Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips

This article on brewery equipment cost saving tips, was inspired by a conversation I had yesterday with potential client.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website YME.

The person I was chatting with, was in a similar position to many people I take on as clients.

The common traits are:

• Looking to open a brewery in a less-developed craft beer market
• Coming from a background in homebrewing, wanting to get into the industry
• Often has several partners, who all want to work on the project together
• Partly self-funded with money from the group, plus loans from a bank
• The budget is quite small, the plan is to start lean, and invest back into the brewery to grow it.

With this typical situation the challenge is to put together a brewery which will last in terms of quality. As well as one which can grow, as the brewery increases its client base.

Small 300-Liter Brewery In Wuxi Called Bear Pond

When the budget it&#;s lean, it&#;s about pairing back the equipment list. The equipment needs to be:

• Able to brew good quality beer, with consistency being key.
• The equipment should be built to last, go too cheap and you&#;ll have issues sooner rather than later.
• The brewery needs to be adequately sized so, it can do greater volumes in the future.
• Oversizing certain parts of the brewery, to grow into plus, some modular elements.
• Need to play around with equipment list, ensuring the best use of the space like in this shipping container brewery project.
• One critical part is the glycol system &#; more on this later

There are some other elements to consider, however, we&#;ll go in to those in more details as we go through this post.

So, let&#;s get started, with some tips to make you initial brewing project &#;lean&#;. So, you can have a working brewery on a budget.

Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips &#; Go with a Two-Vessel System

A two-vessel brewhouse means you have a combined mash/lauter tun, as well as a combined kettle/whirlpool.

&#;> Will this effect overall brewhouse efficiency? Yes, a little&#;

However, with good brewing processes, you can still have an efficient brewhouse. Here are some extra tips for saving money, on a two-vessel system:

No heating on the mash/lauter tun

With modern modified malts you don&#;t need to step mash to help with efficiency. Furthermore, many beer types like a Hefeweizen, can still taste true to style, without step mashing. Simply by using other techniques or brewing aids.

My current pilot system has no mash tun heating

No Rakes in the Mash/Lauter Tun

If you&#;re brewery is small, under 500-liters, then it&#;s possible to forgo rakes in the mash/lauter tun. Granted rakes do help with mashing-in (a wee bit), and cutting the mash bed for a better lautering, as well.

Furthermore, rakes aid grain out too; but on smaller system using a grain out hoe, for emptying the grains from the vessel, is easy enough.

&#;> It must be noted; you can still get good efficiencies without rakes.

However, you might need to reach for the rice hulls more often on brews using a lot of adjuncts in the mash, when a system doesn&#;t have rakes.

Still, rakes aren&#;t particularly expensive, compared to the cost of the whole brewhouse. I would advise adding then to your system, if the budget allows.

However, where every dollar counts, you can do without them, on smaller systems.

Yeast Adding Tanks

If you buy a Chinese made brewhouse, the fabricators often add, what they call a &#;yeast adding tank&#;. This is placed just after the heat exchanger.

A Yeast Adding Tank

Usually the cost is quite small, however it&#;s not really needed. You can add the yeast direct to the FV. I&#;ve honestly never used this type of equipment, ever in my brewing career.

Where every dollar counts this is a small saving.

Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips &#; Measuring Volumes

When it comes to measuring volumes for each brewhouse vessel, brewers like to have flowmeters.

However, flowmeters are expensive, with reliable ones, built to last, generally sourced from Europe or Japan.

When you&#;re looking to save money, you need to go old-school. Meaning using dipsticks for both the mash/lauter tun and brew kettle/whirlpool.

Ideally, it&#;s best to have a sight tube on the mash/later tun as well so, you can check the liquid volume in the vessel more easily.

• As it offers a visual aid, to check the liquid volume level, when collecting wort to the brew kettle. Making it easier to ensure you don&#;t run the lauter tun dry when lautering.

