Brewpot Suggestions?

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RonRock

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I'm going to buy a Stainless Pot for my new hobby. I've looked around and see many options. No surprise there, but could use a little help deciding what to buy. I know this is opinion and everybody has one so what say? One thing that I'm curious about is the spigot I see on some pots. Do I need / want a spigot? I'm obviously new but imagine I will continue with the hobby and advance so I don't want to buy something now that I will outgrow soon.

BTW, I have an unused 1/2 keg that I considered making a Keggler out of. Would that be a good direction? I already have it so cost is zero unless I should put in a spigot or whatever.

Sorry for such a vague question I couldn't think of a better way to decide on a pot.
 
My personal favorite are the megapots. They are stainless, come with a lid, and they have a clad bottom. As far as the spigot goes, you don't need one if you are using an immersion chiller, but if you plan to use a counter flow or plate chiller you will want to have it. The thermometer depends on your setup, I use mine for a HLT so I love having it on there, but it is really more of a luxury than an essential.
 
I prefer the heavy duty ones myself but still have the basic one that came with my kit.

One day I'll get another job and maybe get a nice one with a spigot.

However, honestly anything you can boil 3 gallons of water in with some room on top for foam in case you get a boilover... you'd be fine.

I've heard turkey fryer pots are being used and can be bought pretty cheap.
 
My first brew pot was a 7.5 gallon stainless and everytime I boiled in it was a careful balance to not boil over. I suggest just biting the bullet and getting a converted keg right from the start and never worry while boiling. If you have the money might as well get all the bells and whistles, if not they can be added over time.
 
My personal favorite are the megapots. They are stainless, come with a lid, and they have a clad bottom. As far as the spigot goes, you don't need one if you are using an immersion chiller, but if you plan to use a counter flow or plate chiller you will want to have it. The thermometer depends on your setup, I use mine for a HLT so I love having it on there, but it is really more of a luxury than an essential.

Why do you not need the spigot if you are using an IC? Wouldn't the spigot on a 10 gallon pot be good for racking to the primary, rather than trying to pour the wort into the primary after cooling?
 
If you already have a keg I'd convert that. That's what I use to boil in and it works very well for me.
 
you could use a weld less fitting for your 1/2 keg, then if / when you upgrade to a full 15gal keggle you could just use the same weld less fitting.

That's what I did, and now I have 2 15 gal keggles and a 10 gal rubermaid cooler... I retired the 1/2 keg.

-DIG
 
Is some form of hopstopper necessary for a keggle with a spigot? Or will whirlpooling first usually keep most of the hops out?

Another related question (somewhat). A couple of my friends were using hops bags during the boil, are there disadvantages to doing that?
 
Why do you not need the spigot if you are using an IC? Wouldn't the spigot on a 10 gallon pot be good for racking to the primary, rather than trying to pour the wort into the primary after cooling?
Because with an immersion chiller the wort is chilled in the pot and all of the hot/cold break and hop trub falls to the bottom as it chills. Then you are best to pull the wort from the top down, an autosiphon does a great job at this where a spigot pulls from the bottom.
 
Because with an immersion chiller the wort is chilled in the pot and all of the hot/cold break and hop trub falls to the bottom as it chills. Then you are best to pull the wort from the top down, an autosiphon does a great job at this where a spigot pulls from the bottom.

Can't you use something to filter the ball valve?

And if you're doing extract brewing and bagging your hops, this shouldn't be a big deal, right?

I'm in the market for a new pot myself, and I'm trying to decide whether to get the 10 gallon with the ball valve or without, since I'm not moving to AG for a while yet.
 
I've actually been considering putting a ball valve on my kettle too. No problem with the auto-siphon I have been using, I just like to tinker. I was thinking of putting a short length of braided hose on the spigot, so just in case the whirlpool doesn't keep it all away from the spigot, the braid will keep everything out.
 
The braided hose sounds like a good idea. Hey, you're in my part of the world! Where do you buy your stuff? A member of any brew clubs? I'm just getting back into brewing, I took about 5 years off. Oddly enough, my daughter is 5 years old...
 
The only homebrew shop in the area that is any good in my opinion is Homebrew HQ, but that's in Richardson, so shipping from Austin Homebrew is cheaper than driving there, but it's a great shop with some great people working there. So Austin Homebrew is almost exclusively where I shop, unless I'm in Dallas for some reason. The shop in Arlington (Dr. Jeckels) leaves a lot to be desired in terms of supplies and ingredients, and the shop here in Ft. Worth (the Winemaker Shop) is alright, but the guys that work there have said MAYBE 2 words to me in the 3 times I have been, so the service leaves a lot to be desired.

I have been considering joining the NTHA (North Texas Homebrewers Association), but most of the members live in and around N. Dallas, and Homebrew HQ is the headquarters (imagine that), and I have a pretty hectic schedule, so I would almost never be able to make it out to meetings. I am however about to start entering some beers into competitions here. If you haven't yet, you should check out the Lonestar Circuit, a series of Texas homebrew competitions, there's still a few left this year.
 
I really like Pat over at Jeckyl's, but I agree, limited options on ingredients. And no question about the winemaker shop, not the most verbose folks on the planet. Even when I ask questions, I feel like I'm asking a goth teenager a question.

Maybe I'll take a trip out to Richardson to check that place out. I don't like having my yeast shipped, that's the only thing. Maybe I could make a monthly trip to Richardson...

Do they have a good hardware selection?
 
I've actually been considering putting a ball valve on my kettle too. No problem with the auto-siphon I have been using, I just like to tinker. I was thinking of putting a short length of braided hose on the spigot, so just in case the whirlpool doesn't keep it all away from the spigot, the braid will keep everything out.

Careful with that braid. You'll be cursing yourself the first time you make anything with too much pellet hops. That braid will clog mighty fast and you'll be finding yourself mucking with your autosiphon.
 
Careful with that braid. You'll be cursing yourself the first time you make anything with too much pellet hops. That braid will clog mighty fast and you'll be finding yourself mucking with your autosiphon.

Do you get much pellet muck if you use a hop bag?
 
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