⇒ What equipment do I need to start home brewing?

What equipment do I need to start home brewing?

If you’ve decided to brew beer, you’re in great company.

Einstein, Churchill, the mighty Thor himself and every man with a shed, has at one point or another, brewed some tasty beverages.

But they all had to start somewhere, and so here’s a list of what equipment you might need to get started brewing beer.

We’re talking about brewing using a beer kit here, the kind of brewing where your ‘beer wort’ basically comes in a can.

You get to choose what hops or sugar you add (jelly beans maybe?) and the rest is simply following some good brewing instructions.

But what do you need to brew some good home made beer?

This list is just the basics, you could probably actually get away with using less but at the very least, this guide should help you decide what you need to get that golden ale flowing down your gullet.

What equipment you might use on Brew day

Here's a handy checklist for your set up. Not everything is a 'must have' but you must have clean and sanitized gear, no matter what you do.

Ingredients

A beer kit – source a handy starter kit brew from an online store like Amazon, or your local brew supplier. Some supermarkets stock them
A brew enhancer, DME or dextrose – 1Kg
Hops – an optional addition but good for getting some good aromatic flavours and it's easy to add hops to the beer *

Equipment for brewing

Sanitizer - To sanitize all of your equipment. It’s a must. If you don’t your beer might die.
6 gallon / 23 litre fermenter (drum or bottle). You will use this for making your beer in
Thermometer - To monitor the temperature of the wort – this is so you can add the yeast at the correct temperature and avoid killing it. *
Hydrometer - Used test the original gravity of your batch *
Paddle or spoon - Something to stir the boil with, maybe not your wife’s best spoon. A long handle is what you need. Try not to drop it in your batch....
Gloves – making beer can get a little messy * Do not use your dad's chainsaw gloves! Nor, White Ox Gloves, use the plastic / rubber kind you use to wash dishes with.
Can opener – to open the beer kit
Water - Access to both boiling and cold water
Bubble Airlock – to allow the release of CO2 and to assist with the observation of fermentation
This is totally optionally and really only for seasoned beer makers, a pH testing kit can be pretty handy.
Ph Meter for checking the water as being suitable for use. Even if you're making kombucha, check the pH level.
A good gas Burner for boiling water.
A multi key chain tool for opening up packets, and opening caps.

Bottling day - what you need

Bottles! – cleaned and free of dirt and spiders or slugs or bird shit (trust us on this, it’s happened)
Sanitizer – Yes, once again you need sanitize all equipment and bottles and caps
Bottle caps - Make sure they are not twist-off bottles
Bottle capper – speaks for itself, helps you place the caps on bottles
Hydrometer - To measure the final gravity *
Best oil for a chainsaw?
Priming sugar – Sucrose which is to carbonate the beer while in the bottle (called beer conditioning)
Bottling wand - This allows you to easily control the flow while bottling and means less spillage will occur. *
Patience. Just a little patience. Shit will go wrong, learn from the experience and move on.