New here and to brewing

[petro62]

Well I don't see an official thread for "hello's" so I saw a few here and figured I would post mine here as well.

Anyways I am new to the site and extremely new to brewing. By extremely new I mean I have yet to even dabble in home brewing, but the thought of it excites me.

I am 26 and live in Southeast Missouri, but I am doing all I can to move to Chicago by mid-summer. Although I have no experience I would really like to work and a brewery like Goose Island or similar to get to know the brewing process better. If anyone has any books the suggest to read please let me know. I am extremely eager to learn. In fact I have even been in contact with the Siebel Institute in Chicago. I would prefer to score a job at a brewery in the Chicago area first and see where that leads me.

Anyways I just wanted to say hi and I have really enjoyed the information on this site thus far. I am open to any and all comments.

[barleyburps]

Good luck on your venture. . .to score a job at goose island would be quite good fortune!

And welcome to the board.

[BrewDog]

Welcome.

One of my best friends in college was from Perryville.

AFA books go, IMO, start with Palmer's book. Then, Noonan's book and Ray Daniels' books are mandatory, too.

HTH-

[petro62]

Thanks for the info I will get those on order. While I hope to get a job at a Chicago brewery I understand that may be pretty difficult since they don't employ large numbers and I don't have any experience in the field. I figure I probably try to start teaching myself as much as I can about this art. Do the books suggest above have ideas for small start-up kits?

I got a spare bedroom in my current apartment that I could fit some equipment into, but when/if I move to Chicago I will probably be starting off with a studio apartment.

Also to update here are the 3 books I ordered off Amazon.

Noonan - New Brewing Lager Beer
Palmer - How to Brew- everything you need to.....
Daniels - Designing Great Beers

Let me know of any other books you all have found really helpful in getting started. I need to to learn on both the recipe and chemistry side along with the hardware needed to brew.

[chazwicke]

Welcome! My nephew is just getting into home brewing too. I lent him a few books to get primed.

[wortchillergoal]

I would like to add my welcome and wishes for good fortune. When you land such a job, let us know so that we may taste your work and sing praises to our friends.

[corkybstewart]

Welcome and best of luck to you. Keep working on your dream, never give up. I'm 50 and I'm still dreaming about my brewery.

[petro62]

Again thanks for all the help and kind words. I should be getting my books in tommorrow from Amazon and I can't wait to start reading up on this stuff. I have always been excited about brewing and all of it, but I saw a Modern Marvels about brewing and also one about distilling and that is what really got me into it. Watching the smaller brewers experiment and make fuller beers and such is what really caught my eye.

[petro62]

Just curious what other books people may suggest. I will probably want to start out making ales and lagers as I am not much into the porters(not my taste, but I am trying to build up to it). Kind of on the low side of money at the moment so I probably wont be buying a kit anytime soon to start brewing, but I figure I can read up on it for now and try to absorb as much information as I can that way.

[BrewDog]

Petro-

Palmer's How To Brew & Papazian's Complete Joy of Home Brewing are probably the 2 most often cited books for beginners.
They are both great books. I recommended the other 2 because you mentioned Seibel and once you have brewed a little, they will be very valuable for you.

I'd also recommend the "Homebrewing for Dummies" book by Marty Nachel. Despite the name, this is a very good book for a newbie brewer. I own it and still refer to it from time to time even after 5 or so years of brewing. It is very, very well organized (probably better than the other newbie oriented books) and chock loaded with good info.

As far as equipment goes, it doesn't take THAT much to get started.

Midwest Supplies (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6876) has a very, very good setup for only $109. (I'd go with the glass, but others may feel better with the "Better Bottles" - it's up to you both are good).

HTH-

[Jaimez]

Welcome.
I'm quite new myself to this site and to brewing. I'm only on my 3rd batch.

My best advice to you would be to visit your LHBS (Local Home brewrey Store) And buy a beginners kit. Just open up the yellow pages and look for Wine/Brew.

I made my first batch from a Brewers Best kit (Pale Ale) and it turned out great.

[Vienna Lager]

Palmer's 'How To Brew' is a 'must read' and it is real cheap.

[petro62]

Originally posted by Vienna Lager
Palmer's 'How To Brew' is a 'must read' and it is real cheap.