Please note: When ordering a brewhouse from China, they really like to have these oversized wort grant.

Breweries use wort grants to ensure the lauter never runs dry, and there always liquid for the pump, to work and not run dry. I&#;m not the biggest fan of these things, but for some beers with a lot of adjuncts in the mash they can be useful.

When ordering a brewhouse always make sure there is a bypass for the grants. So, you have the option to not use if it, when not needed.

For instance, when making core beers your familiar with brewing on the system. In this instance, you can just use the sight tube on the mash/lauter tun as your guide.

Honestly, though if you want to save a bit of money forgo the wort grant and opt only for the sight measuring tube instead. Once you know your system, a wort grant isn&#;t really needed, especially on the smaller scale.

CIP Cart/System &#; Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips

Below 500-liters, if money for the project is tight, I&#;d forgo having a CIP Cart. Above, a 1,000-liter brewing system having a CIP cart becomes more viable with, the extra expense more justifiable.

My opinion on this matter may differ from other brewers. For me, being able to re-use caustic on smaller system is less important. You&#;ll have a fair percentage of loss during a CIP, compared to total volumes, when using a larger system.

CIP Cart on Wheels for a Smaller Brewery

Furthermore, on smaller system the number of times you can re-use caustic is reduced.

In my real-world experience, the caustic gets dirtier quicker, with less reuses possible, compared to cleaning on a larger system.

Re-using caustic is more of a wasted effort on smaller systems as result. I know my views may differ, but this is what I&#;ve experienced throughout my 25+ year brewing career.

Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips &#; Buy Bigger Tanks

You&#;ll have some beers which sell better than others. These biggest sellers will need brewing more often. The ideal scenario is to brew double batches of these beers into bigger tanks.

When buying cellar tanks, you don&#;t pay twice the price for a double-sized vessel. For example, a 1,000-liter tank isn&#;t twice the price of a 500-liter vessel.

It takes almost the same amount of time to fabricate both sizes of vessel. What you&#;re really paying for, is the extra materials.

It means buying bigger tanks will lead to more total tank volume, for less upfront costs.

Furthermore, you&#;ll have less beer loss when making double batches into one tank too.

As you can see in the image above, a 1 x 1,000-liter FV costs US $4,700.80 and a 2,000-liter FV costs US $5,741.80. There&#;s only a US $1,041 difference in the price of a 1,000 and 2,000-liter FV.

Obviously, you want to ensure you beer is fresh so, you&#;ll need some single batch tanks, for some of the slower selling beers.

However, where possible buy double, triple, quadruple or larger sized or larger tanks, where appropriate. This will lead to significant cost savings.

Buy Spunding Valves for Your Unitanks &#; Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips

For those who don&#;t know what spunding is, please read my article here. These valves will add to your total cost of the equipment.

However, over time they will pay back this initial investment, as you&#;ll use less CO2 in the brewery.

As explained in the article, these spunding valves allow a brewer to capture the CO2 given off during fermentation, to begin carbonation of the beer.

You&#;re naturally carbonating the beer&#;

Which in my opinion, leads to a better finished beer and more dense foam and lacing.

I believe the bubbles from natural carbonation are &#;smaller&#;, than if a brewer is force carbonating a beer. The result is a smoother flavor and less CO2 &#;bite&#; as well.

There&#;s also a belief with some brewers, fermenting under pressure leads to a cleaner beer too.

Beers you intend to dry-hop, or those where you want a lot of phenolic character from, shouldn&#;t be spunded. Although some brewers do spund hoppy beers, and use a dryhop doser.

An Example of a Spunding Valve &#; Learn About Spunding Here

Buying A Dryhop Doser

I&#;ve a deep dive article on dryhop dosers so, I&#;ll make this section short and sweet. My thoughts on dryhop dosers are similar to those of spunding valves.

Brewers can buy this equipment for a small outlay, which helps make better beer. There&#;s research been done by AB InBev, which unfortunately I can&#;t share.

