Kettle vs Keggle-brutus type build

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schristian619

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I am starting to piece together and plan out a brutus 10 type system and and looking at kettles. I currently have a 15 gallon boilermaker, that I really like. I debating between buying a couple more of those, or buying/making a couple keggles. Obviously, the keggles are cheaper, which is a big plus, but I worry about them being harder to clean/bulkier. Is there anyone that has used both that can chime in and push me one way or another. FWIW, if I did go with keggles, I would probably buy them from kegglebrewing. I was also thinking that if i did go with keggles, I might sell my BM and get three keggles for consistency.

Side question, keggle users, what do you use as a hop filter and how does it compare to the boilermakers boil screen? False bottom, how does it compare to Blichmanns?

Thanks!
 
I haven't used a kettle since my first 5 gallon one, so I can't really give you pros/cons on each, but I love my keggle.

It's a little bulky, but if you're building a brutus, you'll have a pump and won't need to move them around anyway. I use something like this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/recommendations-hlt-keggle-diptube-assemblies-155366/ scroll down the page to the second picture. It works great for filter hops and break material.
 
I have three Keggles in my brewery and if I had to do all over again I would go with kettles in a heartbeat. I think kettles are more managable because they are not as tall. It is easier to drain a kettle more completely because the bottom is flat where the bottom of the Keggle is not. A Keggle is all stainless steel where a kettle can be all aluminum which is a much better transmitter of heat or you can go with a stainless kettle with a copper/aluminum sandwiched bottom for heat transfer. I also don't like the heat that gets trapped under the skirt of the Keggle.
 
good point about kettles being more manageable. Kegs are a bit tall and seemingly bulky. What do you use to filter hops in your keggles? how does it work, does it work with pellets?
 
I love my keggles but I will agree they are big ans bulky, but that is it. The heat transfer is less than aluminum but that works just as well going in the other direction too ;)

I thought draining out of a keggle was much easier. I don't have my pick up right in the middle of the keg, it is about 4 inches from center. After a whirl pool it leaves a small puddle and the trub. You could put it right in the middle and purge the trub first if you wanted to get as much as possible.

I use hop socks for all of my additions (pellets), keeps the trub way down, I don't understand why some one wouldnt want to use one.

If you've designed the system so it can CIP then I would be all about keggles. If you have to break it down and move stuff around to clean, kettle all the way.
 
I just got my Boilermakers today...

I have NO screen in my BK

I whirlpool the BK and rotated my pickup in my Boilermaker so that I can leave the trub in the bottom.

I am a pellet hop user
 
BMs are expensive, but you get A LOT more than a kettle. At one time I would not have purchased them either, but selling a rig gave me the means to get a couple and some other stuff.

Keggles are nice, but HEAVY and BULKY

They are cheap, but you are getting a lot less than you do with a BM
 
I use Lil' Sparky's paint strainer hop filter contraption except I use a 150 micron, polyester tubular filter in mine. I don't get any hop debris at all and the filter has not affected the hoppiness of my beer. There are a lot of ways to do it, whirlpooling, hop sacks, hop filters and hop stoppers. You have to pick the method that works for you. I use a Blichmann plate chiller so I don't want any hop debris at all to clog my chiller.
 
thanks for your thoughts. I'll have to see how money looks when it comes time to pull the trigger. I do love my boilermaker, and I will have to carry them inside to clean (I live in an apt and brew on the patio), so they seem easier in that regard. But saving a couple hundred is always nice...that can go to my new upgraded keezer project planned after this.
 
I use Lil' Sparky's paint strainer hop filter contraption except I use a 10 micron, polyester tubular filter in mine. I don't get any hop debris at all and the filter has not affected the hoppiness of my beer. There are a lot of ways to do it, whirlpooling, hop sacks, hop filters and hop stoppers. You have to pick the method that works for you. I use a Blichmann plate chiller so I don't want any hop debris at all to clog my chiller.

Have any links or pictures of your filter, please?
 

In that post you say:
"I use the 150 micron Polyester Multifiliment version of these:"

In this thread you say you use 10 micron. Is there a typo in one of your statements, or have you changed to the 10 micron since that other posting?

The 10 micron is felt and the 150 micron is multifilament mesh (both types are polyester).

Thanks.

EDIT: also, the website says the nylon ones are considered cleanable. How well do the polyester ones clean up?
What size bags are you using for your keggle?
 
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