What you need to Brew your own Beer

The techniques for beer brewing have become more refined as the technologies used have advanced over the centuries. Most of the processes used in order to produce beer are relatively simple and so you can if you want actually brew your own beer at home. Of all the processes that are undertaken when brewing beer the most important one of all is the fermentation one.

Today you can if you want have a go at making your own beer at home. A quick search online and there are numerous sites that offer advice and sell the equipment that allows you to set up your own beer brewing facility. Below we take a look at what the main pieces of equipment are so that you can produce your own beer at home.

Item 1 - A large boiling pot that is made either from stainless steel or the steel has been coated with ceramic. You need a pot that is big enough to hold at least 3 gallons of fluid and still have some space available.

Item 2 - The next thing you need to purchase as part of your home brewing kit is a Carboy. This is a large glass bottle that is of a similar shape to the plastic ones that contain spring water that you buy. It is crucial that the bottle is made from glass as it is this that the hot liquid from the pot will be placed so that the fermentation of the beer can take place.

Item 3 - A large funnel (plastic is preferable) and this is what you use to transfer the wort (brewing mixture) from the pot into the carboy. Also at the same time you need to get yourself some plastic tubing which can be used to transfer the beer from the carboy into the bucket mentioned below.

Item 4 - You will need a six gallon food grade plastic bucket with lid as this is what the beer will be put into before bottling after it has been removed from the carboy. Also the same tubing used for moving the mixture from the carboy to the bucket is then used to put the beer into bottles.

There are certain other items that you will need for a home brewing kit including a raking cane (a special attachment to be put on the siphoning tube). A specialist stopper for the carboy which goes in the hole at the top to prevent things from getting into the beer whilst it is fermenting but also to allow carbon dioxide to escape. Generally this piece of equipment is sold with the carboy.

The other items that are essential to any home beer brewing kit are a large wooden spoon, a thermometer that has temperature ranges of between 40 degrees and 150 degrees Fahrenheit on it. The types of thermometers used most often by home brewers are either the stainless steel dial ones or the floating dairy ones. One more final item you need is a good brewer’s iodine solution which you will use to sterilize all the equipment before and after it has been used.