Hey all, I turned 21 last year and have been trying out many beers and have had a lot of good ones(or so I believe.). I've turned out to be somewhat of a beer head. I just bought a DIY beer kit from Coopers Beer Company. I just found this site and before the kit comes I have a question. What type of pot should I get for the brew kettle? Can I get it at a cooking store such as Chef Central? I believe the recipe calls for 5 gallons of beer.
Intro/Question.
- Thread starter rwithtf
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JasonToews
Well-Known Member
I'd say go out and buy a turkey fryer and burner. Welcome!
cracked1
Well-Known Member
There is a sticky at the top of the Beginers forum that points out the pros and cons of different types of pots. This one --> https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/vs-pro-con-analysis-109318/
A nice place to start is with a turkey fryer kit. They have a propane burner and a good sized pot all in one kit. If you upgrade the pot later you can still use the burner. This time of year you can often find them at a reduced price all over the place. Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart, etc...
A nice place to start is with a turkey fryer kit. They have a propane burner and a good sized pot all in one kit. If you upgrade the pot later you can still use the burner. This time of year you can often find them at a reduced price all over the place. Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart, etc...
BryceL
Well-Known Member
Stainless steel is best but also more expensive than aluminum. I'd take a few days to research your options before buying. Worst thing is to buy in a hurry and wishing you had gone a different route after the first brew. Check sites like morebeer, northern brewer, austin homebrew just to name a few. Welcom to the forums!
I'm sorry I don't have the book on me, but I believe you're talking about cooling the wort. i was going to have an ice bath ready for that and obviously cover the openings in the pot. Do you not think that will be sufficient?
JasonToews
Well-Known Member
I used an ice bath when i first started, it worked for me, but believe me once you get that immersion chiller, the time difference is huge. You can chill 5 gallons in less then 10 minutes. A key to successful brewing is to get fermentation started quickly, so you want to chill your wort as fast as possible.
If you are going to use an ice bath to chill the wort, you don't want to do full boils. It'll take forever to chill 5 or 5.25 gallons of boiling hot wort that way. You'd want to do a partial boil of 3 or so gallons (most kit instructions are written assuming this method), chill the reduced wort in an ice bath, then when chilled down to 80 degrees, mix it with chilled water in your fermenter to get it down to pitching temps (preferably below 70).
The basic decision is one of equipment investment and complexity. Consider how much you want to spend on equipment. Also consider space to brew and store equipment.
Mucho dinero: To do full boils, you'll need more equipment, and you'll be brewing outdoors. Buy a propane turkey fryer with a 40 quart pot minimum, stainless if you can find it but aluminum is fine, and an immersion chiller with garden hose fittings. You may be able to make an immersion chiller cheaper than you can buy one if you like to DIY. Immersion chillers are simple and effective, low maintenance, easy to clean. A plate chiller is another option, usually faster chilling, but you'll definitely want to drill your pot and put in a ball valve and pick up tube if you go with that method. Plate chillers require a more rigorous cleaning and sanitizing routine than immersion chillers; having a pump to circulate PBW through it after use is handy, and in my opinion almost a necessity.
Inexpensive: To do partial boils then topoff in the fermenter, buy a 20 quart pot. You can brew on your stove top. An immersion chiller with kitchen sink fittings is very welcome, but you can use an ice bath in the sink to chill the 3 gallons of wort you end up with in the pot at the end of the boil.
A lot of people here will tell you to buy everything up front to do outdoor full boils. I usually don't. It's fine if you have the space for it and are willing to spend that much money to get started. You're probably going to eventually outgrow it and replace it, so why spend all that money up front? The advantage of starting simply and cheaply, which is what I always recommend, is that you can start brewing easily with little expense and complexity. For many people, that facilitates more frequent brewing. There are many ways to expand to full boils, partial mashes, or all-grain brewing. You can be cranking out and drinking kit after kit doing partial boils on your stovetop while you study the options and plan for your dream system.
Here is the link to the online version of John Palmer's How To Brew. Note that the online book is the first edition. The hardcopy book you have is probably the third edition.
The basic decision is one of equipment investment and complexity. Consider how much you want to spend on equipment. Also consider space to brew and store equipment.
Mucho dinero: To do full boils, you'll need more equipment, and you'll be brewing outdoors. Buy a propane turkey fryer with a 40 quart pot minimum, stainless if you can find it but aluminum is fine, and an immersion chiller with garden hose fittings. You may be able to make an immersion chiller cheaper than you can buy one if you like to DIY. Immersion chillers are simple and effective, low maintenance, easy to clean. A plate chiller is another option, usually faster chilling, but you'll definitely want to drill your pot and put in a ball valve and pick up tube if you go with that method. Plate chillers require a more rigorous cleaning and sanitizing routine than immersion chillers; having a pump to circulate PBW through it after use is handy, and in my opinion almost a necessity.
Inexpensive: To do partial boils then topoff in the fermenter, buy a 20 quart pot. You can brew on your stove top. An immersion chiller with kitchen sink fittings is very welcome, but you can use an ice bath in the sink to chill the 3 gallons of wort you end up with in the pot at the end of the boil.
A lot of people here will tell you to buy everything up front to do outdoor full boils. I usually don't. It's fine if you have the space for it and are willing to spend that much money to get started. You're probably going to eventually outgrow it and replace it, so why spend all that money up front? The advantage of starting simply and cheaply, which is what I always recommend, is that you can start brewing easily with little expense and complexity. For many people, that facilitates more frequent brewing. There are many ways to expand to full boils, partial mashes, or all-grain brewing. You can be cranking out and drinking kit after kit doing partial boils on your stovetop while you study the options and plan for your dream system.
Here is the link to the online version of John Palmer's How To Brew. Note that the online book is the first edition. The hardcopy book you have is probably the third edition.
I don't have a local brew store or else I would go there. The closest place to me that would have something of that sort is Chef Central(Cooking Store). If anybody has experience with that, that would be amazing. But also to billtzk the book seems to go by 5 gallon recipes. But, I guess i could do some math.
Yes, 5 gallon recipes are the norm. But there is more than one way to get to 5 gallons. You don't have to boil 7 gallons of wort to get there (a full boil). You can boil 4 gallons of wort, end up with 3, and add water in the fermenter to make 5 gallons (a partial boil). That is the way most people start brewing. And you don't have to do any math. Read Section 1, Brewing Your First Beer With Malt Extract in John's book. The partial boil is precisely what he describes.
I'd also like to note that the cooper's beer kits are designed for 23L,or 6.072 gallons. They're 1 more gallon than kits from this country,which are vertually all 5 gallons.
I bought the 20 qt (5G) SS stock pots in a nested set of 4 with lids & steamer trays on sale at Giant Eagle myself. All polished SS. Still clean & working great,& only cost me $25 for the whole set. Look around,deals can be had.
I bought the 20 qt (5G) SS stock pots in a nested set of 4 with lids & steamer trays on sale at Giant Eagle myself. All polished SS. Still clean & working great,& only cost me $25 for the whole set. Look around,deals can be had.
