first brew pot recommendations

[irishrover32]

hi im just gettin into extract brewing and im in the market for a brew pot. iv got two options as far as i can tell, 1) buy a stainless pot and modify it with a hop strainer and spigot which would be a bit of hassle or 2) buy the bucket in the link below which has the spigot hop strainer and an element in it already. my questions are: is it difficult to control the temperature with an element or is it better to use a gas cooker, also would 33l be enough or should i look for a bigger volume. im not sure how into the whole brewing thing i am i could get bored down the line so im afraid of spending a lot of money and im drawn to the ready made bucket for convenience but what would you recommend.

 

[Dutchbier]

I am a novice having brewed a grand total of two batches so far. First time I used a cheap stock pot that was barely large enough. For my second brew day I bought a ten gallon Blichmann. You get what you pay for! The blick allows me to move into all grain when I am ready. if I lose interest the used blick will sell in a heartbeat while the low end pot becomes another item on CL that nobody wants. So buy the largest and best you can afford.

 

[estricklin]

You don't have to do full boils with extract, unless you want to. I like many, started doing partial boils on the stove with extract.

If your not sure how far down this rabbit hole you want to go, consider an aluminum turkey pot. You can even do full boils on the stove with it, though it's takes forever. If you decide to move things outside, the turkey pot can go that route too.

 

[kh54s10]

It really depends on what you want to accomplish. I started doing extracts in a 20 qt. aluminum stock pot from the grocery store, $20. I then got a 30 qt aluminum turkey fryer and burner and used it for a few brews. While using this I found a deal on two 10 gallon pots. I don't have any strainers in them, On my HLT I have a valve, thermometer and sight glass. On the boil kettle, just a valve.

 

[irishrover32]

i think im gonna go for a 50L stainless pot, ill use nylon bags when adding hops and stuff so i dont need a hop strainer or spigot and then just hand pour it into the fermentor, anyone see any flaws with this plan?

 

[kh54s10]

I would go for the 50L pot. You can pour or siphon and add a kettle valve at any point. Personally I don't like to try to pour large amounts of liquid. But then again I am getting OLD!!

 

[dmashl]

I have moved to all grain and I still do 4 gallon boils in my 20 qt SS pot. Just top off after cool down. Don't have a burner to boil larger volumes.

 

[dave1226]

i think im gonna go for a 50L stainless pot, ill use nylon bags when adding hops and stuff so i dont need a hop strainer or spigot and then just hand pour it into the fermentor, anyone see any flaws with this plan?

That sounds fine. And if hops get into you fermentation vessel, don't worry about it. They'll settle to the bottom in a day or so.

 

[estricklin]

Good deal on the 50L, and ya as mentioned above, the hops settle really quick it's no big deal.

 

[Dutchbier]

I should have mentioned when I posted that I never intended to do partial boils. After studying many posts on HBT I decided on full boils with a chiller for my extract brewing. One of the reasons I ditched the turkey fryer pot was the Blichmann will come in handy for all grain...if that is where I end up. I like taking all the comments from HBT and then working the advice into my own scheme.