Don’t drink while you are brewing. And stick to your plan. I usually wait until the beer is chilling to pour myself a cold one.
Some of the best advice I’ve seen is in this thread. Obviously, there’s a lot to learn, and experience can be biggest resource/asset. Take your time and don’t hesitate to ask us for advice/recommendations. How to Brew is a great book. Keep everything that the beer touches AFTER boiling clean/sanitized and ferment at 64-68F.
Most important of all…have fun with it. 
Welcome to forum and the hobby!
I have done the same, sometimes you can tell, sometimes you can’t. But I think it is important that people learn best practices, they can deviate from them later when they think they know what they’re doing. 
I agree, Tom. My theory has always been “Learn the rules so you can decide which ones you can break!”.
I completely disagree with this bit of advice, but aside from driving, there’s not much I don’t do with a solid beer in hand. My brew day usually starts with an omelet and a Breakfast Stout 
A book that I found most beneficial, especially transitioning to all grain and creating my own recipes was Designing Great Beers by Daniels.
To each their own. I found many years ago that I make fewer mistakes and the cleanup is easier if I don’t drink when I brew. But I almost always start by 9 AM and finish by 2, so there’s plenty of time for beer afterwards.
Same for me Denny. Besides that, my wife gets a bit upset if I start drinking at 5:30 in the morning.
Paul
Read lots. Helps make you smarterer.
Drink beer, try hard to taste it. Even if it’s not yours, it’s still research for future recipes and how to make your current one better.
Let the significant other know that at some point there will be an “incident” involving a mess on the stove, in the pantry, in the fireplace, on the ceiling, etc. Also let her (or him) know that her (or his) nylon stockings may be repurposed for dry hopping and your family soup pot may soon be called “mash tun” or “hot liquor tank”. You may also want to start drafting your explanation as to why you really do need three (or more) refrigerators, a wondrous thingy called a “keezer” in a prominent location in your living quarters, a Barbie doll tap handle, and why you absolutely have to brew three weekends in a row so you can have enuf beer ready for Groundhog’s Day even tho it’s six months away.
Except its not really a “rule”. On a brick of us05 it specifically says “rehydrate or alternatively sprinkle slowly onto wort”.
Is it best to rehydrate, theoretically yes. But will a new brewer who is just getting the hang of brewing and sanitation probably be better off just pitching the dry yeast and not worrying about rehydrating? IMO yes. Too many new brewers have also made the mistake of rehydrating top warm and killing the yeast.
Dan Listermann mentioned 15 years ago that he had advised his customers to not rehydrate. He found that too many new brewers were using too high a temp and killing the yeast.
Not trying to hijack a thread here but what temperature would you consider too high for rehydrating yeast? I’ve read threads here recommending temperatures well above manufacturer’s instructions.
I’d say over 110F. Usually I’ll rehydrate at 95.
Hey Chad!
Welcome to the wonderful world of beer brewing!
Trips to the bottle shop are now “research”.
Beer festivals are now “research”.
Brewery tours are now “research”.
Trips abroad are now “research”.
You get the idea. Have fun!
This has kinda become my new mantra: In art you have to be able to SEE to know how to produce great art. In brewing you have to be able to TASTE to create great beer. There’s all the skills that go along with both crafts as well, but seeing and tasting are key.
Sorry guys, I was totally being cheeky when I posted that and busted on Keith. :
I personally think it’s a preference thing. But it will continue to be a great homebrew forum debate!
Dave
Welcome to the obsession.
Thanks, guys! Still waiting on my brew kettle, unfortunately, but as soon as it comes in, the brewing starts. For an Irish Red, how long should I be shooting for in primary fermentation?
Also, I’m having trouble regulating the temperature in the room where I’ll be fermenting- I can get it to 70, but I can’t get it much lower. I’ll be doing the fermentation in a spare bathroom (not trying to have any excessive messes should something go wrong), so would it be okay to keep a few inches of slightly chilled water in the tub to help regulate? I know that’s a rather odd solution, but that’s the best I’ve come up with.
Not an odd solution but very effective. You can freeze water bottles and add them to the tub.
Fermentation times depend on the OG of the beer and what the FG is suppose to be, not the style itself, however, for an Irish Red, I’d say leave it in the primary for 3, maybe 4 weeks then bottle, should be fine. I’d wait till my FG was stable, meaning that a gravity sample read the same over a 3 day period of time, that’s how you know a beer is done fermenting, after you get there, just wait another day or 2 and package.
It’s actually a great solution, it’s called making a swamp cooler. just fill the tub to about an inch under the wort line, with cool water, keep a thermometer nearby, and you can add frozen water bottles to cool, or warm water to raise, just remember that ambient temps aren’t the same as wort temps. During active fermentation, the wort temp could be as high as ~10 degs higher than the ambient temps.
Okay, guys- another question. I don’t have a wort chiller, and I don’t currently have the resources to make my own (I feel like I could just as easily make one as buy one), so I’m trying to find a temporary solution to that. Would it be okay to drop the temp of my wort by adding ice, or do I really need to get a wort chiller first?