Size of stockpot?

It seems everyday I have a question regarding this new pasion of mine. It is easy to get hooked AND the advice I get from the forum is much better than trying to find it in a book. THANKS!!!

Question: I boiled my first extract batch in a stainless 3 gallon stockpot. I was very close to a boil over. I am now shopping for a larger stainless or enamel stockpot. If I get into all grain brewing, what size pot would I need? Is a 20 or 22 quart stock pot OK??? Thanks again...

When it comes to pots... bigger is better generally. If you plan on doing full boil/all grain batches you'll need at least, in my opinion a 32 quart pot. If you start with 6.5 gallons that will boil down to 5, a 32 quart pot would give you 1 1/2 gallons of space left over.

I hope this helps.

40 qt is the minimum I could recommend. Some day you may want to do a 90 minute boil and 32 just isn't going to cut it for a full boil. I have a 30 qt that came with my fryer. I can do stove top five gallon 60 minute boils in it. It boils off one gallon an hour. I like to do 5.5 gallon batches but can't with that small of pot.

I have a 26 qt turkey fryer and can squeeze a 5.25 gal batch out of it BUT the boil volume starts an inch below the lip of the kettle. Managing the boil over, which usually happens, is a pain so I'm looking for a 40 qt kettle.

40 qt.

absolutely.
Room for a rolling boil on 6.5 gallons of water (starting volume)

+1, 40 qt is bare minimum. One day you will decide on full boils, 90 min boils or BIAB and you will need extra space. I have 40 qt alluminium and I wish I had bigger one just to have some spare room. Look at this from economical perspective, if you buy small pot you WILL eventually outgrow it and buy a bigger one, why just don't purchase bigger one to begin with? Don't bother with SS, they overpriced. You can get aluminium 40-60 qt pot for like $50-60 at a restaurant supply store.

Go at least a 10, maybe a 15 gallon.

If money's a factor https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/best-bang-buck-kettle-222927/ There's some good options in there for saving money on a kettle.

paraordnance said:

+1, 40 qt is bare minimum. One day you will decide on full boils, 90 min boils or BIAB and you will need extra space. I have 40 qt alluminium and I wish I had bigger one just to have some spare room. Look at this from economical perspective, if you buy small pot you WILL eventually outgrow it and buy a bigger one, why just don't purchase bigger one to begin with? Don't bother with SS, they overpriced. You can get aluminium 40-60 qt pot for like $50-60 at a restaurant supply store.

Click to expand...

I've read that aluminum should be avoided. Is this incorrect?

NJtarheel said:

I've read that aluminum should be avoided. Is this incorrect?

Click to expand...

I call it BS. There is a sticky on Aluminium vs SS on this forum, read it.

FAQ: Aluminium Pots as Boil Kettles

I'd recommend 30qt or above. A 40qt gives you more head space so you don't have to worry about boil overs as much, but you can do 60 or 90 minute boil in a 30 qt and still transfer 5 gal to your fermenter. All depends on what your budget allows.

The only thing I've read about aluminum is to preboil water in the kettle to turn the inside black.

If you plan on going to 10 gallon batches, like most of us do, then you will want a minimum of 60 quarts. If your going to stick with 5 gallons, get a 40 quart pot, no boil overs, and the ability to have a bunch of pre-boil wort.

I went with 80 qts for my turkey fryer replacement. I switched to 10 gallons and plan on expanding to 15 or more. I dont brew very often so for me it was a no brainer. Aluminum by the way and no worries.

I am glad I checked here first! I would have gotten one too small for sure! thanks guys!

+1 on getting a 32qt, or larger, pot...

+1 on aluminum being perfectly fine for a brew pot/kettle too... Read the sticky about using one and you'll be fine (condition it before brewing in it the first time)...

I'm going to be getting a 60-80 quart pot soon (most likely aluminum from a restaurant supplier) to use for a 10 gallon batch. I need it for a planned 10 gallon batch on 2/26. Not sure how often I'll actually make 10 gallon batches, but at least I'll be prepared.

I am, also, looking to get a 40 quart brew kettle (haven't decided which one yet) that's fully setup with fittings and such.

I would recommend looking at getting a propane burner too. It makes boiling 6.5+ gallons of wort a hell of a lot easier (and getting to a boil far faster) than using your stove. That's also on my list for picking up this month (ordering it next week)...

One more item you'll want to get, if you don't already have it... A wort chiller. I made an IC from 20' of 3/8" copper tubing (utility grade) and it works great using tap water in MA... So much easier than trying to use cold water/ice baths in a sink/tub...

Ditto 40 as a minimum, you won't regret having the extra freeboard.