Three Types Of Beer Brewing Equipment

Brewing equipment refers to the machines and tools used to produce beer, cider or any other fermented beverage. The brewing process starts with raw materials such as barley, hops, water and yeast and ends with the bottling or kegging of the final product. The quality, flavor and characteristics of the beverage depend on the equipment and brewing method used.

Basic Components Of Beer Brewing Equipment

• Grinding equipment: used to crush grains to ensure that the outer shell is intact and the interior is crushed.

• Mash tun: A vessel in which crushed grains are mixed with water and heated. This process converts the starch in the grain into sugar.

• Boiler: After mashing, the liquid is moved to the boiler and boiled with hops, adding flavor and aroma to the beer.

• Fermenter: After boiling, the liquid is cooled and transferred to a fermenter, where yeast is added. Yeast consumes sugar and produces alcohol and carbonic acid.

• Brite Tank: After fermentation, the beer is transferred to a Brite tank where it is clarified and carbonated before packaging.

Beer Brewing Supplies

Basic supplies needed for beer brewing include:

• Brew equipment (brew kettle, fermenter, airlock, thermometer, spoon/paddle, etc.)

• Ingredients (grains, hops, yeast, and water)

• Sanitizer (clean and sanitize all equipment before use)

• Bottling equipment (bottles, caps, bottling kegs, and fillers)

• Optional: Hydrometer (for measuring the specific gravity and alcohol content of beer)

Some other helpful items include a wort chiller (for cooling beer after boiling), carboys (for fermenting larger batches of beer), and kegs (for draft beer).

Basic Components of Beer Brewing Equipment

Home Beer Brewing Equipment

Home brewing kits are compact and targeted at hobbyists and beer enthusiasts, containing the basic equipment needed to produce small batches of beer.

• Brew kettle: A small stainless steel pot used to boil hop wort.

• Fermenter: A plastic or glass container used to ferment beer.

• Bottling keg: Used to add base sugars and transfer beer into bottles.

All-grain Beer Brewing Equipment

All-grain brewing gives brewers more control over the flavor of their beer. It requires more advanced equipment.

• Mashing tun: Used to mix ground grains and water to promote the conversion of starch to sugars.

• Lauter tun: Helps separate the wort from the malt.

Commercial Brewing Equipment

Built for scale and consistency, these heavy-duty pieces of equipment are designed for high-volume brewing.

• Brewery: a combined system including mash barrels, lauter barrels and brewing kettles.

• Fermenter: A large tank for beer fermentation and maturation.

• Beer brite tank: A tank in which beer is clarified and carbonated before packaging.

Packaging equipment

Once the beer is brewed, it must be packaged for distribution.

• Bottling line: An automated system for filling, capping and labeling.

• Kegging system: Used to pack beer kegs for distribution to bars and restaurants.

Auxiliary Equipment

The brewery also has some other equipment for various purposes.

• Heat exchanger: used to quickly cool hot wort.

• Yeast culture system: used to grow and store yeast.

• Quality control laboratory: equipment used to test and ensure the quality of beer.