BEFORE STARTING

Prior to going through the actual process, a few things to keep in mind.

Organization - Gather all of your equipment and ingredients prior to starting.  This includes the fermentor, tubing, funnels, measuring implements, spoons, ingredients, and anything else you will use.  Review the recipe prior to starting to make sure you under the steps and their timing.

Cleanliness - Make sure all equipment is clean prior to starting. As noted in Sanitation below. bacteria love unfermented wort (which is what your beer is called before you add the yeast), and will spoil beer. Bacteria can hide behind dirt. and be out of reach of sanitizers.

Sanitation - Everything the wort touches after the heat is shut off must be sanitized. This includes the fermentor, cover. transfer tubing, stirring spoons, strainers, yeast packets, funnels, and anything else that may come in contact with the wort. The boil itself will take care of anything that may be present in the boil kettle and extract containers, so anything used up to the end of the boil only needs to be clean.

Fermentation - The brewer makes the wort, the yeast makes the beer. This means you want the yeast as happy as possible. Most ale yeasts are very happy at about 70° F (21° C). although they can handle cooler temps (usually not below 60°F (15° C)), and some Belgian yeasts like it much warmer. Lager yeasts are typically fermented cooler, about 50° F (10° C). The yeast producer will give guidelines for ideal temperature ranges for each type of yeast. As a general rule, fermenting warmer will produce off flavors for both types of yeast. However, the key factor in fermentation is a constant temperature. Find a place to ferment where the temperature does not fluctuate much typically an interior closet or bathroom works well. If the fermentation temperature raises, then falls, the yeast will start to go dormant. This can result in both off flavors and incomplete fermentation.