First, extract!
By the way, is there a thread here with answers about who drinks beer and how much per week, for example? Haha, some statistics by country or by state. Because for me, a couple of cans of IPA, APA, in the evening with a TV series is normal... probably about 10-15 bottles per week.
I have some advice to avoid mistakes I made when I first started 20 years ago.
1. Use dry yeast for the first batches of beer. The reason I say this is because dry yeast is very forgiving, it doesn't require oxygen and the pitch rate is easier to measure. It ships well in all weather unlike liquid that needs temperatures to stay above freezing and below hot summer weather, which leads to increase vitality in dry yeast compared to liquid. If you start with liquid yeast be aware that starters are generally needed/recommended and liquid yeast needs a good dose of oxygen (pure oxygen is best).
I would recommend either US05 or equivalent. You could even use 34/70 dry yeast at ale temperatures (62-66F). S04 is a great yeast, but it likes to make a massive krausen and come out of the fermenter, it requires more headspace in the fermenter.
2. Use all RO water in an extract beer. This will set up your pH because when the extract was made, the pH and mineral profile was set in the extract. The RO water (distilled works too) will not effect the pH and mineral content of the wort. As you gain experience, you can dive into the world of water modification.
3. If you start with extract kits, run the kit through the recipe calculator like Brewers Friend, especially the bittering hops. Some kits come with a generic 1 ounce of hops. The alpha acids vary from year to year and farm to farm even for the same variety of hop. I have known of a few brewers who were burnt by a higher than expected bitterness in the beer due to a hop that with higher than expected alpha acid. The alpha acid should be on the hop package as a percent (%).
4. Keep an eye on temperature, the yeast manufacturer has general guide lines that make it a little easier to know what temperature works best for the yeast. Once you get some experience with fermenting. you can experiment with different temperatures if you are so inclined.
5. Don't worry if a batch is not stellar right away, mistakes are great teachers. Experienced brewers are those people who have made a bunch mistakes.
Have fun with it and enjoy the fruits of your labor!
