Home brewing is an art that people have practiced for thousands of years. It may be intimidating to break into this age-old tradition, but every home brewer started somewhere. You can simplify your first experience with craft brewing by purchasing a home brew kit and expanding on the equipment you receive in this kit. Let’s look at what a home brew kit is and how you can benefit from adding brew safe PVC piping products to make tasteful beer.
What Is a Home Brew Kit?
People all over the country are discovering the pleasure and pride in brewing their own beer at home. These hobbyists understand the importance of having the right equipment to make delicious craft beer, but they didn’t fine-tune their brewing process overnight.
It takes time to understand all the mechanics behind brewing, so that’s why home brewing starter kits exist for novice craft brewers like yourself. Home brew kits include everything you need to begin your home brewing journey, including cleaning materials, bottling and transferring equipment, fermentation vessels and equipment, and measuring equipment. By using one of these kits, you are participating in a 9,000-year tradition of brewing at home for an intimate community.
If you’re curious about making your own craft beer and want to see if it’s for you, you should get a home brew kit. It’s an affordable way to obtain all the supplies and equipment you need. You’ll find that anyone can make good beer – as long as you follow the instructions. But that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment. As you get used to the brewing process, you can start creating your own or tweaking existing recipes. Over time, you’ll grow a sense of pride over having made something yourself, and you’ll be able to form new friendships with a large community of homebrewers.
How to Use PVC Piping in Your Home Brew Kit
Throughout the brewing process, you will use tubing to transfer the beer. For example, you’ll need to move the wort to the fermenter, from the fermenter to the bottling bucket, and from the bottling bucket to the bottle. Many home brewers choose plastic tubing, such as PVC (or polyvinyl chloride) pipes in various brewing applications, such as the chilling process, because it is inexpensive, abrasion and corrosion resistant, and lightweight for easy use and storage. Brewers also commonly choose PVC piping over glass because it tends to have larger openings, making them easier to clean than glass piping; plus, there’s less of a risk of injury if you drop a plastic pipe versus a glass pipe.
Craft brewers also enjoy incorporating PVC pipes into their home brew kits because they are flexible in use. For example, PVC is often used to build personalized DIY brewing equipment, such as a pipe fermenter or a carboy and keg washer. The options for PVC in home brewing are truly endless.
Benefits of Using PVC in a Home Brew Kit
Brewing hosing and tubing are available in various materials, but vinyl or PVC is a popular choice among craft brewers for several reasons. We discussed that PVC is inexpensive and corrosion-resistant, but it offers many more benefits, making it a valuable piece of equipment to incorporate into a home brew kit. Here are some additional benefits:
PVC Isn’t a Health Risk
Many people are hesitant to use plastic piping in food and drink applications, and you may have the same concerns about using PVC piping in your brewing. However, when PVC is used in applications under 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it does not pose a health risk. So even when your beer has a slightly plastic flavor, you don’t have to worry about harming your health. If you notice a plastic taste in your beer, you can switch out the piping for new ones – this often takes care of the problem.
PVC Makes Cleaning Easy
One of the biggest reasons home brewers enjoy PVC piping so much is because of its relatively low price. Because of this, they can simply switch out the piping for new piping instead of cleaning it when it gets dirty. This saves them lots of time since there are so many other components of the brewing kit that need to be cleaned.
PVC Has Watertight Joints
Of course, during the home brewing process, you’ll handle a lot of liquids. For this reason, you’ll want to ensure you’re using tubing that has watertight seals. PVC is your solution! When you use the same sized Schedule 40 PVC pipes and fittings, you’ll have watertight joints that will not allow liquids to leak out.
PVC vs. CPVC: Which One Should You Use in Home Brewing?
Because PVC can only tolerate temperatures up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, this type of tubing is often used during the chilling process. Home brewers often use CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) piping and fittings for other applications where the temperatures are higher. CPVC can resist temperatures up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Whether you choose PVC or CPVC for your home brewing applications ultimately depends on the temperatures these pipes will be exposed to. If you’re using piping for the chilling process, you are better off purchasing PVC piping because it’s cheaper. If you want to use the piping for hot applications, it will be worth it to invest in the slightly more expensive CPVC.
Brew Great Craft Beer with a Home Brew Kit and PVC Piping
As you start your craft brewing journey, make sure you are equipped with everything you need by using a home brew kit and adding PVC piping into this collection of materials. By incorporating PVC into your home brew kit, you’ll be enjoying the benefits of cost savings, easy cleanup, and dependability. With these pieces of brewing equipment, you are able to create whatever you put your mind to. So what are you waiting for? Get your home brew kit and PVC piping, and start brewing today!
Author Bio:
Mark Ligon is the Marketing Manager at PVC Fittings Online, a leading supplier of consumer based PVC products; including piping, fittings, valves, plumbing supplies and accessories. Mark has a depth of experience working with individualized products like CPVC, CTS, Schedule 40, Furniture Grade and more.
