I've brewed a few times, still have all the gear and plan on brewing again this fall. I have a porter recipe I picked up when PIke's still sold brew supplies. Pike's Old 97 porter. It's easy, flavorful and is hard to screw up.
Sanitation is very important. Even though I cleaned everything thoroughly before starting, something found it's way into the wart and caused the beer to geyser 4 inchs or more when opened, especially if room tempature. I'd loose about 1/2 a bottle. If I cooled the beer before opening it, it didn't geyser as much. I was told it was probably free floating bacteria.