The Best Beginner Homebrewing Equipment Without Buying a Bunch of Stuff You Don’t Need
If you’re brand new to homebrewing, buying equipment can get confusing fast.
You’ll find everything from simple beer kits to stainless-steel brewing systems costing thousands of dollars.
You do not need a miniature commercial brewery in your basement to make good beer.
I’ve brewed with simple beer kits, small-batch BIAB setups, electric all-in-one systems and commercial brewery equipment.
If I were starting again today, I’d keep it simple:
Buy the equipment that matches the way you actually want to brew.
This page will show you exactly where I’d start.
Some of the products below are equipment I’ve personally used or use today. Others are products I’ve selected because their features, simplicity and availability make sense for beginner brewers. I’m not going to pretend I’ve personally tested every product on Amazon.
— Big Robb
Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Big Robb’s Quick Picks
Don’t want to read the whole guide?
Here are the three beginner setups I’d look at first.
Best for the Absolute Beginner: Mr. Beer 2-Gallon Complete Beer Making Kit
If you want to learn the basics without immediately worrying about large kettles, complicated recipes or five-gallon batches, this is one of the easiest places to start.
The Mr. Beer Complete Kit uses a reusable 2-gallon fermenter and comes with the basic equipment and ingredients needed to make your first batch.
For a beginner, I actually like the two-gallon size.
It’s enough beer to learn the process without ending up with forty or fifty bottles from your first attempt.
You get to learn the things that actually matter:
- sanitation
- fermentation
- temperature
- patience
- carbonation
- packaging
Then you can move into partial mash, all-grain or larger batches later if you decide you love the hobby.
👉 Check the Mr. Beer 2-Gallon Complete Beer Making Kit on Amazon
Best Traditional 5-Gallon Setup: Northern Brewer Brew. Share. Enjoy. Starter Set
If you already know you want to brew traditional five-gallon batches, this is the direction I’d go.
The Northern Brewer Brew. Share. Enjoy. system is a more traditional homebrewing setup and gives you reusable equipment that can grow with you as you move through extract, partial mash and eventually all-grain brewing.
It also makes more sense for someone who knows right from the start that two gallons simply isn’t going to be enough beer.
👉 Check the Northern Brewer 5-Gallon Starter Set on Amazon
Best Small-Batch Setup: Craft A Brew 1-Gallon Beer Making Kit
You absolutely do not have to make five gallons of beer every time you brew.
For somebody who wants less beer, less equipment, less space and more opportunities to experiment, a one-gallon kit makes a hell of a lot of sense.
Craft A Brew’s one-gallon setup gives you reusable small-batch equipment and lets you learn the process without committing to a huge batch.
👉 Check the Craft A Brew 1-Gallon Beer Making Kit on Amazon
Want to build your own small-batch system instead?
👉 See My Complete One-Gallon & Small-Batch Brewing Equipment Guide
One-Gallon Brewing Equipment Guide
Before You Buy Anything Else
If your starter kit already includes something on this page, don’t buy another one just because I recommend it below.
The idea here isn’t to fill your Amazon cart.
It’s to make sure you have what you actually need.
Start with your kit.
See what it includes.
Then fill the gaps.
1. Star San Sanitizer
If there’s one area where I don’t want beginners cutting corners, it’s sanitation.
You can do everything else right and still ruin your beer by introducing unwanted microorganisms after the wort has cooled.
I use Star San myself.
It’s a no-rinse sanitizer, it’s easy to use and a bottle lasts a long time because you dilute it before use.
And remember:
Don’t fear the foam.
My Pick: Five Star Star San
👉 Check Five Star Star San on Amazon
2. A Hydrometer
Buy a hydrometer.
Seriously.
One of the biggest beginner mistakes is trying to decide whether fermentation is finished by watching the airlock.
An airlock tells you gas is moving.
A hydrometer tells you what your beer’s gravity is actually doing.
You’ll use it to measure:
- original gravity
- final gravity
- fermentation progress
- approximate alcohol content
Most importantly, it helps you confirm fermentation has actually finished before you bottle the beer.
My Pick: Brewing America Pro Series Triple-Scale Hydrometer
Brewing America makes a good-quality traditional brewing hydrometer that measures specific gravity and gives you the information you actually need to follow fermentation.
If your brewing setup doesn’t include a test cylinder or sampling tube, you’ll also need one wide and tall enough for the hydrometer to float freely.
👉 Check the Brewing America Hydrometer on Amazon
3. A Digital Thermometer
Temperature matters in brewing.
But beginners don’t need laboratory equipment.
