Homebrewing advice wanted

 A while back I replied to a "what do you want to do when you retire" post. I said that I wanted to learn to make my own beer. So I got to thinking and decided that I ain't waiting 30 more years. Plus I need something to tweak on when the wx sucks. So, I got a couple books and have been listening to a ton of podcasts about the subject and went out and got all the necessary stuff (i think) to start my first 5 gallon batch of brew. I'm going to try a coffee stout using dry malt extract. Hopefully cook it up this weekend since the wind is up. Any advice from you homebrew vets out there (Martin, Jim) would be mucho appreciated. Any what-to-do or what-not-to do, style recommendations for a beginner, etc.  I love lagers, but the dude at the supply house said to wait on that. Okay, it's off to the garage to figure out how this siphon and bottle filler chingadera works before Saturday. Thanks in advance.

The best advice anyone can give you is:
Share with Tote!

My suggestion would be start with a simple brew for the first one.  The more complex the process the easier it is to have something go wrong and who wants bad beer for their first batch.  My other suggestion would be to get the book "The Joy of Home Brewing" if you don't already have it.  One of the best home brew books out their.  I have the first edition.  Here is a link to it at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053.  Next and most important, plus your wife will love you for this one, CLEAN, CLEAN and CLEAN.  The easiest way to ruin a batch is a contaminated work area.  And have fun with it.

Agreed, contamination is your enemy. clean and disinfect.  And Happy Brewing!

Chadrock,
The most important thing you can do is SANITIZE.  The brewing isn't really that difficult but unclean bottles can ruin the best brew.  I don't keg so bottle sanitizing is the most important step as far as I'm concerned.  I would start with an ingredient kit from a place like Morebrew.com.  They have a retail store in Concord but you can order any thing you want from Morebeer.com.  Make sure your yeast is warmed up before you inject the brew.  I usually put it in the front pocket of my jeans when I begin the cooking process and it's just right after the boil and cooling process are completed. Make sure you rock the carboy for a few minutes to oxygenate the wort and get the fermentation started.  This time of year, it's important to find a cool place to put the carboy for the fermentation process.  Too hot and it will kill the yeast and too cool the yeast wont "eat".  Seeing the fermentation and the "churning" of the wort is one of the most satisfying parts of brewing. Care after the wort has cooled is really crucial.  Infected beer will taste like shit and you will know immediately if you screwed up.  Just remember, once it has cooled it becomes very fragile and cleanliness is next to ???????.  I always run my bottles (new or used) through the dishwasher without detergent as a final cleaning step after the scrubbing and Star San rinse.  I like to use the dishwasher door as a bottling platform and fill right on the door.  Let me know if you need any help or have any questions.  Fishin' 'N Brewin' are my primary activities.

Martin

Who was the fresh and flatwater yakker who used to live in the Santa Cruz area, then moved to Chico and was studying to become a brewer? Mol Basser?  He ought to have some ideas for you.
   I could only tell you some stories about large explosions caused by filling old champagne bottles with bad (and then illegal) beer. 

The most important thing you can do is SANITIZE. 

+1

The other item once you have done it a couple times is either buy or build a full size kettle. This will allow for full size batches and prevent boil over. Here is the kettle I built which allows me to brew 10 gallon batches at a time with out that concern.....also kegging is nice too and you can always bottle from the keg if you want to go somewhere.

share with me!

Thanks guys! Keep em coming! I'm totally stoked to start this project. My dad is coming over to help me (ie: supervise and tell me how fucked up I am), so at least I got that going for me.   I will definitely pay close attention to sanitizing for sure. Great tips fellas. And Tote, I got you covered bro. You too Andy.

Who was the fresh and flatwater yakker who used to live in the Santa Cruz area, then moved to Chico and was studying to become a brewer? Mol Basser?  He ought to have some ideas for you.
   I could only tell you some stories about large explosions caused by filling old champagne bottles with bad (and then illegal) beer.

Molbasser - he moved to Davis/Sac and studied to become a brewmaster....I believe he is now working for a certain beer Company..

Well, here goes nothing...

Looking good!  Save a bottle for me.


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http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=8940.0

Sweet, call me up when it's ready You need to remodel your brewery soon tho:smt005

I will echo what these guys have said. Keep it simple!
You will have an inclination when you are beginning(like I did) to try and brew the fun beers that have lots of flavors going on, etc. One of the best pieces of advice that my buddy gave to me was to try and get a style down before adding any adjunct inredients to it. It will help you understand the limits of your equipment and find any faults with your process.
Keep everything CLEAN after the boil. nothing worse then 40 bucks and 4 hours down the drain.
YEAST! Lots of yeast. use the yeast calculator at www.mrmalty.com to see how much yeast to pitch. Yeast will make or break your brew.
When money allows, control the temperature of your fermentation with a fridge/ external thermostat, etc...

This last piece was the hardest for me to learn. Dont get hammered while brewing! It is easy to do! Its a lot easier to make a lot of little mistakes that can affect the final outcome when you are tipsy.

If you would ever like to join us, lemme know. FFmoto and myself work together, brew together and sometimes get to fish together. We would be happy to have you join.

Most of all, have fun!!!!

Fureyous1