Brew pot

I am looking at brew pots for my first brew. I will likely be doing a partial boil to start off, but I figure I may want to experiment in the future. I am doing 5 gallon batches. I am considering 6, 8, and 10 gallon aluminum pots. The price between them is negligible. I am looking for advice from brewers with more experience on what my best option is. Thank you in advance for the advice.

go with the biggest pot that you can... I ended up buying a 52qt aluminum pot after using a 7.5 gallon pot that came with my turkey fryer... the turkey fryer pot didnt contain full boils as well but the 52 qt version is awesome and I can probably do a 10 gallon boil in it (if watch carefully and using fermcap)

Also with the aluminum, make sure you oxidize it first by filling it up all the way and boiling it for 20 minutes to create the protective oxidation layer and never use abrasives on it, just a soft sponge to clean. My .02

howbrewyoudo said:

I am looking at brew pots for my first brew. I will likely be doing a partial boil to start off, but I figure I may want to experiment in the future. I am doing 5 gallon batches. I am considering 6, 8, and 10 gallon aluminum pots. The price between them is negligible. I am looking for advice from brewers with more experience on what my best option is. Thank you in advance for the advice.

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If storage space and price is no concern, I don't know of a reason not to get the 10. But I did my first full boil (5 gallon batch) this weekend on an 8 and it worked fine. 6 would not be big enough.

Also consider any mashing requirements. If you plan to do high gravity AG you might actually need a bigger pot than what you would need for a full boil.

it really depends on your stove do you have electric or gas is your gas stove really nice? i havnt been brewing long but my electric stove wont boil 5 gallons so i finally purchased a turkey fryer now 6 gallons isnt a problem

look for a guy named spike here.. it has been said he has some nice pots and good prices..

here he is

http://spikebrewing.com/products/15-gallon-home-brew-kettle-2-vertical-couplers

I usually brew with a 5G and a 2.5G. I mini-mash in the 5G and it will still fit in my oven to maintain temp. Then I dunk-sparge in the 2.5G. While the 5G is doing the 60min boil, I bring the 2.5G to a boil then stick it on ice and combine the two at the end so I have a head-start cooling down. I have a 10G but it takes forever to heat up and forever to cool down.

My very first brew was an extract kit with steeping grains and all I had at that time was the 2.5G pot, and that turned out to be one of my best beers!

I'm not saying that you should do what I do, but it works for me. I just want to point out that there are a lot of factors to consider and you need to figure out what will work for you.

I have this one. one of the best brewing investments I have made I normally do 5 gallon batches, But will occasionally do 10 gallon batches and it handles both easily. When purchasing durable and expensive equipment buy the last one you will ever need instead of upgrading every year or so as your needs advance. Something I learned the hard way.

http://www.homebrewstuff.com/brewin...art/15-gallon-kettle-w-valve-thermometer.html

Those Spike Brewing pots are nice and I hear great things about his CS.

If your looking to save a few $$ and still get a nice heavy pot look at this one below...using aluminum is fine you just have to oxidize it first by boiling water in it for an hour. Also you cant use StarSan in aluminum

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHKL68/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00



Also...what source of heat are you using? If your doing stove top brews 5 gallon batches may be tough. Its important to bring your wort up to a rigorous boil. Your stove top may have a tough time getting 6 to 6.5 gallons to boil. A heatstick could help with that.

So I am thinking a ten gallon pot on the outdoor gas stove turkey fryer set up may be the way to go, but will I need a wort chiller to bring down the temp of my wort with a pot that big?

You will need a chiller.. I think I built my first chiller out of copper for less than 40usd and it is worth every penny. If not it will take 1 to 2 hours to cool the wart under 75deg, If I was going to build a new one, the in hose would be longer to get more into a pre-chiller.

I got one of these for my 5 gal batches:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/32-qt-heavy-duty-stainless-steel-stockpot-with-cover/922SSPOT35.html

Its beefy and has a clad bottom. Works great.

Is 11 gallons enough, I have this one
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VXHKMC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
works great!
also a great deal on a burner
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JXYQ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

62 qt SS $139. Free Shipping. No valve

Weldless Kettle valve $13.49

Add a weldless sight glass from Brew Hardware

Does anyone have a preference between aluminum and Stainless?....I hear aluminum can put off flavors in your beer. Does anyone have experience with this?

Aluminum works great as long as you have the oxidation layer built up. No off putting flavored whatsoever. Just don't use abrasives to clean and you will be good to go.

Go for the 10 gallon pot, I was looking at slightly larger pots for my extract batches but for the price I figured I'd get something that would allow me to do biab batches and such down the road. It's aluminum and works great - no off flavours

BrazenHeadBeer said:

Those Spike Brewing pots are nice and I hear great things about his CS.

If your looking to save a few $$ and still get a nice heavy pot look at this one below...using aluminum is fine you just have to oxidize it first by boiling water in it for an hour. Also you cant use StarSan in aluminum

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHKL68/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00



Also...what source of heat are you using? If your doing stove top brews 5 gallon batches may be tough. Its important to bring your wort up to a rigorous boil. Your stove top may have a tough time getting 6 to 6.5 gallons to boil. A heatstick could help with that.

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