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Beginner with a couple of questions...

PepperoniKris

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Hello everybody!

I am a chef and thought it would be fun to play around with brewing some beer. Before buying a proper set-up I thought I would try something out on the small scale first.

I found a Mr. Beer Long Play IPA kit for fairly cheap and thought it would be a fun way to start. After doing a bit of looking around online, I get the impression the Mr. Beer kits are not really the greatest though (I guess that is what I get for making an impulse buy after a few beers!).

I have a few ideas to jazz it up and was looking for a bit of help. I want to turn this IPA into an Earl Grey IPA. My plan was to steep my tea in the water that I would be adding to the "keg". The kit makes 2 gallons of beer and 64 grams of loose tea makes about 2 gallons.

Am I on the right track with this technique? Thank you in advance for your help!
 
Greetings pepperoniKris - welcome to the wonderful world of home brewing! I started my journey using Mr. beer as well and I can tell you, I wasn't happy with the results.

My suggestion is to stick to the Mr. beer recipe.  As much as you want to venture off and find something new, as a new brewer, I would stick to the basics, learn the craft, then venture out.  While there is nothing wrong with trying something new, doing so and creating something not-so pleasant on your first venture could damage your ambition to learn the craft.

As a chef, imagine your first time in the kitchen and you attempt to create the perfect Beef Wellington with no experience and no recipe.  I'm sorry to say, the results will not be very enjoyable.
 
Mr. Beer is good for what it is; a way to make beer easily. If instructions are followed the beer can be pretty decent if not spectacular. KellerBrauer is right in that you should make a kit or more at first to learn process and have some success. Trying to get too creative too soon might sour you on a hobby that can be most rewarding
Hope this helps

Mark
 
Hi there,

I don't want to open another beginner topic... So anybody can point me to some good tutorials for beginners like where to get started, what equipment I need, and of course, some good recipes?

Thanks in advance for anyone who will respond.
 
Here's good start: http://howtobrew.com/book/introduction
 
homebrewtalk.com is a great resource for questions and recipes. It also has lots of suggestions on types of brew set ups.
 
Greetings Michael - if you're truely interested in learning how to brew your own beer, I highly recommend a book by John Palmer titled How to Brew.  It's an easy read and takes you through the entire process.  It's well worth the investment.

Also, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience here in this forum.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Lastly, if you have not already done so, I highly recommend purchasing BeerSmith software - the desktop version - once you have it dialed in to your particular equipment, it makes the brewday so much easier.

Good luck!
 
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