Switching to all-grain...stove vs outdoor?

[Brewmaster_CPA]

Hi all. I'm making the switch to all grain and was wondering if it is necessary to get a burner to do outdoor? Does anyone do full boils on their stovetop with success? Thanks.


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[JonM]

When I first started doing all grain, I did 2.5 gallon batches on the stovetop because my stove really couldn't handle more than that. When I got the hang of all-grain brewing, I got the outdoor setup.

So yes you can do all grain on the stovetop, but unless you have a really powerful kickass stove, it might be tricky to do a full 5-gallon batch that way.

 

[soccerdad]

I do 5 gallon all grain BIAB batches no prob on the stove - BUT - the wife is a gourmet cook and we have a 6 burner Jenn Air gas cooktop and two of the six are high BTU output. I can brew outside, but in the kitchen it is warmer in the dead of winter and cooler in the heat of summer so I prefer the indoor cooktop.

 

[stru]

I had major issues getting a full boil on my stovetop which led me to brewing outdoors. An easy test would be to fill your kettle to the appropriate level and see if your stove can hit a solid boil. Mine couldn't...

 

[Dave_K]

I do full boils on my stove top. I've had up to 7.5 gallons at a rolling boil. Can't get that volume boiling very vigorously without splitting it up, but I've been getting good results.
Really depends on the stove top though. Some may not be able to handle it.
You also have to take into account the weight you're putting on your burner. Could potentially damage your stove.
Maybe try a test run with water.

 

[moreb33rplz]

i use a 9 gal pot over two burners on the stove top, one of which is high output. no problems at all.

 

[RLinNH]

Depends on how high end your kitchen stove is. I'd say that most people can not do full, all grain boils in their kitchen.

 

[marckw]

I also do stovetop... 8 gallon kettle over gas burner. Not as quick to hit temps as most outdoor burners, but not bad.

 

[danthebugman]

I do 3 gallon batches on my stove top with no problem. If your stove lacks the power to do a larger boil there are a couple options. One would be to look into an electric stick to help reach the boil. Your stove may then be able to maintain the boil on it's own after that. The other would be to do a concentrated boil and top up in the fermenter (much like an extract batch, but with all grain). Or you could split the wort into two kettles and do the full amount that way.

 

[chawn]

I cannot do full boils on my glass stovetop. SWMBO is much happier now I brew outside.

 

[stevedasleeve]

I did for a few years but the elements burned out and I had to do replacements every now and then. Finally though I found the perfect indoor solution. - I made a 1500W heat stick (total time 30 mins, total cost <$30) and an 1800 W induction plate. Works like a charm, I do up to 9.75 gallon boils easy. Winter brewing inside rocks my world... I now do 5 gallon batches and every now and then 8 gallon batches so I can fill a little 3 Gal keg + a regular keg for travel and making friends at parties ...! I am loved around here ... not because I'm pretty...

 

[markstache]

I do full volume 5-gallon boils in a 7.5gal pot. I span two burners on a mid-level gas stove. The boils are not as violent as on my propane burner, but they get the job done. Also, one the propane burner, I shave about 45 to 1 hour waiting for strike and boil temps.

Count me among the "try it with water" crowd.

 

[Fordmi]

There are a lot of factors here other than if your stove can handle it.

Where do you live? If it's cold in the winter, you may want to consider indoors.

Do you live with people who will be pissed about the smell and/or mess in the kitchen?

Do you live in an association that may have rules or at least frown upon brewing beer outside?

I have made plenty of good beers on the stove. I find it more enjoyable and quicker/easier outside on burners.

 

[enkamania]

I would choose outside, cleaning up spilled wort is a bear.

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

I have a POS glass top stove and even extract batches were a pain to get boiling. I bought a $40 turkey fryer setup at Walmart and never looked back. 50 plus batches later.


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[Hoosierbrewer]

With gas, I would say it would be a go. Can be tougher with electric stove. I have a stainless steel turkey fryer kit. 7.5 gallon pot. Wish i had 9 gallon or 15

 

[CUrchin]

I do up to 3.5 gal batches on my glass top electric. I have one big burner that handles it fine.


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[Darwin18]

Would you rather spill hot wort, cleaners, grain dust, etc. on the ground or all over your kitchen? Outside brewing keeps everyone happy.

 

[Wynne-R]

A guy in my homebrew club said “A lot of us start out in the kitchen, but the first time you have a boilover you’ll be outside.”

I replied “I don’t have a wife.”

On a regular electric coil range it was all I could do to boil 12-14 qts in a 16qt pot. Then I bought two Dollar store 12 qt pots, much better.

Now I use two 1800W induction cookers, power to spare. Faster than the range , more efficient and smoother. To get a boilover you’d have to to be not paying attention at all.

 

[TexasWine]

Like many others that have already responded, I do stove top BIAB. I love brewing indoors. 9 gallon kettle, heat my strike water overnight in my oven, mash in my oven, straddle two burners to bring up to boiling and cut back to one to maintain the boil.