You need something fast, simple and reasonably accurate.
A digital instant-read thermometer works for checking wort temperature and becomes even more useful if you move into partial mash or all-grain brewing later.
My Pick: TempPro TP19H
This isn’t a special piece of brewing equipment.
It’s simply a fast digital thermometer that does the job.
That’s exactly the point.
👉 Check the TempPro TP19H on Amazon
Want to see the hydrometers, refractometers, thermometers, scales and pH equipment I recommend? → See My Measuring & Testing Equipment.
4. Brewery Cleaner
Cleaning and sanitizing are not the same thing.
Cleaning removes the crud.
Sanitizing deals with microorganisms on equipment that is already clean.
Eventually you’ll have dried yeast, krausen, beer residue, fermenters, bottles and brewing equipment that need proper cleaning.
My Pick: Five Star PBW
PBW is made specifically for cleaning brewery equipment and works extremely well for soaking equipment with stubborn brewing residue.
👉 Check Five Star PBW on Amazon
Then sanitize anything that will contact your cooled wort or finished beer with Star San.
Want my complete cleaning and sanitation setup?
👉 See My Cleaning & Sanitation Equipment
Equipment You May Need Depending on Your Starter Kit
The next pieces of equipment are useful.
But don’t automatically buy all of them.
Your starter kit or brewing method may already cover some of these jobs.
5. Fermenter
Obviously, your beer needs somewhere to ferment.
If your Mr. Beer, Northern Brewer or Craft A Brew kit already includes a fermenter, use it.
You do not need to replace it because somebody on YouTube has a shiny stainless conical.
A basic food-grade brewing bucket can make excellent beer.
If you’re building your own setup or want another fermenter for larger batches, this is a straightforward option.
My Pick: North Mountain Supply 8-Gallon Fermenting Bucket
This version includes the fermenting bucket, grommet and airlock.
👉 Check the North Mountain Supply Fermenter on Amazon
When you’re ready to get more serious about fermentation and temperature control, we’ll cover fermenters, Inkbird controllers, freezers, heating equipment and fermentation chambers in the dedicated guide.
👉See My Fermentation & Temperature Control Equipment Guide
6. Auto-Siphon
An auto-siphon isn’t exciting.
But if your fermenter doesn’t have a usable spigot, it makes transferring beer much easier than trying to manually start a siphon.
My Pick: Fermtech Auto-Siphon
The version I’m linking includes tubing, so you’re not buying the siphon and then discovering you still need hose before you can use the damn thing.
👉 Check the Fermtech Auto-Siphon on Amazon
If your fermenter lets you package directly from a properly positioned spigot, you may not need one.
Again:
Don’t buy equipment you don’t need.
7. Bottling Wand
If you’re bottling regularly, this is one of those inexpensive little pieces of equipment that’s actually worth having.
A bottling wand fills bottles from the bottom and makes stopping and starting the flow much easier.
Less mess.
More control.
My Pick: Fermtech ProFiller
This one also comes with food-safe tubing.
👉 Check the Fermtech ProFiller on Amazon
8. Beer Bottles
For somebody starting out, I like swing-top bottles.
Why?
No separate bottle capper.
No crown caps.
They’re reusable.
Fill them, close the top and you’re done.
And for beer, I prefer amber glass rather than clear glass because amber glass provides better protection from light.
Best Small Pack: YEBODA 16 oz Amber Swing-Top Bottles — 6 Pack
If you’re doing a small batch or just need a few extra bottles, this is the smaller option.
👉 Check YEBODA Amber Swing-Top Bottles on Amazon
Best Larger Pack: Nevlers 16 oz Amber Swing-Top Bottles — 12 Pack
If you’re actually planning to bottle regularly, I’d go with the larger pack.
👉 Check Nevlers Amber Swing-Top Bottles on Amazon
If you’re bottling traditional beer bottles with crown caps instead, we’ll cover bottles, caps, cappers, carbonation drops and the rest of the equipment in the dedicated Bottling & Packaging Equipment Guide.
9. Brew Kettle — Only If Your Brewing Method Needs One
Here’s where beginners can waste money.
If you’re brewing a simple hopped-extract kit such as Mr. Beer, you don’t need to rush out and buy a giant ten-gallon stainless-steel kettle.
If you’re doing larger extract boils, partial mash brewing or preparing to move into all-grain, then a proper brewing kettle starts making sense.
My Pick for a Larger Setup: GasOne 10-Gallon Stainless-Steel Brew Kettle
This particular kettle comes set up with a lid, thermometer and ball valve, which makes it much more useful as you progress into larger or more advanced batches.
