Part of the problem (if you can call it that) with threads like this is that the utility may depend on whether a "new" brewer is truly new, or whether they're a few brews in. Even the language can be daunting to a new brewer. Sparge, pitch, wort, mash, tun, grist, lauter, liquor--I remember trying to acquire the language and it was...interesting.
BRAND NEW BREWERS:
I watched someone brew before I did my first one and it made a huge difference in that what I read online and in books became much clearer.
I taught a buddy to brew; he watched me do a brew day, then I supervised him doing his own, then he did his third one. He was doing all-grain so it was somewhat more involved, and he kept texting me with questions, but he did it.
The advice to join a Homebrew club or find a mentor to help at the outset is perhaps the best advice I can come up with. Try to find people who are better at it than you are, and learn from them. It will greatly accelerate the process.
NEWBIES BUT WITH SOME EXPERIENCE:
Keep trying to do things better than before. Continuous quality improvement. Keep good notes, and every time, make an improvement to your process. I'm a believer that outstanding beer is a consequence of the cumulative effect of best practices. Everything from proper management of yeast prior to pitching (rehydration if dry, starter if liquid), to getting the water chemistry right, to controlling mash temps, to controlling fermentation temperature, to oxygenating wort, to reducing or eliminating oxygen exposure post-fermentation, to....well, everything.
Some of this costs money, I know--but much of it can be done with low outlays of cash, and in other cases there are substitutes. Find a free refrigerator, get an Inkbird controller for $35, a heat mat for about $16, and you have fermentation temperature control! I bought a 4.4 cu ft. dormstyle fridge for $60, and my bigmouth bubblers will fit in there. It's small, so it'll fit in almost any apartment or house.
You can spend a lot, or a little, but whatever your resources and inclination, keep trying to improve. Every time.
BRAND NEW BREWERS:
I watched someone brew before I did my first one and it made a huge difference in that what I read online and in books became much clearer.
I taught a buddy to brew; he watched me do a brew day, then I supervised him doing his own, then he did his third one. He was doing all-grain so it was somewhat more involved, and he kept texting me with questions, but he did it.
The advice to join a Homebrew club or find a mentor to help at the outset is perhaps the best advice I can come up with. Try to find people who are better at it than you are, and learn from them. It will greatly accelerate the process.
NEWBIES BUT WITH SOME EXPERIENCE:
Keep trying to do things better than before. Continuous quality improvement. Keep good notes, and every time, make an improvement to your process. I'm a believer that outstanding beer is a consequence of the cumulative effect of best practices. Everything from proper management of yeast prior to pitching (rehydration if dry, starter if liquid), to getting the water chemistry right, to controlling mash temps, to controlling fermentation temperature, to oxygenating wort, to reducing or eliminating oxygen exposure post-fermentation, to....well, everything.
Some of this costs money, I know--but much of it can be done with low outlays of cash, and in other cases there are substitutes. Find a free refrigerator, get an Inkbird controller for $35, a heat mat for about $16, and you have fermentation temperature control! I bought a 4.4 cu ft. dormstyle fridge for $60, and my bigmouth bubblers will fit in there. It's small, so it'll fit in almost any apartment or house.
You can spend a lot, or a little, but whatever your resources and inclination, keep trying to improve. Every time.
