What You Actually Need (Gear Checklist)
You don’t need a full-blown brewery to get started. Here’s the gear I used on my first brew day it’s affordable, beginner-friendly, and gets the job done:
Essentials:
- Large pot (5+ gallons) – Cheaper 5 Gallon Stock Pot
- Fermenter with airlock – This one has a spigot for easier racking and bottling
- Thermometer – Slap this on the side of your fermenter. Helps for pitching
- Hydrometer (optional, but useful) – You want to know how strong you’re beer is
- Auto-siphon and tubing – Tall one so you can reach the bottom of your fermenter
- Bottling bucket and bottles – Make sure it has a spigot for the bottling wand.
- Bottling Wand – Fill the bottles with less mess.
- Bottle capper and caps – I use this one. Heavy duty.
- Caps (5 gallon batch) – Green Oxygen Absorbing Bottle Caps
- Bottles – Beer Bottles | Traditional Longneck | Amber Glass Bottles | 12 oz |
- Sanitizer (Star San or similar) – Don’t fear the foam. The most important thing in your kit. (Note use your bottling bucket as a sanitizing bucket until you need it for bottling)
OR if you have the funds, I’ve purchased this kit in the past and I STILL use a lot of this equipment. A nice one stop shop so to speak.
- HomeBrewing Starter Set, Equipment and Recipe for 5 Gallon Batches – This is worlds easier
Tip: Don’t go crazy with upgrades on your first batch. You’ll learn what works for you later.
Go back and continue on to Your First Brew Day Made Simple