Over the next few blog posts, I’m going to detailing everything you need to have and know to brew beer at home for the first time. Today, we’re going to start what you need to have.
Getting started with home brewing can be very intimidating, especially when it comes down to all of the equipment and supplies that you need to make that perfect home brewed beer. All the jargon and strange names can get confusing, which is why I recommend beginning with a home brew starter kit.
There’s two main reasons why I would recommend buying a home brewing starter kit. The first is to save money. Many kits online are actually cheaper than buying all of the needed pieces separately. The second is that it’ll save a lot of headache. When you buy a kit, you know that you’re getting everything you need, plus you know that everything you’re getting will fit and work together. For me, saving the money was a bonus. Eliminating the headache was the real reason I started with a home brewing kit.
Complete Beer Equipment Kits
Here’s a few kits that have all of the equipment that you need. Some even come with recipe kits, so you’ll be ready as soon as the UPS man knocks on the door.
- Maestro Homebrew Beer Equipment Kit
- Basic Home Brew Beer Brewing Kit with 5-gallon India Pale Ale (IPA) Beer Ingredients Included
My very first kit and one that I can recommend to any novice brewer.
- Gold Complete Beer Equipment Kit (K6) with 6 Gallon Glass Carboy
Required Home Brewing Equipment
Below is a list of all of the equipment that your first home brewing starter kit definitely needs.
Fermenting Bucket With Lid – In this bucket is where your wort turns into beer over days and even weeks.
Bottling Bucket – You’ll transfer your beer sans sediment to the bottling bucket.
Spigot For Bottling Bucket – Where the beer comes out when you’re ready to bottle your beer.
Bottle Brush – Used to clean your bottles.
Glass Hydrometer – Kind of optional, but an awesome tool to see how well your brew is fermenting.
3 Piece Airlock – Goes on top of your fermenter, releasing gases that are building up inside of the bucket, without letting in outside air that could ruin your beer.
Bottle Capper Tool – I’ll let you figure out what this is used for.
Bottle Caps – At least 48-52 bottle caps.
Siphon Equipment And Hose – Used to transfer your beer between buckets and later on into the bottles.
Sanitizer – Star San is my favorite, but there’s many on the market that will do an effective job of cleaning your equipment.
More Equipment You’ll Need
And a couple of other things that aren’t included in most starter kits.
Stockpot – This is your brew kettle and where a lot of the action will be on the first day of brewing. You’ll need one that’s at least 12 quarts to begin. That’ll allow you to boil two gallons of wort, however bigger is definitely better.
Glass Carboy – Most kits come with plastic buckets for the fermentation container. Plastic pails are good, but after three or four uses, they need to be replaced.
12 Ounce Beer Bottles – This is your excuse to drink 48-52 beers. Recycle the bottles with twist off caps and labels that are difficult to remove.
Recipe Kit – Everything you need ingredient wise to brew your first batch of beer. Some starter kits come with a recipe kit, but many do not.
