First brew failed, trying again 30 years later...

Another newbie here, from New Albany, IN!
First tried my hand brewing beer back in college in NC... which was
like 1982! What a failure... the mash boiled over, and my puppy
chewed the airlock on my fermenter to pieces.
So, now, many years later, my wife got me a decent brew kit
and an IPA kit for my first second try.
Planning on giving it a whirl this weekend, wish me luck!

Good luck!

They actually have this interesting thing they're adding to beer these days called "Hops." Welcome to the FUTURE!

Great Scott!

Mash:
I quit HB in '79 'cause the craft was pathetic at best. In early '12 I came across HB info on web, researched the latest books, settled on Palmer's EXCELLENT book(third edition), found the craft was now an industry, thought I'd died and gone to HB heaven!!! Get the book! Try used on Amazon, but get it, read it before you come back here. Please!!! Yes, this applies to the rest of you, as well.
Fully 60% of the questions asked here could be eliminated if brewers would READ THE BOOK. ANY book.
I would much prefer to explain the concept of pH than to have to waste time reading that someone just discovered that 6gal of liquid and 1gal of foam will not both fit in a 6gal carboy at the same time; or that yeast is alive and so should not be pitched into boiling water. Good luck.

Why buy a book when you can get a PDF of it for free off the internet?

Thakaz,

Welcome back to heaven. I wish you all the best in your first(revirgin) batch. You can buy as many books as you want, but the best way in my opinion to start so that you don't get overloaded by the science of it all, is peruse youtube, homebrewtalk, and other brewsites.

Don't get into the science of it all too quick or you'll be overloaded. As Papazian quotes, "relax and have a homebrew".:rockin:

herp derp, me no how to use goggles

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

Welcome Mash...I started brewing long ago and have tried to keep up with the advances...it seams the basics are still the same. My beers are still great and getting better with all the information available...this place is great...wish I had this back in the 80s.

Thakaz said:

Why buy a book when you can get a PDF of it for free off the internet?

Click to expand...

The entire book?
Why would anyone, especially on HBT, just take without considering the effort & expense it takes to write a book in the first place? Much less, edit , and format to pdf...
Have some respect and "put in" your two cents in the brewing world, beside pointing out the obvious, and BUY THE BOOK!
Pay the man! He's done more for the hobby/industry of homebrewing than most of us could dream to. It would set you back a whopping 12-18 bucks. Less than a batch of home brew. Pull the trigger and buy the book. It's a win-win for everyone involved. That's the point.

I misspoke in a previous post, it's not available in PDF format; the 1st edition is available on the website I posted earlier. Let me quote the man who wrote the book for you, but it may be hard to read from way up there on your high horse,

"But to really teach people how to brew, whether it be with malt extract or with grain, I have written a comprehensive book for the homebrewer titled simply, "How To Brew." The book covers both extract and all-grain brewing and explains the science behind the ingredients, malting, mashing, and fermentation to help you brew your best beer ever. The first edition was released online in June, 2000, courtesy of the good people at Realbeer.com."

Welcome to 12 years ago.

Jesus Mash...look what you've started.

Very cool indeed.
Sorry if I offend. Not my intention, mate.
In my defense, I just like to support the people with actual money/sales by actually buying the book. 3rd edition is best, so I've heard.
Then, I have the book. In case there's no Internet one day. God forbid!!
You can also gift someone the actual, tangible book to help them in their brewing. And maybe that book will move on to someone else....
I'm an old school type kid, and have a hard time understanding the trend of just taking things sight unseen.

Mash- beside sidetracking and high jacking your thread, sorry, I've learned an immense amount of information & technique from The Brewing Network podcasts. Available for free on the damned Internet, specifically BrewStrong, Jamil Show/Can You Brew It. Also check out Beersmith from Brad Smith. Absolutely awesome! Good luck and good brewing! Welcome back mate!

I flew off the handle a little too. Later editions do have updated info since the original was published back in 1992. Some other good reading (that I haven't found for free on the internet)

-Brewing Classic Styles, by Zainasheff and Palmer
-Radical Brewing, by Randy Mosher

Radical Brewing was my favorite read as it wasn't as dry as How to Brew, but it doesn't come close to the amount of technical information that's in How to Brew.

Thakaz said:

I flew off the handle a little too. Later editions do have updated info since the original was published back in 1992. Some other good reading (that I haven't found for free on the internet)

-Brewing Classic Styles, by Zainasheff and Palmer
-Radical Brewing, by Randy Mosher

Radical Brewing was my favorite read as it wasn't as dry as How to Brew, but it doesn't come close to the amount of technical information that's in How to Brew.

Click to expand...

Copy that, dude. Got both of them too. Great reads! Friends again? Haha.

Yeah, we're good. :jumpinghighfivecheers:

My wife got me a book by Snyder on Homebrewing along with the kit.
Gave a decent overview, and is mostly recipes for brews, which is
fine with me. But I will still look up Palmer's book.
Being a geeky nerd kind of guy, I like the science behind
it all, and am looking forward to experimenting.
The only problem is that I am new to my area, and don't have a bunch
of friends to share with... Which means that if I drink all my beer, I'm
gonna look like Santa Claus before too long!!!! Which I have so far
successfully avoided for 52 years....

Today was the Big Day!
I popped the top on the first bottle of my IPA brew.
Must say I was very trepidacious and didn't have high hopes..
But was pleasantly surprised!
Good clear amber color, nice head, good full flavor, a little bitter
with that lovely hoppy citrus note at the end!
SUCCESS!
Hmmmmmmmm, what to brew next????????

And thanks to all the posters here who gave great tips and
advice in the many posts and threads I read! It really helped!

With warmer weather...wheats are great! I'm getting ready to brew a Kolsch this weekend.