Everyone loves beer and would like to make their own, but are not sure how to get started. “What kind of equipment do I need?” is usually the first question asked by people new to brewing. Many people think that it is very expensive and difficult to get all the home brewing equipment they need to get started, but it is cheaper and easier than you think. Let’s take a look at the brewing products you’ll need to buy to get started with home brewing with malt extract.
For a five-gallon batch of homebrew, you will need a large pot to boil at least 2-3 gallons of water. This kettle should be strong and have handles that make it easy to pick up when filled with hot liquid. To make sure you have the correct temperature settings during preparation, you will need to have a good thermometer. Before adding yeast to your preparation, you need to make sure that the temperature is neither too high nor too cold. If the temperature is too high it can kill the yeast, and too low the yeast just won’t do anything.
Make sure you have a long steel spoon to stir your brew, as a wooden spoon can get full of bacteria and is not ideal to use. Once you’ve finished brewing the beer, you’ll need to transfer it to a fermenter. There are several types of fermenters available, the most basic being the plastic bucket type. To measure the alcohol content of your beer, you will need to purchase a hydrometer, a device that measures the density of your beer.
Once fermentation is complete, you need to transfer your beer to a bottling bucket. You should use a sanitizing solution to clean your brewing equipment so your beer doesn’t get spoiled by bacteria. The transfer of the beer is done through a plastic hose connected to a siphon. To move the beer from the bottling pail to the individual bottles, you will need to use a plastic hose in conjunction with a bottle filler. Bottle fillers are spring loaded and make filling bottles much easier than using a simple hose.
Of course, you will need bottles and bottle caps for your homemade crafting. You need approximately 50 12 ounces. bottles for a typical 5-gallon batch of homebrew. Remember, each bottle must be cleaned and sanitized before adding your beer. Applying the bottle caps to the bottles is the final step in preparing your homemade beverage. For this, you need to invest in a bottle capper, and I recommend that you purchase a floor-standing or counter-top version instead of the handheld model. Don’t forget to sanitize the bottle caps too!
You may also want to purchase a strainer to help filter the hops and other brew sediment from your kettle before transferring your homemade beverage to your fermenter. A funnel can also be helpful if you are using a plastic or glass carafe, but it is not necessary if you are using a plastic bucket. To sample your beer during fermentation, you may need to use a beer thief, but you could use anything that really sanitizes easily.
Anyone can be a homebrewer and brewing beer at home is easy! Use this list of homemade equipment to build your own microbrewery at home!
