5 Brew Tools That You Should Own
When you start home brewing there is a lot of stuff you will need to get used to doing. The more you brew, the more you will learn how to save time as you perfect your brew routine and gain experience.
You can also save yourself time with these 5 brew tools that you should own.
**** HEY Y’ALL, I WANTED TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW THAT AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN A SMALL COMMISSION FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES YOU MAKE FROM MY LINKS. HOWEVER, THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT I RECOMMEND FOR YOU TO USE. IF YOU DO DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE, OUR FAMILY HERE AT BREW WITH KITS WANTS YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT. ****
Starter kits are enough
It’s almost guaranteed that if you are just starting to homebrew, you are starting with a beer kit. You most likely have bought a home brewing starter kit from somewhere, maybe your local beer supply shop, or maybe online like I did when I started.
With your starter kit now in your possession, you may be ready to brew your first batch of beer or you may have already brewed your first batch of homebrew. Either way, I’m stoked for you.
Brew kits are awesome!!!!
That is why this blog is devoted to them. They are simple and are super helpful when wanting to try out brewing your own beer.
Why buy more equipment?
The starter kits do come with pretty much all you need to get started. However, this post is all about additional equipment that can save you time!
This list of brew tools may not be necessary for brewing beer. Trust me you can still brew amazing beer without them, but these tools sure are helpful and make the process overall easier.
Click here for more ideas on how to save time while brewing kit beers.
With that said here is the list of the 5 brew tools that you should own.
These 5 brew tools have saved me tons of time and made my brewing experience overall better.
1. A Good Bottle Capper
To kick off our list of the 5 brew tools that you should own is a good bottle capper
If you purchased a starter kit or got one as a gift there is a high chance that it came with a simple bottle capper.
This is fine.
You can get started with the one that was included in your starter kit but in the long run, you’re definitely going to want to invest in a better bottle capper.
I’m telling you, you are not going to want to use the one that came with your starter kit for long. If your bottle capper that came with your starter kit lasts past the time you are going to need to purchase a new one, kudos to that brand.
My Experience
Before I upgraded to the one I currently use now, I broke two of the basic bottle cappers that are included in most starter kits. There are several problems I experienced with the starter kit bottle capper.
If they are properly working they will get the job done but I found mine where super finicky, and not the most user-friendly.
I broke several bottles that were filled with freshly brewed beer, resulting in not only beer spilled all over the place (party foul), but worse than that there went one less tasty home-brewed beer from a kit that otherwise would have been enjoyed 2 weeks later.
Ultimately the biggest problem I could foresee was the possibility of my bottle capper breaking in the middle of capping 40-60 bottles of beer and leave me in a hard place with no other solution.
My Solution
The new capper I bought was an incredible upgrade and a super valuable tool for saving time and in the long run money. Putting the money in a new one that was a lot better was an upgrade I wish I would have made from the beginning but I didn’t have the resources.
If you can afford it, go for it from the get-go and save yourself from having to line up the bottle cap just right without tipping the bottle over and spilling your beer.
You won’t regret your time and money saving bottle capper.
*** I currently live overseas so I bought my upgraded bottle capper new (because I had limited options). For Y’all who live in the states, I would suggest this one or in antique shops for a vintage second-hand bottle capper.***
You know the saying “they just don’t make them like they used to!”.
You may be able to save some more money (which you can use to buy more brew kits with), and add a seriously sweet vintage piece of brewing equipment into your brewing tool rotation.
2. A Large Bowl (To catch the beer while bottling)
Out of the list of the 5 brew tools that you should own, The big plastic bowl is the most original. This idea came solely from my own personal brewing experiences and mistakes.
I know it sounds silly, but I also know its value. I brewed and bottled my first beer (which was amazing, so so so tasty!) without this thing and it was a disaster.
My Experience
Water everywhere. Sanitizer everywhere. In the end when it was all said and done, beer everywhere.
Having to mop up a huge puddle of beer off the floor and wash multiple towels soaked in beer after brewing is going to suck away your time.
My Solution
The solution was coughing up 10-15 bucks on some type of large plastic bowl.
This is totally worth it. After that 1st brewing day, I went out and bought myself a big plastic bowl and just like that, no more mess on my floor (unless you forget to close your fermentor tap whoops).
