How to Save Money on Home Brew Equipment
Bottles, carboys, hydrometers -- oh my! For the new home brewer, buying equipment can be expensive and overwhelming. Home brew supply stores recommend that you buy a full starter kit. This is a good option if you want supplies that are easy to use and can get you started immediately. However, with time and ingenuity, you can find many alternative sources of equipment or make your own. The first step to saving money on home brew equipment is to become familiar with the supplies you need. Finding and making your own equipment can be a fun challenge. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Compile a list of the items you need. Common items for home brewers include a large stockpot, 5-gallon bucket or glass carboy, tubing, siphon hose, hydrometer, bottles, sterilization tablets, bottles, caps, a bottle capper, bottle washers and beer ingredients such as malt syrup, yeast, Irish moss and hops.
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Look in your kitchen; you may already have some of the items you need.
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Search online or post an online ad for home brewing supplies. Many home brewers sell their equipment after using it a few times.
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Go to rummage sales. This is a good source for bottles, kitchen equipment and stockpots.
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Make your own equipment. For example, instead of buying a 5-gallon bucket with a spigot from a home brew supply store, use a regular 5-gallon bucket from your local home improvement store and make a siphon hose using cheap plastic tubing.
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Check aquarium stores, hardware stores and restaurant supply stores for items you can adapt. For example, instead of using an expensive glass carboy, you can buy a cooler from your local hardware store. This can be used in place of a carboy to ferment beer; you can also use it to sterilize and store bottles.
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Scavenge bottles, Any bottle that is not a twist-off can be used for bottling beer; however, brown and green glass work best. Many people throw their bottles away, so look through the recycling. Home brew supply stores sometimes sell boxes of old bottles such as Grolsch bottles. These can be reused and sterilized easily, and don't require a bottle capper. Save your own bottles to re-use and ask your friends to return your bottles to you.
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Make your own airlock using a balloon or a glass jar and plastic tubing.
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Sterilize with bleach or in the dishwasher. You don't need to use expensive sanitation tablets.
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Join a home brew group and swap with other home brewers. This is a good way to obtain yeast, hops, malts and old equipment other brewers may not want.
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Grow your own hops. Although it's an involved process, experiment with malting your own grains instead of buying malt extract.
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Look online for websites and forums devoted to how to make your own home brew equipment.
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Accept that there may be some items you will need to buy; for example, a hydrometer. Ask your friends and family members for a gift certificate to help you buy these items. Make the investment in this equipment and handle your hydrometer carefully so it doesn't break and need to be replaced.
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