Multiple boilers?

hey, I've got a bit of a problem.

I've seen that most of the recipes on this forum call for a brew pot that can hold at least 5gal when making the wort, well I've looked around and I can't find any that size (i live in australia btw - so I'm trying to find a 30litre one at an affordable price). So i was wondering if i could use multiple pots while making some recipes (such as, steep the grains in one pot, add the hops to a seperate one then add both to the fermenter, stir, add yeast and seal?)

any help is appreciated - CHEERS!

My boil kettle holds just a bit over 5 gallons, so I can safely boil 5 gallons. I usually collect about 7 gallons of wort. What I do is boil 5 gallons in my kettle and the remainder of the wort in another pot. As the 5 gallon kettle level drops due to evaporation, I replace it with wort from the smaller pot.

I just make sure that all the hops and adjuncts (including and malt extract I might use) goes into the 5 gallon kettle.

Maybe not as good as a true full wort boil, but better than doing a partial boil and topping off with water.

If you are doing extract/steeped grains or partial mashes, do a partial boil (50% is good). You can do multiple pots, but it isn't necessary. You can adjust the bittering hops using brewing software.

If you want to use multiple pots, you'll have to calculate each pot separately, unless you split everything proportionately.

Doing all grain in a smaller pot is trickier, because you have to concentrate the wort. That means longer boils as you add wort, which can result in caramelization. Some people just put as much of the wort into their main pot as possible along with hops, etc. & concentrate the last runnings in another pot.

Is it possible to find a 15 gal. beer keg down there? If so you could convert that.

DraconianHand said:

My boil kettle holds just a bit over 5 gallons, so I can safely boil 5 gallons. I usually collect about 7 gallons of wort. What I do is boil 5 gallons in my kettle and the remainder of the wort in another pot. As the 5 gallon kettle level drops due to evaporation, I replace it with wort from the smaller pot.

I just make sure that all the hops and adjuncts (including and malt extract I might use) goes into the 5 gallon kettle.

Maybe not as good as a true full wort boil, but better than doing a partial boil and topping off with water.

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I did this for a while as well. It's a major PITA, but it's better than topping off. After about a dozen or so batches like that I got a keggle.

The other thing to consider is that other than a bit of difference in hops utilization (which is very easy to compensate for) you're also going to be boiling a smaller amount of liquid which means you'll get a little bit more of the caramelization. Not a big deal either, in my opinion.

ohiobrewtus said:

I did this for a while as well. It's a major PITA, but it's better than topping off. After about a dozen or so batches like that I got a keggle.

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I agree. After 30 batches I got (on its way soon) a B3 1550.