Do you brew your own beer?

[Drago]

If so, I'd love to get some advice.
We're planning on buying a beer making set from a store here in Israel, and would to get some tips and pointers.

[jaywhy]

If so, I'd love to get some advice.
We're planning on buying a beer making set from a store here in Israel, and would to get some tips and pointers.

Yes. Ask away.

[Drago]

Yes. Ask away.

First off, are you in the US or Israel?

[jaywhy]

First off, are you in the US or Israel?

US.

[Drago]

What should we look for when buying a kit?
Any good websites with recipes?
Should we expect our first batch to come out lousy?
Any kashrus issues to be aware of?
General tips you may have?

[jaywhy]

What should we look for when buying a kit?

This kit from The Winemaker in Mevasseret has almost everything you need to brew. You will also need a large pot of at least 5 gallons, bottles, and some form of sanitizer.

Any good websites with recipes?

Yes. Probably hundreds of thousands floating around the internet. Your LHBS (Local homebrew shop) should be able to hook you up with a recipe with ingredients. Brewtoad.com, homebrewtalk.com, byo.com, and beersmith.com all have plenty of good recipes. If you tell me the style and the flavor profile you want, I can also make one for you.

Should we expect our first batch to come out lousy?

As long as you follow proper sanitation procedures and ferment at around the right temperature, there is no reason at all that your first batch shouldn't come out fantastic.

Any kashrus issues to be aware of?

Virtually none. The vast majority of ingredients don't even require certification, but obviously you should AYLOR.
Some stout recipes call for lactose, an unfermentable sugar considered to be halachically dairy, to give more body and residual sweetness to the beer and some homebrewers use fish derived gelatin to fine (clarify) their beers in the keg but that is very advanced stuff.

General tips you may have?

Yes. Homebrewing is an awesome and very rewarding hobby.  And RDWHAHB. Google that. 

[Drago]

Should the pot be made out of metal?
Sanitizer for what?
Glass bottles are best? What should be used to cover them?

My problem is that while I enjoy beer, I've never taken the time to learn the different terminology used. In general, I enjoy reddish color with a stonger taste, but not too strong. For example, Killians I've enjoyed. If you know Cleveland, I enjoy Dortmunder, and some of their others as well.

Do different style beers take longer/shorter to make?
Any way to know while it's fermenting if it's a good batch or not?

And thanks for the link! I was trying to figure out what the store was called.

Why that specific kit? It'll be able to be reused multiple times?

[jaywhy]

Should the pot be made out of metal?

Yes. Stainless steel is best, but expensive. Aluminum works well too.

Sanitizer for what?

Being that you are dealing with living, breathing, organisms (yeast), everything that touches the beer after it's been cooled below ~140f needs to be sanitized, otherwise the beer can get infected.

Glass bottles are best? What should be used to cover them?

Yes. The kit I linked to has bottle caps that are used to cap them.

My problem is that while I enjoy beer, I've never taken the time to learn the different terminology used. In general, I enjoy reddish color with a stonger taste, but not too strong. For example, Killians I've enjoyed. If you know Cleveland, I enjoy Dortmunder, and some of their others as well.

That's fine. You don't need to know terminology to make great beer. Killian's is an Irish red ale, and Dortmunder is a lager, which are harder/take longer to make than ales.

Do different style beers take longer/shorter to make?

Yes. Ales take 3-6 weeks, with the higher alcoholic ones taking longer. Lagers take 2-4 months and need to be fermented at cold temperatures.

Any way to know while it's fermenting if it's a good batch or not?

There are different indicators but no clearcut way.

Why that specific kit? It'll be able to be reused multiple times?

Yes. It has all the equipment you need to get started and can be reused many times. And you can build on it by adding more/better equipment.

[Drago]

So besides for ales, which other beers take < 1.5 months to make?
And what other popular beers are ales?
And have you ever made flavored beers? Honey, fruit (such as the Leinerkugel), etc?

