• Airlock - Also called a fermentation lock, a simple one-way valve fitted to a fermenter that allows carbon dioxide to escape the fermenter while preventing air outside the fermenter from getting in and spoiling the beer.

• Bottle Capper - Device used to crimp bottle caps around the tops of the bottles. Cappers come in a variety of styles and prices, but even the least expensive work fine.

• Bottle Caps - Should be unused, plastic-lined caps sanitized just prior to use. Oxygen-absorbing caps are slightly more expensive than standard caps but prevent air in the bottle from spoiling hop aroma.

• Bottle Filler - A spring-loaded device that, when pressed, starts the flow of beer from the bottling bucket to the bottle. The flow of beer stops when the bottle filler is lifted up. Easier to use than simply siphoning the beer from the bottling bucket to the bottle or pouring the beer from the spigot in the bottling bucket.

• Bottling Bucket - A plastic food-grade bucket with a spigot installed in the bottom. Fermented beer is siphoned from the fermenter to the bottling bucket allowing the brewer to leave behind the trub at the bottom of the fermenter.

• Bottles - Forty 16-ounce bottles or fifty-three 12-ounce bottles are necessary to bottle a 5-gallon batch of beer. Bottles for homebrew should be brown, non-returnable glass bottles or Grolsch-type swing-top bottles, not screw-top or returnable bottles. Green or cobalt bottles are acceptable, but not preferred. Clear bottles are absolutely not recommended.

• Brew Kettle - Any vessel used to boil the wort. The brew kettle should be made of stainless steel or enamel. Aluminum pots are not recommended for brewing as they may impart off-flavors in the beer. The brew kettle should also be large enough to boil as much wort as possible - whatever can't fit in the brew kettle can be added to the primary fermenter to achieve your desired batch size.

• Bung - Cork that serves to seal kegs or carboys.

• Carboy - Large glass bottle, usually 5- or 6 1/2-gallons, with a narrow opening on top used as fermenters. The opening is sealed with a rubber bung and an airlock. Carboys are preffered over plastic fermenters because they are much less susceptible to the beer-spoiling bacteria that can hide in scratches in plastic fermenters.

• Cask - A barrel, generally made of wood, used as a fermentation or maturation vessel. Oak is commonly used for barrels. Living yeast is usually added to beer in casks for a secondary fermentation and conditioning (carbonation) as opposed to kegging where the beer is filtered and force-carbonated with carbon dioxide for artificial conditioning.

• Grain Mill - Unless the grains are pre-crushed, they must be cracked to allow the starches and enzymes in the grain to reach optimum efficiency. Come in a variety of models and prices.

• Hop Back - A vessel used to strain loose hops from the wort at the end of the boil. The hop back is also used as a container where wort is strained through unboiled aroma hops on the way to the fermenter.

• Hop Bag - A muslin or nylon bag used to hold hops during the boil or when dry-hopping during secondary fermentation. Although hop bags definitely make cleaning up easier when you're done, some experts feel that hops bags decrease hop utilization. My personal experience is that the limiting effect of hop bags, if any, is minimal and their benefits outweigh their drawbacks.

• Hydrometer - A device with three different scales to take three different measurements: (1) liquid density with the specific gravity scale; (2) the percentage of sugar in the liquid with the Balling scale; and (3) potential alcohol. Hydrometers measure accurately at 60º F, so adjustments must be made for temperature variances. (See the Hydrometer Temperature Correction chart on the measurements and conversions page)

• Keg - Usually a metal barrel used to hold beer that is force-carbonated with carbon dioxide.

• Lauter Tun - A vessel with a slotted false bottom above a tap to allow the wort to be drawn off while leaving the spent grains behind.

• Mash Tun - A large stainless steel stock-pot or enamel kettle used to infuse the brewing grains with hot water.

• Mash Paddle - A long-handled spoon or paddle for mixing the mash. Can be wood, plastic or stainless steel.

• pH Papers - Used to determine whether the mash is in the proper pH range (5-5.5) for optimum enzyme activity. Variations from the proper range necessitate adjustment.

• Pound Scale - Necessary to weigh the grains used in the mash to make sure they are added in their proper amounts.

• Primary Fermenter - Any airtight vessel wherein the cooled wort and yeast are combined for fermentation. Although food-grade plastic fermenters are acceptable to use as a fermentation vessel, when scratched, plastic fermenters can become a haven for beer-spoiling bacteria, so glass carboys or stainless steel containers are preferred. For a 5-gallon batch, a 6-1/2 gallon glass carboy should be used to allow for enough head space.

• Racking Stem and Tip - Helps hold the siphon tube steady and keeps from drawing too much trub from the bottom of the fermenter while racking the beer.

• Sanitizing Solution - Necessary to thoroughly sanitize all brewing and bottling equipment. Homebrewers can use either a specific sanitizer or a solution of bleach (one tablespoon per gallon of water for cleaning; one teaspoon per gallon of water for sanitizing).

• Secondary Fermenter - Any airtight vessel used after the primary fermentation for lagering, maturation or the settling of suspended matter in beer. If possible, a 5-gallon glass carboy should be used for the secondary fermentation to limit the amount of head space.

• Siphon Hose - Clear, food-grade, plastic tubing used to siphon beer from one vessel to another. Should be 3/8-inch diameter inside to fit most bottle fillers and racking tubes.

• Spoon - Used to stir beer at various stages of brewing. Should be food-grade plastic or stainless steel, not wood as wood is porous, almost impossible to sanitize and, therefore, a perfect breeding ground for beer-spoiling bacteria.

• Thermometer - Digital thermometers are frequently ruined by liquid, so they are not recommended for brewing. Floating or immersible candy thermometers are acceptable but may have to be removed from the wort to take a reading. Metal dial thermometers than can read from 32º to 212º F are preferred.

• Wort Chiller - Ideal tool for rapidly cooling the boiled wort to shorten the time the wort is exposed after it is removed from the boil. Come in either the immersion type or the counter-flow type. The immersion wort chiller is several feet of coiled copper tubing which allows cold water to flow in one end and out the other. Heat always moves from hottest to coldest, and copper is an excellent conductor of heat, so the heat in the wort transfers through the cool copper tubing to the water flowing within it. The water then takes the heat transferred through the copper out the other end of the wort chiller, thereby cooling the wort. The counter-flow wort cooler is more expensive and complicated than the immersion type but works on the same principles as the immersion wort chiller and is more effective.

Disclaimer: The information contained on this page was taken in part or in whole from "Ultimate Beer" by Michael Jackson (DK Publishing, Inc., 1998), "The Brew-Master's Bible" by Stephen Snyder (HarperPerennial, 1997) and/or "The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian (Avon Books, 1991). The author of this web site will immediately remove any or all copyrighted information at the request of either publisher.