Best picks

Rankings built from maker specs and the job the gear has to do in a home brewery.

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Best beer making kits for beginners (1 to 5 gallons)

The best beer making kit for beginners, compared by batch size, what's in the box and what you still need to buy, from…

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Best homebrew kits: starter sets, bundles and automated brewers

The best homebrew kit for your space and plans: 5-gallon bundles with kettles, glass and stainless setups, 1–2 gallon…

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Best 1 gallon beer kits for small-batch brewing

The best 1 gallon beer kit for a stove and a small kitchen: Craft A Brew, Northern Brewer and BrewDemon kits, refills…

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Best gifts for home brewers (21+): kits, tools and upgrades

The best gifts for home brewers 21 and over: first kits, the Palmer book, a Tilt hydrometer, an Inkbird controller, a…

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Best all-in-one electric brewing systems (120V and 240V)

The best all-in-one brewing system for your outlet: Anvil, Grainfather, BrewZilla and budget 35L units compared by…

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Best brew kettles for homebrewing (5 to 16 gallons)

The best brew kettle for your batch size: 5 to 16 gallon stainless kettles compared by steel grade, bottom, ports,…

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Best propane burners for brewing (outdoor use only)

The best propane burner for brewing outdoors: Bayou Classic, Concord, Gas One, ARC and Dark Star burners compared by…

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Best BIAB bags and hop spiders for all-grain brewing

The best BIAB bag and hop spider for your kettle: The Brew Bag, mesh straining bags and stainless hop spiders compared…

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Best wort chillers: immersion, counterflow and plate

The best wort chiller for your setup: immersion, counterflow and plate chillers from JaDeD, Anvil, Grainfather and…

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Best immersion chillers for homebrew (copper and stainless)

The best immersion chiller for your kettle: copper and stainless coils from JaDeD, NY Brew Supply, Northern Brewer and…

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Best plate chillers for homebrew wort

The best plate chiller for homebrew: 30–40 plate brazed chillers from FERRODAY, KegLand, CC-STAR and others, compared…

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Best fermenters for homebrew: buckets, PET, glass and stainless

The best fermenter for homebrew by material: buckets, PET carboys, glass, a FermZilla pressure kit and stainless…

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Best conical fermenters for homebrew (stainless and PET)

The best conical fermenter for your batch size: stainless and PET conicals compared by volume, material, valves,…

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Best pressure fermenters and spunding valves for homebrew

The best pressure fermenter for homebrew: FermZilla, Kegmenter, VEVOR and corny kegs compared by listed pressure…

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Best fermentation temperature controllers for homebrew

The best fermentation temperature controller for a fridge, freezer or glycol loop: Inkbird ITC-308 models compared by…

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Best fermentation chamber setups: fridge, bag or glycol

The best fermentation chamber setup for your space: fridge plus controller, kegerator, cooler bag or glycol coil, with…

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Best wort aeration and oxygenation kits for homebrew

The best wort aeration kit for your yeast and batch: pure-oxygen wands, air pumps and inline aerators compared by…

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Best kegerators for homebrew (corny kegs, 1–3 taps)

The best kegerator for homebrew: Kegco, EdgeStar and VEVOR compared by taps, corny keg fit, couplers and temperature…

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Best homebrew keg systems: kegs, CO2 and regulator kits

The best homebrew keg system for switching from bottles: starter kits, corny kegs, mini kegs, regulators and CO2 tanks…

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Best CO2 regulators for kegging homebrew

The best CO2 regulator for kegging: Taprite, Kegco, KOMOS, VEVOR and more compared by working range, relief point,…

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Best beer faucets for kegerators and keezers

The best beer faucet for a kegerator or keezer: Perlick, Intertap, Nukatap and more compared by forward sealing, flow…

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Best bottle cappers for homebrew: bench and wing

The best bottle capper for homebrew: bench and two-lever cappers compared by 26 and 29 mm cap fit, bottle height…

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Best beer guns and counter-pressure bottle fillers

The best beer gun or counter-pressure bottle filler for bottling from a keg: Tapcooler, Nukatap, Eagle, Medusa and…

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Best hydrometers for homebrewing (with test jars)

The best hydrometer for homebrewing: triple-scale glass and polycarbonate hydrometers and test jar kits compared by SG…

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Best refractometers for brewing: optical and digital

The best refractometer for brewing compared by Brix range, stated accuracy, ATC and alcohol correction, from budget…

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Best digital hydrometers: Tilt, RAPT Pill and alternatives

The best digital hydrometer for homebrew: Tilt, Tilt Pro Mini and the KegLand RAPT Pill compared by range, stated…

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Best pH meters for brewing: mash, wine and kombucha

The best pH meter for brewing compared by stated accuracy, ATC, calibration and probe type, plus when cheaper test…

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Best brewing sanitizers and cleaners (used per the label)

The best brewing sanitizer and cleaner picks: Star San, iodophor, PBW, OneStep and more, compared by label dose, rinse…

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Best grain mills for homebrewing: 2-roller and electric

The best grain mill for homebrewing compared by rollers, gap range, hopper size and drive: hand crank, drill or a…

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Best dry yeast for IPA and pale ale (maker data)

The best dry yeast for IPA and pale ale compared by maker temperature range, dose and attenuation: US-05, BRY-97,…

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Best wine yeast for home winemaking, mead and cider

The best wine yeast compared by maker data: EC-1118, 71B, D-47, RC212, Red Star Premier strains, Uvaferm CEG and mead…

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Best yeast nutrients for mead, wine and beer

The best yeast nutrient for mead, wine and beer: Fermaid O, Fermaid K, Go-Ferm, DAP blends, energizers and beer…

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Best wine making kits: ingredient kits and equipment sets

The best wine making kit for home: 6-gallon ingredient kits, equipment sets and 1-gallon kits compared by batch size,…

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Best hard cider kits: 1-gallon, 2-gallon and 6-gallon

The best hard cider kit for home: 1-gallon juice kits, 2-gallon mixes and 6-gallon concentrate kits compared by size,…

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Best mead making kits (and what to add to them)

The best mead making kit for a first honey wine: 1-gallon kits compared by contents and what you still need, plus the…

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Best kombucha starter kits (with the safety steps)

The best kombucha starter kit for a 1-gallon batch, compared by contents and what you still need, with…