The Red Zymurgist 
Brew the Best Beer you ever drank!

 

Equipment
Your First Batch
Boil Kettle - A 5 gallon kettle will work for partial boils (meaning you boil less than the batch size, such as 3 gallons for a 5 gallon batch, then top up the fermentor with water).  If you don't have, or can't borrow, a pot to handle a partial boil, I recommend buying at least a 10 gallon kettle. 

EQUIPMENT

So you want to take up brewing. Congratulations! As a wise man once said, if you give a man a beer, you will quench his thirst for an hour. If you teach a man to brew, you will inspire him to fill his garage and basement with all kinds of brewing equipment.

I will point you to a very concise explanation for brewing your first batch, but before you undertake that, let's review the minimal equipment you will want for a five gallon batch.

                  or

      •  Foil or plastic wrap wide enough to cover to

           or

                        or

      • Foil to cover opening
  • Thermometer
  • Cleanser
  • Sanitizer
  • Packaging (bottles and caps, you will need 53 12-ounce. or 20 1-liter, or 30 22-ounce bottles)
  • Capper (if using crown cap bottles)
  • Tubing for transfer (3/8 ID is typical)
  • Extract Brew Kit (yes, you can buy the ingredients separately, but for your first batch, a commercial kit will give you the exact ingredients, grain bags (if necessary), the proper yeast, and sometimes even bottle caps

 

Not absolutely necessary, but very helpful are the following:

  • Hydrometer
  • Bottling Bucket
  • Bottle filler
Plastic Bucket Ferrmentor and lid for five gallon batch.
Better Bottle 6 gallon fermentor.  I don't have this, but PET bottles are much lighter and less likely to break than glass carboys.  The drawback on this is its size; 6 gallons doesn't leave as much headspace for fermentation as 6 1/2 gallon fermentors.
Big Mouth Bubbler - This is my favorite fermentor.  It's a full 6.5 gallons, has volume markings, you can see into it, it's difficult to break, and the wide opening means easy access for dry hopping, yeast harvesting, and cleaning.
Traditional glass carboy. Easy to clean, won't hide bacteria in scratches like a plastic bucket, see through. Small opening makes it more difficult to add dry hops, breakable.

3 Piece Airlock - fill with sanitizer or alcohol to allow CO2 to escape the fermentor yet keep bacteria out.

Universal stopper - Fits all three bottles, airlock is inserted in this.  Not necessary for bucket with lid, as lid has a hole with a grommet to hold the airlock.  You can get sized, solid stoppers; 6.5 gallon glass carboys take a size 6.5, the PET bottles take a size 7

Thermometer - This is a brewing thermometer; any thermometer that will read between 140 and 220 will work.  For me personally, the Thermoworks Thermapen instant thermometer is my go to device.  I also barbecue, and it's great for taking meat temperatures.  Downside is that it costs $100.