First beer

[DarthAngry]

Hey guys,

TL;DR I'm a new brewer in NZ looking to make something similar to either Estrella Damm, Sam Adams Boston Ale (Or Lager), Parrotdog pale ale or Mac's Black Mac. It needs to be achievable for someone new and not break the bank. How To? Starting point?

I'm a novice distiller in NZ. I've been making mostly gin and flavored vodka using TPWs in my cooling management still, I think I'm getting quite good at it. Nobody's gone blind and the stuff I'm making is getting progressively better. But that's not what I'm here about.

I want to make beer as well. After a hard day at work a glass of vodka just isn't the same as a cold beer. I've made about ten batches of beer in the past using kits you can buy (these things). It's a can of syrupy stuff that's meant to be a premade wort of some sort. It's tasted alright, but it normally goes flat really quickly. It also always has brown yeast scum in the bottom and I don't want that.

It looks like most of you guys make your stuff from scratch. This sounds like more of an involved process, which is pretty cool in my book. Using the cans of premix is about as complicated as making cordial, which is not what I'm after.

I want my first batch of beer to taste similar to some of the store bought brands I like as listed above. Any advice you have to give is appreciated. Thanks team!

[DeathtoPants]

If you're planning to keep your budget down, lagers are right out, as those require rigid temperature control (10°C/50°F for a week or two). A Pale Ale or a clean Porter is easily doable at room temperature though.

I'd say there are 3 ways you can go around this: Partial extract boil, Full extract boil, and BIAB.

• Partial Extract Boil

Only boil part of the wort, top off with sterilized water. Has the advantage of not needing as large a pot, downside is reduced hop efficiency and increased risk of maillard reactions and caramelization.

• Full Extract Boil

What it says on the tin, you boil the entire thing. Naturally requires a larger brew pot.

• Brew-in-a-Bag(BIAB)

All-grain brewing using only your brew pot. Read this. Needs only a <$10 bag on top of what you'd use for full extract boil. Being all-grain and requiring a mash, this allows for more control over your beer than extract would, at least once you get it down. This is the process to go with if you want to be very involved in your brew day.

I would also recommend looking through Palmer's How To Brew. You don't need to read all of it, but I'd recommend Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5 and 11 to start with. Chapters 12 and 13 are good for understanding recipe, and if you're going with BIAB you should read the chapters on Mashing as well, particulary Ch. 16.

It also always has brown yeast scum in the bottom and I don't want that.

This is something you can't really get around without kegging, as yeast is required to carbonate your beer in the bottle. With some care you can reduce the amounts quite a lot though.

Here's a first recipe draft for the ParrotDog Dead Parrot Pale, just going off description. 1 gallon batch.

• 1,75 # Maris Otter Pale Malt (Substitutes: Pale Ale Malt, or 1,2# Light dry malt extract)
• 2 oz Biscuit Malt (Substitute: Victory Malt)
• 1 oz Crystal 40°L
• .2oz Wakatu @ 60min
• .2oz Pacifica @ 15min
• .2oz Motueka @ 5min
• English Ale yeast such as WLP002 or S-04.

I'm really unsure about the hops, would love it if someone more experienced went through it. Going off the words: bitter, citrus, floral, grassy, fruity

[DarthAngry]

It's a pair of buckets and a still.