Beer Brewing Equipment - A Brewmaster's Guide by John Gergets

So you've decided to brew your own beer? Good for you! Beer brewing is a noble art, practiced for centuries by people just like you. All you need to brew your own beer is a little knowledge and the right beer brewing equipment. So let's get started!

Beer is one of the world's oldest beverages. It is still one of the world's most popular beverages. The past 20 years have seen a resurgence of craft and micro-brewing. This, in turn, has educated people about the complexity of what a good beer contains. The growth of small brewing has also led to the growth of the home brewing movement. People like you are brewing some of the world's finest, and rarest, beers right in their own homes. So, what beer brewing equipment do you need?
First, you need at brew kettle. A brew kettle is nothing more than a large stainless steel pot with at least a five gallon capacity. You use your brew kettle to cook what is known as wort. Wort is simply all the beer ingredients, minus the yeast, heated and cooled together.

The next piece of beer brewing equipment you need a six gallon carboy. A carboy is a glass or plastic container that holds liquid. You've seen one on the top of every water cooler. Yup, that's a carboy. The carboy is used to hold the wort, plus the yeast, while fermentation occurs. You're also going to need a bung. That's the rubber stopper that fits in the neck of the carboy and keeps liquid in and air out.

An important piece of beer brewing equipment is a good thermometer. Beer brewing is a science, as well as an art. Precise temperature control is needed to produce a good tasting and good looking product. A good thermometer gives you this precision.

You're also going to need a bottling bucket, which is simply a six gallon plastic bucket with a spigot in it's base. You'll use this bucket to hold the fermented wort during the bottling process. The spigot controls the flow of the wort into the bottles.

Speaking of bottles, you're going to need some empty ones. A five gallon batch of beer fills approximately 144 bottles, so that's how many you'll need. A good source for bottles is the empties you have around when you finish a few beers. Breweries regularly reuse bottles. You should too! Plus, it gives you a good excuse to have a beer or two.

Finally, the last piece of beer brewing equipment you'll need are bottle caps and a bottle capper. Bottle caps are fairly self explanatory. You place a cap over the open end of a newly filled bottle and the capper crimps the ends of the cap around the bottle neck. This creates a tight seal which keeps air out and carbonation in as your beer goes through the final aging process.

That's about it. Sure, there are a few more do-dads that you could pick up if you wanted to, but the above list is really all the beer brewing equipment you need to start brewing right. Cheers!

John Gergets is a former attorney turned stay-at-home dad and works as a content writer at Class Act Content. An avid home brewer, you can read more about home brewing at John's website, Beer Brewing Information. Home