This thing saves so much time and is so helpful while brewing to hold or throw equipment in that you don’t want to touch unsanitized surfaces.
It will help you to catch any beer that gets spilled while bottling which saves you time because there is no need to mop anymore.
During clean up, you can pour out water and cleaner through your auto siphon (if your not using one of these you need to be, see number 5 on this list) and fermentor tap so water isn’t running all over the place.
I’m not currently living in the U.S. right now but am sure any Dollar Tree or Walmart will have plenty of selection for you to find your time saving big plastic bowl.
3. A Bottle Drying Tree
The bottle drying tree is 100% my favorite out of all the other tools on our list of the 5 brew tools that you should own.
This is an amazing piece of brewing equipment!
You will not only save time but also space with this bad boy. Especially as you start acquiring more brewing equipment and have more beers to store.
My Experience
Washing out and then sanitizing 40 to 60+ bottles without this thing would be a nightmare.
To tell you the truth I have no idea how I could do it without a bottle drying tree.
Maybe you have a huge area that you can somehow hang up your bottles to dry without getting dirty again but I’m willing to bet that most people, like myself, are not in that situation.
Having 2 toddlers, I need to use as little space as possible and I need portability to move all those bottles easily and in a hurry to a place that little fingers can’t touch.
Check out this blog to get a clearer picture of how much I use this tool throughout my brewing routine.
My Solution
The bottle drying tree is the solution to all those problems.
By hanging your bottles vertically on the bottle drying tree your bottles will dry like a champ and it will keep your bottles clean after sanitizing them. All this is done in a relatively small space.
Remember real estate is a valuable commodity in your house, use it wisely.
You going to love this contraption after your first round of bottle cleaning and sanitizing.
4. Microfiber Cloths
Next on our list of the 5 brew tools that you should own is the cheapest: a pack of Microfiber Cloths.
At this point you may be saying to yourself “What, Are You Kidding Me?” But think about it.
My experience
You have paid good money for your brewing equipment (even if it was a gift, someone paid good money for it) and it can and should last you a good while.
Remember good brewing is mostly about cleanliness
Every brewer will tell you that when it comes to brewing beer, cleanliness is next to godliness.
You want to be careful with how you clean your equipment.
If you scratch up the inside of your fermentor there will be a higher risk of infection from bacteria forming in the scratches.
My Solution
Take the time and the money and go and get you a 3 pack of microfiber cloths. This will only cost you a couple bucks but it is worth it. I use mine all the time.
I keep them handy while bottling to wipe up messes, to wipe down the bottles after they are capped for storage, and during the cleaning process to wipe up the inside of the fermentor.
Trust me, for the little bit of money you’ll spend on these, your fermentor will have minimal scratches and be able to serve you better for longer.
Like I have said cleanliness is super important to brewing so check out this post on 5 tools that will help you to clean and sanitize your brewing equipment.
5. An Auto Siphon
Last but not least on the list of the 5 brew tools that you should own, is an auto siphon.
Do not leave this brew tool out of your arsenal. This tool is worth its weight in gold when it comes to saving you time bottling by eliminating messiness.
My Experience
Don’t even bother. Save yourself the time and trouble of trying to transfer beer and fill up bottles without this tool.
My Solution
An auto siphon is absolutely the best for transferring your beer from one fermentation chamber to another.
This tool is going to cost you a little more money up front but in the long run the time it saves you and ease it gives you will be well worth it in the end.
Do your brew routine a massive favor and pick up an auto siphon for your self.
You won’t regret it
This is just a start to the collection of brewing tools you will eventually end up with.
A couple of them will only run you a few bucks and will save you a good amount of time and money in the future by implementing them into your brew routine.
Find out more about other time-saving brewing tools here.
The more expensive ones will pay for themselves in time saved and less beer spilled.
Go for it!
You by no means have to buy any one of these in order to start brewing at home or to become a successful homebrewer. I encourage you to start brewing your own beer with a kit with or without these tools.
If you have never brewed beer at home using a kit before, go ahead and buy a simple starter kit and give it a try. Once you see you can actually brew awesome beer from a kit you are going to be stoked.
Then you can slowly perfect your own brewing routine by adding these 5 brew tools and more to your collection.
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