First attempt at homebrew

You're going to be focused on your recipe steps and its timeline on brew day, but something that I seldom see written anywhere in a recipe as a reminder is to make sure that you have your yeast at room temp by the time you need it (if you are using a refrigerated yeast). Otherwise you'll have to twiddle your thumbs for an hour or so while the it comes up to temp, and while your sterile wort is gaining the attraction of airborne 'bugs.' The first thing on my timeline is always, "Take the yeast out of the fridge."

 

Don't drink and brew at the same time. Especially at first.
Read up on what you are planning to do beforehand. Get answers to your questions before you start, as much as possible.
Practice observing and taking good notes as you go through the process. Write it down right away, even if you THINK you will remember it later.
Don't pound suds while you brew.

 

Relax. Don't Worry.
Remain calm. Carry on.

---
It may not turn out
To be the beer you wanted
Beer it will still be.

- hOmebReW HaIKu

 

Relax don't worry
have a homebrew while you brew
(I'm not much for "rules")

little known quantitative fact: if you drink a lot while you brew, your likelihood of error is proportional to the square of the number of beers you've drank since you started: P(e) B(n)


Also, the probability of making a mistake approaches 1 as the number of beers you've drank approaches a twelve-pack.

 

For me:

Popcorn - check.
Beer - check, check, and check.

I'm ready for the "help! Emergency!" thread, and will be standing by.

Just bustin' your balls hoss. Good luck! You will do fine and make tasty beer.

 

Any particular reason for the honey (in your first beer)?

 

Here's what you need to know about adding 3 lbs of honey...
- it's going to increase your ABV by about 3% (in a 5 gallon batch)
- it's going to make the body seem very thin (for the now higher ABV)
- it's not going to add any sweetness (because all of the sugars in the honey will ferment)
- it's probably going to add significant honey flavor and aroma, as long as it wasn't in the boil very long

Edit: unless you made a yeast starter, be prepared for a potentially slow start to your fermentation. The honey is making this a big beer, which means more yeast needed (ideally).

 

That's really too low for the base recipe, and it's hard to not hit your OG with an extract batch if you follow directions. Most likely, your wort and top-off water may not have been completely mixed before you took the sample. Happens a lot. (And won't hurt anything.)

 

You will. Everytime you brew and everytime you get on this, and other forums. You have to get this first batch out of the way. Ideally you want it to be great. Realistically you want it to be drinkable. But give it a few batches. It takes a few batches to iron out your process and establish expectations.

 

Ha. It won't...probably won't. My first batch was a can of LME (bock I think) with a package of dry yeast glued to the top and the episode of Good Eats - Amber Waves under my belt. Those that start by posting on here for tips (assuming they follow the tips) are light years ahead of where I was when I started.

Just stick with it. Once you get into a rhythm with the yeast and your process, every batch can be better than the previous.

 

If it does you can sell it to the local hospital as antiseptic. Foghats on a successful brewday!

 

Expectations, hmmm, this might be where a lot of newbies that turn out to be one-timers go wrong. I expect it's where most of your one-time Mr Beer brewers go wrong too, setting expectations too high. If you're buying Mr Beer because you'd really like to be able to make your own bud light, you've set yourself up for failure before you ever begin, because there simply isn't a viable path from one to the other. Similarly, if you're a craft beer enthusiast, there's no direct path from first batch to heady topper (or PtE or Dark Lord or Temptation, etc)*.

Setting your expectations lower allows you for a better chance of success. Not that you want to make crappy beer, more that you should hope to make drinkable beer, and learn about making beer in the process. This is a primary reason why beginners should KISS, and make something simple (and forgiving) on their first try. It's easy to screw up a batch of beer. It's even easier to screw up a first batch of beer. However, if your first batch is simple, your chances of screwing it up go way down, and your chances of making drinkable beer go way up. You might even be pleasantly surprised and wind up making GOOD beer. And good beer is great beer if it's your first batch!

*although you'd be more likely to clone PtE on your first try than you'd ever get to bud light, at least there are good clone recipes available for PtE and it's possible with ale yeast.

 

You did the most important part, had fun.
That will carry you through the various mishaps that await you should you continue on in the very satisfying and often rewarding home brewing experience that is Brew Day.