How to do a 5 gal batch using 5 gal kettle

[Nathan Buckner]

Hello,
Its been a little since if posted or brewed; Grad school can be very time consuming.
I've mainly done 2 gal batches for the past year and want to bump up to 5 gal batches. I'm ready to buy an 8 gal brew kettle but if I can avoid it, that would be great.
I currently have a 5 gal pot. 5 gal is at the brim so no head space. What are some methods, with thorough descriptions that would allow me to get 5 gal batches and still be able to crank out brews between 6-9%. If I have to buy an 8 gal pot thats fine but id rather not have to.
Thanks!

 

[myndflyte]

If you're doing extract, a 5 gallon pot is fine. Boil 3.5 gallons and top off with water once it's in the fermeter. If you're thinking about going all grain, then I'd recommend at least a 10 gallon pot but 15 gallon if you can. I used to brew with a 10 gallon and I always had to futz with preventing boil overs. Getting a 15 gallon pot has been a god-send on brew day.

 

[Jim R]

I do 5 gal all grain batches easily with an 8 gallon Bayou Classic 800-432 stainless pot that works great. I got it on amazon a short time ago for $81 although it seems to be sold-out on the companies website now and the other websites have jacked up the price for now. I do all grain with a cheap Igloo mash tun. Of course, for 5 gallon BIAB you would want a bigger kettle.

The only other decent option I have used is the partial boil and then dilute with more water option as above. It is an ok extract option but I am glad that I just bought the larger 8 gal kettle to allow me to do all grain.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Are you brewing BIAB? I do 2.6 gal batches in my 5 gal pot (full volume mash BIAB) and I find that size pot about the right size for that size batch. It works up to around at 1.070 beer. I brew my 5.5 gal batches in a 10 gal kettle, and for some batches I wish I had a little bigger pot.

Brewing a full 5 gals batch at 6% in a 5 gal kettle is possible, but requires some serious work arounds. A 9% will be a real challenge. Partial mash with some extract would be the easiest option, but I would look for a bigger kettle if possible.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Can't be done HAHAHA!


Seriously, brew 4 gallon batches and top up to FV in the fermenter, just pre-boil the water to sterilize. You will probably see a little bit of loss in efficiency mashing thicker but who cares.

 

[Nathan Buckner]

Thanks for the responses! I went ahead an got an 8 gal kegco brew kettle.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Don't be afraid to top off even if you're doing all-grain. I brewed 3.5-4 gal batches in a 5 gallon kettle for awhile, topping off at the end of the boil. I've since bought a 6 gallon kettle, because it gives me a little more space but still fits on the kitchen cooktop. I ferment in kegs so my batch sizes are limited anyways to 4-4.25 gallons anyways, so it works great for me.

 

[rshortt]

An 8 gallon kettle is great but you can indeed pull off full 5 gallon batches in a 5 gallon kettle. Your efficiency will only be 55-60% but you need to calculate how much water you can fit in the kettle with the grain weight of your recipe. You then need to top up the water but you can hit your numbers.

I used to do this all the time before I built my rig and even wrote a python program to do the calculations for me. IIRC it's often called maxi-BIAB.

 

[Nathan Buckner]

Love the feed back....
Funny story. I ended up cancelling my order because I had to back order the thermometer. So I ordered an 8 gal. Bayou classic kettle through Home Depot and what was delivered was the 16 gal 6 piece. I currently can't really use that big of a pot so I returned it and ordered it again in store. Got the receipt for it stating in was for the 8 gal. Again the 16 gal 6 piece kettle was delivered. I saw they updated their website and the 8 gal. is now out of stock. So, I got the 16 gal. kettle for the price of the 8 gal. Ill just have to figure out how to use it on the stove and how to drop in my 13" hop spider. Which I think I'll manage haha
In short, this is great! Any ideas or suggestions for specific hop spiders that'll work?

 

[rshortt]

That's so funny. Initially wanting to squeeze into a 5 gallon pot then ending up with a 16. I hope it's not too big for your stove! What kind of chiller are you using? If you're not using a plate chiller you could skip the hop spider if you are so inclined. You could also put your hops in a mesh bag.

 

[Lefou]

Thanks for the responses! I went ahead an got an 8 gal kegco brew kettle.

It's not difficult to do a decent 5% or 6% ABV beer in a 7-8gallon kettle. I do a mash and boil with an ANVIL 7.5gal kettle.
My method is a 3gallon boil and 2 gallon dilution to make volume. Anything more than 5gallons is pushing it.

 

[Nathan Buckner]

Thats great, I like to be able to do 8-11% beers on occasion. So I guess I lucked out on the 16 gal pot