Just got my first real brew pot

[rwberne]

I've been doing 2 1/2 gallon boils for 5 gallon batches for two years - only had my 3 gallon pasta pot. I've never whirlpooled or siphoned the wort from pot to primary - after chilling, I just pour everything through a double mesh strainer and funnel into my carboy. I have never had any clarity problems (I do siphon to secondary). Just got a nice 7 gallon brew pot for Xmas (thanks, honey!) with thermometer and ball valve. So, now I am thinking (overthinking?) changing my technique for even better beer.

I will now do full volume boils. But can I just then open the valve after chilling and drain through my strainer as always, or should I now be whirlpooling, or using some kind of filter to keep trub and hops in the pot? Always interested in improving my methods - and the beer! Thanks for any advice.

 

[mkirkland]

I used a 7g pot for full boils for a while and it is a challenge to keep that thing from boiling over constantly. Most of the time i could get away with boiling 6 gallons and then slowly adding about a gallon and a half slowly of the 60min boil to end up with 5 to 5.5 gallons at the end.

 

[cvstrat]

Sadly you can't straight up make a 5 gallon batch in a 7 gallon kettle. In order to end up with 5 gallons of beer you'll need to brew a 6 gallon batch. .5 gals is lost to trub in the kettle, and .5 to yeast/trub in the carboy.

You'll boil off anywhere from 1-1.5 gallons of beer per hour (depends on kettle dimensions, temperature, wind, etc) so you'll need a minimum of 7 gallons of beer in the kettle for a 5 gallon batch. My system boiled off 1.5gal/hr so I needed 7.5 in the kettle.

Mkirkland has a good idea. Sparge out a gallon or two less than your recipe calls for, then add water near the end of the boil or in the carboy (if you use distilled bottled water) to get to your target volume.

I sit the kettle up on the table/chair and attach a hose from the ball valve down into the carboy. Once you've cooled the wort whirlpool the hell out of it and let it sit for 10-15. Then slowly open up the valve to full blast and let it go. Most of the trub is in a cone in the center. Once the wort drains to the level of the trub mound slow down the flow to keep from sucking up all that gunk.

Congrats on the new kettle! You'll love it

 

[Gldnst8warrior]

I am interested in hearing some feedback on this as well. I got a gift certificate for Christmas to the LHBS and was planning on getting a new brew pot and wort chiller with it. Having brewed partial boils so far I am hoping doing full boils with the same extract and steeping grain kits will yield a better finished beer?

 

[cvstrat]

I used this one for a long time:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/10-gallon-megapot.html

I didn't use the thermometer attachment, so the kettle was relatively affordable. It's sort of wider than some other kettles like the polarware or whatever, but it has held up perfectly through 35-40 brews in a 9 month period.

For 5 gallon batches you'd ideally have a 10 gal kettle. For 10 gallon batches you would use 15 gal kettle or a keggle.

I don't think it will help the quality of your beer, but it's fun and sort of eliminates having to top off at the end which is a bonus.

You'll probably wanna to all grain eventually because it's so much cheaper!

 

[h22lude]

What does everyone use as a heat source with the bigger 10+ gallon brew pot?

I have been using a 4 gallon SS pot for 2 gallon partial boils on my electric glass top stove and it brings the 2 gallons to a rolling boil and I even get boil over (probably too hot when I poured in the extract and hops). I just bought a 5 gallon pot to see if that works on my stove.

I don't see a 10 gallon pot working well on my stove at all. Do you use a turkey fryer or have a custom set up? I wouldn't mind using a turkey fryer but living in the North East, our winters get cold so brewing indoors is so much better lol

 

[1fastsedan]

When I lived in Boston, I had to brew in an apartment. I used to do split boils on the stove, 2 3 gallon pots with lots of hop bags. I used an immersion chiller (one pot at a time) and siphoned out of the pots into the fermentor.

Outside with a turkey friar is a lot less headache and the wife doesn't complain about boil-overs on the stove anymore.

 

[cvstrat]

for the 10 gallon pot the bayou classic http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009JXYQ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 works perfectly. I've used the same one for the same 40 brews as the original kettle and it still works great.

Word of caution though the first time you fire that thing wide open the black paint burns off and gets you high, even if you try to avoid the fumes... I'd just set it on high by itself and let it burn for 10 mins while you wait inside lol.

 

[Navy_Chief]

From what I have read you may be able to get away with boiling 5 gallons in that pot if you use Fermcap-s to control the foam, as far as draining you could combine the two techniques. Whirlpool first to get most of the sediment to the center of the pot, then take advantage of the drain valve to make you life easier getting the wort into your fermenter through the strainer... Just my .02

 

[rwberne]

My bad! Just looked at the box - my new brew pot is an 8 gallon, so I think I can put in enough (even if adding some water during the boil) for the full 5 gallons! Thanks for the suggestions - I will try whirlpooling, and I think I will probably drain through my strainer to catch any loose hops, etc. But I have also read that being TOO good at removing all cold break and trub can leave an "empty" tasting beer. Anyone have any thoughts on whether that is an issue or not?

 

[evilhomer]

What does everyone use as a heat source with the bigger 10+ gallon brew pot?

I don't see a 10 gallon pot working well on my stove at all. Do you use a turkey fryer or have a custom set up? I wouldn't mind using a turkey fryer but living in the North East, our winters get cold so brewing indoors is so much better lol

I got a unopened turkey fryer on craigslist for $30. It's not too bad brewing in the winter, I might just throw a jacket or something on. The fryer/boiling wort can keep you warm too.

 

[cvstrat]

My bad! Just looked at the box - my new brew pot is an 8 gallon, so I think I can put in enough (even if adding some water during the boil) for the full 5 gallons! Thanks for the suggestions - I will try whirlpooling, and I think I will probably drain through my strainer to catch any loose hops, etc. But I have also read that being TOO good at removing all cold break and trub can leave an "empty" tasting beer. Anyone have any thoughts on whether that is an issue or not?

Trub consists of dormant yeast and hop particulate/other gunk. You don't want that in your beer period. What you DO want is some suspended yeast, especially w/hefes for example you want a pretty good amt. That's the one beer where if you let it sit too long and it clears up too much, you're losing flavor. That style gets a majority of it's flavor from yeast.

Other styles with bigger hop profiles don't rely on the yeast for the majority of the flavor. While yeast is always important, you couldn't possibly let it sit long enough to clear out all of it, so don't worry. Many commercial breweries filter their beer so it's crystal clear.

In other words, no not really