New brew pot. Suggestions?

Hey all,

Looking for a new brew pot.

A couple years ago I bought a Heir keg fridge and it came with an empty quarter barrel keg that I converted to a brew pot. It does fine for some 5 gallon batches but I would like a pot I can comfortably do 10 gallon batches in. I was considering a 20 gallon pot from Spike Brewery. I was also looking at the Bayou Classic pot on Amazon but am kind of shying away from it.

Anyways I think a pot sufficient for 10 gallon batches will be fine for me for a long time. I'm thinking of getting a new keg through beveragefactory.com. It's $154 shipped to my house and I can easily turn it into a nice brew pot.

For $154 is that my best bet? Kegs are 18 gage ss and it should last me forever. I'll have a shop down the street weld in some bungs for a ball valve and thermometer which will raise the price to around $200 plus the price of the ball valve and thermometer plus my time cutting the top out....I'll probably be $260 into it plus some time.

Is there any advantages or alternatives up for suggestion? I would love a Blichmann pot. Do they come standard with a temp gauge and ball valve? If so I may be able to justify the $400 price tag on one. They also come with a lid and a level gauge which would be handy down the road. I believe the Blichmann pots are 18 gage ss also.

Thanks,

- Destin

Kal talks about the Blichmann kettles here on his site, but yes, they come with the thermometer and 3-piece valve.

I'm looking for a new kettle, too, so I'm in a similar position as you. I'm currently thinking about getting a kettle and adding the valve and such from brewhardware.com, or going welded from spikebrewing.com. I like these options because they specifically do *not* have clad bottoms (unnecessary IMO for reasons given at the link above, and less added weight and thermal mass). Or maybe homebrewing.org, but they don't specifically say one way or the other (which I would assume means no, but I haven't emailed to ask).

A few things for the OP...

A keg is actually 16 gauge and a keg is only a good way to go if you steal (this will open a can of worms) from a distributor aka only pay the $30 deposit. Also just because you have a shop down the street doesn't mean they can weld thin stainless. I've seen sooo many kettles butchered because it is an art (see sanitary welding).

We will be coming out with our kettles with our new sight glass in about 2 weeks. They will be miles better than a Blichmann (and I'll argue that against anyone). You can not go wrong with welded fittings.

I'm not looking at stealing a keg. I have one in my keezer right now that I plan on returning because I have issues with cutting it up. The thought crossed my mind but I won't be going that route.

New unmarked kegs can be bought from beverage factory shipped to my house for $154 each so there's no stealing if I went that route.

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/home_brew/kegs/Kegco_KEG1215_drop_in_valve.html

I was looking at the brew pots available in March through your site, spikebrewing.com, and they look really nice. I'm not in a big hurry for a new pot and am weighing my options for sure. Your pots look nice and are cheaper than the Blichmanns. Personally the only thing I don't like about the Blichmanns is the adjustable temp gauge, seems like a waste to me.

- Destin

SpikeBrewing said:

We will be coming out with our kettles with our new sight glass in about 2 weeks. They will be miles better than a Blichmann (and I'll argue that against anyone). You can not go wrong with welded fittings.

Click to expand...

I was looking at those, and I'm just curious: For the price listed, will they come with the thermometer and valve? If not, there would be little price advantage, so it would all come down to your welded fittings vs. the weldless fittings that Blichmann uses (if you don't count the stepped bottom and the hangable lid).

sillbeer said:

I'm not looking at stealing a keg. I have one in my keezer right now that I plan on returning because I have issues with cutting it up. The thought crossed my mind but I won't be going that route.

New unmarked kegs can be bought from beverage factory shipped to my house for $154 each so there's no stealing if I went that route.

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/home_brew/kegs/Kegco_KEG1215_drop_in_valve.html

I was looking at the brew pots available in March through your site, spikebrewing.com, and they look really nice. I'm not in a big hurry for a new pot and am weighing my options for sure. Your pots look nice and are cheaper than the Blichmanns. Personally the only thing I don't like about the Blichmanns is the adjustable temp gauge, seems like a waste to me.

- Destin

Click to expand...

I wasn't suggesting you would be stealing them. I saw the link and for a base vessel (be it keg or kettle) $154 with nothing attached is real expensive. I was referring to the many others that have kegs that they 'bought' for $30. That's the main reason people use them; they can 'get' them for cheap.

latium said:

I was looking at those, and I'm just curious: For the price listed, will they come with the thermometer and valve? If not, there would be little price advantage, so it would all come down to your welded fittings vs. the weldless fittings that Blichmann uses (if you don't count the stepped bottom and the hangable lid).

Click to expand...

The valves and thermos are extra only because many people already have them. Our new kettles with the sightglass will still be far cheaper than the Blichmanns (advantage of buy straight through us instead of a retailer). Our lids and handles are the same exact style so I guess we have a hangable lid too (although I wouldn't really count that as a feature ha ha). As for the stepped bottom if you plan on using it as a mash tun then yes they have a nicer false bottom (until we come out with ours.....) but if not then it's advantage Spike!!

