Home Brewing Equipment - Brewing Equipment You'll Need

The first step you will have to take to make your own beer is choosing an acceptable location to brew it. The kitchen could be a good location. Anticipate being there for a number of hours and quite possibly making what may be considered by non-home brewers as a huge mess. So, you may want to ask people who live in the house if it is alright. Upon having secured your kitchen you will need your home brewing equipment. For starters we're going to look at what kinds of equipment is going to be necessary to home brew using malt extract.



Basic home brewing equipment is normally not really all that costly. You ought to be able to purchase all the equipment you will need for somewhere between $100 to $150. Almost all home brewing equipment suppliers produce kits which have all the things you will need to make your own beer at home aside from ingredients and bottles.



This is a list of the basic home brewing equipment you will need in order to get started brewing beer:



- Brew Kettle



- Thermometer



- Hydrometer



- Funnel and Strainer



- 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermenter



- Airlock and Rubber Stopper



- Racking Tube with Siphon Hose



- 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot



- Bottles



- Bottle Brush



- Bottle Caps and Capper



Here are a few more things from around the kitchen which might come in handy:



-Small bowl



-Saucepan



-Rubber spatula



-Oven mitts/pot handlers



-Big mixing spoon (stainless steel or plastic)



Next let’s go over the home brewing equipment and provide you with a basic idea of what you will be doing with it.



Brew Kettle:

The brew kettle is a large pot with a volume that is at least 4.5 gallons. The optimal type is constructed of stainless steel. You may also use one which is made from ceramic-coated (enameled) steel or aluminum. If you are using a brand new aluminum pot, do not use it bright-and-shiny; you may get a metallic off-flavor. Boil some water in it first. Furthermore chipped enamelized pots may also produce off-flavors. If you happen to have two smaller pots in your kitchen which hold at least 4.5 gallons together that also will work. The brew kettle will be the very first piece of home brewing equipment you are going to be using. All your ingredients (accept for the yeast) will be put into the brew kettle and brought to a boil. This sweet mixture you will have made is known as "wort".



Thermometer:

A thermometer is used to calculate the temperature of the brew during different stages of the brewing process. A stick-on thermometer often is affixed on the exterior of the primary fermenter to enable you to monitor the temperature of the fermentation. This is an important piece of home brewing equipment because the temperature of the fermentation affects the flavor of the finished beer.



Hydrometer:

A hydrometer is a really useful tool for determining potential alcohol, or when your beer has fermented fully. This is one particular piece of home brewing equipment that all beer makers must own and know how to use. The majority of home brewing kits provide one.



Funnel and Strainer:

These are used to help transfer the contents of the brew kettle into the primary fermenter. The strainer will help filter out the hops which were put into the brew kettle.



Primary Fermenter:

The primary fermenter is where the wort will go once you have boiled and cooled it, this is where the beer starts to ferment and become that remarkable stuff that causes you to become so amusing and delightful. The primary fermenter is a piece of home brewing equipment that might be a plastic bucket which also has a lid which seals tightly or a glass container (typically referred to as a carboy). Either one must have a minimum capacity of 6.5 gallons, and accommodates a rubber stopper and the airlock. The fermenter must be thoroughly clean and free of scratches.



Airlock and Rubber Stopper:

The airlock is a clever product that permits carbon dioxide to vent from the primary fermenter during the course of the fermentation, and thus preventing it from exploding, but does not enable any of the air from outside to get into your beer’s clean environment. It fits into a rubber stopper which has a hole drilled into it, and then the stopper will go on the top of your primary fermenter.



Racking Cane with Siphon Hose:

A racking cane is a stiff piece of clear plastic tubing which is connected to the siphon hose and reaches to the bottom of your fermenter. The siphon hose needs to be clear food-grade tubing. It's used to transfer the beer from one location to another.



Bottling Bucket with Spigot:

This is usually a 6.5 gallon, food-grade plastic bucket with a spigot at the bottom. It has to be at least the size of your primary fermenter, because you have to transfer all of your delicious beer from the primary fermenter into the bottling bucket before bottling it. It's also important to have a bottle filler attachment at the end of the tubing coming from the spigot. This is yet another important piece of home brewing equipment that allows you to fill the bottles by simply pushing the filler down on the base of the bottle until the beer gets to the top, and after removing the filler, the perfect amount of head space is made.



Bottles:

Once the primary fermentation is finished the beer is put in bottles for secondary fermentation and storage. The most suitable type of bottles are probably brown glass ones with smooth tops (do not use the twist-off kind) which can use a cap from your bottle capper. You will need to have enough bottles to hold all of the beer you’re planning to brew. Depending on the bottle volume you will need to do a bit of math. A 5 gallon batch of beer will be 640 ounces; therefore, if you are working with 12 ounce bottles you will want about 54. If you happen to prefer 16 ounce bottles you'll want 40 bottles.



Bottle Brush:

This is a slim, curvy brush which you can easily insert in a bottle in order to clean the inside really well. We have not even mentioned just how thoroughly clean all things have to be, but we're going to, and the bottle brush is a specific item of cleaning equipment you need for home brewing.



Bottle Caps and Capper:

You’ll also have to have bottle caps, as you might think, and you can get them from every home brewing equipment store. The ideal type of bottle capper is one which may be attached to a surface and operated with one hand as you grip the bottle with the other hand. You can also buy less expensive types that require two hands on the capper, but these usually are a hassle. Go where your budget directs you.



Two other items you will need are substances to clean and sanitize your home brewing equipment. You may ask what’s the difference between cleaning and sanitizing? Just what can make them so essential to making your own beer? 90% of all home brewing failures are linked to a breakdown in cleaning or sanitization and definitely, they really are two distinct items.



Cleaning chemicals remove obvious debris and residue on your home brewing equipment. Some good cleaners are B-Brite, One Step, and Easy Clean.



Sanitizing is treating your home brewing equipment with chemicals which are able to wipe out, or inhibit the development of undesirable microorganisms. It's not possible to sanitize a single thing until it is thoroughly clean. Some good sanitizers are IO Star and Star San. Your brew kettle is one of the only pieces of equipment that only needs to be cleaned and not sanitized. Simply because you will be boiling your wort in the kettle which will sanitize it along with the wort.



All of your home brewing equipment that touches the beer once it leaves your brew kettle has to be clean, and properly sanitized, from the thermometer to the carboy, from the siphon hose to the rubber stopper and airlock. A single slip-up might possibly contribute to an entire batch turning out badly. With that being said, there are not any known human pathogens that can stay alive in beer, this means you do not have to be concerned about harming yourself or your friends.



As soon as you have gotten all of these items, you’re almost prepared to make your own beer! Now you have to get your home brewing supplies and ingredients and you will be ready to go.



If you happen to be concerned that brewing beer at home is confusing and really hard, do not be. It's just a process of simple steps. More descriptive brewing guidelines are going to come in a following article.



So you have an interest in home brewing? Click for more details regarding how to make your own beer. Find out more about the home brewing equipment that you'll need to brew tasty beer in your own home.