This is going to be a long one, so long that I decided to cut it into three chapters. Today will be the supplies portion and tomorrow will be the fermentation process, followed by bottling. I never realized how much stuff Travis needed to brew beer until I started piecing it all together, and it’s a lot! So, here is goes.

Everything you need to brew beer can be found below:

(brew pot, 5 gallon buckets, bucket spout, plastic tubing & sanitizer images from here. beer bottle brush image from here. beer ingredients kits image from here. siphon image from here. beer bottle & capper images from here. bottle caps image from here. water bottle from here. bottle washer from here. fermenter lid from here. spring loaded bottle filler image from here. hydrometer image from here. glass test jar image from here.)

[ 1 ] Racking Cane – Racking is when you move your wort / beer from one vessel to another by using means of siphoning or draining. The tool I use to do this is called a racking cane. I use this.

[ 2 ] Fermenting bucket – any food grade 7.5 gallon or greater bucket

[ 3 ] Bucket Spout – I created my own since the original one failed and is made out of crap plastic. I got my original one from here.

[ 4 ] Gallons of Water – These are called Sumo bottles and are only $1 at Walmart and you’ll only need one of these to ferment your beer, but you’ll probably need around 5 of these when you brew your beer mix.

[ 5 ] Bottlecaps – Take your pick.

[ 6 ] 6.5 Gallon Bucket with Spout Hole – from here.

[ 7 ] Test Tube for Hydrometer – from here.

[ 8 ] Ingredients Kit – Many to choose from. Each will require a different skill set so choose wisely for the first brew.

[ 9 ] Vinyl Tubing – sold per foot, from here. Five foot recommended.

[ 10 ] Bottle Brush – from here.

[ 11 ] Capper – Red Head Emily, from here. Must be careful when using cappers. If you push down too hard on the capper you will break the neck off of the bottle.

[ 12 ] Amber Colored Glass Beer Bottles – Why amber? Because amber colored glass lets the least amount of light in, which means your beer stays fresh longer. Mine from here.

[ 13 ] Dual Function Bottle Filler – from here.

[ 14 ] Hydrometer – from here.

[ 15 ] Five Star Sanitizer – (any of the following sizes) from here Cleaner (any of the following sizes) from here. Obviously the larger amount of each it will last multiple brews. Also you will come to realize that the PBW cleaner is by far some of the best all purpose cleaner you will ever use. Many people use it not only for brewing but for cleaning many other things.

[ 16 ] Bottle Washer & Rinser – I use this to sanitize my bottles not really to rinse. From here.

[ 17 ] 5 Gallon Stock Pot – you must use stainless steel to brew. Do not use aluminum or other materials. Also do not use any abrasive brushes / sponges when cleaning as it will scratch the sides and allow a place for bacteria to grow. Larger than 5 gallon is recommended.

[ 18 ] Air tight Bucket Lid – Same as #2

[ 19 ] Bung - mine is made out of gum rubber and makes a better seal than most. However any of these will do. The universal drilled bungs will be fine.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I’ll send them Travis’ way.

Posted on May 23, 2013 - 11 comments
 Filed Under: Guest Posts, Travis' Area of Expertise