Beginning Homebrewing - Get started with an equipment kit.

There's a lot of home brewing ground I want to cover on this blog over the next couple of weeks, since I've not written much on it since I started Beer Buzz with TAG media and Mother's Brewing Company. If you've been listening to the show, you already know that National Learn to Home Brew day is November 5th.



This is your chance to teach someone to brew, or if you've never brewed, to learn. There are some really easy ways to get started. The first and easiest way is to grab someone you know who's already a brewer and have them teach you. This is the best way to learn if you're not sure you actually want to be a home brewer, but you're curious about it.

If you already know you want to brew, however, you should go ahead and jump in. Order yourself a brewing kit from your local homebrew shop or online. Our local shop in Springfield is The Home Brewery, which also does a fair bit of online sales. Morebeer.com also sells a lot of kits, and their kits are equally top-notch. Where you get your kit is not nearly as important as what's in it.

All kits will include your basic necessities, which are as follows:



A bottling bucket
A fermenter (basic kits will have a food-grade plastic bucket - more expensive kits will have a glass carboy)
A stopper and airlock
Bottle filler
Bottle capper
144 bottle caps
Siphon hose
Hydrometer
Thermometer (usually a floating thermometer)
Sanitizer
Instructions

These are the bare necessities, and you have to have them to brew. In addition to these, you also need to have your own pot (at least 3-5 gallons, the bigger the better, up to 8 gallons). There are a lot of options you can add on to your kits, such as a copy of The Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian, or How To Brew by John Palmer. These are excellent add-ons, as they will enable you to learn a lot more than just the basics about how to get started. In addition, I highly recommend ordering an auto-siphon, as it makes the transfer of liquids from one vessel to another much easier, and you'll be doing this a lot. I have never used glass carboys because I consider them more dangerous than they're worth, but they are an option many home brewers prefer, and they can usually be added on at a reasonable cost.

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition (Harperresource Book)

Most starter kits will also include all of the necessary ingredients to make your first batch of beer. This is just as important as anything else in deciding which store to buy from. The quality of the ingredient kit and your ability to follow the instructions will be what determines the quality of your first batch of beer. To that end, make sure you buy your kit from a trusted vendor who gets good reviews. I recommend either The Home Brewery or morebeer.com. I've used both sites extensively, and appreciate their selection and the quality of their ingredients. Plus, the ingredient kits are made-to-order, so you know they are made with fresh ingredients.

If you've been thinking of getting into the hobby, now's the time to learn. Order yourself a kit and jump right in. If you are already a brewer, and you know someone who has been talking about getting started, why not get them an early Christmas gift? If not a whole kit, get them a copy of The Joy of Homebrewing or How to Brew to get them started? They'll thank you for it when they're sipping on their first batch of brew.

Cheers!

By the way - for more information on brewing your first batch of beer, check out these previous posts:

Beginning Home Brewing - Choosing an ingredient kit

Brewing for beginners part I - Getting Started

Beginning Homebrewing part II - Fermentation

Beginning Homebrewing - Bottling and Drinking