The worst of the noob questions. Home brew though

[HungoverHog]

Well since this is a distilling forum I thought I would go ahead and ask this without doing the necessary reading. There isn't much brewing info here I figure.

Fellas what recommend as a good recipe to start with for my first home brew beer? Easy but tasty. I am going to pick up a corney keg and a co2 bottle this week. I don't algrain mash so I don't have that kind of experience.

[Dnderhead]

can you git a "in house kit?" these are package by the store.following others favorites.
id stay away from "light beer" at least to me they are hardest to make.
id just do a extract+specialty grain,there the easiest and most dont know the difference.

[Braz]

Here's a site with tons of beer recipes. http://brewery.org/cm3/recs/00contents.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[HungoverHog]

Thanks guys! There are just so many recipes out there I thought I would see what some of the guys I am used to seeing on the forum have done and recommend.

I guess I would like something in the Belgian ale amber ale realm. Any style that is know to be good would be ok.

[Swifty]

I'd suggest a heffe. Everyone loves a good wheat beer and they are rediculously easy. The one I'm thinking of has one 8 oz specialty grain to deal with, one hop addition at the boil + malt, boil for 60, cool n pitch yeast. Kick back n look smart!

[Washashore]

Personally, I like dark beers, especially porters. A coffee/oatmeal porter would be right up my alley.

[HungoverHog]

That does sound tasty Washashore!!

Still trying to decide if this forum is a good or bad influence on me. I love it!

[MitchyBourbon]

My son and I did a liberty cream ale a while back. It was real easy and a real nice tasting beer, not over powering yet not wimpy. I believe it used cascade hops and carapils specialty grain.

[maheel]

Ale's are much more forgiving than Lagers IMO

you should tell us what you prefer to drink and then someone might have a recipe.
would you do an extract brew (with DME, steep grain and boil hops etc ?) or are you thinking a can-o-goo brew ?


if your going to the trouble of buying kegging gear i highly recommend BIAB (Brew In A Bag) and going all grain
here is a thread about getting into it very cheaply and simply
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i ... opic=38674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Country Pete]

Cooper's Brewing Kits and Munton's Kits were what I started with. You can get them at most home brew stores. Throw in a can of Malt extract and call it good. It's the easiest kind of beer making. Dump the cans into a large pot with a gallon of water and bring it to a boil. Dump that into a bucket for fermenting and add 4 gallons of cold water (I refrigerated mine) and wait till its down to a temp around 75 degrees. Pitch yer yeast (I like White Labs varieties of yeast) and have a a cold one. Four or five days later you've got beer ready to keg or bottle. Simple dimple.

There are a few more steps involved but for the most part it is that simple. I would really suggest you get The Complete Joy of Homebrewing [Book] by Charlie Papazian. He's kinda like the Yoda of home brewing. I read his book and learned a ton. It's an easy read and has a bunch of tips and recipes.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Home ... b_title_bk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Biggest thing is to relax and not worry. Home brew is easy and nothing to sweat. Have a cold one and kick back.

[blind drunk]

There are some kits that are a bag of real concentrated wort. I made it once and it was very good. I think it was Spagnols. All different styles.

[HungoverHog]

Maheel, Man I like most anything not too picky with beer. I like hoppy and yeasty beers also one of my favorite things in the world is a pint of Guinness. I don't get it often. The only bar I ever go to has Fat tire and Guiness on tap so I usually get one of those. I just don't like anything super bitter. Not a huge beer drinker anymore and when I was I was a kid throwing back Coors lights. I don't even count those as beer now. The reason I distill is I don't like paying a huge price for a decent bottle of whiskey and feel the same way about beer. Thought I would try to make something I would enjoy and not spend those high craft bottle prices. Will eventually graduate to all grain just like I will whiskey but until I get that equipment I will start easy.

Washashore has really peaked my interest with that coffee/oatmeal porter. My mouth is watering.

Country Pete, I think I will get that book. I might as well do a little learning before I jump into it.

Thanks for all the great advice!

[UnseatedPanic]

If you want an easy kit try thr "true brew" brand they make ipa thats real good and also a amber ale thats very tastie

[BrooklynTech]

All good ideas so far. My recommendation would be this site dedicated to brewing w/as much love for the effort as this site is for distilling.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/

[HungoverHog]

BT I fount that site earlier today. Ggreat stuff. This is really interesting stuff. I have decided my hobby is hobbies. I will say I value the information on this site more as of now because I am used to the people here giving the info. I feel like I can tell who is full of crap and who knows what they are doing. I guess I will eventually get that way at homebretalk as well.

