$100 burning a hole in my pocket...

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dime1622

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Okay, so I just got a $100 VISA gift card, and I want to put it toward brewing equipment. Right now, I do AG brewing at a friend's house, but at home I only have the equipment to do extract brewing. I brew in a 16 quart stock pot on an electric stove. I ferment in a bottling bucket, and bottle my beers (I can't keg until the basement is done and I have a place to put a keezer).

I'm thinking I may go with a 40 quart thick-walled aluminum stock pot and a propane burner. At least this way I can avoid boil-overs, heat the water faster, and do some partial mash or BIAB brewing. I'll build an MLT in a couple months, then be practically ready for AG at home.

Your thoughts?
 
turkey fryer kits are cheap and would come majorly in handy, but then you will also need a wort chiller. unless you want to get into no chill brewing
 
Okay, so I just got a $100 VISA gift card, and I want to put it toward brewing equipment. Right now, I do AG brewing at a friend's house, but at home I only have the equipment to do extract brewing. I brew in a 16 quart stock pot on an electric stove. I ferment in a bottling bucket, and bottle my beers (I can't keg until the basement is done and I have a place to put a keezer).

I'm thinking I may go with a 40 quart thick-walled aluminum stock pot and a propane burner. At least this way I can avoid boil-overs, heat the water faster, and do some partial mash or BIAB brewing. I'll build an MLT in a couple months, then be practically ready for AG at home.

Your thoughts?

Brinkmann Turkey Fryer with a pretty good 7.5 gallon aluminum pot: $60 - $70 bucks at HD
Better Bottle: $25 - $30 bucks.
Done
:D
 
Your plan sounds good to me but maybe a keggle and a burner might be a better idea. It will give you future ability to move to 10g batches and will still work now.

My thoughts are once you go BIAB and embrace the simplicity of it, you will never go back.
 
turkey fryer kits are cheap and would come majorly in handy, but then you will also need a wort chiller. unless you want to get into no chill brewing

I have access to two immersion chillers - my neighbor's and my AG partner's, so I'm good on that for now :)
 
What do you have for fermentation temperature control? My single biggest leap in better beer was getting that nailed down, but full volume boils is a great use as well!
 
I have a basement that's a constant 67-68*. The fermometer on my hefe read 72 at 24 hours in, but that was the highest it got. Other beers with less vigorous fermentation have only hit 70-71. I am only brewing ales, and the yeasts I use tolerate temps through the mid-70s to low 80s.
 
So here's a question - I've been looking at a 42 or 40 quart pot, but then there are also 30 quart pots that might work. However, those 30 quarts are only 7.5 gallons, and that's to the very top. Better to go with 40/42?
 
Get the 40 or 42. You'll be watching for boilovers (and potentially dealing with them) far more than you'd ever want to. That way you can focus on other tasks or potentially even have some downtime during your process. It's very much worth the extra $.
 
I believe I got my aluminum 44qt bayou classic with basket on amazon for under $70. You should be able to find a burner and stand for around $30 to pair with it.
 
I second the fermentation control. I'd look for a cheapo mini fridge off craigslist, gut the cooling system, wire to a house thermostat ($15) and install into an insulated box of your making. This of course assumes you're a DIYer.

Keggle is also a good suggestion. I want one at this point...

I guess it all depends on what resources you have and what your future plans are. A 42 quart pot won't allow room for growth if you get to the point you want to do 10 gallon batches. (If you ever start kegging, you will! I used to laugh at the thought, now I feel like I'm jipping myself doing 5 at a time.)

EDIT: Oh yeah, I was able to find a bayou classic turkey fryer kit on Craigslist for $15. That's the burner, pot and basket. You'll need some way to heat up all that wort, and it sure beats an electric stove!
 

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