First brew : Choice of stock pot and other questions

[Foller]

I'm interested in starting a batch of beer for the first time and I would like some help about the choice of stock pot I must buy (I only have a 1 gallon stock pot at the moment).

First, I'm planning to make a Coopers can. Initially, I thought I had to boil the extract in 3 gallons of water (so a 20 quarts stock pot), but after some reading, it seems that I only have to dissolve the extract and the sugar in hot water and be done with it?

If instead of sugar, I use some Dry Malt Extract, I will have to boil it and then add the can of extract after and not boil. If so, how long should I boil the Dry Malt Extract and in how much water?

To do more advanced extract recipes, I need some grain to steep and 2 can of Light Liquid Malt Extract + sugar? + hops to boil. How much water do I need to steep and boil?

---

If I resume :
-1 can of Coopers + 1 pound of sugar : 1 gallon stock pot seems sufficient?
-1 can of Coopers + Liquid/Dry Malt Extract : ?
-Steeping and 2 cans of Light Liquid/Dry Malt Extract : ?


Thank you for the help!

 

[abweatherley]

I don't see the problem. with doing what you said with dissolving the extract in hot water and topping the fermenter with cold water. That's what I plan to do using a three gallon pot. You are going to possibly end up with darker beer and possibly not so good hop utilization.

 

[CrustyBrau]

If you mean the pre-hopped Cooper's can, I don't think boil volume matters much. Hop bitterness has already been set in stone. My first batch was a Cooper's IPA, and aside from me adding too much water, it came out OK; weak, but otherwise balanced. I think I boiled 1.5 gallons or so.

All that said, as soon as you get past pre-hopped kits (and the sooner the better), you're going to want full boils. You should be able to boil 5-6 gallons with enough extra room for some foam up. My pot is 10 gallons. I do 6 gallon batches in it, which start at about 7 gallons at start of boil. That's 3 gallons worth of foam up space, and it isn't all that generous. I use an aluminum pot, so it wasn't too expensive. I think I paid around $60 for it.

 

[Diver165]

I don't see the problem. with doing what you said with dissolving the extract in hot water and topping the fermenter with cold water. That's what I plan to do using a three gallon pot. You are going to possibly end up with darker beer and possibly not so good hop utilization.

+1 on darker beer and less hop utilization.

I start with 5gal and top off with cold water. One day when I feel squirrely I'll calculate my boiloff and fill to that point.

 

[Justibone]

A big chili pot will serve you well if you are brewing inside. A lot of burners won't be able to boil more than about 3 gallons, so that's a limitation. If you get serious about the hobby, and you want to start brewing outside, you'd probably be best getting a turkey deep fry set-up -- or get really serious and look into a keggle and MLT setup.

For now, doing extract inside, a big chili pot is plenty good.

 

[Foller]

All that said, as soon as you get past pre-hopped kits (and the sooner the better), you're going to want full boils. You should be able to boil 5-6 gallons with enough extra room for some foam up. My pot is 10 gallons. I do 6 gallon batches in it, which start at about 7 gallons at start of boil. That's 3 gallons worth of foam up space, and it isn't all that generous. I use an aluminum pot, so it wasn't too expensive. I think I paid around $60 for it.

My plan is to make pre-hopped kits for the first and/or second time and to try unhopped extract after. However, I'm limited in space and with an electric stove for at least another year. I understand that the ideal is to do a full boil, but can a 5 gallons stock pot with a 3-4 gallons boil be sufficient for a nice result? Or at least, better than a pre-hopped can?


Thank you for all the answers!

 

[Justibone]

I understand that the ideal is to do a full boil, but can a 5 gallons stock pot with a 3-4 gallons boil be sufficient for a nice result? Or at least, better than a pre-hopped can?

Yes.

 

[Foller]

Yes.

Thanks!

 

[CrustyBrau]

My thoughts after throwing together a Cooper's IPA kit for my first batch are that if you adjusted the extra malt and total volume, and added flavor and aroma hops near end of boil, you should get a darn drinkable beer, and you could do it with maybe a 2 gallon boil. You could certainly also toss in a handful of bittering hops as well if you like, as Cooper's IPA isn't real bitter.

 

[tomheff]

The Coopers IPA has 52 IBUs when the beer is stretched to 23 liters. It was designed to replicate an English IPA not an American IPA. This bitterness level falls right in the middle of the range of the style. It is within range of an American IPA but at the low end. You can add flavor/aroma hops by boiling your desired hops for 5-10 minutes in the 2 liters of water that you add to the fermenter. Either use a muslin bag or a big strainer. You can also dry-hop in the fermenter after vigoruous fermentation is complete.