Which Brew Pot would you choose?

Hello all,

I have been researching a bit and narrowed things down to two brew pots. Basically, I am wanting to stay under the two hundred dollar range but also want to be able to do a 10 gal batch if need be in the future.

What are the pros and cons of both of these pots:

http://brewhemoth.com/penrose-kettle

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085ZODVO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Thanks for all your help!
Doug

I don't have a Penrose kettle but from the quality of my Brewhemoth, I vote for Penrose.

But I would suggest a keggle, super easy to cut open and damn near indestructible.

Niether.... I'd buy this one....

60 Qt Induction Ready Stainless Steel Stock Pot w/Cover
http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/update-international/sps-60/p5177.aspx


$144.99

I bought a 15 gallon SS kettle from Concorde kitchen on eBay and it was $95 delivered to my door and I absolutely love it!

100 bucks here

http://www.ebay.com/itm/60-QT-Quart.../380447472929?pt=Cookware&hash=item58946fbd21

The main advantage of the behemoth is that it has a pre drilled ball valve. I am not much of a diyer when it comes to doing stuff like that. How often would I use that. I guess my syphone would work to get the wort out

That is what I used on my restaurant supply brew pot for three years.....

It worked great and no valve to clean, leak, hole to drill or punch!!

I would go for Penrose if I didn't already have 3 keggles.

Why not get this keggle with a tig-welded coupler and just add a ball valve? Probably more durable than either of the above and similar price.

http://spikebrewing.com/collections/15-5-gallon-keggles/products/15-5-gallon-keggle

dunerunner's suggestion is way better than the pots on ebay. His suggestion has a 3 layer bottom, including a 5mm aluminum layer, surrounded by stainless steel. The ones on ebay are just 1.0mm or 1.2mm thick bottoms.

QsnotPs said:

dunerunner's suggestion is way better than the pots on ebay. His suggestion has a 3 layer bottom, including a 5mm aluminum layer, surrounded by stainless steel. The ones on ebay are just 1.0mm or 1.2mm thick bottoms.

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OK, yes agreed it is a better pot, however at a cost! With tax and shipping that pot is $181 or $171 w/out tax...the ebay pot is $100. Big difference IMO to pay for tri-clad bottom, something you don't need.

you get what you pay for.

I picked this one up on sale for $105 with free shipping and absolutely love this pot for the price. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VXD94A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 While it's true you get what you pay for, it really comes down to weighing if the extra quality is worth the premium to you....

Silverbullet said:

While it's true you get what you pay for, it really comes down to weighing if the extra quality is worth the premium to you....

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In my opinion, it is not about "extra quality". A clad bottom pot is intended to distribute heat evenly so as to not burn heavier thicker sauces and soups while cooking. For boiling wort, a clad bottom is not needed, and may take additional time and energy to reach temperature / boil. Yes, to some extent you get what you pay for...but paying for something you don't need serves no purpose....JMO guys...cheers!

I have two 10 qt stock pots in my kitchen, almost identical, one clad and one not....the clad pot takes considerably longer to boil water for pasta than the non clad. For simmering chili or tomato suace, gimme the clad pot, for boiling beer, straight bottom would be my choice.

wilserbrewer said:

In my opinion, it is not about "extra quality". A clad bottom pot is intended to distribute heat evenly so as to not burn heavier thicker sauces and soups while cooking. For boiling wort, a clad bottom is not needed, and may take additional time and energy to reach temperature / boil. Yes, to some extent you get what you pay for...but paying for something you don't need serves no purpose....JMO guys...cheers!

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Agreed, and that is why I purchased the kettle I linked above.

if you need to go cheaper aluminum pots work fine, and they have the advantage of less weight, are easier to drill and as already mentioned cheaper. The down side is you need to condition them before use and are easier to dent.

sonex said:

if you need to go cheaper aluminum pots work fine, and they have the advantage of less weight, are easier to drill and as already mentioned cheaper. The down side is you need to condition them before use and are easier to dent.

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I paid less than $40 for my cheap aluminum thin walled 13 gallon kettle. I could buy 3 for what the others listed above cost should it fail. Thinner boils faster. If I spring a leak soon then I screwed up. My bet is it will work fine for at least 5 years. If that happens I am well ahead of the game.

The quality pots will last for several lifetimes. If my son gets into the hobby I will consider them but for now cheap is better. They would probably be sold for $30 at a yard sale or on craiglist after I die anyway.

smokewater said:

I paid less than $40 for my cheap aluminum thin walled 13 gallon kettle. .