Already got it.

As for a local brew store I will look, but I am pretty sure we don't have one in my small little town. Sadly I will probably have to order most of my stuff off the net.

[petro62]

Thanks for all the information folks, but to switch topics a bit I was curious if everyone here had to develop their taste for "beer" or if you always liked it. What I mean is did you all always enjoy very stout or very strongly hopped beers or did you have to ease yourself into it?

I personally started out drinking the stuff from the big companies like A&B so I wasn't used to much with a real taste. I guess my first big step was going to Killian's Irish Red and then on a trip to Canada drinking things like Bass, Stella Artois and a few other beers. After that I wanted to try even "tastier" beers so I started in on the Sam Adams and now after reading here I have tried Goose Islands Honkers Pale Ale, GI Honkers Ale, SN Pale Ale. I like the pale ales, but the Honkers ale was a bit strong.

I guess I am just curious if most start out thinking some beers are to strong or if they have always suited your taste. I would like to able to work up to some of the stronger beers and eventually even be able to handle drinking a nice dark porter, but for now I am not there. Did you have to work your way up?

[Jaimez]

To this day i cant stand IPA. Its just way to bitter for my taste.
I have always been up for trying any beer, but i never had a beer "grow" on me.
Bass Ale was my first True import Ale I had ever tasted and it remains my Favorite Beer.
Stouts And Porters never came across as a "strong" beer to me. Just Fuller and Darker.
Untill a few months ago Guiness was the only Stout I had ever tasted though. There quickly becoming my Favorite type of beer.

[D0nc0smic]

my epiphany came when i was in college and wandered into a local paint store, (the vintage cellar in blacksburg) and just decided to start buying alot of random singles and trying them, i think it was aventinus that really turned me on to quality beer and then i started learning about the american craft beers after that.

[chazwicke]

Beer does grow on you. Most of us started with some macro and probably drank it more for the buzz than the taste. I know when I was about 15 or so I hated the flavor of all alcohol. Soon however I started enjoying trying different brews that I saw on the shelves. Not a big selection in the early 70s but there were a few imports. Then in June of 1976 I went to the Brickskeller for the first time. The hunt was on. But I do believe you need to ease into certain styles. I remember the first time I had Stone Arrogant Bastard. It was in San Diego and on tap. I took a swig and thought it was terrible. In fact the first glass was horrible in my estimation. But I perservered and drank another and soon I saw the merits of a beer like this. I like Pliney the Elder the best out of those super hoppy West Coast brews. It is not a style I prefer but do enjoy it much now. I think as you experiment more you will develope a taste for more flavorful beers. You may not always go for them but when you do you will at least be able to appreciate them.

[Vienna Lager]

I agree with 'the Chazmeister' beer does grow on you. About a month or two before my 18th B-day my father sat me down and offered me a beer figuring he should be the one to offer me my first beer and to see if I liked it. Sure I had snuck a sip or two when I was younger but this was the first time a whole can/bottle was devoted to me.

The first impression was a somewhat bitter, yeasty, fizzy concoction that I didn't care for much and finished only half the can/bottle.

On the evening of my 18th B-day a couple of my friends took me out to a 'beer bar' and I drank a mix of 'Pabst', 'Little Joe's', and 'Old Style' trying to see if there was a beer who's taste I liked.

Some time later there was a push in the area where I lived to sell "$1,000 Beer' and 'Gettleman' and 'Blatz'. Then came 'Schlitz Malt Liquor', 'Stite', 'Andecker', 'Waldeck' and a host of others that I have long forgotten. I was relegated to drinking whatever was served in 'beer bars' because you had to be 21 to buy beer in stores. Therefore I had no opportunity to 'experiment' or do a 'taste test' with a bunch of different beers. If the 'beer bar' didn't have it you didn't drink it.

Eventually I drifted toward a more malty beer that I was exposed to by my parents when we would dine out. At that time I would be treated to 'Carlsburg' or 'Lowenbrau' and my beer palate became more refined.

During my university years we all drank what was cheap and experienced no real broading of my beer horizions there.

Currently I look for brewing a beer that is to style per BJCP and if I like how it tastes then brew it again. If not it goes to the club meetings as 'a pass around beer' or I marinate brats in it.