what is the best home made beer making equipment?

Answer 1

It depends on the scale in which you want to brew.
If you want to do the occasional 5 gallon batch every few weeks or months, you can get most of what you need at your local home brewing store or home depot. A food grade 5 or 6 gallon bucket, and 5 gallon glass carboy, some cleaning and sanitizing supplies (from the brew store), and your ingredients (malt, yeast, etc.).

If you're looking at a larger scale...perhaps 10 to 30 gallons every weekend, then you definitely need more involved equipment if you're going to get it done with any efficiency. Some of my favorite rigs for home brew are here:
http://morebeer.com/browse.html?category_id=1126&keyword=&x=1&y=1&PHPSESSID=bdd1d64a3e18d0fa4e04cef3a7a24cac

Answer 2

Don't have names because there are several, I would say stay away from Mr. Beer and stuff like that. They don't make near enough and cost about the same as regular kits. I have seen starter kits start around $80+. These kits usually come with 2 six gallon food grade buckets one or two plastic carboys (plastic is recommended in case of a burst) hygrometer, pump, a spout and some other essentials. With these kits and a few additional helpful, but not necessary, items you can be brewing beer in a matter of minutes. You can also find beer kits in any variety from pilsner all the way to super dark Russian stouts. These kits will contain all your grains, barley, hops,and other items to brew 5 gallons of beer. That comes out to about $0.45 per 12oz beer.