Which indicates static dry-hopping gives better sensory results than dynamic dry-hopping, such as using a hop rocket.

Many brewers really like using hop rockets and I&#;ve had some good results using them too. See the link to my article on hop rockets, linked above.

However, when on a budget a hop doser is likely the right low-cost solution, for a brewery project.

They aren&#;t expensive plus, allows a brewer to dry-hop a beer, without having to open a tank to the atmosphere. Which means no potential for DO (dissolved oxygen) pick-up.

Leading to better shelf-life and less chance of oxidizing the beer.

Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips &#; Manually Filling Kegs

A lot of equipment manufacturers will try and push a semi-automatic keg filler onto brewery equipment list. If local laws allow, it&#;s best to fill the kegs by hand.

Take these two manual keg setups below. The on the left is for smaller breweries. You see the two-keg couplers on the kegs?

Well, the other end of the beer hose is connected to the beer in the tank. With this simple set-up I can fill 2 x 50-liter kegs within 5 minutes.

So, realistically a cellarman can fill 1,000-liter of beer into keg, in an hour, with this very simple set-up.

On the right side we have a keg filling manifold from Bespoke Brewing Solutions. They have a few iterations of this manifold. One where you can place a pallet underneath it.

Meaning you can fill the kegs directly on the pallet, for ease of use. This particular manifold has room for three couplers. So, you could fill 1,500-liters of beer, into kegs in an hour.

With the 4-manifold set-up, this becomes roughly 2,000-liters per hour. This manifold is much cheaper than buying a semi-automatic beer filler can. Plus, actually be quicker filling, than a machine too.

Optimizing Shipping Container Space &#; Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips

One unfortunate side-effect of Covid was, shipping went up in price drastically. Fortunately, prices are coming down now. Still, they are not at pre-covid levels.

When it comes to planning equipment for your brewery, it&#;s worth considering how much space each vessel takes up.

It might mean playing around with the configuration of the size of the fermentation tanks, to squeeze as much equipment into a container as possible. Shipping containers are 20 and 40ft in size generally.

If you&#;re planning a 500-liter brewery, it&#;s possible to fit all the equipment into one 40ft container. If it means, losing one 500-liter tank, or replacing two 500-liter tanks for one 1,000-liter tank then do it.

There are other ways to squeeze in as much in as possible. This is actually one area, where my experience in the brewing industry comes to the fore, to save brewery projects money.

I can play around with the equipment list, to utilize the space in a container for the most bang for the buck plus, have a brewery which meets the scope too.

If there&#;s some extra space in a container, fill up with some other stuff like kegs. Make the most use of all available space in a container.

Plans for a container brewery project planned for Europe

A Quick Mention for Glycol Systems

If you&#;re planning to grow the brewery over time. With the intention of adding more cellar tanks. It might be best to oversize your glycol system, with the initial equipment purchase.

I know it&#;s not in the spirit of the article, where we are trying to put a lean system together, for less money as possible.

However, having excess capacity, to add some extra cellar tanks later on, can really save your money in the long run. It&#;s something to consider if the budget allows.

Brewery Equipment Cost Saving Tips &#; Conclusions

I hope you found our article on &#;brewery equipment cost saving tips&#; useful. I wanted to share some truly actionable content, with you.

Having worked on many brewing projects in the last few years, these are pointers I&#;ve been using myself, to help my clients.

When I&#;m working on projects in out of the way places, where the budget is small. You learn to adapt.

I can make equipment lists lean, then if there&#;s some extra money left. I can add to it, where the money will be most useful.

The biggest takeaway is tank sizes, the bigger they are, the more volume for less cost. Plus, they take up less container space too.

Two 500-liter FV&#;s take up more space, than one 1,000-liter tanks. Think about the legs of the vessels.

Need Help with Your Brewery Project

I&#;m a British brewing consultant based in China. I&#;ve brewed thousands of batches of beer, on brewpub and production brewery systems around the world.

