If you are interested in making your own beer but have no idea where to get started, this article will help by giving you a list of necessary equipment and tips on how to obtain them. While there are plenty of homemade beer kits available, there are still plenty of home brewers who would rather mix and match supplies from a variety of vendors for making beer at home. Be prepared to spend anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred dollars based on how many of the supplies you’ll need to get.
To give an overview, here’s what you’ll need:
5-gallon ceramic or steel boiling pot
2 Fermentors with Airlocks
Siphon with Bottle Filler
Bottle Capper
Bottle Caps
Large Stirring Spoon
Bottle Brush
Thermometer
Hydrometer
Ingredients Kit
Empty Beer Bottles (you can always recycle old so start saving)
When choosing a home boiling pot you don’t need to spend a lot of cash. Some of the cheapest ones available are home canning 5-gallon pots and they work just fine. If you have a 3-gallon pot already it will work but the larger the pot the less amount of spills you will experience.
A five-gallon bucket will work fine as your fermentor and can be purchased at any hardware store. Make sure to thoroughly clean and sterilize your bucket.
When considering a thermometer, make sure you pick one that can reach at least two hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit. It needs to be a floating thermometer that is of good quality to make sure there are no discrepancies in temperature.
Chances are you have familiarity with reading thermometer but have never had to work a hydrometer. You’ll need a hydrometer to gauge the progress of the fermentation process. Resist the temptation to check your hydrometer too often as each time you do there’s a chance of airborne microbes causing infections in your brew.
You’ll need the bottle capper to make sure your bottle caps on screwed on nice and tight to your beer bottles. You can buy both the capper and the caps themselves at a beer brewery store or there are many online vendors. If you are planning on reusing your beer bottles, you’ll need a bottlebrush to make sure you can thoroughly clean the used bottles. You want your bottles as clean and pure as possible for making beer at home.
With so many ingredient kits available for purchase, it is more cost effective to purchase a pre-assembled kit. The ingredient kits run around $20 for making beer at home and will produce around three gallons of beer. If, however, you are feeling nostalgic and want to assemble your own, make sure you do your research and purchase high-quality ingredients.
If you’ve read through the equipment list and feel overwhelmed, then don’t worry! There are many companies that offer pre-assembled kits and can save you lots of time and research. As with anything, do your research to find the best kit for you when making beer at home.
