This just arrived. When I’m back from Belgium, my Kegging kit and Kegerator conversation kit will arrive as well. I decided to jump right into kegging. It will be a cost savings over time and, if I am completely terrible at brewing beer, I can always use the kegerator for the purchase of commercial beers from local breweries. I may still bottle a few beers as my kit came with caps and a capping mechanism and there’s no shortage of bottles around the house. I save all of them for recycling. Kegging will be an awesome way for friends to enjoy my beers and I have a few 750ML flip-top growlers that friends can fill if they want to take some beers home.
Brew day is this Saturday. I’m still contemplating which recipes to do for the first two beers. I do know the 1st will be all malt extract and the second will be a partial mash. Stoked to embark on the next evolution in loving beer. I’ll try to get some photos of the brew process. I expect to do a very poor job on my first go but that’s what makes this so much fun!
If I may make a recommendation for your first kit, stick with something simple. A hopped-up pale ale, perhaps. Higher ABV fermentations require more care if you don’t want to make rubbing alcohol.
Excellent advice. I was picking brews based on what styles I like to drink such as Saison or Porter but, your advice and that from others has told me to stick with simple recipes, less ingredients and less fermentation time and thus less margin for error.
I do have a home brew buddy that offered to come by and oversee my first brew to make suggestions and I read Joy of homebrewing 3 times already so get things concrete in my head.
How do you feel about the kits that come with powdered yeast, extract and a bit of grain?
A kit for something like a porter or pale ale will come with a packet of US-05. I find that US-05 can make beer a bit too dry on lower ABV, but it would work well if you wanted to do something more in the 6-7% range. But then there is another problem where the powdered yeasts like to stay in suspension, so you’ll have a hard time getting a clear beer. I definitely prefer liquid yeast.
A small saison (5% or so) wouldn’t be a terrible choice, either.
Definitely get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Classic-Styles-Winning-Recipes/dp/0937381926/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1336613309&sr=8-4
It has excellent recipes for every style, yeast pitching rates for every beer, and every recipe is has both an extract version and an all grain version.
That book is affordable. I appreciate it. I’d love to do a honey saison but am intimidating by all grain recipes and I need a mash tun. Doing recipe hunting tonight and visiting the home brew store tomorrow to get some advice. Agreed on the cloudiness from dry yeast. I read that on the home brew forum.
Great blog! I arrived here from homebrewtalk.com. I would definitely recommend something simple, 6% tops. The higher ABV beers take a long time to age and you’ll want to drink it sooner than that. Even a small beer like an English mild or a light pale ale would have you drinking in three weeks since you are kegging. Once you have a good pipeline flowing you can do some bigger beers and give them the proper time to age. Welcome to the addiction!
Many thanks Ryan! I’ve been lurking on HBT for a long time now. It’s an incredible resource! I will stick to lower ABV beers but, being a lover of RIS and DIPAs, 10-12% is so desirable. You’re right though, long fermentation time will be unbearable!
Hope to chat with you soon.
If a “big” beer is fermented well, it doesn’t need much aging time, at all. And fermentation should only take an extra few days on a “big” beer.
That’s why you should avoid big beers for the time being, though. A great fermentation is a bit difficult to grasp and requires some extra equipment:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/beer-brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/fermentation-temperature-control/electric-fermentation-heater.html
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/beer-brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/fermentation-temperature-control/johnson-controls-a419-digital-temp-controller.html
Also a fridge or cool area, about 5 degrees or more below your ferment temp. The controller monitors the beer temp and turns on the heater when the ambient temp makes the beer drop below the threshold (68F for most ales).
Just remember, beer wants to become beer…it really isn’t difficult to do…and there are numerous ways to do it. I do brew-in-a-bag and have made fantastic beers…even though there is arguments back and forth in the community on BIAB vs traditional all grain brewing. I also do something called no chill which saves a lot of time with no ill effects to date for us. Lastly I actually ferment in the no chills which is even better for ease of clean-up.
If nothing else, the most important thing to do is control your fermentation temperatures…IMHO…and many others. :)
If you are looking for some good resources, I would HIGHLY recommend Basic Brewing Radio and Video podcasts…those guys are awesome!
As my friend said, his job title at the brewery is, “Yeast Landlord”. They do all the work, you just set the stage.
I am starting with 2 boxes of kits first. I can temp control fermentation. My beer cellar has an AC unit so I can set it from 55 to 70 and it stays that way which is good.
When back from Europe, I’ll go all grain just because i want a challenge. Your words are true and glad to know you’ve had great success!
Ambient temp is not equal to fermenter temp. An active fermentation is a few degrees warmer than ambient when left un-controlled. Also, exacting temp control of your fermentation allows you to do Diacetyl rests.