[crynski]

Northern brewer also has a good selection of one gallon kits. Smaller batches are an option for smaller spaces and experimentation, but if you want and will use 5 gallons go for it and get the big pot (they are not kidding a 6 gallon pot won't cut it) I have a 5 gallon pot I use for small batches and cider concentrate kits, but my next big batch will need a bigger pot for full boil. 

Books, are a great suggestion, but I would add go to the library, read several of the recommended titles and see which ones explain things in a way that suits you personally.  Nothing worse than buying a book everyone loves only to find the author's presentation isn't for you.

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[Joe Sr.]

The best place to start is with the type of beer you like.  No sense brewing something you won't enjoy even if it comes out perfect.

Unless you're going for a lager or a really big (high alcohol beer) I think most styles can be pretty straightforward.

Personally, I would go with an English ale (bitter, mild, stout, porter) or a Belgian ale.  Either one can be forgiving on fermentation temps and either can run the gamut from low ABV to high. 

But, if you're a pale ale guy then brew a pale ale.

It's not as hard as you might think.

[pete b]

Any tips that may help out with shoddy instructions?

1. Use a book like Palmer's "How to Brew". As I recall that has a section that will walk you through the process.
2. Boils as big a volume as your current kettle allows.
3. FERMENT AT A TEMP THAT IS SUITABLE FOR THE STYLE YOU PICK: THE RANGE RECOMMENDED IN THE INSTRUCTIONS/YEAST PACKET MAY INCLUDE TEMPS THAT ARE TOO HIGH. Simply post here when you pick a style and someone will tell you a good temp and some simple options for holding the temp.
4. If the directions simply tell you to aerate the wort by shaking the fermenter a bit you want to do a lot more than that: there's something called a mix stir a brew shop or online store will have that attaches to a cordless drill. They are great but you can use a clean paint stirrer. A clean and sanitized whisk works great if you go crazy with it for a couple minutes. basically you want to whip the wort into foam.
5. Don't bother with a secondary fermenter.
6. When making your priming sugar at bottling use a priming sugar calculator instead of the entire packet they give you. Northern Brewer has one I use online. Just pick your style, volume, and the temp of the beer and it will tell you how much sugar. Measure by weight if you can but volume measurements are close enough, especially for a 5 gallon or larger batch. Another tip is to put the warm priming solution in the bottling bucket then rack the beer in. It will mix in uniformly that way without adding excessive oxygen.

[marfastewart]

Really great information here! I read through more posts. We opted to go with the Irish Red Ale Extract Kit from Northern Brewer. http://www.northernbrewer.com/irish-red-ale-extract-kit and brewed it yesterday.

The process went well and we were happy to have the co-op owner there to help us. We were brewing a 5 gallon kit on 15 gallon pots so I had to use a step stool to get everything done as the liquid was so low in the pot. I also had an issue with the hops being in pellet form. Once I added them to the boil they sort of foamed up and stuck to the sides of the giant pot. We ended up adding more water so we could scrape them down the side.

Next time we're hoping to do the all-grain method but I'm glad we used the extract this time around.

[Bomber 22]

Clearly, I came to the right place. Yeah, I'm wanting to do an extract kit (preferably with specialty grains) and not a partial mash kit. I think I'm going to get an Northern Brewer kit, they all seem highly reviewed on their site and I have to order a couple more things from them before we are ready to brew anyway.

I'm going to start brewing with my dad. We are splitting the costs of the equipment and we found a sweet deal locally on craigslist from someone selling their equipment. I've heard that extract kits do better with a full water volume boil so we are going to get a 6 gallon stainless pot, which will help us transition to all grain. It's kinda the standard starter/bucket-brew/bottling kit; 6 gallon primary bucket, 5 gallon glass secondary, 6.5 gallon bottling bucket.

Any tips that may help out with shoddy instructions?

I don't have enough experience to give any advice.  However, I just wanted to give a heads up to check on the btu rating of your stove and/or if you have an outdoor propane type of burner.  Just based on reading posts, I've learned that some all-grain brewers use more powerful propane burners (compared to their stoves) in order to reduce boil time (with those big all-grain batches).  Also, sometimes there's simply more space outdoors or in the open garage to shuffle the pots/carboys around.

[euge]

It is also ok to straddle the coils on an electric stove or the burners on a gas stove-top.

I have a 20 gallon pot straddling three burners for about 37K btu. Gets the job done.

[HoosierBrew]

It is also ok to straddle the coils on an electric stove or the burners on a gas stove-top.

+1.  My 10 gallon pot straddles 2 gas burners in the kitchen on the occasional day that I decide not to brew outside.

[crynski]

I miss my gas stove. I have a glass top electric in this house and the previous owner cut the gas line to the kitchen.  I am stealing my dad's turkey fryer for my next rare 5 gallon batch.

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