Newbie with an English Porter Kit from Ballast Point Home Brew Mart...

[elisse]

I am a Total Newbie who was lucky enough to get a fabulous kit to make 5 gallons of English Porter from Ballast Point's Home Brew Mart... I have The "Brew It Yourself Home Brew Kit Instructions" Booklet... and that's it! LOL We have made wine (from a kit) successfully several times, but Beer Brewing is a Whole New Thing!
Our plan is to start to make it over Thanksgiving with our guests... ANY tips or help would be appreciated, as I really know nothing besides what is in the booklet...

 

[IslandLizard]

The actual fermenting of beer is similar to wine, but there are some important differences.
Do you have a 6-7 gallon fermenter for the beer?

How about a pot or kettle to boil in? How large?

I looked on their site, but could not find downloadable instructions, so can't tell how good or accurate they are.

To familiarize yourself with what goes into beer brewing, definitely read this: How to Brew - John Palmer
His latest, modernized 4th ed. book goes more in depth but maybe more than you need for a first brew.

There are also 100s of threads here on HBT that could help you get basic as well as more advanced knowledge.
One thing, omit secondaries. They're not needed in most cases.

Enjoy your new journey into beer brewing! It's great fun, and rewarding.

 

[Dovage]

Welcome to the world of home brew! Couple of tips. Starsan is your friend, temp control makes better beer. There are cheap ways to help with temp control you can find in the forums. Also don't be afraid to ask questions. This forum is a monster resource for answers [emoji482]

 

[Alex4mula]

I am a Total Newbie who was lucky enough to get a fabulous kit to make 5 gallons of English Porter from Ballast Point's Home Brew Mart... I have The "Brew It Yourself Home Brew Kit Instructions" Booklet... and that's it! LOL We have made wine (from a kit) successfully several times, but Beer Brewing is a Whole New Thing!
Our plan is to start to make it over Thanksgiving with our guests... ANY tips or help would be appreciated, as I really know nothing besides what is in the booklet...

Extract or all grain?

 

[RM-MN]

Here's the instructions from Ballast Point for an extract English Porter. It tells you enough without excessive commentary.

https://www.ballastpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/English-Porter-Extract-Recipe.pdf

These instructions are for an all grain kit.

https://www.ballastpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/English-Porter-All-Grain-Recipe.pdf

Only one of them applies to your kit.

 

[tellyho]

Kit instructions often tell you to move your beer to another vessel for secondary fermentation. Current consensus is that this is unnecessary and even detrimental to quality. Keep it simple.

 

[IslandLizard]

Here's the instructions from Ballast Point for an extract English Porter. It tells you enough without excessive commentary.

https://www.ballastpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/English-Porter-Extract-Recipe.pdf

These instructions are for an all grain kit.

https://www.ballastpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/English-Porter-All-Grain-Recipe.pdf

Only one of them applies to your kit.

Ah good, I looked everywhere on their site, couldn't find a hint of them.

The extract brewing instructions look very fine actually, up to pitching the yeast. They use WLP005 (is it supplied?). No instructions on how to store the (liquid) yeast between purchase and brew day. No instructions for a starter, or even checking the date.