What is the minimum size kettle for all grain boils?

7.5 or 8 gallon right? I've read all the aluminum vs. stainless steel debates but how many people have actually used the turkey fryer kettles without burning or scorching the wort?

You can go that small, but my personal preference would be no smaller than 10 gallons. You could be boiling 7-8 gallons depending on your evaporation rate and I like to have a little wiggle room to avoid boilovers, etc.

I've done 5 gal batches on 8gal pot w/no problems. you babysit when it comes to boil and set it from there.

I do 5 gallon batches right now with a 7.5 gallon aluminum turkery fryer. I usually start with 6.5 gallons of wort and I really do have to watch for boilovers, it's close.

5 gallons - if you brew 2.5-3 gallon batches. Just to remember that there are options, and some of them don't require giant equipment... you could also use 2 5 gallon pots at the same time.

I like my 10 gallon thick restaurant-grade aluminum pot for full boils of 5-5.5 gallon batches.

I start with 7.4 gallons and boil it down to 5.3 so that I can get 5.0 in the fermentor. SO, in this case I NEED to have a 10 gallon or larger kettle. I have a 15.5 keggle, and it works nicely. Ideally, you would have a 10 gallon kettle or better.
Also, I have never heard of, or experienced scorching wort in a turkey fryer... I have never heard of this phenomenon either. Why would it be any different than using a SS kettle?

I would say to get a 10 gallon pot at a minimum. It wouldn't be much more expensive than an 8 gallon, and it will give you some extra space. In retrospect, I definitely wish I had paid the extra 20 bucks for the 10 gallon version of my pot... From what some others have said, being able to collect extra runnings during your sparge will allow for better efficiency since you can boil off more water to get your target OG.

The Pol said:

Also, I have never heard of, or experienced scorching wort in a turkey fryer... I have never heard of this phenomenon either. Why would it be any different than using a SS kettle?

Click to expand...

Scorching wort is commonplace when doing extract as the syrup will settle to the bottom of the pot when you initially add it. My first batch in my fryer kettle ended up getting scorched. All I did for the next batch was to shut my flame off till I was sure the extract was distributed in the water and fired it back up.

Oh, I didnt know that we were talking about scorching malt extract, I thought we were talking about scorching the wort during the boil... like as in AG. Woops.

If you're trying to figure out what to buy, spend a little extra and go with the 10 gallon. As others have said, it will make your life a lot easier.

For the cost of a 10 gallon, you can probably find a keg to convert to a boil kettle, or an actual keggle already converted. I sold two extras a few months back for $50 already converted!

I started AG brewing with a 30 quart enamelware canner. It was workable, but required a LOT of attention at the start of the boil. I quickly moved up to a 15.5 gallon keggle, with much better results.

You can use your turkey fryer pot OR ANY pot (no matter what size) and have it filled to about 1/2 from the brim if you use fermcap foam control drops...



I use it in my turkey fryer pot for 6.5 gallons of word, and my 5 gallon pot on the stove with about 4.5 gallons...

Amazing stuff.

Keggles are wayyyy cooler than that little dropper... cmon!

mangine77 said:

7.5 or 8 gallon right? I've read all the aluminum vs. stainless steel debates but how many people have actually used the turkey fryer kettles without burning or scorching the wort?

Click to expand...

That is what I make do with. I'd really like to have bigger, but the pot came with the LP burners and I got them both for free, so I use it.

Never scorched the wort or had a problem with burning the beer.

The Pol said:

Keggles are wayyyy cooler than that little dropper... cmon!

Click to expand...

Well....Duhhh!!!!...Of course it is, but some of us don't have a keggle....or the space to store one if we did...some of us live in a loft with 2 closets, and the "storage" in our parking area that we have is about the size of a big fridge...I can barely stash my burner and propane in it along with you know non-brewing related stuff like tool boxes and luggage...

Heck up in my loft I leave my Vacuum Cleaner in the corner of my bedroom with a blanket over it, since it's home became my fermentation closet. I keep thinking I should wrap christmas ligts on it or something...

So until I move, the little dropper gotta do it for me.

Revvy said:

You can use your turkey fryer pot OR ANY pot (no matter what size) and have it filled to about 1/2 from the brim if you use fermcap foam control drops...