Don't think I'll ever be an outdoor brewer.

Oh, and for those of you that find scalded wort hard to remove, try a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Leave it overnight on the soiled spots and you'll wake up to a miracle.

 

[mjrodney]

I did a test recently on a Sears Kenmore Your Typical Cheap Kitchen Range Large Burner.

Here are the results.

Large 9" Burner, 2500 watts/8530 btu's per hour.

7 measured gallons of water in a 10 gallon Tall Boy Kettle.

Starting temperature from the tap, 108 degrees F.

One full hour later, 183 degrees F.

An additional 30 minutes later, 212 degrees F.

The boil is far from rolling and instead looks like you are looking down into a glass of 7up soda with CO2 rising to the surface.

Not good enough, in my mind.

Cheap electric ranges are suitable for 3 gallon Extract boils only.

 

[mcartt11]

I have always been an indoor brewer and used a flat top electric stove with a max burner of 2500W. Can get a rolling boil up to about 4.5 gallons. I was just at Sears today looking for a new fridge and took a stroll through the ranges. There are several newer flat top electrics with 3000-3200W burners. I would guess, that you would be able to full volume boils on one of those. I've also seen guys say that they straddle 2 burners to get full boils. I have a skinny kettle though and it isn't quite wide enough to span 2 burners.

Outdoors has to suck when the temps are below freezing like they are for me now.

 

[rlonardo]

I do 5 gallon BIAB batches on my small apartment's small stove. My pot is really wide so it fits across 2 burners on this stove - makes bringing it to a boil easy. I think it'd be difficult to boil 6.5 gallons of wort on my single burner.

 

[guitarguy6]

There's no way my stovetop could handle 5gallon all grain batches. Sadly where I live it's -30C to -40C from Dec to April so outdoor brewing is not possible. I ended up installing a Blichmann boilcoil into my kettle and couldn't be happier. The only downside is cost. The boilcoil was $160 and we had to install an electrical outlet to accommodate it which was another $100.

 

[akdiesel]

I'm in Fairbanks, AK so the temp at my house today when I went to work was -15. No brewing outside in the winter for me. My stove heats 3.5 gal fine and I split up my 5 gal batches to ease the process.

 

[ghohn]

You could tag team it with your stove + an immersion heater or forego the stove burner all together. I've got a 3kw immersion heater that heats all the water/wort needed for a double batch. Having a thermal wrap helps out immensely.

 

[smccarter]

I've always brewed indoors on the stove top. Until I started reading posts here, I never considered that there would be an issue. I've never had an issue in 12 years now.

I prefer the A/C environment inside the house. I fill the HLT and put it on high heat then mill my grain. I'm usually mashing in by the 30 minute mark. I then re-fill my HTL to 7 gallons and heat to 180 while the mash is resting. After lautering, I put the brew kettle on the stove and begin cleaning up from the mash. I usually have everything cleaned up right before the wort reaches a boil... I use fermcap-s, so never any chance of a boil over.

It's an organized brew day... the time that it takes to reach temp gives me plenty of time to do everything else that needs to be done. All at a comfortable 70 degrees, no matter what the temperature is outside.

 

[catdaddy66]

I've been doing AG brews for about a year and have used my stove top for everyone except my next to last brew(s), an RIS and an American stout from a partigyle of that grain bill. For those two I used the propane brewstand of the owner of my LHBS.

My stove generally can get 7 gallons of wort up to a vigorous boil in 35-40 minutes, no problem. I love that I can brew indoors and my family has no problem with it.


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[grevengrevs]

I don't know if my stove can boil 6.5 gallons but I will find out tomorrow with my first all grain batch. I have the day off so if it takes a while it shouldn't matter. We shall see.

 

[yeahfairly]

One boil over on this and SWMBO would get a Lawyer!

 

[RM-MN]

One boil over on this and SWMBO would get a Lawyer!

That looks like a perfect case for an induction heater for your boil pot (provided it will work with your pot) so you don't have to risk a mess on that stove.:rockin:

 

[wilserbrewer]

One boil over on this and SWMBO would get a Lawyer!

Very nice stove! Amazing the output on commercial units. I brewed a 1/2 keg 15.5 gallon batch on the commercial stove at my hunt club a few weeks ago. About 18.5 gallon preboil in a 20 gallon pot. Took a while, but the stove handled it.

Outdoor brewing is great, the only thing I despised was the set up and tear down, then hauling beer downstairs to the basement to ferment. If there is any way possible to set up a basement brewery, do it! Even a ghetto set up beats hauling all your equipment around on brew day....makes a brew session so much easier.

 

[masaba]

My gas range has one 15000 btu burner. I can bring 7 gallons of wort to a boil fairly quickly. It is what I would call a nice rolling boil; I can't achieve the roiling geyser boils that an outdoor propane burner can achieve, though.