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Author Topic: New here, new to brewing  (Read 2476 times)

Offline BrewBama

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New here, new to brewing
« Reply #15 on: February 05, 2018, 04:43:38 am »
It looks like you have Amber and Pale Ale covered. I recommend a stout for St Patrick’s Day. If that’s not your cup of tea maybe an Irish Red or even Blonde.


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« Last Edit: February 05, 2018, 06:48:37 pm by BrewBama »

Offline rburrelli

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #16 on: February 05, 2018, 10:00:07 am »
One of the first kits that I got was the White House Honey Porter kit. Mine was through Northern Brewer. As I recall there were steeping grains and extract. Got some good reviews from friends on that one.

That could allow you an intro to working with grains as well as extract.
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Online denny

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #17 on: February 05, 2018, 10:30:40 am »




FWIW, Palmer says don't do a secondary.

Palmer says noobs shouldn't, but that it's a process that benefits almost every style. If I don't do it this time, I still want to do it in one of the next few batches that I brew.

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[/quote]

From this very forum...

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=15108.msg191642#msg191642

"Therefore I, and Jamil and White Labs and Wyeast Labs, do not recommend racking to a secondary fermenter for ANY ale, except when conducting an actual second fermentation, such as adding fruit or souring. Racking to prevent autolysis is not necessary, and therefore the risk of oxidation is completely avoidable. Even lagers do not require racking to a second fermenter before lagering. With the right pitching rate, using fresh healthy yeast, and proper aeration of the wort prior to pitching, the fermentation of the beer will be complete within 3-8 days (bigger = longer). This time period includes the secondary or conditioning phase of fermentation when the yeast clean up acetaldehyde and diacetyl."
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Offline ethinson

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #18 on: February 05, 2018, 11:23:28 am »
Welcome to the addiction *ahem* I mean hobby!

The first piece of advice I got (I started with kits as well, Mr Beer, and I still extract brew) is to ditch the yeast in the kits.  I don't know about Austin Beer, but Mr Beer came with a pack of generic "Mr Beer Ale Yeast". No idea how old it is or what strain it is.  Likely a neutral ale like WL01 or US-05. 

As you get into more complicated styles, many of them are yeast dependent.  A lot of Belgian style beers derive a lot (if not all) of their flavors from the yeast.  Matching up yeast derived flavors with hop and malt derived flavors is the fun part for me.
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #19 on: February 05, 2018, 11:45:33 am »
Welcome to the fascinating world of homebrewing.  My suggestion is to brew beers that you like - repeat them until you have a process down and the results are consistent - batch to batch.  Then look to tackle new and unfamiliar styles, with the knowledge that your basic process is solid.  Then give beer to your friends and they will be there as you evolve and give you a reason to brew more often.  Cheers!
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Offline gunslinger249

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #20 on: February 06, 2018, 07:24:10 am »
It looks like you have Amber and Pale Ale covered. I recommend a stout for St Patrick’s Day. If that’s not your cup of tea maybe an Irish Red or even Blonde.


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I was leaning towards stout

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Offline gunslinger249

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #21 on: February 06, 2018, 07:25:09 am »
One of the first kits that I got was the White House Honey Porter kit. Mine was through Northern Brewer. As I recall there were steeping grains and extract. Got some good reviews from friends on that one.

That could allow you an intro to working with grains as well as extract.
This amber kit that I just did had steeping grains and extract too

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Offline gunslinger249

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #22 on: February 06, 2018, 07:27:10 am »




FWIW, Palmer says don't do a secondary.

Palmer says noobs shouldn't, but that it's a process that benefits almost every style. If I don't do it this time, I still want to do it in one of the next few batches that I brew.

Sent from my SM-J510L using Tapatalk

From this very forum...

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=15108.msg191642#msg191642

"Therefore I, and Jamil and White Labs and Wyeast Labs, do not recommend racking to a secondary fermenter for ANY ale, except when conducting an actual second fermentation, such as adding fruit or souring. Racking to prevent autolysis is not necessary, and therefore the risk of oxidation is completely avoidable. Even lagers do not require racking to a second fermenter before lagering. With the right pitching rate, using fresh healthy yeast, and proper aeration of the wort prior to pitching, the fermentation of the beer will be complete within 3-8 days (bigger = longer). This time period includes the secondary or conditioning phase of fermentation when the yeast clean up acetaldehyde and diacetyl."
[/quote]I've only been going off "How to Brew," so I wasn't aware that he said that. That's why I'm here though, so thanks.

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Offline gunslinger249

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #23 on: February 06, 2018, 07:27:50 am »
Welcome to the addiction *ahem* I mean hobby!

The first piece of advice I got (I started with kits as well, Mr Beer, and I still extract brew) is to ditch the yeast in the kits.  I don't know about Austin Beer, but Mr Beer came with a pack of generic "Mr Beer Ale Yeast". No idea how old it is or what strain it is.  Likely a neutral ale like WL01 or US-05. 

As you get into more complicated styles, many of them are yeast dependent.  A lot of Belgian style beers derive a lot (if not all) of their flavors from the yeast.  Matching up yeast derived flavors with hop and malt derived flavors is the fun part for me.
I'm limited to dry yeast for the time being, but thanks for the advice.

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Offline gunslinger249

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #24 on: February 06, 2018, 07:28:48 am »
Welcome to the fascinating world of homebrewing.  My suggestion is to brew beers that you like - repeat them until you have a process down and the results are consistent - batch to batch.  Then look to tackle new and unfamiliar styles, with the knowledge that your basic process is solid.  Then give beer to your friends and they will be there as you evolve and give you a reason to brew more often.  Cheers!
There's not much I don't like, so that shouldn't be too hard.

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Offline Andy Farke

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Re: New here, new to brewing
« Reply #25 on: February 06, 2018, 10:02:11 am »
Welcome to homebrewing! I agree that a stout or porter is a good early beer...it's flavorful, fairly foolproof and resistant to mistakes (or at least will cover them up in a way that a blonde ale won't). A good wheat ale is also fun to try, if those are in your taste spectrum. A saison is also a winner. I generally recommend trying beers that have some character in the first few batches--they're a bit more forgiving as you work out your technique.

It's funny, but your first batches almost exactly parallel my first few batches that I brewed solo. First was an amber ale, second a pale ale. I would be curious to know how this parallels the experience of other people!

Finally, relative to your comment on dry yeast, the good news is that there are a ton of options available now! I use liquid or dry yeast about 50/50, depending on my time and what I'm brewing. Dry yeast quality and variety is far above what it was even 10 years ago.
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