What's the 1 bit of advice you wish someone had given you, which you'd pass on to a new brewer?

[ElvisIsBeer]

Just what I said (above)...

 

[Oneflewover]

Just go for it, it's not that complicated to make good beer!

 

[Wouter]

Always use hose clamps to secure hoses connected to running water :sad1:

The amount of times I've had a hose fly off the tap and spray my entire kitchen with water is... well too many.

 

[marshbrewer]

Ignore the timings on the instructions; go for 2+2+2 initially.

 

[Drunkula]

Never buy spraymalt just use loads of sugar instead, but make sure it's brewing sugar because that's the stuff you want and is exactly the same as spraymalt, just cheaper because they don't put gravy browning in it, and it says the beer is ready in a week but that's rubbish - if you use loads more sugar it's ready the next day because sugar is what makes yeast work, they just say a week because is makes it seem really complicated and arty.

 

[GerritT]

Read a good book about it. Oh I did read, it just wasn't a very good book.

 

[Litmus]

Brewing is an escape and to be savoured, if you don't have the time to do a brew and enjoy every minute, don't start..... Or get a no-chill cube :)

 

[-Bezza-]

Slow down.

That's the one thing I've learnt from this forum that has greatly improved the beer I'm producing. Slow down at every step - ferment longer and condition longer.

So basically an extension of 2+2+2 / ignore the instructions.

 

[MickDundee]

A teaspoon of sugar per 500ml bottle is not a good rule of thumb, and if you do insist on doing it make sure it’s a level spoonful not a rounded/heaped one!

 

[LarryF]

If it looks clean,clean it again and then spray it with sanitiser.

 

[Litmus]

Just what I said (above)...

Whats yours?

 

[MickDundee]

Never buy spraymalt just use loads of sugar instead, but make sure it's brewing sugar because that's the stuff you want and is exactly the same as spraymalt, just cheaper because they don't put gravy browning in it, and it says the beer is ready in a week but that's rubbish - if you use loads more sugar it's ready the next day because sugar is what makes yeast work, they just say a week because is makes it seem really complicated and arty.

I thought spraymalt was DME?

 

[Zephyr259]

I thought spraymalt was DME?

It is, it's Munton's brand name. I was trying to work out it Drunkula's post was meant in the negative, as in here's what I'd advise not to do?

And I guess my advice is similar to some above, ignore kit instructions, they're mostly entirely wrong. I'm glad I was lucky with my kits otherwise I'd have never made it to AG brewing. :-)

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

Whats yours?

:thumb: I'd probably have to go with 'patience will be rewarded'

 

[Leon103]

Never join a brewing forum

 

[Drunkula]

I thought spraymalt was DME?

Spraymalt is DME but DME isn't brewing sugar. I've never thought about it before but maybe some people do actually think that brewing sugar is spraymalt at the start.

My real recommendation would be research, research, research. Loads of brewing information out there is just outdated junk from the bygone era of 1980 and it just sticks around. Just a few here:


Palmer and Jamil and the Brulosophy guys were saying with almost all malts you can boil with the lid on so that's a test I'll be doing.

Never join a brewing forum

Or if you accidentally do, you mean never look in The Snug of a brewing forum.

 

[Stephenj]

Don't start, you'll regret it!!!!

 

[MickDundee]

Spraymalt is DME but DME isn't brewing sugar. I've never thought about it before but maybe some people do actually think that brewing sugar is spraymalt at the start.

Gotcha! I’ve been ill this week, and I don’t usually struggle to “get” sarcasm!

 

[Clint]

I'd go with patience..also kits are not enough...shiny is good...resistance is futile! Ask if you don't know...there are NO stupid questions!

 

[AdeDunn]

Hmmm, it's a difficult choice, between:-

Kit brewing is not a step towards learning how to brew, and doesn't actually teach you any more than making mead or wine kits etc. By the time you've made a few "premium" kits, you've spent around the same as a half decent BIAB setup would cost you, so just go for AG from the off if you have the time, you'll learn way more. If you don't have the time, go for extract brewing rather than kits, kits you're just paying for something that vaguely resembles beer. Either way, buy a copy of Home Brew Beer by Greg Hughes and read it well BEFORE you start asking for advice on a forum. Home Brew Beer won't steer you wrong, sometimes people on a forum will.

Or

There are 2 types of brewers on home brewing fora. People who brew their own beer because they want to try to produce better beer, and come up with new (to them) flavours. People who brew their own beer because they want to produce something that tastes enough like beer to get by and gets them squiffy as cheaply as possible. The first give good advice on how to improve your beer, the second give good advice on how to get drunk on the cheap. :p Learn to tell them apart as quickly as possible, and decide which camp you belong to so you know which advice to take.