Mash paddle ($26.95, morebeer.com) Takes the work out of working your mash.

Immersion wort chiller ($48.95, morebeer.com) Simple and most practical wort chiller.

Swing-top bottles ($19.95, morebeer.com) Sixteen-ounce Grolsch-type bottles that eliminate the need for caps and a capper.

Diffusion stone ($13.50, morebeer.com) Can be used to efficiently carbonate a keg and flood your wort with critical oxygen.

Auto siphon ($9.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) Starts your racking siphon with a simple piston action.

6.5-gallon carboy ($23.00, www.midwestsupplies.com) Scratch-resistant glass is useful for primary and large batch secondary fermentation.

15-gallon demi-john ($49.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) Massive glass fermenter that’s just the right size for a full kettle of wort.

16.5-gallon plastic fermenter ($38.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) Economical, transportable fermentor for a kettle full o’ wort.

Aeration wand ($33.90, www.williamsbrewing.com) Solid metal tube for aerating and carbonating, that can be boiled to sanitize.

24-inch plastic stirring paddle ($3.50, www.midwestsupplies.com) An inexpensive, handy paddle that’s indispensable around the brew house.

Double-tap jockey box ($310.00, www.micromatic.com) The breweries use ‘em, why not you? No need to chill your kegs of homebrew with a jockey box.

1-litre Erlenmeyer flask ($12.90, www.williamsbrewing.com) A key piece of equipment for making yeast starters: boil, sterilize and grow yeast in one vessel.

Brew British Real Ale ($16.75, www.amazon.com) From ale expert Graham Wheeler, English brewing art at its finest.

Classic Style Series books ($11.95-$14.95, www.breworganic.com) For the exacting brewer and history buff, these are a must.

Brew Your Own Magazine ($24.95, www.byo.com) Get a year’s worth of homebrewing suggestions and expert advice delivered to your mailbox.

Brew Like A Monk ($21.29, www.thegrape.net) Love Trappist beer? Make your own easily with this book by noted beer aficionado Stan Hieronymus.

Designing Great Beers ($19.95, www.beerbooks.com) The most comprehensive stylistic brewing book on the market, hands down. By Ray Daniels

Farmhouse Ales ($18.39, www.thegrape.net) If the secular, earthy, farmhouse Belgian brews are your thing, then this book is too. By Phil Markowski.

Radical Brewing ($19.95, www.thegrape.net) Take your homebrew to another level with help from the mad scientist/artist himself, Randy Mosher.

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing ($13.45, www.beerbooks.com) The original guide from the guru himself, Charlie Papazian, it is still an ultra-practical but whimsical classic.

The Homebrewer’s Garden ($14.95, www.thegrape.net) Grow hops, use herbs and spices, and otherwise make your brew even more personal with this treatise.

Wine thief ($8.09, www.thegrape.net) Swipe beer from your fermenter for gravity reading and samples to monitor its progress.

Bulk pellet hops (www.hopsdirect.com) Hops by the pound, save $$$ on your favorite varieties.

Dual gauge CO2 regulator ($59.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) A necessity for draft systems.

Dial thermometer ($9.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) Instantaneous readings for wort or mash. Has a handy clamp, too.

Dip tube brush ($4.50, www.williamsbrewing.com) Clean those siphon and dip tubes, where the bugs hide.

Ferrari floor corker ($109.90, www.williamsbrewing.com) Universal corker for both elegant cork-and-cage Belgian beers and wine.

Floating thermometer ($5.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) The standard dairy thermometer with a C and F scale.

Winemaker Magazine ($22.00, www.winemakermag.com) Excellent source of information for the home winemaker.

Basic bottle capper ($14.29, www.homebrewadventures.com) Simple, economical capper that stores easily and lasts forever.

Counter pressure bottle filler ($49.95, www.homebrewadventures.com) Bottle beer directly from your keg for crystal clear beer. Handy for take-out or competitions.

Full must wine kits: pinot grigio, riesling, merlot ($89.69-$103.09, www.ebrew.com) Wine fixin’ ready to use, no diluting necessary.

Flip top growler ($12.95, www.breworganic.com) Handsome 2-litre growler that brings elegance to your brew.

Fermometer strip thermometer ($2.35, www.homebrewadventures.com) Just stick it on the side of your fermenter to monitor your fermentation temperature.

Triple scale hydrometer ($5.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) No matter what your level, this is perhaps your most important gadget.

Brewing calculator ($7.95, morebeer.com) Simple slide rule device to help balance and formulate your recipes.

Budget refractometer ($42.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) Make quick gravity readings without the hefty price.

Four-gallon stainless steel pot ($32.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) Every mini-mash and extract brewer must have at least one of these.

Beer gun bottle filler ($69.95, www.williamsbrewing.com) Bottle crystal clear beer without the hassle of counter-pressure.

The Carbonator ($15.65, www.homebrewadventures.com) Use to pressurize standard soda bottles after filling with beer. Simply screw on and gas up.

The Compleat Meadmaker ($18.90, www.williamsbrewing.com) Ready to move on to mead? This book tells it all.

Winemaking starter kit ($69.95, www.homebrewery.com) Inexpensive, complete kit to turn you into a winemaker.

Bargain wine kits ($60.00, www.homebrewery.com) Each kit makes 30 high-quality bottles of wine at about 2 bucks a bottle.

The New Brewing Lager Beer ($16.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) From the lagermeister himself, Greg Noonan, to help you make those wunderbar German brews you love.

The Therminator wort chiller ($189.95, www.midwestsupplies.com) Chill your entire batch in 5 minutes with this bad boy.

Real cask ale supplier (variable, www.ukbrewing.com) How groovy is real ale? UK Brewing has everything you need to cask your own.

Fruit puree for beer and wine ($15.2-17.50, www.beer-wine.com) Make fruited lambic-style beers, fruit beers and wine with these ready-to-use all-natural purees.

American Homebrewers Association ($38.00, www.beertown.org)Join the most venerable of all the homebrewers organizations and get Zymurgy magazine plus other perks.

Complete ingredient kits ($26.00-$50.00, www.homebrewadventures.com) Dozens of kits that have everything you need to make an outta sight beer from scratch.

Extreme Brewing ($19.99, www.beerbooks.com) The Pied Piper of extreme brewing himself, Sam Calagione, shares his wisdom.

Safale US-56 brewing yeast ($1.90, www.breworganic.com) The most popular American ale yeast is now in dry form. No need to worry about yeast starters anymore