What is a good first brew?

[kaotic]

I've never brewed before and was wondering what is a good but easy beer to brew? I really like Bell's Oberon their Pale ale is good as well, any chance I could brew one of these?

 

[DeathBrewer]

hefeweizen. easiest and fastest

6 lbs of wheat dme
1 oz of hallertau
vial of WLP300 yeast

boil hops and DME for an hour, then cool to under 80F and pitch your yeast.

ferment at under 70F if you can. bottle after two weeks. drink after three more weeks

BAM!...and it's really, really good, too

 

[anthrobe]

hefeweizen. easiest and fastest

6 lbs of wheat dme
1 oz of hallertau
vial of WLP300 yeast

boil hops and DME for an hour, then cool to under 80F and pitch your yeast.

ferment at under 70F if you can. bottle after two weeks. drink after three more weeks

BAM!...and it's really, really good, too

I agree. Hefe is the way to go for a first beer. If you mess up, you are not out of a whole lot. Once you got that hang of it, then move on to more complicated beers.

 

[Beerrific]

Yeah, hefe all the way! Great first beer because even if you rush it (and you probably will) it will still come out great!

When you go and get the stuff, get stuff for the next batch. I would recommend some type of pale ale or something English, these are good to start with IMO. Brew it right after the hefe is out of the fermenter!

 

[Dude]

Brown ale!

 

[coyote]

I chose a nut brown ale for my first...it's about ready for the secondary.

 

[98EXL]

not a just add water kit

 

[Jekster]

I second the hefe idea. Just recently did one as my first brew and it was cake. If you're not a big fan of the huge banana and clove hits, use WLP 320, American Hefeweizen yeast and you'll get less of that in the end product. Again, try to ferment under 70, which is easily achievable with a water bath plus some ice each day.

 

[98EXL]

I just tasted my Hefe yesterday, it was bomb, I can't wait for some carbonation and it to be cold, yummy

 

[TheJadedDog]

I vote for Pale Ale (but only because I am not a huge hefe fan).

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

I agree with Jaded Dog, If you're not into hefe's, try a pale ale, it's hard not to go wrong with those. there are plenty of sierra nevada pale ale clones all over the internet, I've tried several and they always come out well. Here's one recipe you could try:

6 oz crystal 20 steeped 30 min

7 lbs LME

1 oz Nugget 60 min

1 oz Nothern brewer 15 min

2 oz cascade 2 min

us 56


fo some reason this recipe tends to carb really fast for me, which is good for a first brew since you probably won't have the patience to wait too long for it to condition.

 

[rdwj]

Get an ale kit and make what you like to drink. Most kits are similar as far as difficulty goes. I'd stay away from Barley Wines and other big beers just because they take a while.

 

[jumbojervis]

I was in Grand Rapids a couple weeks ago and had Bells Oberon and it was really good. Anyone have a recipe on that one.

I am on my third batch and my first was a english brown it was fairly easy.