64 gallon kettle?

I have access to a nearly free stainless container but it's 64 gallons (24" in diameter by 33" tall). What the heck would I do with it. Knowing how expensive stainless pots are, it's almost like I can't pass it up. Too bad I can't get two more.

What would you do?

You could do a fifty gallon oatmeal stout extract brew

Honestly, I can't come up with any idea that isn't ridiculous.

It would take me a fricken year to drink 50 gallons of brew.

Bobby_M said:

It would take me a fricken year to drink 50 gallons of brew.

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If that's your only reservation, I would say you are off your rocker. You could brew 50 strong extract gallons for.... $300, hops and all.


Do you have any idea what kind of party you could throw with 50 gallons of beer??!!!! IMO, it'd be worth it just for the notoriety. You invite everybody you know to come over, drink their fill, and take some home.


It'd be a cool once a year kind of thing. And seriously, it'd be the kind of thing that pays dividends... It'd be well worth $300. Hell, if I had 4 friends out for a night of drinking and I was paying, I could EASILY blow $300 in one night. With 50 gallons, I could keep 50-100 people well intoxicated. Have them bring over some food or sandwiches... it'd be wayyyy better than a night at the bar.

Cut The beast in half and make two brew pots??????????

Sounds like it would hold four cornies pretty easy. Forget about brewing with it.

Put it on some castors, fabricate a cover/faucet dispensing system and you've got yourself a beautiful stainless steel 4-tap party rig.

I would take it (you have to), then advertise it to homebrewers here and on other boards who might be thinking of setting up BP-scale setups. It sounds about the same scale as the swinging mash tun that BO has that unfortunately failed him so miserably. That things going to be worth a good chunk of money to someone. I wouldn't cut it up, I wouldn't do anything to it, but no way you can pass it up.

Brew in it Saturday morning. Take your weekly bath in it Saturday night.

LMFAO... didnt we just have a conversation where you said you had better stop trolling before you found some used dairy container???

At any rate.. $10 55gal barrel, 64 gallon kettle = 40+gallons of beer!! You may need a couple more burners for that though

How heavy is it? I bet you could get some serious cash for scrap on a item that large! Heck... the solution to our 17 gallon wit batch dilemma! HAHA!!

Do you have kids? Do they need a fort that daddy can borrow from time to time to brew in?

You realize that if you do buy it, it's gonna call your name late into the night and haunt your dreams until you DO brew in it.

also, you're gonna have to come up with a new brew rig. I guarantee your last one (while nice) would not hold 64 gallons of beer

On the practical side. You could put a false bottom in it or manifold and use it as a very large MLT. You could do a partygyle system, where you split the runnings into 4 or 5 different kettles and end up with 4 or 5 different brews at once. Just steep grains or do some mini-mashes to change the grain bill a little in each, different hops and you've got several beers off one mash.

Ugh, I know I have to take it. I'll probably collect rain water in it until I figure out what to do. You guys do understand the scale of this right? I thought my keggle was damn big. I'd probably have to run three ring burners under it to get it to boil. I have a lead on 55 gallon food grade barrels for $25 too. Finding this thing is a curse.

I wouldn't call it a curse, just think of it as the beginning to a whole lot of really big beers.

Get it, and begin the dream of your own brewery. All you need is one or two really good recipes.

Wow, this is one for the "carefull what you wish for" catagory. I'd sell it (with a tear in my eye) because before you know it you'll be putting up a pole barn to house your "new setup"

If you wanted to brew a batch that big it is not as hard as you might think. Just do a couple mashes and a single boil. Coolers are cheap so you could use 2 70qt units would do about 30 gallons per batch so 2 mashes and you are good.


maybe your brew club would like to do bulk brews??

I'm in the you-can't-have-too-much-pot camp (uh, kettle pot that is). I'd get it and at least two burners if you don't have them already. Brew extract / partial mash / whatever you're comfortable with then work your setup up to all-grain. That big an all grain batch would be really cheap and really, really good. I think I could handle only brewing 5-6 times a year if I was brewing a 50-gal batch.

Oh, and man, I hope you keg! Otherwise screw having a party on brew day and call for the reinforcements on botteling day.

I think you should take that sucker and not ever worry about a boil-over again..

BierMuncher said:

Sounds like it would hold four cornies pretty easy. Forget about brewing with it.

Put it on some castors, fabricate a cover/faucet dispensing system and you've got yourself a beautiful stainless steel 4-tap party rig.

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Brilliant!

Mmm, but my 5-keg chest freezer kegerator has wheels on it already.

If you don't want it I'll take it off your hands for the price of shipping!!!!!!!!!

And what is your source for 55gal food grade drums for $25!? What are they made of, mind sharing the wealth?