I use it in my turkey fryer pot for 6.5 gallons of word, and my 5 gallon pot on the stove with about 4.5 gallons...

Amazing stuff.

Click to expand...

Fermcap is the ****. I use it always.......

I also recommend a 10 gallon rather than an 8 gallon kettle, I've used both, 10 gallon makes life much easier.

If you FWH you will also notice you have much less foam, reducing your chance of boil over, for free.

I am using a turkey fryer, 8.5 or so gallon pot. I start boils with about 7.5 gallons of wort (beersmith says get 7.41 when I am doing a 90 minute boil). I have a thermometer in it, so while it's heating to a boil, I check periodically. When it hits about 205, I watch it like a hawk. I have a hand sprayer on a hose (dedicated and filtered in my case), but it is set on "mist" and I shoot it as the foam builds in short bursts. Eventually the boil will roll the foam back in and steady itself. Hops additions can cause a recurrence of foam, so I have the hose ready. I've had slight boilovers that were just some foam going over the edge when I got distracted and missed the 212 temp.

Super easy. Turkey fryer rig cost about $50, includes burner, stand, pot, lid, fryer parts that you can use for frying but aren't useful in brewing... you add the propane tank.

If you do this, get a burner stand that will hold a keggle in the future because you will want to upgrade eventually. I was a turkey fryer before I was a brewer, so I didn't do this and I am building an entire single tier system to move up to keggles, but would have LOVED to just pop one onto the stand in the mean time.

The Pol said:

Oh, I didnt know that we were talking about scorching malt extract, I thought we were talking about scorching the wort during the boil... like as in AG. Woops.

Click to expand...

Also, I have never heard of, or experienced scorching wort in a turkey fryer...

Click to expand...

Not sure why you feel the need to respond like some prima donna, I merely gave an example to you since you said you had never heard of it happening. I forgot that not everyone on here is open to sharing information, some are here merely to give it.

sigmund said:

Not sure why you feel the need to respond like some prima donna, I merely gave an example to you since you said you had never heard of it happening. I forgot that not everyone on here is open to sharing information, some are here merely to give it.

Click to expand...

Prima donna...? All I stated was that I was not aware that we were discussing extract, thought the OP was looking for AG information (ex. 7.5 gallon boil), meaning I was answering from a simply AG point of view. And from that point of view, and while using a turkey fryer, had never myself experienced scorching of the wort. Of course I have heard of scorch extract in kettles and on stove tops etc. Not sure why you decided to take my words and put tone into them, but that is your issue and certainly not mine.

Nothing prima donna(ish) about it

sigmund said:

Not sure why you feel the need to respond like some prima donna, I merely gave an example to you since you said you had never heard of it happening. I forgot that not everyone on here is open to sharing information, some are here merely to give it.

Click to expand...

WTF??????????

I sure as hell didn't see Pol's answer as being prima donna like...he just stated he misread what you were posting.

And also, I too am not aware of anyone scorching their wort on a turkey fryer...at least not anything other than the underside, that it...

If you are brewing with liquid extract you run the risk of scorching REGARDLESS of what size pan you use, where you use it and what it is made out of...Liquid Malt Extract is funny that way...It's not something endemic to Turkey Fryer pots....plenty of people use them quite successfully in brewing whether it is AG or Extract brewing...

Thanks Revvy for the support, I too do not see my tone being "prima donna" like... unless of course this dude is having a bad day and decided to take it that way. Which of course, I cannot apologize for.

WTF!!!! is right.

Revvy said:

You can use your turkey fryer pot OR ANY pot (no matter what size) and have it filled to about 1/2 from the brim if you use fermcap foam control drops...

I use it in my turkey fryer pot for 6.5 gallons of word, and my 5 gallon pot on the stove with about 4.5 gallons...

Amazing stuff.

Click to expand...

Where do I get that stuff?? My brew shop you think???

mangine77 said:

Where do I get that stuff?? My brew shop you think???

Click to expand...

Perhaps, or almost any online HBS, I hear great things about it!

mangine77 said:

Where do I get that stuff?? My brew shop you think???

Click to expand...

Most carry it...or online...

2 drops/gallon of liquid in your pot.

Maybe we could try boiling in a 10 gallon prima donna!

I have a poll up, please vote your concience... this is a historic time for our country, our brew board.... etc. CHANGE '08! (seemed to work for the other guy?)