Homebrewer Equipment Required To Brew

A lot of people love beer and are interested in brewing their own beer, but have no idea where to start. The number one question is often what type of equipment do I need to start home brewing? A lot of people think that it's very expensive and difficult to obtain all of the home brewing equipment they need to get started, but it's cheaper and much easier than you think. This is a discussion about what main pieces of brewing equipment you'll need to get started with malt extract brewing.

You'll need a large pot to boil at least two gallons of water, and closer to three gallons is much better for brewing five gallon batches. Make certain your brew kettle has insulated handles so you can easily transport the hot water during brewing. You'll also need a thermometer for taking temperature readings of your boiling liquid. This is essential so you know when you have cooled your wort to the proper temperature to add your yeast. If the temperature is too high it can kill the yeast, and too low the yeast will simply not do anything.

You will need a large steel spoon to stir your homebrew, and don't use a wooden spoon as it may contain bacteria that could possibly infect your beer. Once you have finished brewing the beer you will need to transfer it to a fermentation vessel. Plastic bucket fermenters are the most common for beginners, but other styles are available. You will also need a hydrometer, a device that measures the specific gravity of your beer and helps figure out how much alcohol has been produced during fermentation.

The beer is transferred to a bottling bucket after fermentation is finished. To ensure your equipment will not spoil your beer, you must use a sanitizing solution. To move the beer you will need to use a siphon together with a plastic hose. Once the beer has been moved to the bottling bucket, you will need another plastic hose connected to a bottle filler to fill each individual bottle with your home brew. I recommend using a bottle filler because the spring inside makes bottling much easier than just using a plain hose.

Your home brew needs a place to go, so you also need bottle caps and bottles. A standard five gallon batch of homebrew requires approximately fifty 12 ounce bottles. Remember, each bottle must be cleaned and sanitized before adding your beer. The last step in completing your bottling process is to attach the bottle caps to the bottles. For this you need to invest in a bottle capper, and I recommend you buy a standing or counter-top version instead of the hand held version. Just remember you have to sanitize the caps for the bottles!

You may also want to purchase a strainer to help filter hops and other sediment from your kettle before you move your home brew to your fermenter. If you use a carboy (glass or plastic) to ferment you also want to get a funnel. To take samples of your beer during fermentation you may need to use a beer thief, but you could use anything really that is easily sanitized.

Brewing your own beer is easy and anybody can become a homebrewer! Use this home brew equipment list to build your own microbrewery at home!