New and planning to brew

welcome aboard to the maddness.

Lots of good info herre and decent folks as well.

like Jack says one can brew porters and stouts that are moderate, like irish stout is around 4.5 abv, mine anyways. and one can brew imperials which can be way over 10abv if you want.

either way, the skys the limit when brewing, that and your finances.

Have fun and let us know how things brew

 

There will be days/batches when everything goes as planned, and days/batches when it seems like nothing goes as planned. Brewing can provide a Zen-like calm, or a baffling “what the heck happened?”. Many tremendous brewers here are willing to help you catch the Zen, or help you figure out why you missed it.

After a 9-month hiatus I’m hoping to put heat to the kettle again in January. Some of the time related to brew-related stuff (and not actual brewing) has been filled by reading every post in the BA homebrewing forum. There is much to be learned from the tidbits offered here, some of which you’ll return to when the info is applicable to what you’re doing in the moment (the built-in forum search feature is your friend).
Knowledge is learning from experience. Wisdom is learning from the experience of others.

Maybe you like physics, and biochemistry, and microbiology, and atmospheric considerations, and agronomics, and studies of cell structure, and ????
No biggie if you don't; you can still end up with awesome beer that’s tailored to you!

Welcome to the affliction and enjoy the ride……

 

Brewing=ZEN

Ripper is my hero.

 

And “One for the little boy who lives down the lane”?

Cheers!

 

Late to the game here...but here was a synopsis of my tips for those just starting out
https://byo.com/article/10-tips-for-beginners/

Welcome to the hobby!

 

Dave,

Those are all good tips but the most important IMO is number 5 (with editing in italics):

“5. Go to a good homebrew shop

This may be a bit of a luxury for some, but when it’s time to make purchases, whether it is equipment or ingredients, find your closest good shop and pay a visit. Don’t be afraid to talk and elicit advice from them . . . tell them you’re green in the hobby and leave your ego at the door. You may be a great taster, but that doesn’t make you a great homebrewer.”

I took note of tip number 10:

“10. Get informed from reviewed sources

A lot of homebrewers get too much information from some random person(s) on the internet. While there may be some great knowledge to be found out there in the web ether, start with learning from experts whose writings have been technically reviewed — like in books and certain magazines.”

Yikes!?!

Cheers!

 

As for #5, yeah there are still some not so great shops out there, but compared to back in the day...most shops left out there these days are doing a pretty good job at it. I'm sure there are some exceptions though. For #10...it sounds like the OP already took care of this:

"New to the forums, literally read about this site in a book named The complete Guide to Brewing", in a case study written by a home brewer"

I've seen some bad advice given on forums..."You gotta start all-grain"..."crystal malt has no place in an IPA"..."155F is way too warm for a mash unless you want a sweet mess"..."all that sugar will give it a bad cidery flavor"...etc. Forums definitely have their place in the homebrewing world....just don't rely on them as your sole source of info is my only caveat for newbies. That said, I do feel like the experience level and brewing knowledge of many forums that remain has been on the rise and increasingly bad advice is less common or it's called out. I've been on the BA homebrew forum since '07 and it was a huge part of my learning curve in the hobby...but books and obviously magazines were also a part of it too.

 

Yup, I have read that stuff too.

Yeah, obtaining information from multiple 'media' is a good idea IMO.

One of the benefits of forum discussions on brewing topics is that you get to hear multiple points of view. While there are certain 'truths' to homebrewing e.g., proper sanitation must be practiced in order to produce 'clean' beer there are other areas where each homebrewer make choices to suit their needs/practices. While you example of "crystal malt has no place in an IPA" as stated is not a 'truth' there are indeed some homebrewers who prefer zero crystal malts in their IPAs so in that sense it is a valid choice. I personally prefer some crystal malts (1/2 lb. of 20L crystal) in my IPAs so that happens to be my choice.

Cheers!