Fermentation Friday – Just Brew It

Posted on 07.25.08 11:55AM under Brewing, Fermentation Friday

Today is Friday. It isn’t just any Friday. It’s Fermentation Friday! That’s the recently established tradition of a group homebrewing blogging day, set up by Adam at BeerBits2. This month’s topic is hosted by Brew Dudes, and it’s about the best tip you could give to a starting homebrewer.

It’s tough to look back and try to remember what sorts of topics would be of interest to a starting brewer. I spent some time reflecting on my first days of brewing, and the weeks of preparation leading up to that first day. I came up with a simple piece of advice to give to starting brewers.

Just Brew It

You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to make beer. Sure, you need some things that you might not otherwise have laying around the house, like a 20-quart kettle and a few big buckets, an airlock, bottles and caps and a capper, a hydrometer and some other odds and ends. But there are a lot of gadgets that you don’t need.

I recommend starting with just the basic beginners kit that you can get at your local homebrew shop. Whatever’s in there is going to be enough to make beer. Then once you’ve made a few batches, you can go get some more stuff that you know will make an improvement for you.

Sitting there pondering your first brewing experience, it might seem critical to have a refractometer, or elaborate filtering systems for getting clear wort into the fermenter. You might think that you need a lot of different advanced tools and techniques just to make beer. But it’s not until you give it a go that you’ll really know what you do need and what you don’t need.

So my advice boils down to this: just get started. Get some basic equipment and make some basic beer. Sure, you want to read all about it so you’re prepared, but no amount of reading will compare with the practical experience you’ll gain from actually making beer.

Read Comments

  1. Posted by Adam on 07.25.08 3:09 pm

    You said it! Great advice.

  2. Posted by Boak on 07.25.08 4:46 pm

    Amen. And remember that whatever happens, you will end up with wort on the floor, because you haven’t quite planned out how you’ll transfer it from one vessel to another.

    This doesn’t make you a bad person. You will learn from it, and brew better next time…

  3. Posted by Keith Brainard on 07.25.08 8:25 pm

    I actually spill so much wort on the floor of my garage that I need to mop it down with bleach every few months. Even with a well-established transfer routine! As long as I get at least 45 12-ounce bottles in the end, I’m happy!

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