sremed60
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- Apr 24, 2015
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I've done a few of the Brewer's Best 5 gallon extract kits and now I'm ready to move on to all-grain.
I bought a 32 qt aluminum tamale steamer at Target for $22 and that was my boil kettle. On the last batch I brewed I wasn't thinking and moved the pot straight from the burner to an ice bath to cool it down. That was a little too drastic for a thin walled aluminum tamale pot and the bottom crinkled up and in like a beer can. It doesn't leak but it has some nice creases in the bottom so I'm not comfortable using it again. I wasn't sold on aluminum anyway with the extra care that had to be taken in cleaning it.
So now that I've decided to go to all grain and stainless steel here's my question: Can I do it effectively with a 32 qt stainless steel kettle and a 5 or 10 gallon Igloo mash tun.
From what I understand for a 5 gallon batch you mash with roughly 2 gallons of water and then sparge with 3 gallons, (roughly), so you don't really ever need the full 5 gallon capacity. With an 8 gallon pot I can boil 6.5 gallons of liquid if I need to, as long as I'm careful to watch for boil over. And I could even do partial boil BIAB in an 8 gallon pot.
The valve and thermometer mounted on the pot make it convenient and I can almost see the need for them on a 10 gallon pot or bigger. But I'm not sure the extra expense would justify them on an 8 gallon pot?
Feedback is appreciated
I bought a 32 qt aluminum tamale steamer at Target for $22 and that was my boil kettle. On the last batch I brewed I wasn't thinking and moved the pot straight from the burner to an ice bath to cool it down. That was a little too drastic for a thin walled aluminum tamale pot and the bottom crinkled up and in like a beer can. It doesn't leak but it has some nice creases in the bottom so I'm not comfortable using it again. I wasn't sold on aluminum anyway with the extra care that had to be taken in cleaning it.
So now that I've decided to go to all grain and stainless steel here's my question: Can I do it effectively with a 32 qt stainless steel kettle and a 5 or 10 gallon Igloo mash tun.
From what I understand for a 5 gallon batch you mash with roughly 2 gallons of water and then sparge with 3 gallons, (roughly), so you don't really ever need the full 5 gallon capacity. With an 8 gallon pot I can boil 6.5 gallons of liquid if I need to, as long as I'm careful to watch for boil over. And I could even do partial boil BIAB in an 8 gallon pot.
The valve and thermometer mounted on the pot make it convenient and I can almost see the need for them on a 10 gallon pot or bigger. But I'm not sure the extra expense would justify them on an 8 gallon pot?
Feedback is appreciated