homebrew/EQUIPMENT

There are a few basics needed to homebrew and many more devices that will make the brewing process quicker or easier. Many starter kits available from homebrew shops or supermarkets contain a fermenter (usually with stick-on thermometer), bottle brush, caps and hand capper. Extras that might be included are a hydrometer, steriliser, funnel and spoon.

The essentials

Boiler

For simple brews, a large saucepan in which to dissolve the ingredients is enough. If you start boiling your own wort with malt and hops you will need several saucepans, or a dedicated boiler. These are usually stainless steel and have an electric element or are placed over a gas burner. A boiler of 30 litres is ideal, but 25 litres will do - just. Some people use stainless steel kegs with the top cut out and a tap fitted.

Fermenter

Most fermenters are plastic and hold about 25 litres. While a typical brew is only 23 litres, there has to be room at the top for the yeast to foam up. If you use a plastic rubbish bin and die from the toxins it leeches into the beer, don't say we didn't warn you.

Typically, the lid will have a hole to fit an airlock, to which a small amount of water is added. This allows gas to bubble out during fermentation but no air that may be contain bacteria or viruses to contaminate the beer to get in. Some recipes, usually from Britain and almost always for ale, recommend not using a lid. This could allow the brew to become infected. It's up to you, but don't blame us if your brew gets infected and tastes no good.

Try and buy a fermenter with a tap near the bottom, which will make bottling much easier. What is commonly called a little bottler is attached to the tap. When the bottle is pushed upwards onto a valve on the bottom, beer flows through. The tap is just off the bottom, which allows yeast sediment to settle below the tap, and has an upward-facing slot on the inside so only clear beer flows through. The alternative is using a piece of hose as a syphon, which can be fussy and messy.

An adhesive strip thermometer on the side of the fermenter is essential to know when it is safe to pitch your yeast and to monitor the temperature during fermentation and keep it under control, if need be.

Bottles

Bottling is probably the most disliked aspect of homebrewing, so using larger bottles makes sense because you have sterilise, prime and fill fewer. (Just think, 23 litres = 30×750ml bottles, 60×375ml bottles and 68×330ml bottles.) If you can obtain them, use the older-style bottles with a crown seal (not a twist-top) and are made of heavier glass. Newer bottles are made of thin glass and are more prone to breaking during bottling, particularly if you are not using a bench capper. Many people have problems with breaking new-style bottles even when using a lever capper. Several Czech beers, including Radegast and Kozel, come in sturdy 500ml bottles with a crown seal and are ideal for homebrewing.

Some people use PET plastic soft-drink bottles. While they have the advantage of being much lighter, unbreakable and easily sealed, consider whether you really want to put your beer into plastic. We just don't think it's right.

Caps

Don't don't try and save a few cents by buying the cheapest caps you can find. Good caps are cheap enough anyway. If you do skimp you might get poor seals, which means flat beer. The only thing worse is no beer. Some caps are designed only for twist-tops, some for crown seals and some for both.

Capper

The simplest is a hand capper, which is a wooden handle with a metal fitting on the bottom. To cap bottles, you simply rest a cap on the bottle, put the capper over the top and whack it with a mallet to crimp the cap. If you want to break bottles, waste beer and get a poor seal then use this method for you.

A preferable method is the lever capper, which has two levers, that are pushed down gently to crimp the cap over the top of the bottle. Breaking bottles is less frequent with this method, but still happens too regularly.

Geoff and Oliver have bottles about 3700 bottles of beer between them and guess what? They've never broken a bottle while capping. Why? Because they use a bench capper, which is the best method. A bench capper consists of a base on which the bottle is placed and a vertical bar to which a lever is attached. The cap is placed on the bottle and the lever is pulled down to crimp the cap, forming a tight seal. The best part of this method is that the capper can be bolted to a bench in your brewery. Geoff once bolted his capper permanently to a bench - in his kitchen.

Brewing log book

It's fantastic cracking open the first bottle of a brew to discover it's a ripper. But you'll get a sinking feeling when you realise you don't have a record of how you made it. All you need is a book (nothing fancy, just an exercise book will do) in which you can record what went into the beer, anything unusual you did during brewing and when it was made and bottled. You might also like to write down how much it cost, its original and final gravity (so you can work out the alcohol content) and keep a running record of how many bottles you have left.

Bottle brush

Even if you rinse your bottles as soon as you drink your homebrew, they will over time (or sometimes after one brew) accumulate a film on the inside. A good bottle brush will remove this easily, especially if used with a bottle-washing powder or solution. The alkaline washing powder available at homebrew shops is usually no different to powder used in a dishwasher. Don't use detergent, such as dishwashing liquid, as any residue will destroy the head on your beer. There's also so little oil in beer that detergent is the wrong stuff for the job anyway.

Steriliser

There are countless bacteria that could ruin your beer. A good steriliser will kill them all. Steriliser comes in many forms, but we use sodium metabisulphate. Others use household bleach. Some brewers use boiling water or even heat their bottles in the oven to kill any bugs. Others still put them in the dishwasher. There is a school of thought that says the heat from an oven or dishwasher could weaken your bottles. Talk to your homebrew shop about a good chemical for the job. And don't forget to rinse thoroughly.

Other basics

A long spoon, preferably plastic, which is easier to keep sterile than wood.

A funnel, to get priming sugar into the bottles.

A priming measure. You can use a teaspoon, but buy a cheap, plastic sugar measure from your homebrew shop to ensure quantities are consistent.

Extras to make brewing easier

Hydrometer: The final alcohol content of your brew can be estimated roughly by the amount of sugars (malt and sugar) that you put into it. But if you want a quite accurate measure, invest in a hydrometer. By measuring the specific gravity of the wort (how syrupy it is) before and after fermentation you can work out a fairly accurate alcohol content. To take a reading, some of the wort is drawn off into a special tube, the hydrometer is floated and a reading taken from the scale on its side. Easy.
Brew heater: Many brewers always use their heater. However, if you keep your fermenter inside or time your brewing correctly, it won't be necessary. We tend to brew lagers during the cold winter months and ales during spring and autumn, thus alleviating the need for heating.
Sterilising machine

Equipment for mashing

Oliver and Geoff are currently gathering equipment and plan to try a mash beer in the not-too-distant future. If you are keen to try it as well, check out Tom and Vince's Homebrew Pages for information. Also, Home Brewing: The CAMRA Guide is an excellent source of detailed information.

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