Almost Time for First Brew. Quick Question.

Hi Guys,

Well, looks like I'm getting a full kit from Midwest and an their Irish Red extract recipe for x-mas, and I've been counting the days before I can brew. I also got a really good deal on a 24 qt heavy duty (7 gauge) aluminum pot.

I already know to boil to set the oxidation layer on the metal to coat it, but I have a question regarding my boil volume. Would it be possible to do 5 gal or even 5.5 gal with fermcap-s and a spray bottle to knock down the foam? Also, I don't have a wort chiller (yet), and was thinking that such a large boil volume without a chiller might be not so good (ice bath might take a longgg time to bring down the temp).

Thoughts? TIA

I just got my chiller off ebay, is made very well. It even has the garden hose connections connected directly to the copper tubing. ( no clamps or hosing to leak)

I think i paid 45 shipped for the 32' copper immersion chiller.

I've heard that fermcap-s is miraculous stuff, but I've never used it myself. I wouldn't personally go over 4 1/2 gallons in that pot without it, especially if you're brewing in your kitchen.

That's a decent kit to start with, too. There's a wealth of info on here about brewing, and the book How To Brew by John Palmer is a good read. It's online somewhere, I'm sure google can point you to it.

Thanks! Yeah I've learned enough to probably get a B.S. in brewing over the past few weeks from this site. Also, I've read Palmer's site and could basically understand the majority of it. I just wish I had more $ and didn't live in an apt so I could've started with AG

Couple of things to check before you start your brew:

1) Make sure you can bring 5 gallons to boil and keep it boiling even when you add the ingredients. Most (if not all) electric stoves can't handle that volume and you run the risk of craking a glass stove top if you have one. If you have a turkey fryer or a gas stove top, that should work fine.

2) Boilovers can be messy if you're brewing inside. If you are using a turkey fryer, there's not a whole lot to worry about. In the end, no one can say for certain whether you'll have a boilover with only .5 - 1 gallon of extra space in the kettle because every beer brews differently, even if you are using the same ingredients. I recently brewed an 5 gallon IPA in a 9 gallon kettle and the break material almost ran over.

3) Make your own immersion chiller. I bought 50' of 3/8" copper and built my own for $54. I cool 5 gallons of wort to 70* in less than 10 minutes. IC's are crucial for full volume boils.

Thanks for the info dpittard. I'm thinking that because I don't have an IC as of now, I'll do a partial, and after I make one switch to a an almost full boil due to the ability to more efficiently cool the wort. I have a pretty good open coil electric range (no glass) and I've heard that using heat resistant material to insulate the pot helps to achieve and hold bigger boils.

thebigt85 said:

Thanks for the info dpittard. I'm thinking that because I don't have an IC as of now, I'll do a partial, and after I make one switch to a an almost full boil due to the ability to more efficiently cool the wort. I have a pretty good open coil electric range (no glass) and I've heard that using heat resistant material to insulate the pot helps to achieve and hold bigger boils.

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Try boiling just water and see how long it takes and if it can boil. Until I got my chiller, I did an ice batch in my sink of 5gallons. It was a pain, but it worked. It makes a big difference if you stir the wort and agitate the water in the sink so that cold water is always against the pot.

I have full boiled 5 gallons in a 5 gallon pot.

You just have to start with 4 gallons or so and add the rest as evaporation occurs.

I use My kids' pool as a chiller. I let the hose run full blast against the pot. Water will pour out of the low side of the pool, keeping water moving around the pot.