Got any first time home brew tips

[Dev71]

Ok, I hope I am not repeating another post on here (I did a search and didn't see anything like it). I am about to home brew for the very first and I'd like to know if any of you experienced home brewers have any info for a first timer.

I have ordered a basic kit containing the following: 6.5-gallon Plastic Fermenter and Lid, 6.5-gallon Bottling Bucket, Airlock, #2 drilled Rubber Stopper, Racking Tube, Bottle Filler, Five feet of Flexible Tubing, Hydrometer, Floating Thermometer, Two-handle Bottle Capper, 144 Bottle Caps, Sanitizer, Auto Siphon, bottles, a 5 gallon stainless steel brew kettle, and an ingredient kit (containg "dry malt extract specialty grains, hops, yeast, clarifier, and priming sugar").

Is there anything else I should get? Anything I should watch out for? I've heard sanitation can be a big gotcha if not done properly. Thanks for any tips or experiences you can pass along!

[Ray Grace]

Sounds like the pretty standard beginner's kit that I and I'm sure many others started with, more than enough to make good beer. The only equipment that jumps out at me that you might want are a nice long handled spoon for stirring your wort as well as a grain bag for your specialty grains. Beyond that I would just say have a good time with it and take good notes. RDWHAHB

[Chris]

Cleaning and sanitizing are the two big ones. Clean everything well (soap and water, TSP, etc.), then sanitize everything (Iodaphore, starsan, etc.). After that relax a bit and have fun! I recommend to folks to try and keep it simple the first few times.

[Rob DeNunzio]

Ray and Chris have pretty much said all that's needed (ie, relax, have fun). Run through a couple batches and then get a glass carboy. Keep the sanitizing a priority.

Oh, and relax and have fun. Did anyone mention that?

[Barry Steel]

we all love good home brew ( well at least we should ) its really important to be mentored and i think youve faound a place where you may get helpful advice .
I too am a novice , but as a chef , ive come to realise that there are three important things you should remember when brewing .
1. be very clean ... sanitise everything and remember to rinse it off afterwards .
2.use the best yeast , malt , hops , infact all your ingredients , the more they cost the better the result .
3.be patient ... folow directions ( use rainwater if you can its beautiful ) and once you have sealed off the brew , just let it bubble away . most of them take around two weeks to brew and settle some longer ... the cooler the yeast the longer the brewing process and the less residue left .

its lots of fun and experiment and record your progress , because you should have around 3 months supply before you drink one !!!!!!

Remember the old adage " the first pancake is always lumpy " so if at first you dont succeed , keep trying ... you can drink the mistakes , they still make you feel good !!!

once it all starts to go well ... believe me ... you would rather drink your own beer that the cheap manufactured chemical beer that you by at the shop .... good products are still made by the experts , but they cost big money .

i hope this helped !!!
Baz

[Kim Huffman]

Don't be afraid of all grain brewing...it produces a more satisfying beer than extract.
Also, Promash software is a great tool to keep track of recipes, ideas, methods and combinations.
Always pitch more yeast than you think...try to propagate more before hand..especially if higher gravity beers are desired.
The most important ingredient is sanitation, and try keeping oxygen after fermentation to as low of levels as possible..( if you can displace it with Co2 at anytime during the process, the better. ).
Good luck, experiment, and enjoy!

[olllllo]

With the internet, you have all of the help you need any time of the day. The other edge of that sword is that you have to sift though a tremendous amount of information (and speculation and conjecture).

Use the best tool you have available to you, your taste. Think something looks infected, taste it. Not sure if your yeast is taking off, take a hydro reading (and taste it). Did the beer get too hot fermenting...taste it.

You will almost certainly make a drinkable beer the first time out. Know how all phases of the beer taste to see how to improve.

[Dev71]

Thanks all for the tips and encouragement!

[gisbrewmaster]

I only have 3 comments based on other peoples posts and 2 of my own. Everyone said the rest really well!

1. I agree with getting a carboy for secondary but I prefer better bottles for safety and lightness.
2. If you have a local home brew store use it of course but shop around online for deals if you can find something. Sorry I disagree that more expensive means better. One perfect example of this is American Ale yeast Wyeast 1056 is the same strain as the dry Safale 05 and its 4-5 dollars cheaper to get the dry.
3. I also agree don't be afraid to go AG (even though I haven't done my first one yet, next weekend hopefully) You can make great beers with extract and many AG brewers still do extract when there is a time crunch.

My thoughts:
1. If you clean and sanitize well you shouldn't have any problems. Brewing is a lot more forgiving then people make it out to be. It may not be exactly what you want the first few but it should be good drinkable beer.
2. If you don't know Charlie Papazilan (the father of the homebrewing movement in the US) you should he has the best quote "Relax Don't Worry Have A Home Brew"

Have fun with your first brew and welcome to the obsession.
GISBREWMATER

[Ray Grace]

One more thing, having a tolerant wife/sig. other goes a long way...

[Dev71]

Do you guys have a favorite online supplier for ingredients/equipment or do you mostly go to a LHBS?

I have brewed 2 batches so far and I can't wait to do it again. This is an addictive hobby (and I haven't even tried anything Ive brewed yet).

[Ray Grace]

I try to support my LHBS as much as possible. I do occasionally order online, particularly from MoreBeer which I like a lot also.
You should think about joining in on the Aleumnati Ale batch #3, we're currently deciding what to brew next.

[Rob DeNunzio]

Depending on how crowded the calendar is, I either hit the local (SF Brewcraft) or order from MoreBeer. There are even times when I'll need to do both in order to get all the right ingredients, though...