Okay ready for upgrade from my Brooklyn Kit. What would you suggest?

[Foureyes2020]

I am currently working on bottling my second batch using the Brooklyn Brew kit. I really enjoyed it but seemed like a bit of work for only 8-9 beers so like others I’m ready to upgrade.

But because of my glass top stove I’m a bit concerned that I will have trouble getting that much water to boil.

Should I upgrade to a 2.5 gallon kit or 5 gallon and try to make it work? I really don’t want to brew outside if I don’t have to.

Are there any good 2-3 gallon kits?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or help.

 

[RM-MN]

How adventuresome are you? Still want to stick to extract kits or willing to take a chance and learn to do all grain by BIAB? BIAB lets you choose the size of the batch you want and gives you the full range of grain and hop choices which extract kits do not and it can be as simple as extract with steeping grains.

 

[Foureyes2020]

At this point I haven’t really invested in too much time researching BIAB. I figured that is likely to happen in the near future. I assumed that I would do several extract brews and then make the move to BIAB. But I could go down that road sooner if it makes it easier to make the size batches that I desire.

 

[RM-MN]

For a 2 1/2 gallon batch you will need at least a 5 gallon pot. Bigger may be better as it give you more room at the beginning of the boil so you won't boil over. Get a bag that will at least fill the pot. Some suggest that the pot should be able to fit in the bag so the grains won't be constrained. If you have a local brew store that can mill the grain for you that's about all you need. If they will double mill the grain that is a plus. Get a program (unless you like math) that can scale the recipe for you.

 

[PADave]

You can easily do a partial boil extract on the stove. I normally do BIAB outside when the weather is decent, but in the winter I've started doing extract brews inside. You only need to boil about 3 gal.

 

[Lefou]

Doing a five gallon batch on your stovetop shouldn't be a problem - BUT -

You need to develop at least enough heat to do a minimum of a three gallon boil at the correct starting gravity. You may need a minimum of two kettles, one for the boil and one for the hot liquor tun. I use two kettles, one 7.5gal and one 5gal, both steel. My gas stove handles a 3-4 gallon boil well, so diluting to 4.5 or 5 gallons of wort is my limit. You'll have to decide your needs so they match your BTU output.

If you do BIAB on the stove, it will allow you to do all grain step mashing in small batches, something I highly recommend for beginning BIAB kitchen brewers. Partial mash extract will be a breeze. I use a two-step modified Hochkurz mash or infusion mash with batch sparging and it works fairly well. No real need for a high output propane burner and a lot of extra stuff.
You got this - just ask if you need help.