Want to brew...need advice...

I have had a desire to brew my own beer for some time now. I need advice on getting started. I'm sure many of you learned some lessons the hard way (trial and error). I would like to avoid as much trial and error as possible. I have tons of questions. I guess the first two would be...Where do I start? What do I do?

My goal is to brew 5 gallons at a time.

Get How to Brew by John Palmer.  Read it.  You will be ready to brew.

Post questions here.  You will get useful answers.

Find a local homebrew club.  Ask to help someone brew (we can always use and assistant a.k.a. carboy cleaner).

+1 on buying "How to Brew". 

Also, start simple - get an all extract kit for the first time or two.  You can then move to recipes outside of kits and maybe to steeping grains.  You are learning techniques in the beginning in addition to the basics of brewing science.

Like any worthwhile endeavor, home brewing is a constant learning process.  I am sure that even the most experienced brewer that you meet on this forum, or elsewhere, will tell you that they are still constantly learning.  John Palmer's book is a great resource for new or experienced brewers.  Another good resource is Brad Smith's blog:  http://www.beersmith.com/blog/

You want your first brew session to be an enjoyable, satisfying effort, and end up with a good product that you will enjoy and be proud to share with friends and family.  That IS the attraction of home brewing.  I would echo Dave's advice to start with a simple brew kit, and I would also recommend starting with a style of beer that you are familiar with and enjoy drinking.  If you follow this advice, and follow the kit's instruction, you WILL end up with a good beer you enjoy. 

At that point you are hooked, and will be ready to try different beer styles and dig deep into the many finer points of brewing.

Enjoy the Beer!

If your just starting out in brewing try BIAB first. Brew In A Bag is easy and works well with BeerSmith and will work even better with the new version coming soon! http://www.biabrewer.info There is a lot of money, time and equipment that can be eliminated with BIAB Here is a link to BeerSmith's Podcast page http://www.beersmith.com/blog/category/podcast/ Good luck and good brewing.

I asked the same questions a little more than a year ago.  I'd agree with the suggestion to buy How To Brew.  My first beer was the Cincinnati Pale Ale from the book.  He walks you all the way through it.

I made my first about 2 months ago. I bought a book and did some reading when i had down time, ordered a starter kit and an extract kit "it was an IPA".

We tried it about 3 days early and it was awesome, several of my brewing friends that got me into it said it was the best IPA they had ever teasted. (all luck of course)Every beer was gone in two weeks. So my number one piece of advice is pick who you are going to share with and how many you are going to give up. 

Since then I took a pilsner recipe out of the "how to brew book" and purchased the ingredients and I actually made it last night.

Since the last batch went so fast and was so good, I ordered two different IPA kits last week also and I am counting the days until the pilsner goes into the secondary. So I can get the next batch going.

Also, solicit your friends to start saving bottles. I am up to seven cases of bottles, so that is not my limiting factor anymore.

That is pretty much exactly what I would do.  If you get to the point where you think you are in for good, move to kegging as soon as possible.  It saves so much time.  You'll still need bottles for competitions and some styles, but kegging is a godsend.

The one unique thing about our sport is that people always help each other.  Sure a lot of guys get off on Ribbons, but 99.99% of them would rather see you make good beer than not.

Welcome to the family.

I agree with SOGOAK. My job has about 2000 people at it. We have an on line bulletin board where I requested bottles. This is the way I got several of my bottles. Almost half came from other brewers as donations to get beer bottled so we can pass it around. I later learned that several of them normally reserve case or so to bring in and swap. So they meet at lunch, trade secrets, stories and full bottles.

Lots of them keg also and gave me the same advice... then of course, you start googling "Keezers" and there is an entire new obsession to get going on.

I can tell you I am one of the newest guys (2ND batch in primary) and I have my next two on the calendar on BrewSmith Software and am trying to decide if I should start buying Corney's and regulators or just run with the bottles for awhile.

I will say the worst part about starting up for me, was not realizing how quickly that first batch would go and how much I would hate buying beer after I had made my own.

