Nope! It does not have to be. Sure you can spend thousands of dollars to have a wicked sweet set-up, but that pricey rig does not guarantee that you will make excellent beer. Learning how to make great beer is step one and you can learn how to get started on my previous blog found here!
That blog post will give you the basics on how to get started brewing with 1 gallon batches. To keep this blog entry simple, I will assume that we are going to be brewing 5 gallon batches as that is the most common standard for most homebrewers.
We are not sending rockets to the moon nor are we financing Jeff Bezo's new yacht! You can do this and I want to show you how to make it budget friendly!
Silly videos aside, keep reading and I'll tell you what to look for and how to find all the pieces that you will need for a 5 gallon set up! Grab your favorite craft beer and let's jump in!!!
To make it easier to navigate, this blog will be broken down into sections. These links will take you to each section.
Best Resources for Obtaining Brewing Equipment:
Local Homebrew Shop:
These folks are literally heroes when it comes to picking up homebrewing equipment. Most homebrew shop owners in my experience are friendly and knowledgeable, plus if you become friends with them you can sometimes get free and/or discounted brewing materials like hops or grains. If the local homebrew shop does not have what you need, it is a good bet that they can help you find it! If there is not one in your area, there may be one within driving distance.
Local Homebrew Clubs:
I cannot stress enough how important local homebrew clubs are to both new and seasoned homebrewers alike! These clubs can help you source and set up your equipment, and learn more about the hobby of homebrewing. Homebrew clubs provide great opportunities to connect with people who have the same interests as you and can provide valuable support! If there is not a club like this in your area, perhaps you can start one! You can always reach out to my local club for advice as well! The Ozark Zymurgists love teaching homebrewers how to get better at all things fermentation!
Online Marketplaces:
Websites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist can be good resources for collecting brewing equipment. There are always folks coming in and out of the hobby making it easier to pick up used equipment at a discount! Please use common sense when meeting strangers from the internet. Public places work best. You may even be able to have them meet you at your favorite local brewery. If you buy them a pint before negotiations, you may get a better price!
Hardware Stores:
Hardware Stores will not everything you need, but if you think outside the box, there are a few items that can be found in these box stores that can help you piece together a brewing system. A 10 gallon water cooler for example makes a great mash tun. Box stores like Home Depot may also have the ball valves needed to convert that water cooler into a mash tun. You will also be able to find spray bottles that are great for spraying sanitizer directly on any surface.
Equipment:
This section will focus on the equipment needed to brew a beer from the very beginning stages up to the fermenter.
Mash Tun:
There are many companies that sell mash tuns targeted at homebrewers. My favorite is the Grainfather. It is an all in one system that makes brew days a breeze! For this blog, however, we are going to focus on budget friendly options.
The most cost effective way to get a mash tun is to convert a 10 gallon water cooler. The Home Depot coolers are currently around $50 as well, but any brand will work. Keep in mind that some coolers have better insulation than others and depending on the climate you brew in, you may need to wrap additional insulation around the cooler in order to hold the temperature of the mash more accurately.
Purchasing a brand new 10 gallon water cooler is not the only option. You may be able to find a good used one, but make sure you inspect the inside of it for deep scratches. Whether you buy new or used, you will need to clean the inside extremely well using a brewing detergent like PBW from Five Star. Scrub it out really good with an old rag or anything that is non-scratch. Rinse really well afterwards and you are good to go!
After a thorough cleaning, remove the plastic spigot and insert a false bottom with a ball valve (pictured below) and you are good to go! Local hardware or homebrew shops can help you with this. The false bottom prevents grains from being transferred into your boil kettle which can cause unwanted tannins in your beer.
There are many different sources for a false bottom and ball valve. The one pictured above is a good example of what you will be looking for. Often times these can be purchased used. Check your local homebrew shop, homebrew club, and Facebook Marketplace or other online marketplaces.
Hot Liqueur Tank:
The HLT is used to heat up your sparge water for the sparging process, which is basically just rinsing your mash grain bed to extract as much of the sugars as possible. This piece of equipment is necessary, but it does not have to be an expensive item.
Items that will work great for an HLT include:
4 Gallon Pot
You may already have a large pot laying around the house that will work great for this! If not, you may be able to find one at a thrift shop for cheap. The capacity can be over 4 gallons if that is what you have. Keep in mind that most 5 gallon recipes will need at least 3 gallons of sparge water so plan accordingly. The last thing you want to be doing in the middle of your brew day is heating up more water.
A large pot works well because you can put it on the stove to get the temperature up to 170° F. To keep the water at that temperature, I recommend a sous vide. As a bonus, the sous vide can also be used to cook delicious steaks!
If you are trying to brew on a budget, you can use a floating thermometer or an insta-read thermometer, but this will require a little more timing to make sure the water is at the right temp when you need it.
