Starting to Homebrew......

Hey all,

Just wanted to pop in here and see if you guys could recommend any resources to me that I would need to begin my homebrew adventure. I am in the Knoxville, TN area and will be using the local shop Ferment City (if any of you know it). I have never done this before, and I have been reading up/ watching YouTube videos trying to expand my knowledge. I’ll probably be brewing from one of the general recipes/kits for the first time or two so that I get the process down. I have noticed that one of the biggest precautions to take is to sanitize, sanitize, and then sanitize some more, which I think I’ll be OCD about that. Well any information it appreciated.

Thanks
BadAprilia1000

Just jump in and go for it.

How to Brew – John Palmer
Brewing Classic Styles – Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer

both stefansd and bitbucket nailed it, besides what they said, never stop reading about brewing and techniques and ingredients. one can never know enough.

Tons of great videos here:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewingtv/

Check out the local forum, I left about two years ago, but I know tronraner brews often, you could probably watch/help on one of his brewdays. Seeing the process is a big help at least for visual learners like myself.

Otherwise, How to Brew is a very good resource. What sort of equipment do you have right now? Are you doing all grain or extract? All of this would help with some additional pointers.

Good luck.

What everyone else said. Also, don’t be afraid to mess up a batch. Everyone messes up batches. I still do, and still learn far more from the botched batches than I do from the successful ones.

decaturstevo and I are both homebrewers in the Knoxville area. BM sent.
welcome!

Originally posted by SpringsLicker
decaturstevo and I are both homebrewers in the Knoxville area. BM sent.
welcome!

Not a homebrewer.

Farmbrewer. ;)

Go all grain from the beginning. You will save yourself money in the long run. And do full boils. You will get much better beer from the beginning. Get the biggest pot you can afford, and go one size bigger. And invest in a wort chiller that is at least 50 feet. And get a Bayou Classic Turkey fryer combo kit. And a refractometer. And a few good thermometers.

If you know you want to homebrew, you are going to have to shell out some money. Most of what you buy in a beginners kit will not be useful if you want to make good beer. For a 5 gallon batch, you will need at least a 6 gallon pot. 7 is better. Use a 10 gallon igloo cooler as a mash tun. If you go all grain from the beginning, you will probably save 200-300 on buying the entry level stuff, and then never using it. You can get better stuff with that money you save. The only difference with doing all grain is that you will need 1.5 hours more for your brew day. The process is really simple. I think all brew shops tell you to start extract because the ingredients are double to triple the price, and they sell all of the equipment. If you go all grain, you can make a lot of your stuff.

The most important thing you can do is ferment at the proper temp for the yeast you choose. Typically between 64-68 for common ale yeasts. Since your in Knoxville, my guess is that this will be somewhat difficult to achieve without some kind of creativity. Try putting your fermenter in a plastic tub full of water and add ice to the tub a few times a day to keep temps down for at least week 1. You can let it slide a little after that.