A newbe here

Yes BrewDemon and Mr. Beer kits are pretty darn easy but sometime you need a little help from the Borg to get you on the right track. Post your questions here!

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rickr11
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A newbe here

Post by rickr11 »

recently purchased a brew demon, 2 gallon. have what came with unit, two cans pilsner, my local brew store wants me to buy fresh ingredients instead. as a former executive chef, that is the best way. but being new to brewing, should i use the packaged items first or go for the fresh?
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mashani
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Re: A newbe here

Post by mashani »

What came with it should make decent beer. Fresh stuff can make better beer. But there is no reason to not use what came with it.

A big part of brewing is learning the process. Part of the process is sanitation, pitching the yeast at the right temperature, fermenting at the right temperature, etc. What came with the kit will teach you those things, and isn't an additional investment at this point.

You can buy the freshest, best ingredients on the planet and make nasty beer with it, if you don't have good process otherwise.

So, I think a lot of us would recommend using the cans - since you have them - and make sure that you nail down those things, then next batches start to push the envelope further.

If it turns out bad, then you can tell us what seems wrong here and we can tell you what might have gone wrong in the process. If it turns out good, then you have beer! Either way you win.
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Dawg LB Steve
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Re: A newbe here

Post by Dawg LB Steve »

First brew, get your process down with the hopped malt extract that came with the kit, from there you can use fresh ingredients. Welcome to the Borg and ask questions if you have them, lots of great people here willing to help.
:welcome:
MONTUCKY BREWING
Currently brewing:

Next Up?
Kolsch?
Ginger Beer?
Traveling Red?
Yazoo Gerst Clone?
Peanut Butter Porter?

Currently Conditioning:
Cherry Mead
California Moscato

Currently enjoying:
Hardly Apple Cider on tap
Hardly Cherry Lime-Aid on tap
Oktoberfestive-Ale on tap
PGA Cider (Pear, Ginger, Apple) on tap 3rd Founders Cup 2016 King Of The Mountain on tap
Bottoms Up Brown on tap GOLD 2016 Ohio Brew Week Silver 2016 Ohio State Fair Silver 2016 Son of Brewzilla, Silver 2015 Son of Brewzilla, Bronze 2015 King Of The Mountain on tap
NITWIT BELGIAN STRONG ALE Banjo-Dawg RCE bottled
DAWG LB PALE ALE bottled
CITRA SLAPPED AMBER ALE bottle
MO FREEDOM SMaSH bottle
HOP TO IT IMPERIAL IPA bottle

Medal Count
Gold 3
Silver 5
Bronze 5
Actively brewing since December 2013
Pudge
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Re: A newbe here

Post by Pudge »

rickr11 wrote:...my local brew store wants me to buy fresh ingredients instead. as a former executive chef, that is the best way. but being new to brewing, should i use the packaged items first or go for the fresh?
Fresher is better. I cannot disagree, but even with the freshest ingredients I can in no way prepare food as well as an executive chef. I don't understand the individual ingredients, how they work together, process, etc.

Same with brewing. Give it some time.
Welcome to the hobby, BTW.
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RickBeer
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Re: A newbe here

Post by RickBeer »

They want your business. Ignore them for now. Fresh HME(hopped malt extract) is what you have. They likely sell it also, probably Mr. Beer brand and/or Coopers.

Natural progression is to:

- Brew maybe 1/2 dozen HMEs
- Brew more plus steeped grains, and maybe some added LME or DME (unhopped malt extract in liquid or dried form)
- Now brew more with added hops too
- After about 6 months I switch to steeped grains, LME, plus hops - no more cans. . Been there for 2 1/2 years, making great beers


:bbwelc:
I have over 9,000 posts on "another forum", which means absolutely nothing. Mr. Beer January 2014 Brewer of the Month with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with it...

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Sites to find beer making supplies: Adventures in Homebrewing - Mr. Beer - MoreBeer
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Currently using 6 LBKs.

Beers I regularly brew:
Bell's Best Brown clone
Irish Hills Red - I call this "Ann Arbor Red"
Mackinac Island Red - I call this "Michigan Red"
Oatmeal Stout - I call this Not Fat, Stout - Oatmeal Stout

Bottled 5 gallons of Ann Arbor Red on 4/18/17. Bottled 5 gallons of Michigan Red on 5/8/17.

Brewed in 2017 - 22.13 gallons (19.91 in 2012, 48.06 in 2013, 61.39 in 2014, 84.26 in 2015,46.39 in 2016)
Brewed in lifetime - 282.14 gallons
Drinkable beer on hand -  13.58 cases, with 6.11 cases ready in May and early June.
Average cost per 12 pack through all beer brewed - $6.27(ingredients only)
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BigPapaG
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Re: A newbe here

Post by BigPapaG »

And by the way...

