Blichmann Alternatives

[onthekeg]

I'd add that if one were direct firing a mash, a tri-clad bottom would be MUCH more important. I'd not be as concerned with one in a boil kettle but direct heat to a mash is a different story.

And to add to this, if I put an elec element into the kettle I don't need triclad either.

 

[aubiecat]

I'll throw in my 2 cents about clad and non clad because I have both and I currently boil on the kitchen range.
I have a 32 qt. Winware tri-clad stainless pot and a 44 qt. Bayou Classic stainless pot.
I got the Winware pot 1st because I thought the aluminum sandwich would give an advantage. Not so. I can barely bring 7 gallons of liquid to boil in that pot, even sitting on 2 eyes.

Now I have a the 44 qt. BC pot, which came with a steam basket, and it brings a rolling boil to 8-9 gallons real easy. This pot is the cat's whiskers.
The BC pot is also my future E-BIAB kettle so tri-clad is useless for that.

 

[40watt]

I'll throw in my 2 cents about clad and non clad because I have both and I currently boil on the kitchen range.
I have a 32 qt. Winware tri-clad stainless pot and a 44 qt. Bayou Classic stainless pot.
I got the Winware pot 1st because I thought the aluminum sandwich would give an advantage. Not so. I can barely bring 7 gallons of liquid to boil in that pot, even sitting on 2 eyes.

Now I have a the 44 qt. BC pot, which came with a steam basket, and it brings a rolling boil to 8-9 gallons real easy. This pot is the cat's whiskers.
The BC pot is also my future E-BIAB kettle so tri-clad is useless for that.

Your's would be a very different story on a propane burner.

 

[DaleP]

As for Made in the USA... Unfortunately my kettles, as well as every other kettle out there (again unfortunately) comes from China. I have talked to local shops and they laugh when you tell them what you need a kettle made for. As for Blichmann I couldn't find on their website that the kettles were made in the US, just that they try to purchase from the US as much as possible.

Not trying to start a flame war but I'm proud of my products and personally I'm not sold on the price tag of the Blichmann.

-Ben

Not wanting to argue here, but the Penrose Kettles are made in St Louis, MO, USA.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Not wanting to argue here, but the Penrose Kettles are made in St Louis, MO, USA.

And I give those guys major props! Until I read otherwise I see nothing about Blichmann being made in the US

 

[H-ost]

Well that is very debatable. The Boilermaker has stepped bottom, perfect for a false bottom, are there other kettles with this design feature? The sight glass is protected borosilicate glass, and the design is unlike anything available on the market. Yes, you could get by with a stainless elbow and a piece of plastic tube, similar but not the same thing. The valve is a three piece unit, readily available but not cheap. The snap-in dip tube is a great design, and again, no one offers anything with the same quality and convenience. The adjustable thermometer is not the same as a standard $30 thermometer.

To me the above is well worth the extra ~$200, IMHO those that say they can get the same for less are comparing apples to oranges, R&D is not cheap. Can you get a valve, plastic sight glass, amd thermometer for less than $200? Sure you can, but they wont compare to what the boilermaker offers in quality or design. The real question is if this matters to you, to some no but Blichmann seems to be doing well so there's obviously a market for those looking for high end equipment?

Apples to Oranges is how I see it.

We all know brewing isn't a poor mans game but now with all the DIY involved people with less disposable income (like me) can get DEEP into this hobby. Blichman has name in the market because they have been around for a while and lot of people in this hobby want the best because they can afford the best. That said, I believe companies like Spike Brewing have their own niche to fill with selling "base" equipment and I bet they will fill it nicely.

Kettles are way out of my price range even without shipping costs but I know I would go for a company like Spike over Blichman seeing as a could spend more than I make in a month on 2-3 items from them...

 

[kal]

I think his point is those options don't cost an additional $200+ and it is nice to give the consumer an option. I personally think it's a good business decision to offer options for those that want them.

But you don't have the option to add an aftermarket sight glass that is as nicely protected as the one Blichmann gives you. At least I haven't seen any (edit: Stout tanks have tri-clover fitted sight glasses that seem well protected). All of the ones I've seen are not protected at all on the sides. You also have to add your own gradients with a marker or stickers or similar since all kettles are different. They rarely stay stuck on or permanent from what I've seen.

Clad bottom is useless for brewing and just adds extra weight to the kettle with zero advantage. We're not making spaghetti sauce here. The wort is in constant motion so it will not burn. you can't scorch wort by heating from the bottom with gas. It's not possible. Direct firing mash may be an issue. I don't know. I've never done that nor would I design a system around direct firing mash (seems too easy to scorch regardless of how thick the bottom is). RIMS/HERMS is (IMHO) a better idea.

My opinion on welded vs weldless: Nothing wrong with the way Blichmann does weldless. It's just as tight fitting as welded. They do weldless like this using their thermometer as an example:

All their fittings use this principle. The ball valve, thermo, and top/bottom of the sight glass. Same idea.

I use the same principles in my design when I added extra valves to my kettles. The end result is something that's as tight fitting, does not move, does not leak. Just like welded.

Lots of the hate people have for weldless is because of crappy implementation where the person is told to not tighten to much as the oring(s) will get compressed and cause a leaking. Any implementation done like that is questionable. This is not how Blichmann does it. (so it's not how I did it either).

Kal

 

[kal]

And I give those guys major props! Until I read otherwise I see nothing about Blichmann being made in the US

John Blichmann emailed me years ago (Dec 3, 2008) when I bought mine as I wanted to know for import/tax reasons. Things may have changed since then but back then he told me (and I quote) "The pots are about 60-70% US content."

Kal