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One thing that isn't to style is the hop choice. If you want the Amarillo to really shine consider using a more neutral yeast and make it more of an American Pale Ale.

66℃ will be fine for a beer of this gravity especially if you're doing a no sparge BIAB. 30 grams dry hop will be a nice amount for a batch this size. Bitter is a type of English Pale Ale and this recipe fits into the BJCP style guidelines for a bitter, it's just at the lighter end.

Agreed 90 minutes is not required. If that's how you want to do it I'm not going to tell you otherwise, however I mash for an hour and and always get good results. Unless you're heating the mash, the temperature drop is going to cause problems with the enzymes creating simpler sugars resulting...

I use beer smith and it does everything I want so five best features would be hard, but I'll list a couple. Water calculator Inventory thingy Down side is I think the user interface isn't just poor, it's dreadful and really dated.

I batch prime in a bottling bucket and find it mixes absolutely fine and is always very consistent across the batch.

I use a big generous wad off kitchen or toilet roll stuck down with electrical tape so that there are no gaps around the edges for cool or warm air to seep through.

You'll get some people say to do it one way and others will swear that their way is best. I stick mine on the outside with a generous layer of insulation covering it.

I get less wort absorption when BIAB compared to conventional three vessel. I assume because when I lift the bag out and leave it to drain the grain is a lot looser and allows more run off.

If your LHBS doesn't do them they are on eBay for £4.50

Good to see ambition. I taught a guy how to brew last year and six months later he started a brewery so your goal is definitely achievable. Good luck!

There is a spanner available that fits over the cap.

It probably is overkill for making for his first kit, but how often do we brewers buy something just to have an extra toy or something shiny when we've been making perfectly good beer without it? If he's fermenting indoors then I doubt a heater would be required at all except maybe right at the...

What style beers do you usually brew?

A heater by itself isn't good enough. In the early stages of fermentation you will more likely be needing to cool the wort, not heat it. A second hand fridge (£10-£20), an STC 1000 temperature controller (£15) and some sort of heater are what you need.

As far as beer life, as in no off flavours goes, I can't comment. What I can comment on is my disappointment with polypins loosing hop flavour in a big way. I've bottled and pinned the same beer and the difference in flavour and aroma is staggering after only two to three weeks.

Temperature control, behind proper sanitation, is the second most important thing can do. Yeast likes a stable temperature and it will get stressed with regular fluctuations. Heat belts and pads are a bad idea unless they are connected to a temperature controller measuring wort temperature...

For your first brew why not search for a clone recipe of your favourite commercial beer? At least you'll know what you're aiming for in your finished product.

PET bottles will let oxygen in so aren't suitable for long term storage, not a problem if you get through your batch quickly. Plastic also absorbs flavour, particularly hop flavour and aroma. Just stick your nose into a clean plastic fermenter that has had a hoppy beer in it.

One person's losses will differ from another. Do a few brews and take measurements at every stage and you'll have the answers for your setup.

I fill the clear cylinder float thingy about a third full with Starsan or pre boiled water so that the float sits slightly lower in the beer.