So i am new to the brewing game, got a kit from the wife last year for Xmas, and since I have made 6-7 different batches.
By beer number 2 I was already starting to experiment with different ingredients and some hops…
Well now i am moving out of the beer Kit and have bought a nice 8gal (Northern Brewer 
) pot…some nice fermenting buckets, and plan on bigger batches as opposed to the 2.5 gallons i was brewing…
My first order from Northern Brewer is the White House Honey Ale, i made one myself and it came out good, but I hear this recipe is pretty decent.
Any thoughts and tips for a new guy??
My honey ale…
Looks like a nice pour! Good and clean looking. As for tips I’m going to go with yeast management. Have no idea were you are in that regard so I’ll just list a few things, you can find more info on any of these on this forum or else where on the internet:
Start making yeast starters if using liquid yeast.
Use Mr. Malty or Yeastcalc online to determine how much yeast you need to pitch for every batch.
If you’re not doing it or not doing it well start thinking about aeration techniques.
Make sure to cool wort to slightly below the temp you want to ferment at.
Look into temperature control for fermentation. Cheap route would be a swamp cooler.
There are cheaper do it yourself routes for everything listed above or the more expensive but less fun store bought versions available at our hosts store or any other homebrew shop.
Just wanna say…that’s a beautiful beer! And nicely packaged/presented! I agree with the previous posters…yeast management and temp control are a good plan!
:cheers:
Started my batch of the White House Honey ale last night, what a huge process compared to what i was used too! It was a blast, knowing I put that much time and effort in to it will make it that much better when it comes out of the bottle!
I am researching yeast starters, need to get me some more equipment too, like a wort chiller…the pot doesnt fit in my sink and cooling it down (thankfully) was easy since i had snow on the deck behind the house.
Your gonna love the wort chiller. I can’t believe i waited as long as i did before i purchased mine.
What Inhouse said!! That is a beautiful beer btw! I may have to start early today! I use a big plastic tub with ice water & also a wort chiller to cool. Can get down to ferm temps in about 10 mins. Also use a chest freezer with Johnson controller for fermenting. That made a big differnce in quality. One piece of advice is beware of distractions! When my buddies swing by to hang out & have a few, sometimes forget to do something important. Pay close attention to recipe & take lots of notes. :cheers:
I am going to build my own wort chiller today, probably about 1/3 the cost of buying one online.
I try and pay very close attention to the recipe and no distractions, when I brew I am in the zone!
Still working on the chiller, but so far so good!
Just need to tighten up the coils a bit…here are some photos of the process…
