Pot Size Recommendation

Hi guys,

I'm currently doing 2.5 to 3.5 gallon AG brews on my stove.
I'm looking to get a bigger pot so that I can do 5 gallon batches.
I'm planning on buying a NG burner in the near future and brewing outside.
I'm not planning on doing 10 gallon batches, but who knows what the future holds.

I'm trying to choose between 2 pots. They are aluminum.
I can get 17 gallon for $90 or 8.5 gallon for $70.

Which should I get?

I guess in a related question, are these aluminum pots the way to go??
It looks like a lot of people are using old kegs as pots. Is that a better/cheaper alternative?

I recently bought an 8 gallon pot and it has quickly proven to be a wee bit small. I was doing a 6 gallon batch and had to add extract as wort boiled off. Wish I had a larger pot such as a 10 gallon.

Buy larger than you think you will ever use!

10 gal or bigger.

I got this and i'm happy with it for the price.
Austin Homebrew Supply

Is 17 gallon going to be too big for my 5 gallon batches?

Make sure whatever you get fits on your stove top, 17 gal. may not, unless you buy the burner also.

Instawares has a couple of 40 qt, ten gal alum pots for $40 or so. If you spend a total of $50 they ship free.

Aluminum Stock Pot - 40 Quart, Stock Pots, Cookware at Instawares

8.5 could be a tad small...17 would be good for ten gal+ batches.

How do the aluminum pots do in comparison to the stainless steel ones? I'm looking into a 60qt but I'm unsure which to get.

Brewer_Steve said:

Is 17 gallon going to be too big for my 5 gallon batches?

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I've done 5 gallon batches in a 15 gallon. It's not so bad. Gives you more room for bigger beers. And what you're going to realize after a time that a 10 gallon batch isn't that much more work...

GOOCHY said:

How do the aluminum pots do in comparison to the stainless steel ones? I'm looking into a 60qt but I'm unsure which to get.

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Stainless is more durable. If you can afford it, go stainless.

TopDog said:

Stainless is more durable. If you can afford it, go stainless.

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Ah yes I agree, however aluminum conducts heat faster and might be better IMO for stovetop operation where the heat source is marginal.

If you are brewing on the stovetop, a heavy aluminum pot is usually a better choice than stainless steel. They heat up faster, stay hotter, and are cheaper than SS (meaning you can afford to get the bigger pot for the same cost).

On my old stove, I couldn't boil more than about 4 gallons vigorously in my SS pot. As soon as I switched to aluminum, I could easily boil full volume. I also added some tweaks to improve stovetop boiling (see here).

I think 10 gals is a nice size for 5 gal batches. I still brew on the stovetop with a smaller pot (7.5 gals), which is totally possible as long as you use foam control drops.

wilserbrewer said:

Ah yes I agree, however aluminum conducts heat faster and might be better IMO for stovetop operation where the heat source is marginal.

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Missed that. Didn't see he was using a stove to boil. Can't disagree. Go with the aluminum and the smaller pot if you're planning on continuing to use the stove.

I second aluminum and Instawares. Great prices. I have a 40qt I do 5g batches in and a 80qt I usually do 10g though I have squeezed 15 out of it. Extract brewers usually don't need such big kettles but if you do AG then it is a necessity because of the boil-down.

The trick is to give yourself enough room to boil vigorously but avoid a boil-over. Hard to do if the wort is inches from the brim of the kettle. As the batches get bigger kettle size increases, but the required amount of "head-space" for boiling also increases exponentially.

So if I really wanted to do 15g batches easily all the time I would need something like a 100qt pot instead of the 80.

A caveat- going with such big kettles will probably rule out using a standard kitchen stove. Then a NG or propane burner is usually needed. As always upgrading brewery equipment usually requires additional purchases- like a wort chiller. LOL

TopDog said:

Stainless is more durable. If you can afford it, go stainless.

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How's that? I have a 1/4" aluminum pot that you could take a baseball bat to.

wilserbrewer said:

Instawares has a couple of 40 qt, ten gal alum pots for $40 or so. If you spend a total of $50 they ship free.

Aluminum Stock Pot - 40 Quart, Stock Pots, Cookware at Instawares

8.5 could be a tad small...17 would be good for ten gal+ batches.

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I checked this out, helluva deal, they also have a 50qt.

Is 4mm a good thickness?

I have heard that you should buy a pot that is twice the size of your expected batch size.

Yankeehillbrewer said:

I checked this out, helluva deal, they also have a 50qt.

Is 4mm a good thickness?

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I think I answered my own question, 4mm is a little over an 1/8th of an inch thick. That seems pretty thick to me and is twice as thick as comparable Bayou Classic pots. So this seems to be a pretty good pot.

Yankeehillbrewer said:

I checked this out, helluva deal, they also have a 50qt.

Is 4mm a good thickness?

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IMO the 4mm is probably fine and will work very well. Perhaps not like the heavy duty 1/4"...but for a fraction of the price I think you will be well served.
Use it w/in its limitations and it willl serve you well.

Where is the 17G pot for $90? I am looking to start doing 10G batches.

Go BIG or GTFO!

Even if you decide not to ever, ever do 10G batches, the bigger pot is still a better way to go. Want to make a 120IPA? Better have lots of extra space to boil that wort down. Want to make a Big Beer? Bigger pot makes it much easier.

Besides, you'll want to look at doing 10G batches at some point, even if you don't realize it just yet.

Go Big. Besides that big bad monsters looks good on brew day. lmao

Go big. Eventually you will probably wish you had more capacity or either quit brewing. With large pot you can fill your friends fermentors too.

Yankeehillbrewer said:

I checked this out, helluva deal, they also have a 50qt.

Is 4mm a good thickness?

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Thats pretty thin... even "economy" pots are 8mm thick