But I’ll say it again:
Don’t buy this for your two-gallon Mr. Beer batch.
This is for somebody deliberately building toward larger-volume brewing.
👉 Check the GasOne 10-Gallon Brew Kettle on Amazon
If you’re brewing one-gallon batches, use a smaller kettle.
👉 See My One-Gallon Brewing Equipment Guide
Moving into larger boils, partial mash or BIAB?
👉See My Brew Day Equipment & Accessories.
What I Would NOT Buy Yet
This section might save you more money than anything else on this page.
If you’re brewing your first few batches, you probably don’t need:
- a stainless conical fermenter
- a glycol chiller
- a grain mill
- an expensive three-vessel brewery
- multiple pumps
- an elaborate water-treatment system
- a massive kegerator
- every gadget somebody on YouTube tells you is essential
Is that equipment cool?
Absolutely.
I own and use plenty of brewing gear myself.
But first find out whether you actually enjoy making beer.
Learn the fundamentals.
Then upgrade when you understand what problem the new equipment is solving.
The First Serious Upgrade I’d Consider
Once you’ve brewed a few batches, I wouldn’t necessarily buy a fancier kettle first.
I’d look at fermentation temperature control.
Yeast cares about temperature.
Keeping fermentation within a sensible range can make a much bigger difference to your finished beer than owning prettier brewing equipment.
That doesn’t mean you need to build a fermentation chamber before batch number one.
But once you’re ready, temperature control is one of the first areas I’d investigate.
👉 See Fermentation & Temperature Control on the Equipment Hub
Big Robb’s Beginner Shopping List
If I were helping a brand-new brewer buy equipment today, I’d do this:
Choose ONE starting system:
Mr. Beer if you want the easiest two-gallon kit-brewing approach.
Northern Brewer if you know you want traditional five-gallon brewing.
Craft A Brew if you want a one-gallon small-batch setup.
Then make sure you have:
After that, only buy the transfer, bottling, fermentation or kettle equipment your chosen system doesn’t already include.
That’s it.
You don’t need an entire brewery on day one.
Where Do You Go From Here?
Once you’ve learned the basics, your next move depends on what interests you.
Want to Experiment With Grain Without Going Completely All-Grain?
👉 Learn Partial Mash Brewing
Partial Mash Brewing for Beginners
Want Smaller Experimental Batches?
👉 See My One-Gallon & Small-Batch Brewing Equipment
Ready for Full All-Grain Brewing?
👉 See My All-Grain Brewing Equipment
Sick of Bottling?
👉 See My Kegging & Kegerator Equipment
Still Happy Bottling?
👉 See My Bottling & Packaging Equipment
The point isn’t to own everything.
The point is to buy equipment that makes sense for the way you want to brew.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the easiest way to start homebrewing?
For most people, a complete beer kit is the easiest starting point.
It lets you learn sanitation, fermentation, temperature, carbonation and packaging before worrying about mashing grain or building recipes from scratch.
Should I start with one gallon, two gallons or five gallons?
Any of them can work.
One-gallon batches are great for experimentation and require very little equipment or space.
Two-gallon systems like Mr. Beer give you more finished beer while still keeping things manageable.
Five-gallon systems make more beer per brew day but require more equipment, ingredients and storage.
Pick the batch size that actually suits you.
Do I need a hydrometer?
I strongly recommend one.
It’s inexpensive and gives you actual information about fermentation rather than forcing you to guess.
Do I need an expensive fermenter?
No.
A suitable food-grade brewing bucket can make excellent beer.
Do I need a ten-gallon kettle?
Not necessarily.
Your kettle size depends on the brewing method and batch size you’re actually using.
Don’t buy a huge kettle for a brewing method that doesn’t require one.
Is kegging better than bottling?
It’s more convenient for many brewers, but costs considerably more to get started.
Bottling works perfectly well.
You can decide later whether kegging solves a problem for you.
Ready to Start Brewing?
Homebrewing doesn’t need to be complicated.
Start simple.
Learn what each step actually does.
Make some beer.
Learn from it.
Make another batch.
That’s how you become a better brewer.
Not by buying everything Amazon recommends.
Simple Brewing. Better Beer. Made Easy.
Cheers,
Big Robb
FREE Beginner Brewing Bootcamp
If you’re just getting started, my FREE Beginner Brewing Bootcamp walks you through the fundamentals without turning brewing into a chemistry degree.
👉 Join the FREE Beginner Brewing Bootcamp
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