Words To The Wise

Words to the wise: What I learned from my first batches of home brew

1. Don't compromise. If you are wanting to get into home brewing, chances are you already know someone who does. Don't buy ingredient kits from magazines or websites because the description sounds good or sounds like something your friends and family will like. Use your resources and find a recipe from a homebrewer for a beer that you enjoy. Ultimately it will make you happy to drink it, and happy to share what you like with newcomers.

2. I know that brown bottles are best, but something you'll want to do is bottle one bottle per batch in a clear bottle. This will help you better monitor the progress of the bottling stage of your beer.

3. Use liquid yeast. Especially for first timers, liquid yeast is far easier to use than dry. I prefer the Wyeast smack packs.

4. Be patient. You'll want to try your beer along the way, that's fine, but don't get discouraged. Be patient--it really does take 6-8 weeks in the bottle for it to really get good.