Beer Brewing Basics: Options for your first Beer Kit
There are many different approaches one can take in the beer brewing process. But first things first....What will your set-up be when it comes to equipment? You can choose to purchase equipment especially made for beer brewing, like a beer equipment kit, use some house hold items, and/or make some items yourself.
There is a variety of possible combinations of equipment you can choose from. It really boils down to your budget, experience, space considerations, and individual preferences. For those new to beer brewing, it is advisable to start with some sort of beer equipment kit. There are many options with these, as well, but the key reason people buy these kits is they are convenient and include nearly everything you need.
These kits will have at least the very basics that you need to get started beer brewing, and some even have a few extras that come in handy. You can start simple with a kit like Mr Beer which is inexpensive, and doesn't take up too much space. It actually makes some pretty decent beer. This will allow you to try out beer brewing as a hobby and see if it is something you will enjoy and want to stick with.
Many beer brewing enthusiasts enjoy making hand crafted beer that is cheaper and better than commercial beers, but for some, the process is too much of a hassle, and they don't want to brew again. Beer kits comprised of separate components make a great starting point for new brewers. They contain the bare essentials to get you started, and allow you, the new brewer, to focus on learning the fundamental process of beer brewing.
Once you understand the basics and have a solid foundation, you can then determine what is the best way for you to go about the process. You will be so proud of your first batch and will probably want to continue your beer brewing hobby. If you like this hobby, you can continue to brew with your starter equipment kit.
You can always upgrade or add on accordingly as you learn more about beer brewing. With equipment kits, it's not necessary spend a lot to upgrade. As many of these kits come with some extras, upgrading may not be necessary until you are further into the hobby. The basic kits still will get you through the process, and upgrades basically consist of extra equipment that are better materials or make parts of the process easier, but aren't absolutely necessary.
In fact, one of the cheapest, easiest, and best upgrades to do is to upgrade the ingredients you use to brew. Most beer brewing starter kits come with plastic buckets for fermenting. You can upgrade these to glass carboys, and there are several reasons why you might decide to do this, however, fermenting in plastic buckets is absolutely fine.
If you decide to upgrade, you can always keep the buckets for sanitizing equipment and brewing utensils, use them as bottling buckets or even use them as additional fermenters for additional batches of home brew! If you started with a Mr Beer kit, you can still get use out of it after you have brewed your first few batches, especially if you don't have enough room for brewing. Many home brewers that started with these still use them for experimenting. Create your own beer recipe, and since the batch is smaller, if it doesn't work out, you waste less beer. Maybe 5 gallon batches are too much for you, and you like smaller batches. - Yeah right!
Once you get a taste of that home brew the first upgrade you'll probably make is an add another fermenter to make multiple batches of beer at the same time. This way, you can have different varieties of beer on hand.