I&#;ve done many brewhouse installations. I first came to brew in China in and know the brewing equipment market well, here too.

As a consultant, I help people with brewery projects, putting equipment lists together according to the scope of their project.

Further reading:
What size heat press do I need for T shirts?
How to Save Money When Buying the versatility and benefits of dispenser strapping bands

Contact us to discuss your requirements of commercial beer brewing equipment. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

I ask them to fill in this questionnaire, with their answers allowing me to understand the project in more detail.

I&#;d love to discuss your project so, please feel free to reach out to me. My address is:

You can also message me directly on your preferred network. Simply scan the relevant QR code below, add me and then message me there.

Thanks for reading and happy brewing!

Homebrewing can be an incredibly rewarding and delicious hobby. However, the equipment required to brew beer at home can get quite expensive. Many beginner homebrewers are shocked when they start adding up the costs for kettles, fermenters, kegs, burners, chillers, and all the other gear needed to brew beer from scratch.

Fortunately, with a bit of creativity and compromise, it is possible to assemble a functional homebrew setup on a budget. This guide will explore strategies for sourcing discount equipment and building your own rig to cut costs. We&#;ll also compare cheaper alternatives for essential brewing hardware against more expensive versions.

When trying to save money on a homebrew system, focus on getting good deals on the core essentials:

Brewing Vessels

• Inexpensive kettles &#; thinner stainless steel or aluminum stockpots
• Plastic buckets or PET carboys instead of glass carboys
• Repurposed or secondhand commercial equipment

Fermentation Vessels

• Food-grade plastic buckets
• Repurposed plastic containers
• Mini-kegs or corny kegs

Burners & Heat Sources

• Propane burner from hardware store
• Electric heat sources &#; stovetop, induction burner, electric kettle

Chilling Equipment

• Pre-chilled water in bucket or sink full of ice water
• Immersion chiller built from copper tubing

Accessories

• Shop towels for straining
• Reused commercial SAN kegs as fermenters
• Build your own stir plates and yeast starters

With some creativity, homebrewers can assemble complete brewing systems for a fraction of the cost of turnkey setups from homebrew shops. Let&#;s look at some specific recommendations for sourcing discount brewing hardware.

Buying Used and Reconditioned Brewing Equipment

One of the best ways to save money on major brewing gear is to buy used equipment. Commercial breweries frequently upgrade their operations and sell off their old stainless steel tanks, kegs, burners, and other hardware. Homebrew clubs or local breweries are great resources to find used equipment.

Items to look for:

• Stainless kettles &#; Scrub away corrosion and replace valves/fittings
• Kegs &#; Recondition commercial kegs for home use
• Burners &#; Clean and test commercial burners
• Chillers &#; Inspect plates on plate chillers, replace gaskets

With some elbow grease, used commercial gear can be restored to like-new condition at a fraction of the original price. Be sure to thoroughly clean and sanitize any used equipment.

Building Your Own Brewing Equipment

Constructing your own brewery gear is a great way to customize your setup exactly how you want it on a budget. Many homebrewers get into welding and metalworking to fabricate kettles, burners, and chillers.

Some ideas for DIY builds:

• Kettles &#; Weld together stainless sheet metal or polish aluminum beer kegs
• Burners &#; Assemble propane burner from gas fittings and metal stand
• Chillers &#; Make immersion chiller from copper tubing and garden hose fittings
• Keggles &#; Cut the top off a sanke keg to make a brew kettle
• Mash Tuns &#; Use an igloo cooler with PVC manifold and false bottom

With some simple power tools and materials from the hardware store, the possibilities are endless for homebrewers willing to put in some work. Be sure to follow all safety precautions when working with pressurized gases, pumps, and electricity.