Welcome aBorg!

:borg:
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TonyKZ1
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Re: A newbe here

Post by TonyKZ1 »

Hello and welcome to the site! Be sure and check for the discount that BrewDemon gives to us. As others have already said, fresh ingredients probably will be better but you can still make good beer with the HME from BrewDemon and Mr. Beer. Get experience brewing with those and then move on or not to using steeped grains, and or all-grain. It's all good.
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John Sand
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Re: A newbe here

Post by John Sand »

Welcome!
Start small, take steps at your own pace. Study and practice, look forward to the day your friends say with wonder "You made this? It's better than beer I pay for!"
I think most of us started with canned recipes. There is enough to do and learn without adding steps yet. Please keep us up on your efforts.
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
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BigPapaG
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Re: A newbe here

Post by BigPapaG »

John Sand wrote:Welcome!
I think most of us started with canned recipes. There is enough to do and learn without adding steps yet. Please keep us up on your efforts.
Absolutely! Even though many of us use other seemingly more advanced methods to brew, I for one often simplify things for the sake of getting something brewed quickly and easily.

In fact, as I've mentioned in another thread, my pipeline is sorely lacking right now so I need to do some quick brews to get it back into shape for the holiday season... So...

No time for All Grain, Brew In A Bag or Partial Mash so I'm gonna drop two cans of Brewferm Abjib (Abbey Dubbel) today for a 5 gallon batch with the Lallemand Abbaye yeast instead of what comes in the cans (cause they are way old in my case).

It will be fine for me and I'll be done in a half hour!

Nothing wrong with that!

:cool:
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mashani
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Re: A newbe here

Post by mashani »

BigPapaG wrote:I'm gonna drop two cans of Brewferm Abjib (Abbey Dubbel) today for a 5 gallon batch with the Lallemand Abbaye yeast instead of what comes in the cans
Yum!
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Dawg LB Steve
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Re: A newbe here

Post by Dawg LB Steve »

Have a couple cans of One Evil Pilsner and a Twisted Monk after the next couple AG batches I might have to mix one of these up to fill some keg space.
MONTUCKY BREWING
Currently brewing:

Next Up?
Kolsch?
Ginger Beer?
Traveling Red?
Yazoo Gerst Clone?
Peanut Butter Porter?

Currently Conditioning:
Cherry Mead
California Moscato

Currently enjoying:
Hardly Apple Cider on tap
Hardly Cherry Lime-Aid on tap
Oktoberfestive-Ale on tap
PGA Cider (Pear, Ginger, Apple) on tap 3rd Founders Cup 2016 King Of The Mountain on tap
Bottoms Up Brown on tap GOLD 2016 Ohio Brew Week Silver 2016 Ohio State Fair Silver 2016 Son of Brewzilla, Silver 2015 Son of Brewzilla, Bronze 2015 King Of The Mountain on tap
NITWIT BELGIAN STRONG ALE Banjo-Dawg RCE bottled
DAWG LB PALE ALE bottled
CITRA SLAPPED AMBER ALE bottle
MO FREEDOM SMaSH bottle
HOP TO IT IMPERIAL IPA bottle

Medal Count
Gold 3
Silver 5
Bronze 5
Actively brewing since December 2013
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gwcr
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Re: A newbe here

Post by gwcr »

Welcome to the Borg! Looks like everyone already has you on the right track. Keep asking questions and let us know how your first batch turns out!

:welcome: :borg:
Fermenting: Bucket 1 - Fresh Squeezed IPA; Bucket 2 - Empty

Kegged: Keg 1 - Irish Red; Keg 2 - Cream Ale; Keg 3 - Amber Ale; Keg 4 - APA; Keg 5 - Empty; Keg 6 - Empty; Keg 7 - Empty
The reason why the above list is so small Home Theater Build
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berryman
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Re: A newbe here

Post by berryman »

Welcome to The BORG
Ask questions as needed, a lot of good brewing knowledge here and we all like to help to make good beer.
:clink: Good Luck and Happy Brewing :clink:
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Whamolagan
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Re: A newbe here

Post by Whamolagan »

Welcome. What everyone said above. Some people jump right into the advanced brewing and others stick with what they are happy with. It all comes down to 2 things, how much do like to brew beer and how much money do you have to spend. I started with 2 Mr. beer kits and went to 8, Had an infection that spread to all my other kegs and bottles, threw it all away and went straight to all grain. I now have more kegs than I can keep up with, 2 fermentation chambers, and 2 kegerators. Now trying to open a nano brewery.
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