Homebrewing Beer Brewing Equipment

Brewing Equipment

A gallery and description of some of the hardware commonly used to brew your own beer at home.

Brewing Kettle

This is the container where the "cooking" part of brewing will be done. A stainless or enameled steel cooking pot of at least 3 gallons (12 quarts) will do. Avoid aluminum or cast-iron pots since they might give your wort an undesirable off-flavor. As long as you can afford it we highly recomend to buy the biggest kettle you can fit on your stove or burner. A 30 quart will work nicely for extract brewing as well as all-grain. The smaller the pot the higher the chances for boil overs. The few dollars saved on a small pot will be spent later on paper towels!

Fermenters

There are two main types of fementers, the primary and the secondary. The primary is often a 6 gallon food grade plastic pail. It is fitted with a lid with an airlock. This will allow enough space for the foam head (Krausen) to form without blowing out of the container. A primary fermentor is often sufficient for the entire process. With a plastic container, you don't want the beer to stay in it for too long. There is a large air space above that can have air that can spoil the beer. Plastic is also slightly porus. Oxygen can actually bleed through the plastic and react with the beer to cause off favors, or even spoil the beer. Plastic also has a lot of nooks and crannies that can harbor bacteria and can be hard to sanitize.

A second fermentor (the secondary) is used when the beer is to be conditioned, or when there is not time to bottle the beer. The secondary should be a five gallon glass carboy, since the beer may be spending quite some time in the container. This is especially true if you are making a lager. The glass is easier to sanitize, since it isn't porus.

Stopper

Stoppers are tipically made of rubber or plastic and are used to temporarily seal the carboy opening while providing an exit hole for the gases produced during the fermentation process. The hole in the center of the stopper should be just wide enough to accomodate the end of the airlock.

Airlock

Air locks are important, because they let the carbon dioxide that is given off by the yeast during fermentation to escape without letting air back in to the fermenter. There are many different ways to accomplish this, but the types shown at the left are in-expensive and effective.

Spoon/paddle

You need a sturdy, light and long spoon or paddle to be able to stir your wort or mashes without burning the tip of your fingers. Spoons/paddles made of heat resistant plastic or stainless steel work the best. Many homebrewers discourage the use of wooden spoons since they can be difficult to sanitize.

Auto-Siphon

It is the easiest and most sanitary way of transfering liquids from one container to another. Connect some clear plastic tubing to the end of the piston, sanitize thoroughly, start siphon with a single stroke and watch you beer flow without any effort.

Tubing

Beverage grade clear vinyl tubing is commonly used as part of an auto-siphon system or also to create a blow-off fermenter - a technique that uses a single plastic hose to block the neck of the carboy and release the CO₂ into a container filled with water.

Wort Chiller

Wort Chillers are used to quickly cool down the boiling wort to be able to add the yeast to it. Quick cooling reduces the chances of developing off flavors, bacterial spoilage, and also helps you get the brew done in a shorter amount of time. The most common type is the immersion chiller which is simply a coil of copper tubing with connectors on each end. A garden hose is connected to one end and a draining hose to the other. The cold water running through the copper coil absorbs the heat from the hot wort lowering the temperature of it.

Bottle Filler

A plastic or stainless steel tube with an on-off valve in one end. It is important to be able to control the amount of beer in your bottles. Too much or too little head space in the bottle will influence the carbonation process and quality of the final product.

Hydrometer

It is the instrument used to measure the specific gravity of a liquid - which will help you determine the amount of alcohol in your beer. By taking an original and final measurement of the specific gravity of your wort/beer you will be able to determine how much sugar has been converted to ethanol by the yeast during the fermentation process.

Thermometer

Temperature control is an important part of brewing. The most common thermometer used by brewers is the glass teardrop floating type, but a well sanitized meat thermometer will work fine. You could go without a thermometer as an extract brewer but we highly recommend one for all-grain beer since you will need to set and maintain certain temperatures during the process.

Grain Straining Bag

A fine-mesh nylon or cheesecloth bag able to hold 4 to 6 pounds of grains. It is used mainly during the steeping or mashing process (soaking crushed grains in hot water). It works as a large tea bag, keeping the husk and grain inside the bag while allowing the transfer of sugars, enzimes and water that form the wort.

Bottle Capper

The two most common types are the bench bottle capper and the dual lever hand held model. The bench bottle capper is designed as a lever/handle that slides on a rail post. The dual lever type requires a little more effort and coordination, but is less expensive than the bench type and will work well once you get the hang of it.

Bottles

Typical beer bottle sizes are 12,16 and 22 ounces. Since light can spoil your beer dark glass - or less often plastic- are the material and color of choice for most brewers. We recommend the use of bottles with a single flange top or pry-off. The "twist-off" type require special equipment for sealing and do not provide as good of a seal against oxigen - another source of beer spoilage.

Blank bottle caps

Use the standard crown cap with 21 teeth for single flange bottle.

How to brew great tasting beer in the comfort and convenience of your own home.