I had to google "keezer". Was confused by your reference to classic mens cloths but persevered to the second page of google results to see a keezer is kegs in a freezer with taps.  Keezer is too close too geezer and so am I.

I googled it when I found a reference on another thread... the idea of multiple beers on tap at once and the quicker carbonation sounds like the best invention since beer itself!

newbrewguy said:

I googled it when I found a reference on another thread... the idea of multiple beers on tap at once and the quicker carbonation sounds like the best invention since beer itself!

Click to expand...

I have 4 kegs in my "keezer" with cobra taps.  I am perfectly happy with this.  I just need someone to go to the garage and get me a beer.  That would make it a perfect system.  My wife seems adamant against taps in the kitchen... Phooey!

My wife seems adamant against taps in the kitchen... Phooey!

Click to expand...

SO DOES MINE!

Trial and error is half of the fun.  If you want to skip as many mistakes as possible you could spend the next five years just reading. Just grab a kit and brew! Read Palmer, Pappazian, etc. Listen to podcasts, read the HBT forums while you are sucking down your first couple of batches.  Those kits have good enough instructions to get you brewing the best beer you've ever tasted.  Then read up and make better beer.

I always recommend Papazian's books.
Here it is one on amazon http://www.amazon.com/New-Complete-Joy-Home-Brewing/dp/0380763664

They are fun to read.  The guy has a sense of humor and he does his best to remove as much intimidation as possible.

I would also suggest you try to go all-grain as soon as you can.
It takes a lot more time and requires an investment in equipment, but the ingredient cost is much less and the end product is light years better than anything made from extract.

Clean and sanitize. Always.
If you follow the advice posted and read the noted books, you'll have a good brewing session.
I agree, trial and error are a fun part of it. If you make a beer that in your opinion tastes like three day old socks, RDWHAHB. Trust me, you'll find a friend that loves it.
Don't get bogged down by complicated brewing techniques. Keep it simple, and grow at your own pace.
Extract beers and kits are good. I still use extracts on a lot of beers. Go to partial mash and/or all grain when you are ready. Or stay with extracts if you wish. It's all good.
Pick a supplier that is a homebrew supplier as their main business. They should have the knowledge to help and advise you. I've seen too many that are set up in a corner of store, with clerks that have never brewed.
Brewing software is great, but you should learn why the calculations take place. I still start all of my recipes with a pencil and a piece of paper. But then again, when I first started, we didn't have home computers.
Document your brewing sessions. And note any and all changes from the recipe. Some of my best beers started out as "oops...".
Learn to enjoy beer. Cook with it. Use different glasses and notice the change in perception. Try a variety of styles with a wide range of food.
But have fun. RDWHAHB. And, in case I forgot to mention it, clean and sanitize. Always.

Here is a free online How to by John Palmer..... http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

Pick a supplier that is a homebrew supplier as their main business. They should have the knowledge to help and advise you. I've seen too many that are set up in a corner of store, with clerks that have never brewed.

Click to expand...

For the advice part I totally agree. However I currently get most of my supplies either online or from the local health food store. Because homebrew stuff is an alcove instead of their major source of income, the markup is much smaller. That and they'll order things for me and charge less than the dedicated homebrew shop.

I feel bad for the guy, but I'm not going to spend an additional 10-20% because I feel some need to support him. I started homebrewing because I'm cheap, not so I can support a small business.

Go to Northernbrewer.com, they're a good source.  They have good info and good prices on starter equipment. Your local supply house will cost ya more. If your handy you can come up with equipment alternatives cheeply. You don't need the cadilac of equipment to make a good batch. They'll sale you the world if you'll buy it. Get with friends, see if they have an old turkey fryer burner and tank (for garage brewing). Go to Lowe's and get a coil of copper pipe and hose connecter then solder like a plumber. Don't use a turkey aluminum pot, only stainless steel. And sanitize, sanitize, sanitize is the word. And, yes, "you too can enjoy a tasteful brew" ( at less than retail for micro).

I've been brewing for about two years and Youtube has been my best resource, just understand that not everybody makes beer the same way.