If you had a time machine, what what you tell your beginner brew-self?

[temple240]

"Put down that bleach and buy some starsan."

"Your three gallon pot will never fit all that extract"

 

[MrNickVT]

"Put down that bleach and buy some starsan."

I went directly to starsan and am glad. Saves a lot of time!

 

[frostyp]

Purchase auto siphon , use starsan instead of constantly making up powder sanitisers , making sure the kids have eaten before they are in and out of the kitchen constantly disturbing my beer making

 

[hehawbrew]

I'd go back 12 years and tell the 18 yr old me," go buy bread yeast and apple juice and make tons of cheap booze so you don't have to bug your brother to buy cheap beer and vodka!"

 

[MrNickVT]

I would go back and start this obsession earlier

 

[unionrdr]

I'd remind myself that I need to generate 1.21 gigawatts of power for the darn thing to work to begin with.
Seriously though,I'd tell myself to start brewing beer at the point where I quit making wine.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Octoberfests are Lagers, It will not turn out right if you do not consider the ferm temps. Don't take so long off between brews, it is much nicer if you constantly have something fermenting (still working on this one).

 

[kombat]

I'd remind myself that I need to generate 1.21 gigawatts of power for the darn thing to work to begin with.

I'm pretty sure it's pronounced "jigga-watts."

Great Scott!

 

[christpuncher123]

Buy a treadmill, and more toilet paper!!! Lol!

 

[mike024]

I would have to say that taking the time to understand yeast and fermentation temps is what has helped me the most. I still do extract and am finding that I can make some great beer if I am pitching enough healthy yeast and fermenting at the right temps. After mastering that aspect I would say save money and buy big for an AG system.

 

[unionrdr]

I'm pretty sure it's pronounced "jigga-watts."

Great Scott!

Yes it is,but it's spelled "gigawatts"...guess I missed my chance with all the thunderboomers the last few days. I agree about good temps & yeast pitch. Now if I could just get the VSS properly rigged to the flux capacitor...
Now that I'm doing PM,temps are def way more critical. Beersmith2 def helps as well.

 

[shoreman]

To simplify everything - buy 1 pot, build a mashtun and brew 2 malt, 2 hop beers - get 2 cornies and a simple keg system and enjoy the hobby - stop building sh*t and be happy with what you have.

Simplify and more simplify.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup. The only thing I needed to go PM BIAB was the 5 gallon paint strainer bag. Partial boil works quite well this way as well,so my 5G BK/MT is still in service.

 

[xtian116]

Experiment from the beginning! You'll enjoy it more. Don't stick to the 'rules', they are mainly just a guideline.

Sometimes 20% max really means 40% is perfect.

Don't waist your time with IPAs, you'll never find one you really like enough to brew again.
(12 down, luckily my friends enjoyed them.)

Go big from the start because once you know the first ^ on the list, you'll go from 5 - 30 gallons in less than a year. You could have bought a nice conical for what you wasted in pots.

 

[ACbrewer]

"Invest in Cornies.. the price will go up... " Oh and after I moved "open that darn HBS, it will make $$ after 2 or 3 years" this assumes I'm only go back to my younger starting self.... I fI could go back far enough "invest in X until... and then Y until...."

 

[Pilgarlic]

Start 10 years sooner.

In my case, 25 years earlier.

 

[Subsailor]

Don't take the 17 year hiatus from brewing - keep on brewing, Man!

 

[Cider123]

Seriously? I'd tell myself the powerball numbers for the next big payoff.

Then I'd brew beer in my castle.

 

[Mordhaus]

Tomorrow is my first brew day. It's good to read all the replies in this thread and be able to say, "Yep, got that one covered. Got that one. Got that one." Looks like any mistakes to me made will be error on my part and I'm hoping my acute attention to detail (ocd) won't let that happen. I'll have to keep telling myself, "Enjoy this. It's supposed to fun, not a mindf**k."

 

[mdbrewer1]

Resist the urge to open that first beer too early.

5 gal of one brew is a lot. Don't be afraid to scale down. You can experiment more that way and not have to worry about having 50 bottles of one beer you don't like.

To all of those people suggesting expensive upgrades, I don't know if I'd go that route. The people on here are the people who really enjoyed it/stuck with it. There are probably a fair number of people who spent lots of money, jumped in with both feet, and then for whatever reason chose not to continue. It also really isn't an option for people considering cost/space limitations.

 

[Mdsutton]

Power ball numbers for the next Big power ball drawing!

 

[Echoloc8]

Start making my own recipes earlier. Kits and recipes are great for getting basic techniques down, but I have learned more about beer in general and ingredients in particular from formulating my own recipes.

-Rich

 

[krackin]

The very best way to teach them revenuers a lesson is to take those ........

 

[CA_Mouse]

Start making my own recipes earlier. Kits and recipes are great for getting basic techniques down, but I have learned more about beer in general and ingredients in particular from formulating my own recipes.

-Rich

I agree 100% here. My first kit beers were pretty good (my first brew was a dunkle that no one could believe was an extract kit and that it was my first beer) and a partial mash kit made me realize how much better they could be. I just to All Grain in 4 months and my own recipes 2 months after that.

Mouse

 

[CA_Mouse]

Another thing... nylon stockings make a great trub filter!

Mouse

 

[Epimetheus]

It is easier to use 1/2 inch diameter instead of 3/8 inch for tubing, siphons, bottle fillers, valves, everything. The 1/2 inch diameter costs just a fraction more than 3/8 inch diameter but it has TWICE the flow area. It makes a noticeable difference how fast you can drain a kettle or fill bottles.

Any statements you read here or anywhere that you must get this or that, or must do things their way is suspect. Go with the equipment you have and just start brewing. You can get more or bigger stuff later.

Enjoy it! If you like using Mr. Beer or building brew sculptures, extract, all grain, cloning or striking out on your own, go ahead.

 

[unionrdr]

The problem comes in when spigots use 3/8" or 5/8" tubing,& bottling wands use 3/8".

 

[amandabab]

I hate 1/2 bottling wands. not bad with stubbies, but they leave a lot of headspace in longnecks and some wine bottles.

 

[Erroneous]

I would have to agree that buying more equipment earlier wasn't really an option. Unless of course I remembered those power ball numbers.

I would tell myself to calibrate my brew kettle before doing AG. It is better to get less beer at the right SG then the right volume of beer at the wrong SG. Also talk to your old boss about homebrew so you can get his equipment and get kegging sooner