First time brewer.

[Dale90]

Hi there everyone,

Have decided I need a hobby and have landed on home brewing. Have been drinking craft beer for years and feel like this is something I will really enjoy.

I only have a very limited knowledge from my research so far, but I would like to purchase an all in one set up and start all grain brewing. Leaning towards a Guten.

I would ideally like to make ipas, lagers and pilsners.

So feel free to tell me if I am crazy and am going to get in way too over my head too early. Looking forward to being apart of the community and learning a new skill!

 

[Nick the Knife]

Dale,

I'm sure you'll pick the right brewing system. Just make sure you keep the variables at a minimum for your inital brews e.g do a SMASH recipe (single hop used only).

Also you're going to need a way to temp control your brews - that IMHO will be far more critical to the end result than a shiny AIO brew system.

Personally I would either put up a wanted ad or keep an eye on the classifieds/gumtree/FB marketplace as quality used gear is sold off for pennies on the dollar - easy way to get a proven setup and feedback on it's us while you save.

 

[Dale90]

Dale,

I'm sure you'll pick the right brewing system. Just make sure you keep the variables at a minimum for your inital brews e.g do a SMASH recipe (single hop used only).

Also you're going to need a way to temp control your brews - that IMHO will be far more critical to the end result than a shiny AIO brew system.

Personally I would either put up a wanted ad or keep an eye on the classifieds/gumtree/FB marketplace as quality used gear is sold off for pennies on the dollar - easy way to get a proven setup and feedback on it's us while you save.

Thanks for the reply Nick.
Am I correct the temperature control is during fermentation? If that’s the case I was thinking of using a fridge with an inkbird temperature controller.

 

[Nick the Knife]

Thanks for the reply Nick.
Am I correct the temperature control is during fermentation? If that’s the case I was thinking of using a fridge with an inkbird temperature controller.

Bang on Dale, in super simple terms there are 3 aspects that are most critical to brewing. Hygiene/Cleanliness, Ingredients and Temperature Control.

Folks hone in on the former two but the latter is equally important (well hygiene is likely far and away the most important as without this it will be literally undrinkable, the others would be nasty but do-able).

The fridge + an Inkbird TC would be a super solution.

 

[Hangover68]

If you havent brewed anything before i suggest not lashing out on an expensive auto system and just start off with a few kits and then maybe a basic BIAB setup , expensive gear doesn't make better beer.

 

[Dale90]

If you havent brewed anything before i suggest not lashing out on an expensive auto system and just start off with a few kits and then maybe a basic BIAB setup , expensive gear doesn't make better beer.

I 100% get what you are saying. I just know what I’m like, I feel like all grain gives a lot more options with hops ect and that’s where I’d want to get to. So if I do it, I’ll probably jump straight in.

It doesn’t seem like an all grain set up is too crazy expensive. After further research the brewzilla looks like a solid starting point.

 

[Osangar]

Welcome to the hobby. it's excellent making your own beer.