How to Buy a Beer Making Kit
Assess your budget., Evaluate your space considerations., Browse beer making kits from several suppliers., Walk yourself through the brewing process to ensure you have everything needed.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Assess your budget.
Beer making supplies tend to make up for their own cost quickly through the lowered cost of brewing beer yourself.
However, high-end kits can still represent a major investment.
As a novice brewer, it may be best to buy an inexpensive kit, as you can always expand your equipment later.
Low-cost brewing kits often exclude equipment that you might be expected to own already, such as a large stockpot for boiling the wort.
Also, you can re-use bottles from store-bought beer to bottle your own brews.
There are some compromises involved when buying less expensive equipment.
Plastic bucket fermenters (when compared to their more expensive glass counterparts) pose a risk of developing scratches that can harbor bacteria that can ruin your beer.
In addition, using a simple ice bath to chill your wort (rather than an immersion chiller) chills the wort more slowly, giving unwanted bacteria more time to develop. -
Step 2: Evaluate your space considerations.
The space in which you plan to brew will determine which brewing kit is best for you.
Those working with limited space, such as apartment dwellers, should look for space-saving options like stackable plastic buckets for fermenting and bottling.
If you don't have access to a lawn outside your home, you won't be able to run the exhaust water from an immersion chiller to the outdoors.
In this case, chilling the wort using an ice bath is best.
The size of your stove burners is also an important consideration.
If you have small, less powerful burners, you may want to use a kit that calls for only a partial boil
- typically 3 gallons (11 L).
Larger 5 or 10 gallon (18.9 or
37.9 L) boils will be difficult on a small stove. , There are several major online retailers selling home brewing equipment, most notably Mr.
Beer, MoreBeer, and Northern Brewer.
If you live in an urban area, you may also be able to visit a home brewing supply store.
Buying online has the advantage of letting you read customer reviews and compare kits from different manufacturers side by side.
Buying in-store gives you the benefit of personal advice and allows you to avoid shipping costs. , Before brewing for the first time with your new kit, walk yourself through the process.
Make sure you have everything you'll need, including additional items like towels for maintaining a clean, dry work area.
Attempting to brew with an incomplete setup may lead you to have to throw out your half-finished beer. -
Step 3: Browse beer making kits from several suppliers.
-
Step 4: Walk yourself through the brewing process to ensure you have everything needed.
Detailed Guide
Beer making supplies tend to make up for their own cost quickly through the lowered cost of brewing beer yourself.
However, high-end kits can still represent a major investment.
As a novice brewer, it may be best to buy an inexpensive kit, as you can always expand your equipment later.
Low-cost brewing kits often exclude equipment that you might be expected to own already, such as a large stockpot for boiling the wort.
Also, you can re-use bottles from store-bought beer to bottle your own brews.
There are some compromises involved when buying less expensive equipment.
Plastic bucket fermenters (when compared to their more expensive glass counterparts) pose a risk of developing scratches that can harbor bacteria that can ruin your beer.
In addition, using a simple ice bath to chill your wort (rather than an immersion chiller) chills the wort more slowly, giving unwanted bacteria more time to develop.
The space in which you plan to brew will determine which brewing kit is best for you.
Those working with limited space, such as apartment dwellers, should look for space-saving options like stackable plastic buckets for fermenting and bottling.
If you don't have access to a lawn outside your home, you won't be able to run the exhaust water from an immersion chiller to the outdoors.
In this case, chilling the wort using an ice bath is best.
The size of your stove burners is also an important consideration.
If you have small, less powerful burners, you may want to use a kit that calls for only a partial boil
- typically 3 gallons (11 L).
Larger 5 or 10 gallon (18.9 or
37.9 L) boils will be difficult on a small stove. , There are several major online retailers selling home brewing equipment, most notably Mr.
Beer, MoreBeer, and Northern Brewer.
If you live in an urban area, you may also be able to visit a home brewing supply store.
Buying online has the advantage of letting you read customer reviews and compare kits from different manufacturers side by side.
Buying in-store gives you the benefit of personal advice and allows you to avoid shipping costs. , Before brewing for the first time with your new kit, walk yourself through the process.
Make sure you have everything you'll need, including additional items like towels for maintaining a clean, dry work area.
Attempting to brew with an incomplete setup may lead you to have to throw out your half-finished beer.
About the Author
Megan Thomas
A passionate writer with expertise in cooking topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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