Is a 15 Quart Brew Pot large enough

Im looking to do extract brewing and mini mash brewing due to the space in my apartment im wondering if a 15 quart brew pot is large enough. i will buy a 5 gallon one later down the road but for now is a 15 quart big enough to do what i need?

Thanks

Yeah, 15 quarts is a perfect size for mini mash and extract brewing as long as your goal is not to exceed about three gallons a batch. You really need to have some room at the top for protein break and hops additions or you risk boil overs. Remember to remove your pot from the burner when you add your extract or you risk scorching it.

For a list of interesting things you can do with a mini mash and one gallon batches : http://www.tedbrews.com/search/label/_a list of one gallon batches

Im trying to do 5 gallon batches i guess ill just have to buy the larger brew kettle and be done with it

You can do larger batches with a smaller kettle, but you will have to add more hops into the boil. The idea would be that you use more extract in the kettle, and then dilute with water. At high gravities hops have less potential however so you need to add more to get the bitterness out of them.

Most homebrew shops will sell a 5 gallon kettle for about 40 bucks. Shop around if it seems like you are going to pay more than that.

That pot is plenty big if you not doing AG. At 3.75 gal you can boil 2.5 and dilute after boiling. This will also help you get down to pitching temps quickly because you can chill the addition water.
When you buy your new pot go for 7.5-8 gallon.

Yes it will work. When I started, I used a 3 gallon (12 qt) pot that we had in the kitchen. It worked great for 2.5 gallon partial boils, then I would top off with tap water in the fermenter. I made some very good beers with this setup (both extract w/steeping grains and partial mash). You will need to modify the hop schedule to accomodate the smaller boil (Beersmith can help).

One thing I wish I knew then: get some Fermcap! This will virtually eliminate boilovers and make your smaller pot much more forgiving.

Also, keep in mind that you may be limited by what you can boil by your stove, not necessarily your pot size. My big gas range can easily boil 6.5 gallons of wort (to get to 5 gallons finished), but most people with electric stoves can't. Even some gas stoves can only boil 2-3 gallons.

I'd try it with water first, to see the biggest amount you can boil, and then work from there.

Sry to disagree nolabel, but a 15 qt pot is plenty for even 5 gallon batches using extracts. Heck, even steeping grains will work. You only really need 2 qts of space at the top if you are careful. I have done many 5 gallon batches with an 11qt pot for the boil even. But, to each their own I suppose.

cheesecake said:

Im trying to do 5 gallon batches i guess ill just have to buy the larger brew kettle and be done with it

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You need to be careful here... it is possible that your stove top may not be able to bring 8 gallons to a rolling boil. I suggest sticking to Aluminum rather than stainless, it will work much better.

FYI - the starting point for boil-off rate is 15% plus losses to trub and whatnot; generally speaking you can count of boiling 7-8 gallons for a 5 gallon batch. You will need some lip if you do this, so the minimum size pot I would buy is 10 gallons.

Again, you might not be able to bring that to a boil.

I do 5 gallon AG batches in a 16 quart pot. I know I shouldn't be able to, but I do it anyway. I put 3 1/2 gallons into my 'big' pot to boil and add the hops to it, then I boil the other 2 1/2 or so gallons in a smaller pot for a few minutes just to kill off anything nasty. Extract means you don't absolutely have to boil the full volume, so you'll be fine. Just don't add the extract while the pot's on a hot burner and stir really well before you put the heat back on it.

I have a stew pot that we use for stews and i brought about 3 and a half gallons to a rolling boil it took a while but it did it with the lid on then i took the lid off and it kept the rolling boil going without a problem.

Just thought I would mention, I was at Winco last night and they have their tamale pots in now.

13 gallons for $35 with the lid of course. This is what I bought last fall to start my all grain brewing, worked great for what it was.

Fermcap drops are almost a MUST for those using smaller kettles too. You can boil more wort vigorously without having to worry about a boilover.
-Me

humann_brewing said:

Just thought I would mention, I was at Winco last night and they have their tamale pots in now.

13 gallons for $35 with the lid of course. This is what I bought last fall to start my all grain brewing, worked great for what it was.

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Wait wait, what?? I need a big pot! Can you PM me with details on how I get one of these??

RedIrocZ-28 said:

Wait wait, what?? I need a big pot! Can you PM me with details on how I get one of these??

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We have a lot of hispanics in the area here, so this time of the year must be the time to do tamales or a lot of cooking that needs a huge pot at any rate.

If you have a grocery store that is geared toward mexican food, try calling to see if they have any large aluminum pots.

Good thing I speak Spanish.

I picked up a 20 quart tamale pot from target for 20 bucks they also had the 32 quat for the same price.

a couple inexpensive options from amazon, i have both and they work great for me

8 gal
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00194DVJI/ref=oss_T15_product

5 gal
http://www.amazon.com/Vasconia-20-Quart-Aluminum-Stock-Pot/dp/B00194J3RM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1257900585&sr=1-10

I started with the 20qt pot for my 5 gal extract batches and was able to boil 3 gallons of wort on my crappy old electric stove.

YooperBrew said:

Also, keep in mind that you may be limited by what you can boil by your stove, not necessarily your pot size. My big gas range can easily boil 6.5 gallons of wort (to get to 5 gallons finished), but most people with electric stoves can't. Even some gas stoves can only boil 2-3 gallons.

I'd try it with water first, to see the biggest amount you can boil, and then work from there.

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+1 to this
Personally I'd go with a 10 Gallon pot.. Full boils is the way to goeven with extract.
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I cant boil 5 gallons on my stove i dont think

SNB said:

a couple inexpensive options from amazon, i have both and they work great for me

8 gal
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00194DVJI/ref=oss_T15_product

5 gal
http://www.amazon.com/Vasconia-20-Quart-Aluminum-Stock-Pot/dp/B00194J3RM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1257900585&sr=1-10

I started with the 20qt pot for my 5 gal extract batches and was able to boil 3 gallons of wort on my crappy old electric stove.

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Thanks! I bookmarked that page, and when I have a few spare bucks, will make use of it.