I want to brew beer myself, what equipment and ingredients are needed for this: I share what was included in my set for 4300 rubles

“If you want to have what you never had, you have to do what you never did.” – Coco Chanel.

I read somewhere that beer is the third most common drink in the country. After water and tea. With these statistics, I came to the conclusion: “If there is so much beer on the planet, then it’s easy to make it?”.

Well, let’s see what I came up with…

The story was shared by my subscriber Marat.

What should we brew beer and what is needed for this

For inspiration, I watched a couple of videos on YouTube and placed an order. I started with tools. The box delivered by the courier contained the following:

• Fermentation container. May also be called a fermenter. In our case, this is a 32-liter food-grade plastic tank with a flat bottom and a sealed lid. It cost 400 rubles and serves for many useful things in addition to the main purpose. In short, it’s a must.

Information: Ask to mark the levels of 10, 18 and 23 liters on the side of the container. Sellers are willing to do it.

• Water seal. S-tube with plug and rubber seal. It costs about 150 rubles. It works as a nipple, releasing CO2 from the tank and not letting O2 in there with various bacteria. We don’t skimp on defense.
• Siphon tube or overflow siphon. It costs 500 rubles, but the thing is necessary – the device of the tube tip does not allow sucking yeast from the bottom when removing it from the sediment.
• Hydrometer. From the initial and final gravity of the wort, you can calculate the strength of the beer. Nothing without him. 300 rubles.
• Liquid crystal thermometer. Sticker on the fermentation tank. For only 100 rubles, you can find out the temperature in the tank without opening it. Necessary to avoid questions: “Why is nothing gurgling on my second day?” and “If I have +25 in my apartment, how much is in beer?”.

Now about what the box did not contain. No, they didn’t. And they did not deceive, he did not order. Didn’t care about the little things:

1. Disinfectant chlorine tablets. What? “Fairy” will do? No, it won’t. If you don’t want a beer with a persistent smell of “frosty morning” or a chemical lemon, then take bleach. One tablet costs 5 rubles, two pieces were enough for me not only for disinfection, but also for washing the floors afterwards.
2. Stirring spoon. The fermenter is deep and the agitator should reach to the bottom. Do not skimp on 150 rubles.

You will also need: a funnel, latex or rubber gloves, various pots, a jar – everyone has this in the house. You can not even mention the medical mask – a familiar element of clothing in our time.

Ingredients

I found exactly two ways to make beer at home online: buy a ready-made malt extract of beer wort and brew this wort yourself according to traditional recipes. As you can see, the difference is only in the details at the very first stage of production.

Having chosen the first way (easier, cheaper, faster, cleaner, but the result is the same), I actually ordered what should have become beer in the future:

1. Hopped malt extract (concentrate) of beer wort. I bought two cans of Golden Crown Lager (Golden Crown Lager) from the Australian company Coopers (Coopers) for 1300 rubles apiece. The volume of the extract is designed to produce 18-23 liters of finished drink with a net weight of 1.7 kg. There are cheaper, there are more, imported or domestic, dark or light – you choose.
2. Dextrose. This monosaccharide is the yeast’s favorite food. We do not save 100 rubles, we order 1 kilogram.

Important: Forget beet sugar when making beer. Generally. Forever.

Saving is bad

Which of the following is critical for homemade extract beers? Maybe I will surprise someone now, but only the extract itself is needed (the approving rumble of supporters of the garage handmade is heard).

Everything can be easily replaced with homemade products. Rummage in the garage in search of a milk can or a bucket of putty, find a couple of hoses in the trash after repair, carve Pinocchio’s stirrer out of a log, watch a dozen training videos, process it with a file after assembly …

But I didn’t, and I don’t recommend it. All tools and supplies must be purchased. They must be new and special. The final result is influenced by dozens of different nuances and the quality of the equipment – not the least of them.

Spending too much is pointless

Don’t go to the other extreme. Don’t buy expensive “beginner brewer” kits of dozens of items: books, flash drives with lessons from the “guru”, glass bottles with yoke stoppers, faucets and siphons in a mahogany gift box.

These are the usual tricks of sellers who want to earn a lot right away.

The price of a spoiled beer is a few hundreds saved.

The price of a bad mood is overpaid money for nothing.

Friend’s words: “Wow! I have never drunk anything better!” is the price of victory.

Many things we actually bring to mind or do “from scratch” ourselves. Brewing as a hobby does not stand out at all. Can anyone use something special in our business? Or did you invent something yourself? Share your thoughts and experiences, it’s easier to work together!