5 Gallon Water Cooler
A 5 gallon water cooler works great on a budget because it allows you to heat up the water in the boil kettle (more on that below) and then transfer the water to the cooler for storage until the sparge. Make sure you use a floating thermometer to keep track of the water temperature.
Replacing the plastic spigot with a ball valve (discussed above) will allow you to gravity feed your sparge water over your mash grains while also controlling the flow. A more budget friendly option would be to just slowly, and carefully pour the sparge water one pitcher at a time. Be careful not to disturb the grain bed. This can be accomplished by pouring onto a small plate or even a strip of aluminum foil that runs down the side of the cooler, across the grain bed, and then up the other side of the cooler.
Boil Kettle:
The boil kettle can be any stainless steel pot that will hold 8 - 10 gallons. To be safe and avoid boil overs, I recommend going with 10 gallons. If you do decide to go with a stainless steel pot, keep in mind that you will have to retro fit a ball valve on the bottom in order to transfer the wort into the fermenter. I have also seen set-ups with high temp pumps and silicone hoses to transfer the wort, but that won't be budget friendly unless you already have a pump laying around.
I would highly recommend purchasing a boil kettle designed for brewing because this piece of equipment is going to see the most work and the highest temperature changes out of all the equipment. Something similar to the Anvil 10g Brew Kettle is a great option because it is high quality and comes with a thermometer and ball valve already installed.
All you would need to add to a kettle like this is a boil screen to prevent hop particulate from getting into the fermenter.
Your local homebrew shop or homebrew club will be a great resource for finding this equipment, especially if you are looking to save some money by purchasing used. You may also be able to find a boil kettle on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
When purchasing a stainless steel boil kettle, there is not as much worry about condition, but you will want to look out for bad gaskets around the thermometer and the ball valve. Make sure it does not leak! Gaskets can certainly be replaced, however, I would offer a lower price if I knew I would have to replace them.
Whether purchasing new or used, be sure to give all your stainless steel a good cleaning with PBW as mentioned above. This will ensure that no machine oils or previous residue makes it into the beer you worked so hard to make!
Propane Burner:
Propane burners can be found via many different sources. There is not a lot of risk purchasing this piece of equipment used, as long as it works properly and it does not leak at the connector. Keep in mind that a higher BTU burner will help you shorten your brew day by getting the wort up to boiling much faster.
I recommend the Dark Star Propane Burner from Norther Brewer. At 65,000 BTU, this burner packs a serious punch and can heat up to 15 gallons to a boil.
Check your local online marketplace boards for this piece of equipment. You local homebrew clubs and homebrew shops can also be great avenues for scoring a burner on the cheap. In the past, I've even used a burner from a turkey fryer set-up. Just make sure that the burner can get 10 gallons of liquid to a boil and you will be fine.
Fermenter:
I highly recommend a stainless steel fermenter like the SS Brewtech Brewbucket.
This fermenter will last a very long time and is much easier to keep clean and sanitized versus a plastic fermenter. The Brewbucket can also be purchased with an included thermowell for use with either the included digital thermometer, or an Inkbird Temp Controller. Temperature control during fermentation is absolutely clutch for making consistent beer and is a step most beginning homebrewers skip.
A more budget friendly option is the FerMonster 6 Gallon Fermenter. I prefer this plastic fermenter over all others because it has a screw-on lid. I've had lids get pushed off of the Big Mouth Bubbler fermenters during fermentation causing oxidation when the beer is exposed to oxygen.
The fermenter can be the trickiest piece of equipment to buy used, especially when purchasing plastic vessels. You will want to inspect any used fermenter, especially plastic, very carefully for any scratches on the inside. Scratches and gouges can allow bacteria to hide and infect your beer.
When purchasing any used fermenter, be sure to clean it thoroughly with PBW and a non-scratch pad as mentioned above. Next, you will want to put a gallon of sanitizer in the vessel, shake it up vigorously, then let it sit for a few minutes before draining the sanitizer.
I recommend StarSan from Five Star, but there are several brewing sanitizers on the market that work great. Stay away from iodine based sanitizers if you choose plastic fermenters as the iodine will stain the plastic.
Local homebrew clubs, shops, and message boards are some of the best places to score a used fermenter. Most homebrewers start with plastic and then upgrade to stainless steel so they have extra fermenters taking up space in their brew closet. Good news for anyone looking to build their first homebrewing set-up.
Building your first 5 Gallon Homebrew System does not have to be expensive. I have showed you several avenues to help source the equipment and I hope that you have found value in this blog post.
If you have the budget for it, purchasing everything at once is certainly the best way to go about it if you are interested in getting started immediately. For those looking to save money and get the best deals possible, piecing together your system over time will most likely get you the best bang for your buck.
Please let me know in the comments what topics you would like me to cover next! Happy Homebrewing!!!
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