re: Homebrewing: In-Process Thread

I have less confidence than you.

I already laid the plans and got approval for a keg fridge. Explained how much time and money it would save.

That is what I have read from all these threads and everywhere else I looked. Gotta start sometime though.

Just gonna have a hard time sleeping knowing all the yeast are fricking in the next room.

They don't technically frick, but that said, I agree with LST. I like to listen to them fart. I also like to smell their farts. Few things more satifying than a stinky machine-gun airlock/blowoff.

Yeah, Chico's pale ale is fantastic.

First brew day of the year. Another batch of my coffee vanilla porter. I brewed this same beer on New Year's Day last year too. It was my first all grain batch. This batch will be entered in a couple of the Bayou Circuit competitions.

I bet if I read all 255 pages of this thread I could find what I want, but who has that kind of time? I want to start brewing my own beer. I've been hesitant to start because I like to drink GREAT beer and I know I won't brew great beer from day 1. Anyway, I'm just looking for any small tidbits of advice before I start my journey into home brewing. (Any recommended Books, magazines, websites, seminars, brewing kits, etc.). I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.

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Anyway, I'm just looking for any small tidbits of advice before I start my journey into home brewing. 

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There are a few things that can help reduce your learning curve and start producing good beer quickly.

There are a lot of good books out there with great information. John Palmer 'How to brew' & Jamil Zainasheff 'Brewing Classic Styles' are at or near the top of most people's list. If you read these books and follow their advice your probably 85% on your way.

The techniques that will make the biggest difference in your beer are.
1 - Ability to control fermentation temperature
2 - Full boil brewing (as opposed to boiling 3 gal and topping off fermenter)
3 - Pitch happy yeast ( fresh yeast and/or appropriate size starters)
4 - Go all grain or Brew in a Bag

Honestly if you only drink GREAT beer home brewing may not be for you. Brewing is an art and a skill that takes time to master. Every great brewer I know has earned their stripes by brewing a bad batch or two and dumping it.

To you, what is GREAT?

Eta: just curious. Also brew your own is a good website. Lots of archived articles.

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Anyway, I'm just looking for any small tidbits of advice before I start my journey into home brewing.

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My advice is this: If you have the means, skip the extract brewing and go all-grain from the get go. You may spend a little more in the beginning on equipment (mash tun and a brew kettle big enough to handle full boils), but it's worth it. And you'll save money in the long run, because extract gets to be expensive.

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Pitching on the yeast cake?


Nope, timing didn't work out to do that.

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I've got a bucket.. err I mean yeast cake that has been in my garage for a month. I used about half for a sour dark rye mild and the other half will be used this weekend for a saison. I have to figure out how to keep the saison warm.