Two pots and at least one lid to cover one of the pots. You’ll want something that will hold roughly 7 1/2 quarts of water.

A measuring cup - I like this 4 cup Pyrex one

A slotted spoon - I like metal as it’s easy to clean and sanitize (more on that later)

Large container with markings on the side. I like this 12 qt Cambro a lot because it’s clear and I can easily see how much liquid I have. You can find these on Amazon and they are not expensive. They also come in smaller sides and are indispensable in restaurant kitchens.

A large strainer - this one is 10” across and big enough to hold all of the spent grain that a one gallon batch sized batch of beer will produce.

Thermometers…

On the right is a candy (high temp) thermometer. I like to keep this one submerged in the pot when I mash.

The middle thermometer is an instant-read thermometer which can also be used during the mash process as well as for taking quick readings on sparge water and wort. For more on all of this jargon that I’m using, please review the Brew Day section.

On the right is a probe thermometer - these will also work just fine if you don’t have either a candy or instant-read thermometer.

You’ll need a scale for weighing out things like the amount of hops and/or grains you’ll need in your recipe. Make sure that it can display weight in grams. I’ve got two pictured here.

The one on the left is my normal kitchen scale. It will display whole grams but not fractional grams. For most purposes, this will be fine. If your recipe calls for 8.5 grams of hops and you put in either 8 or 9 grams I’ll argue that the 0.5 gram swing won’t make that much of a difference.

The scale on the right is a jeweler’s scale and it can accurately measure in increments of a hundredth of a gram. That really allows you to dial precise ingredient measurements. When we discuss more advance topics like adjusting water chemistry you will need this level of precision. I got this jewelers scale on Amazon for less than $20

Now we start getting into the more specialized equipment you’ll need.

You’ll want a one gallon size carboy which will be the container that will contain your beer during fermentation. I prefer glass because it’s easy to clean and won’t scratch like plastic will over time. Glass also has the added benefit of being clear, so it’s easy to keep an eye on things during the two weeks or so that your beer will call this carboy home. And the good news is that at $10-15 per carboy, you can easily expand your collection to have multiple beers fermenting at the same time.

If your carboy doesn’t come with an airlock, you will need to get one. I prefer the three-piece type that’s sitting on the right side of the carboy.

You will also want a screw-top lid for your carboy - one with a hole in it and a 3’ - 4’ length of tubing that will fit snugly through the opening in the screw-top. The hose pictured here has an outside diameter (OD) of 5/16”.

This 8” funnel came with a fine mesh screen - you’ll need it to strain any particulate matter (for example small pieces of grain or hop residue) from your beer so it doesn’t get into the carboy.

You’ll also want a long handled, long bristled wire brush for cleaning out the inside of your carboy.

You will absolutely need to get yourself some Star-San. I cannot understate how important cleaning and sanitation are to ensuring that your beer turns out great. In my opinion, Star-San is the gold standard. It is made from food-grade phosphoric acid that is colorless, odorless and flavorless. It comes in concentrated form and once diluted with the correct amount of water, will make a highly effective, no-rinse sanitation solution/soak that is designed to keep your beer free from the types of microorganisms that can ruin it.

It’s also a good idea to have a spray bottle filled with pre-made diluted Star-San on hand, especially once the beer has been cooled and placed into a sanitized carboy.

You can add hops directly to your beer during the boiling stage, however, If you want to cut back on the amount of particulate matter in the beer that you’ll need to eventually strain out, then I highly recommend using either a small muslin bag or a metal hop spider. The advantage of both of these items is that they will totally contain the hop residue during boil, allowing it to be easily extracted from the pot. This will all make more sense as we review the brew day procedure.

In my setup, I actually use both of these. I will utilize the hop spider during the boil and then during dry hopping, I will put the hops into a muslin bag to help ensure that I don’t bottle or keg any hop matter.

As there are many steps to keep track of and processes to monitor, it’s a good idea to keep a journal on hand. When I first started, I tried to do this electronically in an Excel spreadsheet but I found, like with a good cookbook, that having my recipes and notes from previous brew days in front of me to refer back to on brew day