Buying Discount New Brewing Equipment

For those who prefer to buy new brewing gear rather than used or DIY options, there are still plenty of ways to save:

• Starter kits &#; Basic kits have minimal equipment but lower cost
• Kettles &#; Thinner stainless or aluminum kettles are cheaper
• Plastic fermenters &#; Food-grade buckets are inexpensive
• Cheap burners &#; Hardware store propane burners under $50
• Clearance sales &#; Check for discounted floor models or old stock
• Group buys &#; Split costs by buying in bulk with other homebrewers

Saving money on new equipment means compromising on some quality and features. But cheaper kettles, carboys, and burners can produce award-winning homebrew. Focus on value picks that get the job done without extra bells and whistles.

Choosing the Best Brewing Equipment on a Budget

When selecting budget homebrew gear, keep these criteria in mind:

Kettles

• 5-10 gallon capacity for small batches
• Stainless steel or aluminum for durability
• Thick enough bottoms for even heat &#; 1-2mm minimum
• Avoid thin single-layer kettles that scorch wort

Fermenters

• Food-grade plastic (HDPE, PET) or glass
• 5-6.5 gallon batch size
• Bucket lids and airlocks for sealing
• Smooth surfaces for easy cleaning

Burners

• 20,000+ BTU output for boiling
• Sturdy frame with wind protection
• Hose and regulator included for propane
• Easy to adjust flame

Chillers

• 25+ feet of 1/4&#; or 3/8&#; copper tubing
• Quick chill times &#; under 15 minutes for 5 gal
• Simple design without leaks
• Easy to disassemble and clean

While it&#;s tempting to buy the cheapest options to save money, carefully inspect equipment for potential downsides. Pay special attention to materials, durability, and ease of use when comparing cheaper alternatives against more expensive ones.

Cheap Kettle Options for Brewing

The boil kettle is one of the largest investments for a homebrew setup. Here are some budget-friendly kettles to consider:

Kettle Material Pros Cons Price Stockpot Stainless Steel Inexpensive, available Thin bottoms, smaller sizes $30-60 Aluminum Affordable, conducts heat Reactive, dents easily $20-40 Brew Kettle Stainless Steel Thicker material, better heat distribution Only comes in large sizes $80-150 Keggle Stainless Steel Reuse free vessel, thicker stainless Used, curved shape may not work with some burners $0-50

• Stockpots &#; Cheap, readily available. But thin bottoms lead to scorching.
• Aluminum kettles &#; Affordable but highly reactive and prone to dents.
• Brew kettles &#; Optimized for brewing but only cost-effective at 10+ gallon sizes.
• Keggles &#; Repurposed kegs make decent kettles. Caution with sanitation.

Overall, a 5-10 gallon stainless stockpot offers the best value for boiling small homebrew batches. Add a trivet or diffuser to prevent scorching if the material is thin. For larger batches, a converted keg is a cheap way to get more stainless steel volume.

Best Fermenter Options on a Budget

Fermenters don&#;t need to be expensive. Here are some budget-friendly fermenters for homebrewing:

Fermenter Material Pros Cons Price Plastic Bucket HDPE Inexpensive, easy to source Scratches, not transparent $10-20 Glass Carboy Glass Impervious to scratches, transparent Heavy, fragile, pours slowly $20-40 PET Carboy Plastic Impervious to scratches, transparent Can be brittle over time $20-30 Corny Keg Stainless Steel Reusable, easy to clean Used, may need new seals $0-30

• Plastic buckets &#; Extremely cheap but prone to scratches over time.
• Glass carboys &#; Excellent clarity but heavy and require careful handling.
• PET carboys &#; Lightweight plastic alternative to glass but can get brittle.
• Corny kegs &#; Free if you can source used kegs and replace seals.

For primary fermentation, plastic buckets offer incredible value. For secondary or aging, glass or PET carboys are better options that won&#;t scratch and degrade over time. Used corny kegs make interesting hybrid fermenter/serving vessels. Compare material durability and replacement costs when choosing budget fermenters.