[MitchyBourbon]

Take a good look around, you might some familiar faces.

[Samohon]

Here's a recipe that I never allow myself to run out of...

Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby .
Its a dark ruby strong ale, with a gravity thats both refreshing and rewarding and a balance of both fruit and hops with a great malty finish.
Its so damn easy to make and the grain bill ain't complicated either, compared to some of my other beers...
Great colour, Great head retention and tastes fantastic...

Heres the Grain/Hop/Additives bill and timings for a 20L (5gal) batch

Pale Malt (maris Otter) 5110g
Crystal Malt 900g
Chocolate Malt 28g (use this if you want it really dark... I dont...)

Mash/Sparge...
Mash at 66C for 60 mins...
Sparge with h2o at 70C...

Start of Boil - 90mins
Fuggle Hops 31g
Golding Hops 26g

Last 15 Mins
Fuggle Hops 19g
1 x Protafloc or Whirlfloc tablet... to help clear.. (optional IMO)
1 x Pack of Nottingham Ale yeast...

After 10 days primary ferment, I transfer to a glass carboy for 2 weeks at 15C - 17C, then 1 week as cold as you can get it without freezing...
Alcohol content (ABV) 5.5%

---

Just put another on last week for my fathers birthday coming up, he loves the stuff...
Last year I entered a bottle of this into an Edinburgh Home Brew competition and it came in 3rd out of 160 or so applicants... Cant be bad...
I keg and force carbonate about 16L and date/prime/bottle the rest to drink in 6 months time... This is a real nice beer...

Enjoy...

[HungoverHog]

I am going to save this one. Probably above my head right now but it sounds fantastic. Thanks!!

Here's a recipe that I never allow myself to run out of...

Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby .
Its a dark ruby strong ale, with a gravity thats both refreshing and rewarding and a balance of both fruit and hops with a great malty finish.
Its so damn easy to make and the grain bill ain't complicated either, compared to some of my other beers...
Great colour, Great head retention and tastes fantastic...

Heres the Grain/Hop/Additives bill and timings for a 20L (5gal) batch

Pale Malt (maris Otter) 5110g
Crystal Malt 900g
Chocolate Malt 28g (use this if you want it really dark... I dont...)

Mash/Sparge...
Mash at 66C for 60 mins...
Sparge with h2o at 70C...

Start of Boil - 90mins
Fuggle Hops 31g
Golding Hops 26g

Last 15 Mins
Fuggle Hops 19g
1 x Protafloc or Whirlfloc tablet... to help clear.. (optional IMO)
1 x Pack of Nottingham Ale yeast...

After 10 days primary ferment, I transfer to a glass carboy for 2 weeks at 15C - 17C, then 1 week as cold as you can get it without freezing...
Alcohol content (ABV) 5.5%

---

Just put another on last week for my fathers birthday coming up, he loves the stuff...
Last year I entered a bottle of this into an Edinburgh Home Brew competition and it came in 3rd out of 160 or so applicants... Cant be bad...
I keg and force carbonate about 16L and date/prime/bottle the rest to drink in 6 months time... This is a real nice beer...

Enjoy...

[Swifty]

Look at any of the brew sites n there will be a beer kit that you'll exicute with out issue. Sanitize e erything that touches your beer n you'll have great beer. I like a dark beer too. Just thinkin simple. Good luck man! You'll love it!

[BrooklynTech]

Look at any of the brew sites n there will be a beer kit that you'll exicute with out issue. Sanitize e erything that touches your beer n you'll have great beer. I like a dark beer too. Just thinkin simple. Good luck man! You'll love it!

Yea kits are pretty easy. Coopers has some pretty good ones. I got some on Amazon for a good price. Make sure it's a COMPLETE kit so you have everything you need.

and yes SANITIZE EVERYTHING that touches the beer after the boil. Fermenter, air lock parts, hydrometer, bottles, bottle caps, bottling hoses, bottling bucket, etc......

[blind drunk]

Here's what I've tried -

http://www.geocities.ws/kentwines/WortWorks.htmlI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Just goggle wort kits.

[Large Sarge]

Try Midwest Supplies, Northern Brewer, or Austin Home Brew. All have Extract kits and/or partial mash kits. Both are very doable for any beginner. I would stick to ales unless you have a temp controlled fridge for lagering. Darker beers are easier to cover mistakes. Hefe's are the easiest to make. Fermenting Temps make a huge difference in the outcome. Be careful, beer is just as addicting as this hobby.

Sipping on a all grain Dunkel Weizen as I type....