So if we compare the two, Blichmann and Spikebrewing we have this, both 15 gallon pots which is what i'm specifically looking at.

http://www.spikebrewing.com/product/15-gallon/15-gallon-brew-kettle-sight-glass/

Price point is cheaper than the Blichmann by a bit but it doesn't come with thermometer or ball valve and you pay shipping.

Nice thing is the bungs are welded.

15 gallon Blichmann is $395 and comes with 3 piece ball valve, thermometer and shipping is free.

Only thing I don't like is it has weld less fittings.

http://www.homebrewing.org/15-Gal-Blichmann-BoilerMaker-Brew-Pot-_p_1146.html


Interesting. It'll keep me busy after work for a few more days till I decide.

- Destin

I find the hanging lid on my brew pot surprisingly convenient.

Welded fittings are nice, but weldless work well too.
I have welded TC fittings, and they are wonderful.

I don't have a site glass. Use a dip stick made from a piece of aluminum angle
from Lowes. Works well and easy to clean.

My pot is from Brewers Hardware.
Nice pot. I would buy it again.

sillbeer said:

So if we compare the two, Blichmann and Spikebrewing we have this, both 15 gallon pots which is what i'm specifically looking at.

http://www.spikebrewing.com/product/15-gallon/15-gallon-brew-kettle-sight-glass/

Price point is cheaper than the Blichmann by a bit but it doesn't come with thermometer or ball valve and you pay shipping.

Nice thing is the bungs are welded.

15 gallon Blichmann is $395 and comes with 3 piece ball valve, thermometer and shipping is free.

Only thing I don't like is it has weld less fittings.

http://www.homebrewing.org/15-Gal-Blichmann-BoilerMaker-Brew-Pot-_p_1146.html


Interesting. It'll keep me busy after work for a few more days till I decide.

- Destin

Click to expand...

$290 - Spike Brewing Sight Glass Kettle Spike Kettle
$25 - 3 Piece Valve
$25 - Thermometer
-------
$340 - (ps our shipping is free as well)

Blichmann
--------
$395

Same kettle, same options but ours has welded fittings. Seems like a simple decision to me Funny thing is we have A TON more work into ours and we still offer it cheaper. Maybe we should raise our prices....

bob352 said:

I find the hanging lid on my brew pot surprisingly convenient.

Click to expand...

We both use the same kettle so I guess we have the same feature

Edit: Proof!

bob352 said:

I find the hanging lid on my brew pot surprisingly convenient.

Welded fittings are nice, but weldless work well too.
I have welded TC fittings, and they are wonderful.

I don't have a site glass. Use a dip stick made from a piece of aluminum angle
from Lowes. Works well and easy to clean.

My pot is from Brewers Hardware.
Nice pot. I would buy it again.

Click to expand...

I'll check into Brewers Hardware. I'll contact them and see if they can configure a pot with what I want.

The sight glass, I think, is a nice feature but not a necessity. It may turn into a want later on but who knows.

- Destin

SpikeBrewing said:

$290 - Spike Brewing Sight Glass Kettle Spike Kettle
$25 - 3 Piece Valve
$25 - Thermometer
-------
$340 - (ps our shipping is free as well)

Blichmann
--------
$395

Same kettle, same options but ours has welded fittings. Seems like a simple decision to me Funny thing is we have A TON more work into ours and we still offer it cheaper. Maybe we should raise our prices....



We both use the same kettle so I guess we have the same feature

Edit: Proof!

Click to expand...

Thanks for making up my mind. I didn't realize and I didn't see it posted anywhere that you have free shipping.

- Destin

I don't ever try and make up someones mind. When the facts are laid out there's no way you can go with any other kettle

We need to make the free shipping more visible then!

I deleted a bunch of bickering. However, to be fair, here is the crux of it:

A kettle similar to Spike's can likely be had for approximately $80-$100 on eBay. It does not have welded fittings and likely requires a shipping fee.

Spike contends that his kettle with welded fittings and free shipping is a better deal.

I take no sides here. This just isn't the place for an argument.

Yuri, is this the one?

60 qt
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONCORD-60-...rew-Kettle-w-Lid-Heavy-Cookware-/140698094037

80qt
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONCORD-80-.../130690740507?pt=Cookware&hash=item1e6dc6711b

No link was posted, just some anecdotal discussion about eBay purchases.

At that price point, I would go with the Blichmann. In his price comparison, Ben did not include an adjustable thermometer (~$70), and the snap in dip tube, both included with the boilermaker. The adjustable thermometer is handy if you use a floor burner. The top of the blichmann sight glass has a hex plug that unscrews for easy cleaning with an included brush. Very easy clean up after a brew day.