Kettle size

[Brewing1976]

Im looking at doing a full 5 gallon boil. My kettle is 8 gallons is this good enough

 

[BrewerBrad82]

8 gallons is about the smallest I would go for any 60 minute boil, you will likely be better off with a 10 gallon kettle for longer boils.

 

[k-os]

I have been using an 8.5 gallon kettle for 5 gallon full boil batches on the stove. I think the 8 gallon would work fine.

 

[TechFanMD]

Are you doing a 5 gallon boil or a 5 gallon batch? Extract or all-grain?

Generally a 5 gallon all-grain batch will start with greater than 5G (like 6.5+ gallons) and you'll have ~1.5 gallons of boil-off. Many people also plan for more than 5 gallons in the fermenter to allow for trub loss, hop absorption in dry hopping, etc.

Now that 6.5-7 gallon starting volume for the boil is close to the top, and you add hops to the boil.....all of the nucleation points from the hops cause an eruption. I brewed on an 8 gallon pot for years.....and I just had to watch it really close, sometimes mist it with a spray bottle of water to knock down near-boil-overs, and kept adjusting the temp. 8 gallons in this case is right at the edge, and you'll have to watch it like a hawk. You'll go to the bathroom and come back to a boil-over (because for me, the beer saw me walk away and always did it right then).

You'll be fine. Just keep an eye on it until you really know your setup. If it's in your kitchen - turn the heat off when you need to step away, especially if you're married

 

[mongoose33]

You can get away with an 8-gallon kettle. I brewed a bunch of batches using an 8-gallon megapot from Northern Brewer. You have to be careful of boilovers, but it'll do.

If you're looking at a new kettle, get a 10-gallon model. Not only is it more proof against boilovers (more head space), it'll be there if and when you want to switch to BIAB to do all-grain brewing. That's why I sold my megapot to a friend (who has also brewed a lot of 5-gallon batches with it), so I could get a 10-gallon kettle to do BIAB.

 

[tellyho]

I brewed in a 7.5 gal kettle for years. No problem.

I do like my 11 gal kettle much more, though.

 

[Brewing1976]

Are you doing a 5 gallon boil or a 5 gallon batch? Extract or all-grain?

Generally a 5 gallon all-grain batch will start with greater than 5G (like 6.5+ gallons) and you'll have ~1.5 gallons of boil-off. Many people also plan for more than 5 gallons in the fermenter to allow for trub loss, hop absorption in dry hopping, etc.

Now that 6.5-7 gallon starting volume for the boil is close to the top, and you add hops to the boil.....all of the nucleation points from the hops cause an eruption. I brewed on an 8 gallon pot for years.....and I just had to watch it really close, sometimes mist it with a spray bottle of water to knock down near-boil-overs, and kept adjusting the temp. 8 gallons in this case is right at the edge, and you'll have to watch it like a hawk. You'll go to the bathroom and come back to a boil-over (because for me, the beer saw me walk away and always did it right then).

You'll be fine. Just keep an eye on it until you really know your setup. If it's in your kitchen - turn the heat off when you need to step away, especially if you're married

5 gallon extract

 

[MaxStout]

Your 8 gal BK should be fine for 5 gal full-volume extract batches. If you decide down the road to try BIAB, you could pull off 5 gal batches of moderate gravity beers. Just mash with less than the full volume of water, then do a pourover sparge after the mash is complete and the bag is hoisted above the kettle to bring it up to preboil volume.