Homebrewing Stack Exchange
Homebrewing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [first-time-brewer]

Questions pertaining to the caution or concerns of someone new to home-brewing.

190 questions
30
votes
14 answers

Good home brewing blogs

Any suggestions for good blogs aimed at home brewers?
jason.vanderhoof
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5
votes
1 answer

My first brew tastes a bit like champage. Did I do something wrong?

I just got finished with my very first brew! It is a blonde that I made from a Mr. Beer kit. It smells and tastes good, but I was a bit worried because it also has sort of a champagne taste. Did I do something wrong to get this to happen, or do…
Metropolis
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5
votes
5 answers

Should I boil water before adding it to the cooled wort?

Given the importance of sanitation, particularly after the boil, should I boil water before adding it to the cooled wort to bring the volume up to 5 Gal? Tap water is of good quality and tastes good.
Lee E
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4
votes
2 answers

Airlock is not moving but gravity has dropped

Well I bought a kit and followed the instructions. It has bee 4 days now and I don't think I have seen my airlock move. I opened the top of my bucket and there was a lot of foam (bubbles). It also looked like brown skin so I stirred the brew and…
bryce
4
votes
3 answers

Can you use nutritional Brewer yeast in the beer making process?

This may be a Stupid question, and since I am new to brewing beer I might have some more of these questions coming in later. My wife for some reason bought Brewer yeast, I am curious if this can be used as the yeast in beer brewing? forgive my lack…
RMURF
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4
votes
5 answers

Will it be too cold to brew in my garage over the winter?

I was thinking of asking for a Homebrew Starter kit for Christmas this year and would like to set it up to brew and ferment in my garage. However I am wondering, will it be too cold to brew beer or ferment in the garage over the winter? I am based…
Gaz Winter
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3
votes
3 answers

Is there a way to get an average alcohol reading if I forgot to take a before reading???

Im a first time brewer and everything was going good until i realized i did not take a before reading..... Is there still a way to get an average alcohol reading??? THANKS
user1075
2
votes
1 answer

Growing edible brewers yeast?

I want to grow brewers yeast that I want to as use as supplement, get various nutrients and NAD+. Which brewers yeast strain is easiest and best to to grow for this purpose? What medium and supplements for yeast I may need?
Avalon
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1
vote
1 answer

Will bread yeast restart stuck brewery in a bag

Building up to my first home brewing I purchased a muntons brewery in a bag session IPA. (On special from Aldi seemed like a steal). I followed all instructions to the letter keeping everything sterile. Instructions were; add 4 pints of warm water…
Mathew James
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1
vote
1 answer

What does it mean by late boil?

I am looking at a Christmas ale to brew and found this recipe (I am still learning to brew, so I am using malt extracts) https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/variant-of-great-lakes-christmas-ale-clone . I am guessing 5 gallons of water and steep the…
Chris H
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1
vote
4 answers

First brew question

I've moved the brew into a casket after the initial 4 days after seeing that the overall yeast had nearly stopped working. The cask is pressurized as expected from the CO2 (now @10 days). However I think I let the cask to cool down over a period of…
Rob Atkinson
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1
vote
2 answers

Saving yeast in growler

I read on HBT that someone would save his yeast cake into three plastic bottles, and then use each bottle in a new batch. I didn't have three plastic bottles, used to hold pressure from the yeast as opposed to glass. And the guy at my LHBS told me…
CDspace
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0
votes
1 answer

Instead of Hop can only Ginger or Orange Peel be used for brewing Pure Wheat Beer?

I want to brew my first batch of pure wheat beer. But instead of Hop I want to use either dried orange peel or freshly grated ginger. Kindly suggest what to use and in what quantity should I use and when should I add those.....
Rajarshee Majumdar
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0
votes
2 answers

stirring or degassing wine

If I stir my wine after the first racking, won't that stir up all that sediment? Will that give the wine a bad taste and will it reduce the ABV? I don't want to do either one. Obviously this is my first time making wine. I racked it from the…
Dardo
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0
votes
2 answers

What are the stages of Fermentation?

How do you know when a beer is done fermentation and how long does it take before bottling it?
user15072
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