Boil Pot to Boil Size Ratio

[dleonard]

Currently I'm brewing 5 gallon batches in a 7.5 gallon pot so its...
5gB : 7.5gP
I'm thinking about getting a large boil pot, so whats your ratio?

 

[conpewter]

I do 5 and 10 gallon batches in a 15 gallon keggle so it works out well. I used to do them in a 7.5 gallon pot but I had trouble with really large grain bills.

 

[JuanMoore]

I have a 12.5 gal boil pot that's barely big enough for 10 gal batches. It's tricky to keep it from boiling over during the hot break, but fine for the rest of the boil. I'm in the proccess of building a keggle system, and look forward to having the extra space.

 

[DKershner]

Ideal I think is 2:1. I am at 1.55:1 though and it seems to work out pretty well, lots and lots of 10gal brewers are at this ratio since Keggles are 15.5gal.

 

[maida7]

First off if you want to make 5 (10) gallons of beer you're gonna need to put more like 5.5 (11) gallons in your fermenter. And if you want to put 5.5 gallons in your fermenter you may need to finish your boil with 6 gallons of wort. So really were talking about 6 (12) gallon batches.

I think an 8 gallon pot is just enough for a 6 gallon batch of wort. 7.5 may work for a 60 min boil but not so good for a longer 90 min. Even with the 8 gallon pot your gonna be filled up and I highly recommend foam control.

I just started using a 15 gallon pot from more beer for 12 gallon batches or wort. It's too small. But I can make it work by topping up with some of the final runnings mid way thru the boil.

Once again get thee some foam control. That stuff is magic.

 

[iijakii]

Man I wish 8-10gal pots weren't so stinkin' expensive for anything not paper-width,

 

[shortyjacobs]

5 gal in 7.5 gal pot is iffy, since you want more like 5.5 into the fermenter, so you want close to 7 in the pot. I used to do it, then got a keggle.

I do 7.2 gal boils, (initial volume) with no problem. When I step up to 2x batches, (11 gal into fermenters, start with 13.2 gal ish), I like to use fermcap.

So I'd say 2:1 pot:batch is the "ideal" ratio, and 1.2:1 is minimum.