Beginner Who Wants To Learn It All.

[cosmic theory section]Your beer expenses and homebrewing expenses will EVENTUALLY even out and some (theoretical) future day will come to pass where it will be cheeper for you to brew than to buy. [/cosmic theory section]

And you (Cugabuh) are probably ready to upgrade to all grain, it's easier than you think. But don't expect to stop learning stuff while you're brewing, the learning never stops (unless you live under a rock and wear earplugs all day long).

 

Don't worry about learning everything. It'll never happen.
Read. Read lots.
Brew. Brew as much as you have the room and time for.
Research. There are tons of (other) sites out there dedicated to homebrewers.
Buy software. (Give it a few months and a few times brewing, but trust.. You will eventually want something like beersmith, or beertools and access to the communities either one has)
Be clean! This is paramount in your quest for good beer.

 

Or use free software.

 

Beersmith II pretty good (Not perfect, but acceptably good enough IMO, please "dial in" your system for best results)

Vikeman's spreadsheet (excellent, especially for beer nerds or excel nerds, may be a bit advanced if you're not as nerdy as you thought you were and the nerds kicked you out of the nerd club and took away your ceremonial pocket protector)

Various online sites - don't know. I'm too nerdy for that.

 

Hey, Dive right in, the wort is fine.
You'll get so much information from here you might feel overwhelmed. I'd like to encourage you to go with what you feel you can handle.

Some of us (me included) jumped right in to a partial grain kit. Some of us went with an LME or DME kit. Some went right to All Grain extraction. I want you to gauge for yourself what you can handle, then get all the information on that. uTube is a great place to check out all different ways of brewing, and for me the visual part, actually seeing it happen made all the difference for me.

Only you can prevent bad beer. Being clean is one of the most important things you can keep in mind. It doesn't matter how good you did on your first kit, if you haven't cleaned properly, it can all be for nothing.

Don't ferment your beer next to anything that doesn't smell nice. A gal I knew tried 2 batches of beer and they just tasted nasty. Turns out she was fermenting right next to her cat box. (Yes it was open fermentation but even with closed using air locks... I wouldn't chance it.)

Um, everything else is just research and experience. Go have fun. Ask questions. Drink beer!

 

I knew i can't stand cats for a reason.

 

You will find some really good tips from various brewers including myself at the following recent thread:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/home-brewing-advice.307113/#post-3803326

Some brewers will also find the following cheat sheet helpful (click to enlarge):

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the cat thing. I have 4 cats, one of my fermenters sits right across from one of their litter boxes, never had a cat induced infection (or any cat related issues).

 

Read the aforementioned books, YouTube can be a great visual source for process, after reading HTB I would say pay attention to the following to make the best beer possible at the entry level.

1. Cleaning and sanitation. Clean and sanitize all equipment that touches the wort/beer post boil. Look into PBW and StarSan, that's most common in homebrew. Clean/scrub/soak with PBW, rinse well, StarSan soak/rinse/scrub to sanitize. Sanitization is not adequate without first cleaning all debris off equipment.

2. Water source. Beer is mostly water obviously, so a good source of water is crucial. I recommend, for starting out, that you either do 50% distilled water/50% spring water from grocery by the gallon OR fill the Glacier 5 gallon jugs from the filtered water machine at the grocery.

3. Yeast. You will want to make sure you're pitching enough yeast and make sure they are healthy. Yeast starter is optimal. HTB book will cover this subject more in depth.

4. Fermentation temperature. For most ales, you'll want to ferment in the mid 60s range. I'd shoot for 65F for American and British ale strains. You can go a bit higher with Belgian ale strains, 68F would be a good place to start. Just remember, the warmer the temp the more yeast presence will come through in the final beer, too warm will give you off flavors. Too cold and you're yeast will not want to work to make beer. I recommend getting a chest freezer with an external thermostat regulator to control ferment temp.

5. Packaging. If bottling, you do not want to overcarbonate you're beer after all that hard work! Do you're homework on volumes of CO2 you want in you're beer (by style and preference) and keep oxygen exposure to a minimum when bottling (or kegging). Investing in a CO2 tank to purge equipment and bottles is a good idea.

There's a lot more obviously that goes into making good beer. But, knowing what I know now, these 5 areas is where I would devote my focus to if I were new to brewing again.

 

I totally agree with everything you have said. This is the most satisfying hobby that I know and you don't have to leave home to do it. I remember the first batch that I made and it was terrible, but just keep at it and you will get the hang. The best advise I can give is be patient and really pay attention to you fermentation temperature. Good luck and watch the waste line.

 

I'm in between homebrewing kit acquisition and brewing of the first batch. HTB is in hand but not yet read. Thread: subscribed to.

 

Thank you!

 

Where about in Mass are you, neighbor?

 

I think reading: How to Brew by John Palmer can't be echoed enough. I haven't read it cover to cover, but a lot of questions I've seen in the forum can quickly be answered in the book.

I'll also agree that extract brewing is a good intro as it is a bit simpler, and a cheaper investment from an equipment point of view. Especially if you already have a large steamer pot / stockpot. Read the book, note equipment items you will need and write them down. Budget yourself. Look on craigslist for used equipment. Join a brewing club as you can get hand me downs, or use communal equipment, and get advice. Don't be afraid to ask if you "really need "x" item", or if there is a better way to do something.

Prost! Welcome to your new obsession.

 

Agreed - How to Brew is a must read. Also work on process and sanitation.

Most people I know love their first beer even if it's not the greatest. I still have a bottle of mine although a 4 year old IPA is probably disgusting by now.

 

Too true! Just waiting to get out of my teeny, tiny apartment and get into a house with a basement that'll allow me to buy endless amounts of kettles, mash tuns, mills, and more without the girlfriend nagging me!

I've been eyeballing BIAB for a while now. Thinking I might give that a shot soon, as it seems like the perfect balance for more malt experimentation while still keep my "equipment sprawl" to a manageable level.