5-Gallon Beer Kits?

[STStunner]

I've successfully made mead, cider, sake, wine, cyser and three Mr. Beer kits in the past. The only thing that went down the tubes was some blackberry wine which started to grow white mold and had to be poured out. There's several 5-gallon beer kits that I'd really like to try and make pretty soon. The problem is I only have a small stove-top and no large brew kettles. I just have the small pot that I used to make Mr. Beer in. Is there anyway to make any of these kits such as the ones at Austin Homebrew without having to invest in larger equipment? I don't have the space for anything larger and am not for sure if a large brew kettle would even work on this small stove-top? I read on another forum that it will not, so I'm unsure on how proceed?

 

[Quintis]

I am just starting to make beer myself and where I live I do not have much room to do anything on a large scale. Recently I purchased a 5 gallon kit and divided it by 5 to make 1 gallon batches. So far I brewed 2 of the 5 gallons and they both have turned out great. Maybe that would be a way to go for you?

 

[Rhumbline]

If you are thinking of doing extract kits you only need to boil about 3 gallons, the rest of the water is added to the fermenter after boiling.

Check thrift stores near you if you don't have a 15-16 quart pot, you can probably find one cheap.

Good luck,

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

For my first year of brewing I just used a 5 gal pot that I got for $20. I did as much as a 4 gal boil (usually just 2 or 3 gal) and had no trouble with my stove. I adjusted the recipe and top off water accordingly. I even started doing partial mash BIAB in the same pot. An aluminum pot is cheaper than stainless and works just as well.

 

[Lepetitnormand]

call them up and see if they would do a half size kit ?

 

[flars]

I bought a 5.5 gallon stainless steel kettle at Walmart for $62. Well worth it. One-half inch encapsulated base to prevent scorching. I can do five gallon extract kits with a 2.5 gallon boil.

Kettle also serves as a hot water bath canner and for very large chili recipes and other boiled meals.

Very well worth the price. It will last forever.