When I first started thinking about brewing my own beer, it was a bit daunting trying to decide what equipment I needed and how much I wanted to spend. Like most hobbies, the sky is the limit when it comes to cost.
If you go to any beer store or website, you will almost always find a beer starter kit. It generally consists of a fermenting bucket, bottling bucket, capper, potentially a 5 gallon pot, an airlock, bottle caps, auto-siphon, hose, beer bottle filler, bottle brush, and sanitizer.
Personally, I would avoid these starter kits and pick out the exact items you need and that fit your taste.
Equipment List
The following is what I had picked out in my first year of brewing and it has worked well for extract beer making:
– Bucket w/out spigot to hold my sanitizing solution. Included lid.
– Bottling bucket w/ spigot. Included lid.
– Auto-siphon
– Flexible hose
– Bottling wand
– Copper Wort Chiller
– Funnel
– 6.5 Gallon Carboy
– Blow-off hose
– Airlock and bung
– Carboy brush
– Bottles (22oz and 1L)
– Capper
– Caps
– Hydrometer
– Wine thief
– Star San sanitizer
– PWB cleaner
The following I already had on hand and didn’t need to purchase:
– Pots
– Stir spoon
– Turkey burner
How to Obtain
You will have to shop around to get the best prices. The big brewing websites, like Northern Brewer, have sales all the time on various items. Local brewing stores can also have good deals on equipment, plus its good to shop local because if you need something in a pinch, a local store will be there to help and you want them to stay in business. If you have any questions, the owner of the local shop is eager to help.
I bought the majority of my equipment locally and it was cheaper than online, but this will likely depend on your location.
Do realize that as you brew a couple times, you will adapt your setup to meet your needs. I am constantly looking to improve my setup to be more efficient without breaking the bank. The more you brew, the more equipment you will likely accumulate as you keep taking your system to the next level and tweaking things to your liking. Brewing beer is an addicting hobby! Feed the addiction.
