New and planning to brew

Sounds like you're approaching your first brew day the right way.

 

Welcome to BA. Check out the home brewing forum you can learn a lot there. I've been home brewing for 30+ years and I'm still learning.

 

If you can cook that well, you can home brew! And since you grow herbs, you can grow your own hops as I do.

 

Your attention to (cooking) detail will serve you well in brewing, but I'd be careful about assuming you can apply a lot of cooking principles directly (not that you did). Brewing is largely biochemical processes (much moreso than cooking). In fact, IIRC well over half of the flavor compounds in beer are yeast derived. That said, having a good palate is a definite plus.

 

For what it's worth, process wise, porter/stouts tend to be the easiest to brew. No excessive hop losses and dry hopping to deal with, water is more forgiving and overall just fun to do.

You sound a lot like me (basically a home chef and baker, also do traditional smoked BBQ and all that type of stuff), having those skills will for sure help things be easier.

 

Welcome to the BA site, Brian, and to the Homebrewing forum. You've found a place where you can learn a lot.

I'm not familiar with the book that you've read, but it sounds like it has pointed you in the right direction. Just about all of us here have read John Palmer's book HowToBrew.com which is free to read online (1st edition). The latest edition (4th) is not very expensive, and the hard copy gives you something that you can highlight, write notes, etc and is highly recommended if you want more resource material.

As a newbie, you might want your first batch to be brewed with malt extract along with steeping specialty grains. Doing that will give you the brewing basics, and the steeping is like a mini-mash. Then later you can learn the mashing process. It will greatly simplify your first brewing session and allow you to get your feet wet without all of the confusion of a busy day.

Here's your first brewing tip: if you choose a kit recipe for your first brew, check the ingredients for freshness, especially the yeast. You can find a ton of other tips by doing a search of thread titles in this forum and using 'newbie' as your search word. If you haven't acquired equipment yet, do another search of thread titles and use 'equipment' as your search word.

 

Brian, I'm also new to brewing. I recently bought a starter kit I'm looking forward to expanding as get the basics down. As one other member mentioned I'm currently reading John Palmer's How To Brew, I believe I got the 4th edition for around $13.00. I've just started it but it's an interesting read as well as highly recommended. Good luck with your first brews!

 

Do you have a good Local Homebrew Shop (LHBS) near you? If so I recommend that you purchase your starter equipment and ingredients for your first batch from them. The LHBS folks will be able to have a face-to-face discussion with you and answer your questions. The LHBS has a strong vested interest in making your first batch (and subsequent batches) a success.

Cheers!

 

@BrianIt228

On a side note as well, I started right with all-grain brewing. It actually wasn't bad at all, just again more planning/reading ahead of time, especially in the various malts, yeasts and hops and what flavors and such they bring to the table... Things like learning about the max percentages of various grains (say, crystal and roast malts in recipe), temperature influences on fermentation and during your brewing processes, etc...

My first brew days went super smooth... I simply made a "to-do" list with step-by-step instructions so I wouldn't forget anything. My first beer was my own, not a clone recipe. It came out fantastic... I remember really being shocked how good it was for my first attempt. Of course, every brew following got easier and since I knew the process, was able to tweak/refine it for my brewery and make things easier for myself.

I actually believe all-grain brewing is a great way to start off versus extract type brewing. Nothing wrong with brew in a bag or extract to start off with, but if you are willing to take 5-6 hours start-to-finish on a brew day and believe you will stick with it (mainly due to additional equipment costs), I recommend it no doubt. It kind of forces you to better prepare your knowledge base for more advanced brewing, which IMO will only help the end product in your glass.

Good luck on your first brews!

 

Do yourself a favor and ask the forum for a sanity check on whatever the LHBS guys tell you. Yes, some LHBSs are good. Many, perhaps most, are not. (Personally, I've encountered more bad than good.) Some of the most idiotic brewing advice I've heard has been from the mouths of LHBS employees. Hopefully, at least one of the three you have locally will be a winner.

 

I agree...it's possible to start off all-grain, if you put in the time to understand what you're doing ahead of time. But...

I'd just point out that Brew-In-A-Bag is all-grain brewing. It's not IMO the best way to do all-grain, but it qualifies.

 

You can also get a head start by searching the BA database in the Places feature. Here's the link: https://www.beeradvocate.com/place/ Fill in your city and state and then check the Homebrew box on the right of your screen and you'll see which ones in your city are already in the database. Read the reviews but also check the dates to verify they are current. If any of the three that are near you aren't in the database, you can add them and write a review once you've evaluated and become acquainted with them. (This is a user-supported site, so your contributions can help others.)

 

What size batches do you want to make.These styles require more grains which means larger equipment..

 

That is the case for Imperial Stouts.

In my homebrewing the Stouts (e.g., Oatmeal Stout) and Porters I brew are of moderate gravity and I utilize a 'normal' amount of grains.

Cheers!