also, the other reasons below are closely related to this one.
2 - Lack of Patience. Second only to Lack of Knowledge, more new brewers make more mistakes due to lack of patience. Brewing takes time, and good brewing takes even more time. You are dealing with chemical reactions and living things, and they go by their own schedule. You cannot rush it and expect good results. It just doesn't work that way. If you don't give your yeast time to work and your beer time to condition, your beer won't be as good as if you did. If you get all antsy and bottle before your fermentation is done, you'll make bottle bombs. Man, I know it's hard to wait, but patience has real value in this hobby.
Now, it isn't just that antsy, can't-wait-until-Christmas-morning sort of impatience. Sometimes, it works the other way, too. I've mourned many dumped batches where a new brewer thought a batch was contaminated due to normal fermentation aromas, appearances, and activity where a little patience would have saved the batch.
I've also seen so much overreaching by new brewers. After overcoming the anxiety of brewing that first batch, so many want to go straight to the advanced course and start brewing highly complicated beers. Take your time, learn slowly and thoroughly, and build your skills and craft. If you go too far too fast, you won't get the chance to learn from your mistakes, and you'll just be frustrated when you don't know how to correct the problems you have with your beer.
Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew (or, if you're working on your first, have something else - the homebrew will come in due time).
And, don't try to brew lagers unless you can ferment them at the proper temperatures.
3 - Lack of Care. Unfortunately, there is some tedium in brewing. Even more unfortunately, if you don't go through some of the tedium, you'll tend to make bad beer. You need to take the time to plan a brewday if you're going to get it all done correctly. You need to take notes about what you do if you want to have a hope of correcting it or, if you do something good, repeating it. You need to take a hydrometer reading if you want to know what you're yeast is up to. You need to sanitize properly if you want to reliably avoid contamination. You need to clean up immediately after brewing if you want to clean effectively. It might not be fun, but it's got to be done.
Yeah, you'll come across someone who says "screw it" and just flies by the seat of the pants, and you might be able to pull that off. If so, well, more power to you. Don't count on it, though.
These are just a few thoughts that, maybe, might lead to a little less anxiety and a couple fewer mistakes down the road. Have fun!
TL
edit: Added that "not" Bradsul mentioned!
1 - Lack of Information. Hey, no one expects a new brewer to be a walking tome of brewing knowledge, so don't sweat it here. If you have some clue what you're doing, you're probably ahead of 50% of other new brewers. Still, you'll probably make more mistakes because you don't know something than any other reason, so get used to it.
However, that doesn't mean that you need to stop learning. There's a lot out there, and you'll never learn it all. Just accept that fact that you know a whole lot less than you will know. In fact, revel in that fact. The early days are the most fun times to learn, so have that fun!
Also, the other reasons below are closely related to this one.
2 - Lack of Patience. Second only to Lack of Knowledge, more new brewers make more mistakes due to lack of patience. Brewing takes time, and good brewing takes even more time. You are dealing with chemical reactions and living things, and they go by their own schedule. You cannot rush it and expect good results. It just doesn't work that way. If you don't give your yeast time to work and your beer time to condition, your beer won't be as good as if you did. If you get all antsy and bottle before your fermentation is done, you'll make bottle bombs. Man, I know it's hard to wait, but patience has real value in this hobby.
Now, it isn't just that antsy, can't-wait-until-Christmas-morning sort of impatience. Sometimes, it works the other way, too. I've mourned many dumped batches where a new brewer thought a batch was contaminated due to normal fermentation aromas, appearances, and activity where a little patience would have saved the batch.
I've also seen so much overreaching by new brewers. After overcoming the anxiety of brewing that first batch, so many want to go straight to the advanced course and start brewing highly complicated beers. Take your time, learn slowly and thoroughly, and build your skills and craft. If you go too far too fast, you won't get the chance to learn from your mistakes, and you'll just be frustrated when you don't know how to correct the problems you have with your beer.
Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew (or, if you're working on your first, have something else - the homebrew will come in due time).
And, don't try to brew lagers unless you can ferment them at the proper temperatures.
3 - Lack of Care. Unfortunately, there is some tedium in brewing. Even more unfortunately, if you don't go through some of the tedium, you'll tend to make bad beer. You need to take the time to plan a brewday if you're going to get it all done correctly. You need to take notes about what you do if you want to have a hope of correcting it or, if you do something good, repeating it. You need to take a hydrometer reading if you want to know what you're yeast is up to. You need to sanitize properly if you want to reliably avoid contamination. You need to clean up immediately after brewing if you want to clean effectively. It might not be fun, but it's got to be done.
Yeah, you'll come across someone who says "screw it" and just flies by the seat of the pants, and you might be able to pull that off. If so, well, more power to you. Don't count on it, though.
These are just a few thoughts that, maybe, might lead to a little less anxiety and a couple fewer mistakes down the road. Have fun!
TL
edit: Added that "not" Bradsul mentioned!
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
