Beer making equipment can vary according to the type of brewing being done and the scale on which the beer is being produced. Home brewing kits are often quite small and compact, while industrial brewing supplies can take up entire warehouses. If a person intends to brew his or her own beer, however, beer making equipment can be bought in kits that include everything necessary to get started with the hobby. As a hobbyist progresses into brewing larger batches, new equipment can be purchased to make the process more efficient and much quicker.
The first piece of beer making equipment needed is a large vat for boiling water. Turkey fryers make a good choice for this purpose, as the fryer can raise the temperature of the water much more quickly than a traditional tabletop stove can. More advanced brewers may mount a beer keg on a metal frame with a large burner mounted beneath it to accomplish this task, though this is a more expensive set-up that will require modification of the keg barrel as well as the ability to build a sturdy frame for the keg. Water can be boiled on a stovetop, but this will take a significantly longer time.
Carboys are indispensable pieces of beer making equipment. Once the boiling of the water is done, and the hops and other ingredients are added, the fermenting process needs to take place, so the liquid is filtered and poured into glass containers known as carboys. The carboys are stoppered and often covered with blankets or kept in a dark room to encourage the fermenting process. The liquid may stay in the carboys for weeks or even months at a time as the fermenting process turns sugar into alcohol.
Once the beer has been fermented, other pieces of beer making equipment are necessary for bottling the beer. A bottle capper can install metal caps on glass bottles cleanly and tightly, though before this can be done, the glass bottles will need to be cleaned thoroughly, usually with bleach. A hose can be used to get water into the bottle more efficiently, and a brass sink attachment is an even better way to shoot water into the bottles. When one presses on the tip of the attachment, water will spray upwards into the bottle. The tip will stopper itself when pressure is not placed on it.