The very first step that you need to take to make your own beer is selecting an acceptable place to brew it. The kitchen should be a great place. Plan on being there for a number of hours and in all likelihood making what might be deemed by non-home brewers as a huge mess. That being said, you need to ask people that are living in your home if it is okay. When you have secured the kitchen you will need your home brewing equipment. First off we are going to discuss what types of equipment will be needed to home brew using malt extract.

Basic home brewing equipment is not really all that costly. You ought to be able to buy all of the equipment that's needed for approximately $100 to $150. A good number of home brewing equipment suppliers produce kits which have everything you'll need to make your own beer at home aside from ingredients and bottles.

Here is a list of the basic home brewing equipment you will need to be able to get started brewing beer:

• Brew Kettle

• Thermometer

• Hydrometer

• Funnel and Strainer

• 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermenter

• Airlock and Rubber Stopper

• Racking Tube with Siphon Hose

• 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot

• Bottles

• Bottle Brush

• Bottle Caps and Capper

Here are a few more household items that may prove useful:

-Small bowl

-Saucepan

-Rubber spatula

-Oven mitts/pot handlers

-Large mixing spoon (stainless steel or plastic)

At this point let’s talk about the home brewing equipment and provide you with a basic idea of what you will do with it.

Brew Kettle:

The brew kettle is a big pot with a volume that is at least 4.5 gallons. The ideal type is made from stainless steel. It's also possible to use one which is manufactured from ceramic-coated (enameled) steel or aluminum. If you use a new aluminum pot, don’t use it bright-and-shiny; you might get a metallic off-flavor. Boil some water in it first. Also chipped enamelized pots can also result in off-flavors. If you happen to already have a couple of smaller sized pots in your kitchen which will hold at least 4.5 gallons combined that will also work. The brew kettle is the very first piece of home brewing equipment you will be using. All of your ingredients (accept for the yeast) is going to be added to the brew kettle and brought to a boil. This sweet mixture you'll have created is referred to as "wort".

Thermometer:

A thermometer is used to determine the temperature of your brew during different stages of the brewing process. A stick-on thermometer is usually attached to the outside of the primary fermenter to let you monitor the temperature of the fermentation. This is a necessary piece of home brewing equipment given that the temperature of the fermentation affects the flavor of the finished beer.

Hydrometer:

A hydrometer is an extremely handy device for finding out potential alcohol, or if the beer has fermented completely. This is one specific piece of home brewing equipment that all beer makers will want to own and can use. All quality home brewing kits provide one.

Funnel and Strainer:

These are typically used to help transfer the contents of the brew kettle into the primary fermenter. The strainer will catch the hops which were put into the brew kettle.

Primary Fermenter:

The primary fermenter is where the wort will go after you have boiled and cooled it, this is where the beer begins to ferment and turn into that delightful stuff which causes you to become so amusing and wonderful. The primary fermenter is a piece of home brewing equipment which could be a plastic bucket along with a lid that seals tightly or a glass container (typically known as a carboy). Either one must have at least a capacity of 6.5 gallons, and accommodates a rubber stopper plus the airlock. The fermenter must be clean and free from scratches.

Airlock and Rubber Stopper:

The airlock is a nifty gadget that enables carbon dioxide to vent from the primary fermenter throughout the course of the fermentation, and thus preventing it from exploding, but doesn’t enable any of the air from outside to get in your beer’s clean environment. It fits into a rubber stopper with a hole drilled in it, and then the stopper will go in the top of your primary fermenter.

Racking Cane with Siphon Hose:

A racking cane is a rigid piece of clear plastic tubing which is attached to the siphon hose and reaches to the bottom of the fermenter. Your siphon hose needs to be clear food-grade tubing. It is used to transfer the beer from one location to another.

Bottling Bucket with Spigot:

This is usually a 6.5 gallon, food-grade plastic bucket that has a spigot at the bottom. It must be at least the size of your primary fermenter, since you must transfer all your tasty beer from your primary fermenter into your bottling bucket just before bottling it. It's also recommended to have a bottle filler attachment at the end of the tubing coming from the spigot. This really is another key piece of home brewing equipment which allows you to fill the bottles by merely pushing the filler down on the bottom of the bottle until the beer gets to the top, and after taking out the filler, the perfect amount of head space is created.

Bottles:

When the primary fermentation is complete the beer is placed in bottles for secondary fermentation and storage. The best variety of bottles are typically brown glass ones with smooth tops (don't use the twist-off type) that will accept a cap from the bottle capper. You will want to have a good amount of bottles to hold all of the beer you are going to brew. Based on the bottle volume you have got to do a little bit of math. A 5 gallon batch of beer will be 640 ounces; so if you’re using 12 ounce bottles you'll want approximately 54. In the event you choose 16 ounce bottles you will need 40 bottles.

Bottle Brush:

This is a slender, curvy brush which you can insert in a bottle so you can clean the inside really well. We haven’t pointed out how thoroughly clean all things have to be, but we will, and the bottle brush is a specialized piece of cleaning equipment you will need for home brewing.

Bottle Caps and Capper:

You’ll also need to have bottle caps, as you might expect, and you are able to buy them from any home brewing equipment retailer. The best type of bottle capper is one which may be attached to a surface and worked with one hand as you grip the bottle with the other hand. You can buy lower priced types that require two hands on the capper, however these are often a hassle. Go where your budget directs you.

A couple of other things that you will need are substances to clean and sanitize your home brewing equipment. Perhaps you may want to know what is the difference between cleaning and sanitizing? What can make these two things so vital to making your own beer? 90% of all home brewing failures are caused by a problem with cleaning or sanitization and definitely, they're two distinct items.

Cleaning chemicals take away apparent debris and residue from your home brewing equipment. Some good cleaners are B-Brite, One Step, and Easy Clean.

Sanitizing is actually treating your home brewing equipment with chemicals that will eliminate, or inhibit the growth of undesirable microorganisms. You simply can't sanitize anything unless it is clean. Some good quality sanitizers are IO Star and Star San. Your brew kettle is one of the only pieces of equipment which just needs to be cleaned and not sanitized. Simply because you are going to be boiling your wort in the kettle which will sanitize it and also the wort.

All of the home brewing equipment that comes in contact with the beer after it leaves your brew kettle must be clean, and adequately sanitized, from the thermometer to the carboy, from the siphon hose to the rubber stopper and airlock. A single slip-up can possibly contribute to the whole batch turning out poorly. By the way, there aren't any known human pathogens which can stay alive in beer, which means you don’t need to be concerned about poisoning yourself or your friends.

Once you have gotten all of these items, you are almost equipped to make your own beer! Now you need to get your home brewing supplies and ingredients and you'll be all set.

For anybody who is worried that brewing beer at home is confusing and difficult, do not be. It is just a process of easy steps. More in depth brewing guidelines will come in a following article.