Advantages to full boils...

What are the advantages of a full boil?

I see many advantages to partial boil such as:

Cheaper pot
Quicker to bring to boil
Easier to handle
Can get to cooler temps easier when mixing with cooler water

You get better hop utilazation (sp). Also less carmalaztion of the sugers is a benifet. It's the only way you can boil when doing all-grain.

jackle said:

Cheaper pot
Quicker to bring to boil
Easier to handle
Can get to cooler temps easier when mixing with cooler water

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Which is exactly why partial boils are popular. Full boils give you better hops utilization and a lighter color as a result of less carmelization.

Also by boiling whole volume of wort you sanitize it where adding water later you have a chance of contamination.

:rockin: What they said.....:rockin:

IMHO, full volume boils are one of the best things you can do to improve your beers, regardless of how you are coloring your water......

Skol!

Anyone know where I can get a pot that can handle full 5-gal boils and which doesn't cost way too much for someone who is about to try to pay for a wedding?

Evan! said:

Anyone know where I can get a pot that can handle full 5-gal boils and which doesn't cost way too much for someone who is about to try to pay for a wedding?

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What's your budget? Keep an eye out for turkey fryer sales at Walmart/Target/etc. You should be able to get a 7.5 gallon pot *and* a propane burner for under $50.

-walker

great idea...

7.5 gallons is probably as small as you can get away with for full boils; I'd keep my eyes open for something a little bigger. I bought a fryer not to long ago that's about that size, and I'm already thinking it's a little on the *little* side.

I agree. I just started using a turkey fryer with an 8.5 gallon pot, and it is a little on the small side as well. I need to keep a sprayer handy to knock down boil overs.

-Todd

Had a turkey fryer on hand with a 7.5 gallon that will always smell like hot turkey in peanut oil - found a new 10 gallon aluminum pot at Caputo's Produce in Chicago northwest suburbs with a lid and a canning bottom for $28 - gave it a Simple Green wash, then a 10 gallon water boil with a quarter cup of lemon juice - two or three all grain batches later (with no boilovers) and I'm a happy camper - and it's REALLY wide, making whirlpools is now really effective...

Skol!

Evan! said:

Anyone know where I can get a pot that can handle full 5-gal boils and which doesn't cost way too much for someone who is about to try to pay for a wedding?

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Why don't you just ask for one as a wedding gift??

Honey, what should we get as a wedding gift.
Hmm.. it looks like they've registered for some cookware at Williams-Sonoma...

Le Creuset Keggel, Plum

It's traditional for homebrewers in the Hamptons to boil the full volume wort in large converted half-barrel kettles filled with artesian water. A staple for summertime entertaining, our keggel reporduction is made of lightweight plum hued enameled steel. Equally useful for cooking corn on the cob, pasta and full volume wort boils, the durable pot is easy to clean, thanks to its baked-enamel finish.

- $8000.00

Dishwasher safe when using the Williams-Sonoma walk-in dishwasher ($28,000.00 installed.)


IIRC, I think that Yuri got one that was fairly versitile for the price.

ha... i found a turky frier at target for 32 bucks with a 7.5... think i should jump on it?

aekdbbop said:

ha... i found a turky frier at target for 32 bucks with a 7.5... think i should jump on it?

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I would.

-walker

I did my first full boil last night. I've got an 8 gal pot and managed to bring it to a boil on my kitchen stove . I placed the pot over two burners, so it went quicker than I expected.

I'm curious to see how it turns out.

I use an el-cheapo 40 qt enamel pot I bought at wallmart for about $30 some time ago. I though aluminum was not preferred since highly acidic wort attacks the aluminum, which isn't good. We all know Aluminum creates a protective skin, aluminium oxide, but how does that hold up to the wort? Aluminum is a very soft metal, so I am guessing it is always coming off when you move a spoon across the bottom of your pot, or scrub it, etc.

Not only do full boils make better beer but longer boils also help. By boiling longer (90 min) you are removing more of the volitile compounds that contribute to off flavors (DMS).

I do 3 hour boils now and it really does help clean up the beer.

tdriver said:

I use an el-cheapo 40 qt enamel pot I bought at wallmart for about $30 some time ago. I though aluminum was not preferred since highly acidic wort attacks the aluminum, which isn't good. We all know Aluminum creates a protective skin, aluminium oxide, but how does that hold up to the wort? Aluminum is a very soft metal, so I am guessing it is always coming off when you move a spoon across the bottom of your pot, or scrub it, etc.

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Yeah, but enamel leeches out into the wort and causes toe cancer so it's a tradeoff. ;-)

Bobby