Home Brew Beer - The Kit

I brew my own beer.  The basic principle is a two stage process. First stage is unpressurised fermentation to produce alcohol, the second stage is pressurised fermentation to produce bubbles.  The yeast culture consumes sugars in both stages to produce the desired result.  The sugars you use will influence flavour and mouth feel.

I'm putting down a brew today, this is just the first stage (producing alcohol).  This post will cover setting up your kit.  A second post today will cover putting down your first batch.  I will cover bottling (producing bubbles) in about a week.

Some people will say you need a $80 brew kit, Hydrometer, etc.  These things add cost, and aren't really necessary. Here's the kit I put together...

My kit