The #1 Homebrewing Equipment Kit: Part I

For beginning homebrewers it can be difficult determining where to start. Don't even bother looking at recipes yet because it'll just be Greek. Go for equipment first.

I bought a starter equipment kit from my local homebrew supply that got me through my first batch of beer, but there were some things that I would have liked to have changed. Three years, twenty-one brewing days, and one-hundred-five gallons of beer later I've come up with an equipment list that a new brewer will need to make a high quality homebrew. This kit allows for growth as your skills and home brewery expand.

By no means is this list all inclusive, because every brewer will tailor it to his or her brewery and budget, but it is a great starting point. Talk to other homebrewers and see what equipment they find useful. There's no sense in buying things twice because the first thing just plain sucked or wasn't needed at all. For this kit I would budget around $280-350 with the difference being the size brewpot.

The #1 Homebrewing Equipment Kit

A. Brewpot 5-10 gallons, stainless steel w/ heavy bottom and riveted handles, 5 gallon shown

B. Home Beermaking The Complete Beginner's Guidebook 3rd ed. by William Moore

C1. 3/8" hose brush

C2. Beer bottle brush

C3. Carboy brush

C4. Scrubbing brush

D. Large auto-siphon 3/8"

E. Brew Hauler - not shown

F. Hose, 3/8" inner diameter ~6' food grade

G. Spoon, long stainless steel or food grade plastic

H. Airlock and sml multi-fit drilled carboy stopper - not shown

I. Bottling/ Primary fermenter bucket w/ grommeted lid & 5/16" spigot, 7.1 gallon shown

J. Black marker

K. Bucket, 7.1 gallon shown

L. 5 gallon glass carboy - not shown

M. Thermometer strips

N. Carboy dryer

O. Bottle filler, spring loaded 3/8"

P. Sanitizer

Q. Soap, dye & perfume free

R1. Carboy & bottle washer

R2. Kitchen sink to garden hose converter

S. Hydrometer cylinder, plastic & Thermohydrometer, triple scale

T. Plumber's tape

U. Floating thermometer

V. Wine thief

W. Irish moss

X. Yeast nutrient

Y. Teaspoon & tablespoon - not shown

Z. Hand capper - not shown

I do have a few explanations, suggestions, and tips about the equipment. Before you buy a brewpot, measure your range to make sure it is wide enough — you don't want part of your brewpot resting on your countertop. If you have an outside propane burner, but don't have a large enough range, you can probably go with a ten gallon brewpot. So if you can afford to, buy a ten gallon brew pot; you will be able to do a full volume wort boil. If you can't buy the ten gallon, then go with the next largest that you can. This just means that you will have to slowly ladle in wort throughout the boil.

Home Beermaking is a great starter's book since it gives a very straight to the point explanation of the brewing process and also has a few recipes in the back. Yes, a separate scrub brush from your wife's, mom's, or girlfriend's is essential if you don't want your beer to have bits of that casserole she made last night in it. Use the black marker to draw on your glass carboy where the three, four, and five gallon levels are located. Using thermometer strips on your bottling/ primary bucket, hydrometer cylinder, and your glass carboy will be easier and quicker than dirtying your floating thermometer. As for the plumber's tape, use this when siphoning to seal the siphon cane to the siphon hose; this goes for the bottle filler as well.

Texas Homebrew Roost will return in:

The #1 Homebrewing Kit: Part II

Now go forth and brewify!