Gabel Road Home Brewery

 

New Brewer?

What Should You Brew First?

I see so many forum post by first time brewers proudly exclaiming they just received their first kit and they are about to make a __________.

Often the blank is filled with "Czech Pilsner" or "Imperial Stout". And there is nothing wrong with that. Many homebrewers started their journey by jumping headlong into the deep end of the pool. Know this however before you climb up the ladder to that diving platform... these are among the most difficult styles to brew. My recommendation? Why not give yourself the greatest chance for success and start with an easier style?

First however, what makes those two examples so difficult? Pilsners are light lagers. Their flavors are delicate and the balance of malt character to bitterness needs to be just right. If there are any flaws in your brewing process the resulting imperfections will stand out like a sore thumb. Tackle these beers after you have a few brews under your belt and have built a solid foundation of skills.

For high gravity styles like Imperial Stout, Imperial IPA, Scotch Ales and barrel aged beers there are also challenges that trip up even the most experienced brewers... both amateur and professional. The first challenge is that high gravity beers mean a big malt bill. The more malt you try to mash the lower your mash efficiency. Many a brewer has overlooked this fact only to end up scratching their heads wondering why their post-mash gravity is so low? The next issue arises during fermentation. High gravity wort produces high alcohol and yeast struggle in a high alcohol environment. To safeguard against a stuck fermentation you will need to take steps to ensure you pitch a large enough amount of the right yeast and that they are at optimum health and vigor. 

So what would be a better first choice for the band new brewer? My top three picks are as follows:

• American Pale Ale
• American Amber Ale
• American Brown Ale

American Pale Ale is a classic American beer. It was the most brewed style by craft brewers and homebrewers alike before IPA hit the scene. They have enough malt character along with just enough bitterness to be interesting and the moderate ABV appeals to a wide range of beer drinkers. The process is simple and the result is a beer with great flavor. A good starting point for your first American Pale Ale is pale malt + some low Lovibond crystal malt. Chinook and Cascade hops work well in this style and a clean fermenting California Ale yeast is best.

American Amber Ale is closely related to American Pale Ales but without a high level of hop aroma. Instead most of the hops are added near the beginning of the boil so as to balance the malty character. These are easy beers to make with a typical grain bill consisting of pale malt + amber malt + crystal malt along with Chinook and Willamette hops. Again, one of the California Ale yeast strains would be perfect for this style.

American Brown Ale has wonderful notes of caramel, chocolate and roasted malt. They should have a noticeable bitterness but not excessively so. Their flavors are richer than pale ales and lagers making them a good choice for sharing with friends and family around the holidays. The bitterness helps to hide flaws in the brewing process and the dark color will hide any chill haze. A good base recipe for an American Brown Ale would include pale ale malt + crystal malt around 80L and/or some brown malt. For hopping try UK varieties like Target and East Kent Goldings with a British Ale yeast.

Keep your first brews simple. Avoid out of the box experimentation to start with as doing so only increases the chances of you brewing something unpalatable. You want to set yourself up for success that way you will be more likely to brew that second batch... and a third, etc.