[jaywhy]

So besides for ales, which other beers take < 1.5 months to make?
And what other popular beers are ales?
And have you ever made flavored beers? Honey, fruit (such as the Leinerkugel), etc?

Ale is a very broad term. Thousands of beers fall under the category. If you rush it, you can have a beer ready in under 3 weeks.
Too many to list.
I've used dried fruit and fruit peels such as lemon, tangerine, orange, pumpkin, lime, and grapefruit, as well as spices such as cloves, nutmeg, vanilla beans, cinnamon...
Honey takes longer to ferment than other sugars so it isn't used in standard recipes that don't focus on the honey. Obviously, mead is a different story.

[Drago]

Ale is a very broad term. Thousands of beers fall under the category. If you rush it, you can have a beer ready in under 3 weeks.
Too many to list.
I've used dried fruit and fruit peels such as lemon, tangerine, orange, pumpkin, lime, and grapefruit, as well as spices such as cloves, nutmeg, vanilla beans, cinnamon...
Honey takes longer to ferment than other sugars so it isn't used in standard recipes that don't focus on the honey. Obviously, mead is a different story.

Can you link to a few of your favorite (easyish) recipes? Will I need to know which beer I want to brew b/f going to the store?

[jaywhy]

Can you link to a few of your favorite (easyish) recipes? Will I need to know which beer I want to brew b/f going to the store?

My favorites don't necessarily equal your favorites. 
I'll link later when I get home.
You don't need to know what you want to make as they can put together a recipe for you but I'd recommend having an idea of what you want before you go.

[jbkr101]

wow very interesting always had in the back of my head to do this i might give it a try

[jaywhy]

My favorites don't necessarily equal your favorites. 
I'll link later when I get home.
You don't need to know what you want to make as they can put together a recipe for you but I'd recommend having an idea of what you want before you go.

Here are a few of my recent recipes.
This is a recipe for a Killian's Irish red clone if you want to try making that first.

wow very interesting always had in the back of my head to do this i might give it a try

This is a starter kit on Amazon for <$100 w Prime shipping.

[Drago]

Here are a few of my recent recipes.
This is a recipe for a Killian's Irish red clone if you want to try making that first.

Aha, I now know your identity from the other website.
JayWhy.

Thanks, I'll look through them.

Also, can you remind me what the measure of bitterness is?

[jaywhy]

Aha, I now know your identity from the other website.
JayWhy.

Thanks, I'll look through them.

Also, can you remind me what the measure of bitterness is?

Not too hard to figure out
All of those recipes are all grain recipes, I can scale one down to an extract recipe if you want to make one.

Bitterness is usually measured in International Bitterness Units (IBU).

[Drago]

All of those recipes are all grain recipes, I can scale one down to an extract recipe if you want to make one.

Explain to the noob.
Extract is easier to buy/use?

On a side note, did you ever have Great Lakes Monster? It was amazing.

[mmermss]

So besides for ales, which other beers take < 1.5 months to make?

DO at your place in a month? 

[Drago]

DO at your place in a month? 

If s/o else brings the flanken...

[jaywhy]

Explain to the noob.
Extract is easier to buy/use?

On a side note, did you ever have Great Lakes Monster? It was amazing.

This is a pretty good article that explains the difference but in a nutshell,

Extract brewing is brewing with sugars that have already been extracted from malted barley while all grain brewing extracts the sugars from malted barley and first and then continues with the same brew process as extract brewing.

Extract brewing is quicker to brew though not any quicker to ferment, a lot less complicated, but the cons are that its is much more expensive than all-grain, and you have a lot less control over the variables that go into making great beer.

All-grain brewing takes a lot longer, is way more complicated, but is much cheaper and you have control over almost every variable that goes into making beer. It also requires more specialized equipment.
It's almost a no-brainer to go with extract for the first few brews.

I haven't had that beer as it is not distributed in my area (S Florida), but an Imperial IPA with 9% ABV is certainly my style.
If you want to duplicate that beer, it's a pretty easy beer to make and they even publish their recipe on their website.
It would take longer though due to the higher alcohol content.