Brewing Equipment: What You Actually Need (and What’s Just Fun to Have)
Welcome to the Brewing Equipment section of Monkey’s Brewing — your guide to the tools, gadgets, and gear that make homebrewing easier, better, or at least more interesting.
Whether you’re brewing your first extract kit on a camp stove in the backyard or running an all-grain system on the back patio, this is where I break down what equipment actually matters, what’s worth upgrading, and which shiny stainless-steel toys are mostly just fun to look at.
Why I Started Writing About Equipment
When I began homebrewing, I had a starter kit, a backyard camp stove, and a strong belief that owning more gear would somehow make my beer taste better.
Spoiler: it doesn’t — at least, not directly.
But as I brewed more batches, I discovered:
- Some equipment makes brewing faster
- Some makes the beer better
- Some just makes brew day less annoying
- Some is unnecessary… until you try it once and immediately wonder how you ever lived without it
I’ve gone through basic kits, partial upgrades, unnecessary gadgets, major upgrades, and a few pieces of equipment I probably shouldn’t have bought but absolutely don’t regret.
I Use Everything I Review
Every piece of equipment you see in this section is something I’ve personally used on real brew days — usually more than once.
That includes:
- Kettles
- Mash tuns
- Fermenters
- Pumps
- Chillers
- Kegerators
- Cleaning tools
- Measuring and testing tools
- Random accessories that solve very specific problems
Most of the gear here comes straight from my own brewing experience. Occasionally, if someone sends me a new piece of equipment to try, I’m happy to review it — but only after I’ve put it through a real brew day.
What You’ll Find in This Section
🔧 Beginner Equipment Essentials
- What you truly need for your first brew
- The difference between “nice to have” and “must have”
- How to upgrade without overspending
🛠 In-Depth Gear Reviews
- Fermenters (plastic, stainless, conical, pressure)
- Kettles and mash tuns
- Wort chillers
- Pumps and tubing
- Scales, thermometers, and measuring tools
⚙️ Side-by-Side Comparisons
- Immersion vs. plate chillers
- Bottling vs. kegging
- Stainless vs. plastic fermenters
- Brew bag vs. traditional mash tun
🧽 Cleaning & Maintenance Tools
Stuff nobody wants to talk about but every brewer needs:
- Cleaners and sanitizers
- Brushes, pumps, and spray tools
- Storage and organization
🧪 Experiments & Tests
Because sometimes you want to know:
- Does a pump really save time?
- What happens if you ferment under pressure?
- Is a $20 thermometer worse than a $60 one?
- Does chilling speed actually change flavor?
Brew Dog Notes on Equipment
Monkey never helped with equipment except to sniff it suspiciously.
Freyja offers even less help but makes up for it by standing exactly where I need to place the fermenter.
Both have seen more homebrewing gear come and go than most dogs ever should.
Where to Start
If you’re trying to figure out what you actually need, the first few posts you’ll see here include:
- Beginner Homebrewing Equipment Essentials
- The Best Fermenters for New Brewers
- Do You Need a Wort Chiller? (Short answer: Yes.)
- Kegging vs. Bottling: A Quick Guide
As this section grows, expect detailed reviews, comparisons, experiments, and the occasional rant about tubing that refuses to stay where it’s supposed to.
🍺 Cheers to better brew days, one piece of gear at a time.
— Monkey’s Brewing