Discount Burner and Heat Source Options

You don&#;t need fancy brewing-specific burners to heat your kettle. Consider these budget burner options:

Burner Type Pros Cons Price Propane Burner Portable propane Very inexpensive, high BTU Lower quality materials, more prone to rust $30-60 Turkey Fryer Kit Propane burner + pot Good value combo package Large combined equipment size $50-80 Electric Kettle Electric Simple, safe indoor use Longer boil times, expensive for larger volumes $30-100 Induction Burner Electric Fast, energy-efficient Requires magnetic cookware $50-150

• Propane burners &#; Extremely cheap but may rust quickly. Great for outdoor brewing.
• Turkey fryer kits &#; Convenient all-in-one propane burner and pot combo.
• Electric kettles &#; Limited capacity but safe for stoveless brewing.
• Induction burners &#; Fast and efficient but needs compatible steel cookware.

For propane burners, inspect materials and assembly to gauge longevity vs upfront cost. Electric options trade power for convenience. Pick based on brewing location and goals.

Cheap Options for Wort Chilling

Rapidly cooling boiled wort prevents contamination and unwanted flavor compounds. Here are some affordable ways to chill:

Chiller Type Pros Cons Price Ice Bath Water immersion Simple, no equipment needed Slow chill times $0 DIY Copper IC Coiled copper tubing Effective, customizable Time to build, risk of leaks $30-60 in materials Immersion Chiller Coiled copper IC Pre-built, quick chill times More expensive, fixed sizes $50-70 Plate Chiller Compact heat exchanger Fastest chilling, stainless steel High cost, risk of leaks, clogging $100+

• Ice baths &#; Practically free but very slow chill times.
• DIY immersion chillers &#; Customizable and affordable but require assembly.
• Pre-built immersion chillers &#; Convenient but limited sizing options.
• Plate chillers &#; Fast and compact but expensive and require careful maintenance.

For homebrewers on a budget, DIY immersion chillers offer the best balance of cost, customizability, and performance. Carefully build and test for leaks before first use. Upgrade to a plate chiller down the road for speed and efficiency.

Accessories: Buying, Improvising, and DIY Options

Beyond the core brewing equipment, accessories like pumps, fittings, and capper can add up quickly. Consider these money-saving tips:

Item Buy Improvise DIY Funnel Plastic funnel Cut bottle Roll paper Capper Bench capper Wood block 3D print parts Tubing Vinyl tubing Garden hose Assemble from parts Thermometer Instant-read Cooking thermometer Arduino monitor Stir Plate Basic model Small fan Build with magnet & motor

• Buy &#; Look for plastic or lightweight versions. Multi-use tools.
• Improvise &#; Repurpose kitchen, garage, and home items when possible.
• DIY &#; Print, build, or assemble your own accessories from raw materials.

Don&#;t overspend on accessories. Improvise and get creative with household items or tools from other hobbies before shelling out for specialized brewing accessories.

Strategies to Get Used Brewing Equipment for Free or Cheap

Used commercial gear can be an incredible value if you put in the work to recondition it. Try these tips for sourcing used equipment on the cheap:

• Check with local breweries &#; many upgrade equipment over time and sell old tanks and hardware.
• Talk to other homebrewers about spare equipment or group equipment shares.
• Watch for used equipment at homebrew club meetings and events.
• Check online auctions, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace for used listings.
• Sign up for brewery equipment liquidation lists to get news of large sales.
• Ask at pubs or bars if they have any old kegs or taps to get rid of.
• Inspect carefully for damage and test before purchasing. Factor in reconditioning costs.
• Clean thoroughly and replace any gaskets, o-rings, and poppets to ensure good seals and prevent contamination.
• Be patient and wait for good deals rather than overpaying. Having flexibility on sizes and brands helps.

