Basic Equipment
Down the rabbit hole.
What basic equipment do you need to brew a good beer? Home brewing can be very equipment intensive, but when you are starting out a few basics will get you by – until you get hooked.
There are a lot of things you can buy, but only a few things you should buy to get started. The best approach is to start simple with things you already have in the kitchen if possible. This will keep your costs down to start with, and you can add on to the basics later.
The Basics
If you have absolutely NOTHING, then the best thing you can do is buy a Coopers or Mangrove Jacks starter kit They have everything you need to make a 23L batch of beer, and the equipment will server you for years to come. The kits generally include:
Barrel Fermenter and Airtight Lid - usually 30L
Tap
Stick-on Digital Thermometer
Bubbler Airlock & Grommet
Hydrometer
Brewer's Spoon
Bottling Wand
Bottle Brush
30 x 750ml PET Bottles
This is the basic equipment you will use every time you brew.
In addition, they may include a few supplies and ingredients:
Cleaner
No Rinse Sanitiser
Sediment Reducer
Liquid Malt Extract
Brew Enhancer / Dry Malt Extract / Dextrose
Carbonation Drops
This will cover you for creating extract and fresh wort brews, but you’ll probably need to buy more supplies - mainly cleaner and sanitiser - available at all good brewing supply stores.
All Grain Brewing
Once you’ve done a few kit beers, you may want to try out all grain brewing, and you’ll need a few extra items.
The first stage of brewing a beer is mashing – taking your crushed grains and steeping them in hot water to extract the sugars. You’ll need something like a large stock pot to do this – even better if hit has a full size colander. You may have something like this sitting around the house.
If you do it this way, you’ll also need some old blankets to keep the grain warm at the mashing temperature. You’ll also need a ‘brew in a bag’ or BIAB bag – a mesh bag that lets water into the grains, but makes clean up so much easier. Likewise, when you add your hops to the wort, you’ll want to use hop socks, a smaller version of the grain bag, to make clean up easier and keep your beer clearer. Get 3 or 4 as some recipes call for multiple hop additions.
In a couple of weeks, once your beer is ready, you’ll need bottles, caps and for glass bottles a bottle capper. But we’ll cover that in another blog.
Optional Extras
There are a few things that will make your life a lot easier if you have them:
A reliable thermometer to heat water to the correct temperature and make sure your mash doesn’t cool down too much. You don’t need to go overboard on this, as there is a wide range of devices ranging from affordable to professional. To start with I used a jug that had a thermometer on the side to heat my water, but that isn’t very accurate.
A second fermentation vessel will come in handy, so you can have multiple brews going at different stages of development - this prevents you from running out of beer too quickly. Pictured here is my original fermenter. An alternative to the barrel style fermenter is the ‘carboy’. You’ll also need an additional airlock, and either a grommet or a bung / stopper. Airlocks are devices you put in the top of the fermenter and act like a plumbing u-bend. They let the CO2 out and prevent air and bugs from getting in. Half fill them with water, sanitiser or bad whiskey. If you go for a carboy, carboy cleaners make it easy to clean inside with their restrictive neck.
A second hydrometer is also handy because as sure as I’m writing this, if you only have one, you’ll drop it and break it just before you need it. It’s brewery lore. But if you have two, you’ll never need the second one.
Having a beer thief (or a turkey baster) allows you to take a small sample of your beer for testing with your hydrometer.
Getting Fancy
Things that will make life even easier but are totally optional (and the entrance to that Rabbit hole I warned about)
Carboy handle (if you get a carboy)
Jet bottle washer to really get your bottles clean
Bucket opening tool (to save your fingers)
A Funnel (to save splashing your precious amber liquid)
An Auto syphon (A great way to transfer and minimise damage from oxygen)
There are also a few supplies you’ll need to brew – apart from your ingredients. To clean all your equipment you’ll need something like PBW, Brewer’s Friend or Sodium Percarbonate. You’ll also need Stellarsan to Sanitise anything that’s going to come into contact with your beer. The only ‘additions’ you’ll need in the early days are campden tablets to get rid of chlorine from your water, and whir floc tablets to clear up your wort.
All that’s left to do now is wait for carbonation, chill and enjoy the fruit of your labour.
This is a list of common items if you want to try out the craft without committing too deeply yet. Yes, these are affiliate links because you pay no more but it helps keep the Backyard Brewer going.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This doesn’t cost you any more, but it helps keep things running.
BrewDemon
Mangrove Jacks Beer Kit
Stock Pot
Brew Bag
Brewing Thermometer
Hop Sock
Auto Syphon
Sodium Percarbonate
StellarSan – from your local brew supply store.
Sliante