Beer Brewing Supplies

As the craft beer market has recently exploded, more and more people have become interested in brewing beer from home. Some people worry that the process might be difficult and require expensive beer brewing supplies, but home brewing is actually a relatively simple and affordable hobby. Here is what you need to know in order to start creating your own unique beers.

What You Need to Start
Basic beer brewing supplies can be easily found in local stores, but you can also buy home brewing kits online if you do not want to search for each individual item. A basic set of home brew supplies should include:

• A sanitizing solution
• A pot that is at least 3 gallons
• A floating thermometer
• Food grade plastic tubing and a brewing hose clamp
• An airtight fermenting container that is at least 5 gallons
• An airlock and stopper that fits your fermenting container
• A bottle filler that fits your tubing
• 12 ounce bottles and bottle caps
• A bottle capper to seal your bottles

The ingredients you will use will depend on what type of beer you want to create, and there are many delicious recipes online. All beers require some type of grains, hops, beer yeast, sugar, and water. Malted grain extract is a good choice of grains when you are just getting started, because it does not require any extra home brew supplies such as a grain mill.

Brewing Your Beer
The first step in creating a beer is sterilizing all of your equipment. You can then begin boiling the malt extract with the water in your large pot, the basis for your beer. The hops are then added to the wort, and the entire mixture is boiled slowly for about 30 to 60 minutes.

Cooling and Fermenting Your Beer
Once the wort is done boiling, it is important to cool it quickly, so that bacteria does not have a chance to grow. Some brewers put the pot in ice water, and others use advanced beer brewing supplies to run cold water through copper tubing to cool the beer. Once the wort is cooled to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, it can be put into the sanitized fermenter, and then you can add your yeast. Once the yeast is mixed in, you can fit your airlock over the fermenter and place it in a dark, cool place. The fermentation process will last for a week or two.

Bottling and Aging Your Beer
Once the beer is fermented, slowly siphon it into a sterilized bucket and slowly mix sugar into the beer. This step is called priming, and it will produce the carbonation in the beer. The bottle filler can then be used to siphon the primed beer into bottles. Then you can cap the bottles, and age them for at least 3 to 4 weeks. After the beers are aged, they are ready to be tasted and enjoyed.