Help, I'm metric - 50L big enough for double batch?

[brock_gonad]

Hey Guys,

I'm in Vancouver Canada, and it's just as common to find metric size pots as imperial. My goal is to start off with single batches, and graduate to doubles (all grain).

My local brew supply sells 23 liter carboys. If I want to do a double batch - what size pot do I need. I've found a good deal on a 50L pot, but I'm guessing that it won't be big enough...

Thanks.

P.S. Anyone have a good lead on a deal in Vancouver?

 

[broadbill]

I don't think it will be big enough when you take into account boil-off.

 

[TopherM]

If you have two pots, then the 50L would work for 10 gallon batches. You'd just mash with enough water to cover the grain bed, drain into your 50L brew kettle, heat the rest of your water volume in another pot, then combine both volumes of water in your 50L pot. A ten gallon batch would take about 11.5 gallons of pre-boil water, though, so you need to be careful of boilovers.

It'd be tight, but you could do it!

 

[brock_gonad]

Thanks for the tips guys.

It sounds like a 15 gallon / 60 qt / 60 l pot would simply be easier to deal with.

 

[weirdboy]

As an aside, if you are using 23 liter carboys, I would probably not try to put 20 liters in there for primary fermentation as you will have difficulties with blow off. I would think more like 18-19 liters.

That being the case, a 50 liter pot would *probably* be big enough to fill two of those carboys when you are done, but you'd want to watch the boil carefully and probably use something like fermcap-s and some aggressive skimming to help keep things under control.