With some perseverance, it&#;s possible to score kettles, kegs, burners, and chillers for a fraction of retail price if you&#;re willing to put in the elbow grease. Maintain rigorous cleaning protocols when repurposing commercial equipment for homebrew use.

Buying in Bulk to Save on New Brewing Hardware

If buying new equipment, consider going in on bulk purchases with other local homebrewers to get volume discounts.

Tips for coordinated group buys:

• Find others interested in buying equipment via homebrew clubs or online forums.
• Agree on common equipment brands and sizes to consolidate orders.
• Research vendor discounts for large orders &#; 5+ units typical.
• Compare shipping costs for single large shipment vs. individual purchases.
• Use online document to coordinate group buy and payments.
• Verify order details and tracking as a group once placed.
• Plan logistics of distributing gear once delivered.

Buying in bulk means compromising on brands and customization, but volume discounts of 10-20% quickly add up across large equipment purchases. Splitting shipping costs also helps reduce the overall expense.

Maximizing Value with Starter Brewing Kits

Brewing starter kits offer an affordable way to get a complete set of basic equipment to start brewing. Typical components include:

• 5 gallon brew kettle
• 5 gallon fermenting bucket
• Bottle/carboy filler
• Hydrometer and test jar
• Cleaning and sanitizing chemicals
• Bottling supplies &#; caps, tubing, bottle capper
• Basic brewing ingredients &#; malt, hops, yeast

Starter kits provide limited customization but maximize value across all the essential equipment. Shop around for the best kit components and upgrades:

• Prioritize kettles and fermenters &#; avoid the cheapest options
• Look for all stainless steel kettles to avoid corrosion
• Upgrade to a glass or PET carboy as secondary fermenter
• Select kits with name-brand cappers and burners when possible
• Consider kits with upgrades like wort chillers and auto-siphons
• Compare kits across multiple vendors on pricing and components

While basic, starter kits establish a solid foundation at an affordable price point. Slowly upgrade components over time starting with those that most impact beer quality.

Common Places to Buy Discount Brewing Equipment

New homebrewers are often overwhelmed by the available options for sourcing equipment. Here are some of the most common places to buy discounted new and used gear:

Homebrew Shops

The classic local homebrew shop is a good place to physically see and compare products. Staff expertise helps guide purchases. Look for occasional sales and open box discounts.

Online Homebrew Retailers

Online shops like Northern Brewer, MoreBeer, and Adventures in Homebrewing offer lower prices due to lower overhead. Look for coupon codes and bulk purchase discounts.

Manufacturer Direct

Some equipment like kettles and burners can be purchased directly from manufacturers, saving retail markups. Options are limited to their specific product line.

Restaurant Supply Stores

Commercial kitchen supply retailers offer lower prices on huge stockpots, sheet pans, and other brewing gear. Quality can be inconsistent.

**Hardware/Home Improvement Stores **

Big box stores sell cheaper propane burners, plastic fermenters, copper tubing for chillers along with other DIY equipment.

Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace

Used listings for equipment are common as homebrewers upgrade their systems. Inspect carefully before purchasing any used gear.

eBay/Other Online Auctions

eBay is a reputable source for discounted new and used equipment. Check seller ratings and details carefully before bidding.

Key Considerations When Buying Cheap Brewing Equipment

It&#;s tempting to buy the cheapest gear, but this can lead to equipment failures, inconsistent results, and replacing items quickly. When buying discounted equipment:

Evaluate durability &#; More expensive equipment lasts longer. Weigh replacement costs vs upfront savings on cheaper materials like plastic, thin stainless steel, etc.

Prioritize function &#; Avoid items with design flaws or missing features like valves even if cheaper. This leads to headaches later.

Inspect closely &#; Check for damages, wear, leaks, clogs, or corrosion on used equipment. Factor in repair and cleaning time.

Compare brand reputations &#; Research brand reliability and longevity. Pay more for trusted manufacturers of critical components like burners and kettles.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website brewing equipment solutions.