tips for first timer?

[ahoym8e]

Hello folks.

I just ordered the Hoptech kit the other day, along with the 20qt pot and the "lager-a-like" ingredient kit.

any tips?

Should I do the wort boiling outside? I am reading about the "heavenly wort aroma" that seems to drive other, non-brewing enthusiast family members to nausea.

Thanks!

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

My wife's not nuts about it, but I do it after she's in bed. Turn on the oven vent, it's not bad.

Throw away your instructions and read howtobrew.com. Plan on spending 2 and half to three hours from start to finish.

Final piece of advice is clean up really good afterward and make a beer that your wife will like. Keep SWMBO happy and you'll get to keep making beer.

 

[Blender]

Welcome to the forums. I am a beginner as well.It looks as though you are set for your first batch.
Can't be too clean is my motto. The biggest frustration I had was cooling the wort after the boil so you may want to think about how you are going to do that. I used the sink with an ice bath but could have used more ice. Don't worry about the smell. It's great. Also it takes patience in the beginning, the waiting is difficult. Keep us posted.

 

[Kaiser]

any tips?

In general, top fermenting beers (ales) are better for beginners as they ferment and mature faster.

cooling: If you do partial boils, you can also cool by adding ice to the wort. I added store bought ice to my first batch to cool it. Some people have raised concerns regarding spoiling due to possible contamination of the ice. But it worked for me. You can also boil water and freeze it. But you would loose all the O2 that was in the water which would have helped with wort oxygenation.

outside brewing works best for me. My wife doen't like the aromatic smell of hops and malt and clean-up is easier.

Kai

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

I buy a gallon of bottled water and freeze it then add it to my wort. Gets it chilled in about 15 minutes. I've used 2, but it gets it too cold.

 

[ahoym8e]

thanks for the tips.

I should have mentioned that the "lager-a-like" is an Ale, it just resembles a lager.

 

[Walker]

one tip from me (and it took me YEARS before I started doing this personally):

make a yeast starter the day before you brew.

-walker

 

[Darth Konvel]

Excellent tips so far. The ice deal (store bought) seems iffy, but a few people have had success with it. I'd say use common sense when shopping for the ice if you go with this option. If it's some noname brand, or the bag looks like it may be compromised, you may be introducing a problem.

My local korger's sells ice that's produced by a company that sells bottled water (major brandname, can't recall off-hand) and advertises that it's "pure", so if I were to go that route I might go with that.

My tip: Don't brew on an empty stomach. The smell of the wort makes me hungry every time. I hadn't eaten anything when I brewed my first batch and it nearly killed me