So my wife got me a $200 gift card for my birthday to my local home brew shop. This got me thinking about what I might need for my setup. I have a KAB-4 propane burner, a cooler mash tun, a basic keg system (want to build a keezer soon), but I'm realizing my brew kettles are inexpensive aluminum kettles that are somewhat hard to clean, and don't have a sight glass, thermometer or valve at the bottom. I'm considering a good brew kettle is probably the logical next piece of equipment. I brew 5 gallon batches all-grain. I'm looking at a Blichmann Boilermaker G2 kettle, either 7.5 or 10gallon. Does this seem like a good way to go? Which size should I go with? Also, is the auto-sparge system worth it? What other accessories make sense? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Best brew kettle for the $?
- Thread starter fotomatt1
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I brew 5g batches all grain and have the Boilermaker G1 10G. I would not consider a 7.5G kettle for 5g batches. I sometimes start with over 7G of wort for the boil and it would boil over every time.
The valve and diptube is 100% worth it. Some people don't see the value in the thermometer on the boil kettle, but I find it useful, both for knowing how close I am to the boil when heating and to check the temperature while chilling. (i use an immersion chiller.)
I think the sight glass is kind of a pain to clean. I'd prefer a kettle with volume markings on the inside of the kettle.
I think I'd also prefer a thicker bottom on my kettle for the next one.
The valve and diptube is 100% worth it. Some people don't see the value in the thermometer on the boil kettle, but I find it useful, both for knowing how close I am to the boil when heating and to check the temperature while chilling. (i use an immersion chiller.)
I think the sight glass is kind of a pain to clean. I'd prefer a kettle with volume markings on the inside of the kettle.
I think I'd also prefer a thicker bottom on my kettle for the next one.
