Equipment For Microbrews

Before you can start brewing beer, you'll need to
have the right equipment.  If this is your first
time brewing, you should start simple.  Before 
you begin, the first thing that you'll need is a
brewpot.  Before you rush out and buy one, you 
may already have one that will work just fine.

The pot should hold at least three gallons of 
liquid.  The next thing you'll need is a fermenter.
For the average five gallon batch, the fermenter
should hold six gallons or more, allowing space
for a foam that will form during the vigorous
process of fermentation.

For this stage, a glass carboy or food grade
plastic bucket is often used.  You'll also need
an airlock for your fermenter to allow the C02
to escape while also keeping the air out.  A
siphon hose is also needed to transfer beer from
the fermenter when it's ready, without having
to mix air into it.

A bottling bucket will also help to make the
process much easier.  Bottling buckets are 
similiar to fermenters, except the fact that they
have a spigot at the bottom that allows you to
fill the bottles directly, which makes the 
entire process less messy and gets things done
much quicker.  You'll also need a capper to
seal your bottles; as bottles and caps or even
a keg will be needed to store and serve your
brew.

If you look around, you may be able to find a
kit that will contain everything you need.  You
can purchase kits on the internet, many of
which offer the top quality equipment you'll
need to brew.  All you have to do is look around
the net, as there are many different web sites
that offer equipment for microbrews.

If you don't want to buy a kit, you can always
buy each piece of equipment seperately.  This
tends to be a bit more expensive than buying
a kit, although you'll be able to pick each
piece of equipment yourself, without having to
take what's included in the kit.

Once you get all of the necessary equipment
together, you should know how to use it before
you get started.  This way, you won't run into
any problems once you start brewing.  The 
equipment needed for brewing is easy to use, so
you shouldn't have any problems.

Brewing microbrews can be both fun and exciting,
especially when you start brewing your own
creations.  You can drink the brew yourself,
or serve it to friends and family.  Microbrews
are fun to drink and create - which makes having
the proper equipment all the more while.

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