[Stillbrewin]

This link is to an older version of the homebrew classic How to Brew. http://www.howtobrew.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow it has all you need to know to get started, and you dont have to go out to read it.

I would start with a brown ale or american wheat beer. Both are very simple to make, and are ready in a few weeks. Find a local homebrew store (LHBS) to get a kit from or order from one of the previously mentioned places online.

Good luck

[schume]

BT I fount that site earlier today. Ggreat stuff. This is really interesting stuff. I have decided my hobby is hobbies. I will say I value the information on this site more as of now because I am used to the people here giving the info. I feel like I can tell who is full of crap and who knows what they are doing. I guess I will eventually get that way at homebretalk as well.

If you're interested in beer, read this book first! http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everythi ... 012&sr=1-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow It's an easy read, yet explains everything very well and gets technical. I learned a lot about yeast with this book.

Beer is neat because you can talk more openly about it. Making a great beer is a real joy and accomplishment and it's a lot of fun to (openly) share with others. Stillin' is my true love, beer is like the girl I bang on the side once in a while

Oh, and anyone that likes to use, "relax, have a home brew" as an answer to your question.... well you'll learn to ignore those folks.

[xthestewx]

Hey just chiming in, but if you haven't made up your mind...you should. beer takes a while to make. Anyway i saw that you like belgian beers. Well i am a distiller, but recently have become successful as a home brewer. haha. iv made 6 beers which isnt that much, but... i am a fan of going against the the grain and alcohol. With that said i am a huge fan of belgians and three of the beers iv made are copies of such beers.
Also they were primarily extract, so hear is what i have to say...
first off pale malt extract is a great base, next you should make your own belgian candy sugar, its fun and easy and will help you raise the SG a lot.
Also got to a local home brew shop and get a good belgian strain that will attenuate to 72% or more and withstand 10%abv or more.
Finally have fun!, you need to smell all the grains(especially light malt specialty grains) and select something you like. For a 5gal batch 2lbs of specialty grains is good.
Biscuit, caramel, and aromatic malts are a good place to start.
Other than that shoot for a starting SG of 1.070 and no higher than 1.080 and a finishing Sg of 1.010
Finally the most important two things are sanitization, which often times makes brewing seam less fun, and getting over the stress and having fun.
In my experience most home brewers are very stressed on sanitation and in my experience there should be no to stress.
Oh, i forgot to mention hops, for a belgian triple you should shoot for 36IBU's and for aromatics choose a hop you like the smell of. Its a lot like distilling...you make what you like and experiment.
Hope that helped a bit, i didnt reed the other posts for the most part, so sorry if i am just repeating what was already said.
thestew

[googe]

My fav is the plain old coppers lager or pal ale, kit style from safeway or the such. Ive tried part mashes, tasted a few mates full mashes and some from the brew shop that they make and i still love mine the best and have had great coments from many many people ( might be biest though haha). Coppers lager, 500g Ldm/ 500g dexrose, ferment for around 13 days at 10-16c or untill you reach 1004-1008sg, rack for 2-3 days. Its alot of stuffing around but when i bottle i put 1 carbonation drop in with 1 teaspoon of caster sugar in each bottle. Ive experimented with lots of different ways to carb and this way is the best ive found, makes it nice and creamy feeling in the mouth and holds a good head. (that sounds dodgey )

[bbonser]

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow is an excellent site and the one I always go to. For recipe kits I would check out morebeer.com http://morebeer.com/search/103501/beerw ... dient_Kits" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow they have kits for all types of beer for both all grain and extract brewing. I have ordered these before and the beer has always turned out good.

[rubber duck]

I'd start with a heff or an IPA/APA. It's pretty hard to mess that up, and start with something lighter on the abv.

Remember for good beer sanitation is key, don't use your plastic distilling fermenters or gear on beer.

[King Of Hearts]

Here is a place with tons of recipes, good software too, I use it.

http://beertools.com/html/recipe.php?st ... nt&order=d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Durace11]

I'd suggest a heffe. Everyone loves a good wheat beer and they are rediculously easy. The one I'm thinking of has one 8 oz specialty grain to deal with, one hop addition at the boil + malt, boil for 60, cool n pitch yeast. Kick back n look smart!

Best advice ever right there ^. Heff, Dunkle or Wit, you can almost not go wrong. Ferments in a week (7-10 days ferment, no secondary), light hops, can have fruit added(or not) to an almost endless combination, can be made spicy or plain(hop and spice additions are also almost endless), extract or all grain because both are easy and even if you "kit" it you will be happy with the results IMO.