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Haha, yes same experience here...I have an 11 gal SS bayou classic, a 15 gal SS Volrath kettle and a 20 gal heavy heavy commercial kettle I believe to be Volrath as well...but more often than not my favorite kettle is a chinese 15 gal aluminum 4 mil thick (plenty thick btw) pot that I picked up for $43 shipped. It works great, is light and easy to handle and clean, and will last forever unless dropped from the second floor or hit by a bus! Aluminum kettles are so under appreciated, anyone has brewed with both alum, and SS can appreciate how well they work and the advantages other than price. My aluminum kettle gets the most use...that says a lot.

Personally I don't like boiling in the keggle. If I had a stand and pump maybe it would be a different story but that is $$$ compared to a decent straight walled kettle. Much lighter and can still be lifted when doing 5 gallon batches. If your doing ten gallons then maybe its a wash.

The Concord is similar to the kettle I have. Its pretty thin gauged metal. Isn't much of a problem as long as your careful not to dent it. After drilling and attaching a ball valve it was a little disappointing that the wall flexes when turning the valve. Still not too much of a problem and once the valve is broken in a bit more should't be an issue.

Where did this talk of aluminum come from? OP has two SS kettles he was trying to chose between which turned into expensive SS vs. cheaper SS pots. Aluminum isn't even part of the equation. There are hundreds of thread on aluminum vs. SS. Personally, I'm not sure why anyone with a SS and Al kettle of the same size would prefer Al....if for no other reason than all the black crap that gets all over the pot....

Silverbullet said:

Where did this talk of aluminum come from? OP has two SS kettles he was trying to chose between which turned into expensive SS vs. cheaper SS pots. Aluminum isn't even part of the equation. There are hundreds of thread on aluminum vs. SS. Personally, I'm not sure why anyone with a SS and Al kettle of the same size would prefer Al....if for no other reason than all the black crap that gets all over the pot....

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It's not possible to have a "Which SS kettle should I buy" thread without someone mentioning Aluminum ha ha

SpikeBrewing said:

It's not possible to have a "Which SS kettle should I buy" thread without someone mentioning Aluminum ha ha

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Just like it's not possible to have a bottling thread without someone mentioning kegging, or a secondaries thread without someone mentioning primary-only. It's just a fact of life on HBT

not to be rude, but I had my heart set on SS. I already have a aluminum one. I actually did even more research and finally went with one that had a sandwich bottom. I got this from Austin Home Brew. Thanks for all the input!

drunde77 said:

The main advantage of the behemoth is that it has a pre drilled ball valve. I am not much of a diyer when it comes to doing stuff like that. How often would I use that. I guess my syphone would work to get the wort out

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you won't regret having a valve on your kettle.

Get the winware 60qt stainless pots, you will not be dissapointed they are heavy gauge 18 gauge ss and tri clad bottoms. I welded on my own couplers and you could not tell the difference between my kettle and morebeers kettles. I personally think that morebeer must get their kettles from the same supplier because they look identical and I've seen them both in person.

So if you can't weld, you could always go with weld less fittings, and these pots are only $130 on amazon, just make sure you don't get the alum ones.

super sweet pot sr20steve.
I'm going with the 22 qt from walmart for $60. It has a lid and the tri-clad bottom.

Unless you plan on cooking spaghetti sauce or chili in your brewpot, clad bottoms are a total waste of money.

Silverbullet said:

Where did this talk of aluminum come from? OP has two SS kettles he was trying to chose between which turned into expensive SS vs. cheaper SS pots. Aluminum isn't even part of the equation. There are hundreds of thread on aluminum vs. SS. Personally, I'm not sure why anyone with a SS and Al kettle of the same size would prefer Al....if for no other reason than all the black crap that gets all over the pot....

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My Aluminum pot has saved me a few trips to the chiropractor I'll tell you that much. I had a keggle and that thing was a ***** to carry, now I have a 20 gallon aluminum pot and I love how I can carry it empty with one hand.

emjay said:

Unless you plan on cooking spaghetti sauce or chili in your brewpot, clad bottoms are a total waste of money.

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plus heat slower, and use more fuel.

wilserbrewer said:

plus heat slower, and use more fuel.

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And are heavier and are more expensive.

Oh oh, I think a can of worms just got opened....

I just bought a 15g Spike stainless kettle. It arrives tomorrow. I can take a few pictures and post my impressions if it helps.