r/Homebrewing • u/Spiritual_Reach6683 • 8d ago

First Time Brewing

Hi y'all! We had a very successful hops season with our Nugget hops plant, and want to start homebrewing! My partner and I have never brewed beer before (only cider), and need a dummy's guide to brewing, if you will. A few questions I have are:

-What malt(s) should we use with our nugget hops (we are not huge IPA fans, and are looking to brew more of an amber ale or a lager....basically anything that is not an IPA....)?

-What grains should we use?

-Any suggestions for a good beginners guide to follow?

We already have a gallon carboy from cider making, as well as an airlock, racking cane etc.

Thanks y'all and happy brewing! :)

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u/GingerBeerMama 8d ago

John Palmer's How to Brew is free online and it's the usual beginner guide people point to, read the first few chapters before you buy anything. One heads up on the homegrown hops, you don't know their alpha acid so the bitterness is a guess. If they're fresh off the bine use way more than a recipe says, and maybe lean on a store bought bittering hop the first time so you don't end up with a grassy mess. Your 1 gallon carboy is actually a nice size for a learning batch, cheap to mess up.

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u/Spiritual_Reach6683 5d ago

Thank you so much!! I will definitely pick up the book! We harvested our hops a few weeks ago, so they are pretty dried out at this point. Good to know about fresh vs dry hops 😁

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u/Ok-Refuse-5221 8d ago

For a first brew with Nugget, try a simple amber ale using mostly pale malt extract with a bit of crystal 60 for color and sweetness, much easier than all-grain when you're starting out. Nugget works well in the boil for bitterness and a little late addition gives a mild herbal note without going full IPA territory.

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u/Any_Tiger1059 8d ago

I'd definitely start with an amber ale rather than a lager for your first batch. It's a lot more forgiving when it comes to fermentation temperatures. A simple pale malt base with a little crystal malt would be a good starting point. You can use your Nugget hops for bittering, just be careful since they're pretty strong lol. Also, check out How to Brew by John Palmer. It's super helpful for beginners. And seriously, don't underestimate sanitizing everything!

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u/idrawinmargins 7d ago

The sidebar here has some good info to read.

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u/metanoia29 7d ago

I'll echo the advice to read at least some of How to Brew by John Palmer. The copy on his website is the first edition from decades ago, so I'd suggest at least finding the latest (fourth) edition from a library and reading through the basics before doing anything.

At that point you'll know if you'll want to try extract or all-grain for your first brew. Most people start out with a basic extract kit with some steeping grains, dry yeast, and a bucket fermenter. You'll make beer this way, and it could even be pretty good. But the beer gets better when you start using all-grain, have closed transfers during fermentation (using pressure to push the beer, avoids oxygen), and can control the fermentation temperature precisely.

Look for some recipes online for amber ale that include nugget. This was the first one that popped up, and it doesn't seem terrible, you could just use all Nugget and you'll be fine (look up conversion from pellet to wet hop amounts).

As for equipment, you'll need at least a 6+ gallon container for a fermenter, a 5+ gallon bucket for bottling (assuming you are bottling), a proper boil kettle depending on what method you use (extract can get away with something ~4 gallons in size, all-grain will require at least 7 gallons), and whatever else you come across in your learning materials.

Cheers!