Most home brewers have at some time or another thought about trying their hand at all grain brewing. It’s the next logical step in the home brewing process. But many of them never take the step because of uncertainties about the complications involved and the cost and complexity of all grain home brewing equipment. These people who sit back content with basic brewing will never know what they are missing. It’s true that all grain beers are not to everyone’s taste, but not trying it out means that your home brewing experience is incomplete. And the additional expense of all grain home brewing equipment is marginal, to say the least. So why not give it a try?

Basic All Grain Home Brewing Equipment

What is given here is the basic all grain home brewing equipment that you will need to make small 3 gallon batches. Much of the equipment will already be available with you and the balance all grain home brewing equipment can be easily procured with very little additional expenditure.

A five gallon brew pot with a tight lid.

An insulated water cooler of five gallons capacity

One long handled (at least 18 inches) large bowl spoon of either non corrosive metal or food grade plastic.

An eleven inch funnel, preferably made of plastic or non corrosive metal, for the carboy or glass jug.

A fine wire stainless steel fine mesh strainer with a handle

A five gallon glass jug (the carboy) for the secondary fermentation process. This should have a tight cap or top with an air lock.

A three gallon pot is required for the final fermentation and collection of the brew.

A log stemmed thermometer with calibration up to 220 degrees F.

A small nylon net of the kind used to clean fish tanks. These are available from most pet stores and hobby shops.

And finally you will need a strong cleaner to regularly sanitize your all grain home brewing equipment.

This is all you will need to start out with. Do not get confused by the specifications for advanced home brewing equipment which looks similar but may contain items that you do not need to complete you initial all grain home brewing equipment set up.

When looking at recipes to use with your all grain home brewing equipment, always keep in mind that most all grain brewers make beer in batches of five to six gallons. You will need to modify the quantities to suit the capacity of your three gallon all grain home brewing equipment limitations.

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With the explosive growth of home brewing all over the world over the last few years, there has been a matching growth in the sale of home brewing equipment.  Over the years home brewers have graduated onto more sophisticated equipment and brewing on larger scales and have sold off some of their old equipment. Hence the used home brewing equipment market came into existence.

Buying used home brewing equipment is a great money saving option for the beginner or those who want to expand their home brewing capacity without spending a lot of money. But there are pitfalls here as well as advantages and a person buying used home brewing equipment needs to go into it with his eyes wide open. Always keep in mind that the technology of home brewing is not changing in any significant manner. One will not get used home brewing equipment in the market because people are advancing towards modern technologies. If you find any used home brewing equipment for sale on the grounds that the owner is upgrading to new technologies, be careful. He may be upgrading to better or larger equipment to improve the quality of his brews, but that is not a technological upgrade. It would be wise to check out used home brewing equipment very carefully before investing any money in it. More acceptable are those who sell their beer making equipment because they are upgrading their capacities. Most home brewers do this as they gain in experience and confidence and buying used home brewing equipment from these sources is relatively safer.

Having said that, it needs to be kept in mind that when buying used home brewing equipment not everything is safe to buy and what you can consider needs to be checked out very carefully. Used all grain home brewing equipment is a relatively safe buy since it often happens that people who venture into this field find it is not for them and soon sell off their equipment.

What Used Home Brewing Equipment You Can Consider

A brew pot is an item of used home brewing equipment you can buy. Individuals will not find anything going wrong with the container. Check for cracks, leaks and rusting. In the case of enameled pots, look for chipped enamel. These could be reason why the present owner is selling!

Individuals should also look at the fermenter of the used home brewing equipment. A person should watch the condition of the container. Also check the lid to make sure that it fits tightly and that the hole for the stopper that holds the airlock is not cracked around the edges. This could affect the seal of the fermenter and ruin the fermenting process.

The brew spoon is another item that can be bought as used home brewing equipment – nothing much can go wrong with it. One must be sure about it’s good condition.

Beyond these few items, buying used home brewing equipment is risky. Things like rubber hoses are cheap even when new so why risk buying something that may have unseen cracks and leaks? Thermometers and hydrometers lose their accuracy over time and buying these as part of your used home brewing equipment exercise could result in your readings being wrong and your brewing process being ruined.

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If you are already on the market, looking for top quality home brew ingredients, you probably already know that home brew ingredients cover a vast range of choices, from cheap to expensive. Some ingredients will be in anyone’s price range, while others are so expensive you may wonder how anyone can afford such an option. With these two polar opposite ends of the price spectrum in mind, what price range should you be looking at for your home brew ingredients? There are many factors, of course, that can affect the price of creating your home brew, and your decision will depend on your personal preferences.

The Type Of Ingredients Used

There are various ingredients that can be used to create the best home brews and some ingredients can be more expensive than others. Home brews created with exclusive ingredients will be more costly than to make home brews created with more moderately priced ingredients. Inexpensive ingredients are not the worse, just not as exclusive as more expensive ones, and looking for the best home brew ingredients, the quality of the ingredients to be the most important thing, regardless of the cost of the purchase.

The Brand Name Of The Ingredients

The brand of some of the best home brew ingredients can significantly raise the price of the ingredients because the brand name can command a higher price.  Certain brands spend a great deal of money advertising the ingredients in the right markets and designing packaging for the home brew ingredients that are designed to catch the eye in the store where the ingredients are being purchased.  Using expensive packaging materials and paying for a great deal of advertising can be responsible for dramatically increasing the price of the home brew ingredients. 

Many people choose to purchase home brew ingredients that are not sold under a particular brand or are considered to be a store brand because the quality of the ingredients will be just as good but the price will be much lower.  Purchasing ingredients that are considered to be “off brand” can save the home brewer as much as 50% off of the price of the ingredients for a home brew recipe.  In many cases, if both the brand name and the off brand ingredient were taken out of the packaging and placed next to one another, the person would not be able to tell which was which.

Where The Ingredients Are Purchased

The type of store where best home brew ingredients are purchased will affect the price as well.  Stores that are considered to be exclusive only carry the most expensive varieties of home brew ingredients while general merchandise stores will typically have lower priced brands of ingredients available.  The choice of where to purchase the best home brew ingredients will depend on what types of retailers are available in the person’s area and whether they would feel comfortable purchasing home brew ingredients over the internet to obtain a lower price.

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