5-gallon boil, is it worth it????

[thenatibrewer]

is it worth the extra money for a 9 gallon pot in order to do a 5 gallon boil? i am looking a buying a new pot. i looked at brew4less.com, you can get that pot for 99.00. anyone have any experience with this pot? it seems like a good deal. let me know, thanks.

 

[Cheesefood]

Why is that site showing up for me as a parked site?

 

[thenatibrewer]

i think it brew-4-less.com. you may have to google it.

 

[Bobby_M]

You can pull off full boils in a 30qt turkey fryer pot (30ish bucks for whole kit at Walmart) but it doesn't end there. You now need a way to cool 5 gallons and then aerate.

The only reason I'd suggest it is if you're worried that your top off water is contaminating your batch or if you're gearing up for all grain (which mandates full boils)

 

[Desert_Sky]

5 gallon worth it?

IMHO no...go with at least 10 gallons

 

[raceskier]

I have done 4 batches now in a brew 4 less pot. It's pretty thin gauge metal and mine had a few dings from shipping. The valve is a 3/8 thread instead of the more common 1/2. I've made a home made hop stopper for mine. The supplied thermometer protrudes quite a ways into the pot and makes inserting an immersion chiller difficult. For the price though, I think it's a good deal.

 

[thenatibrewer]

raceskier, thanks for the input. can an immersion chiller be used? do you aerate your wort when you are done?

 

[raceskier]

I'm using this Fermentap immersion chiller: http://www.breworganic.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=341
I had to tweak it slightly and then I have to tilt it and sneak it past the thermometer stem. Once it's in place it rests on the bottom of the pot.

I aerate my wort in the fermenter with one of these: http://www.breworganic.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=462
Along with using starters, all my fermentations have taken off quickly.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've been doing 1-2 gal boils for over 13 years. I won't switch.

 

[AGBrewer]

The problem i would have with full boils is that i would have to move outside, until I see hard evidence that a full boil is better I will stick to partial boils.

 

[thenatibrewer]

the majority of people that i have heard from says the full boils is where it is at. still trying to decide which way to go. may just continue to try to brew the PERFECT beer from a partial boil. it is easy, and fun.

 

[cweston]

Honestly, if I weren't brewing AG, I'd probably stick to partial boils. If you can boil 2-3 gallons, you can do a darn good extract batch, brew indoors on the stove, and keep your gear costs quite minimal (or you could invest the money in other ways: temperature control for fermentation, kegging, whatever).

I think full boil extract over partial boil extract does have some advatages, but it's debatable whether the advantagesz are worth the trade-off, in and of themselves.

 

[thenatibrewer]

i would almost think it is easier, you don't have to "add" anything which has to be great, less chance of infection. plus you can get better hop utilization. cooling it an issue, but i was going to purchase a wort chiller anyway. brewing outdoors is not big deal because i do that now....so maybe i am swinging the other way now????

who knows i will just enjoy another american pale and keep reading....