Torn on kettle size - thoughts?

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bucketheadmn

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Yes, another kettle size question! Wohoo! I have been doing a ton of reading and have read through numerous previous threads on kettle sizes. I am still torn and looking for opinions.

I am moving to BIAB and planning on doing mainly 2 to 3 gallon batches. I do brew on my stovetop in the kitchen with no plans to move outside (famous last words right?). I have done 5 gallon extract batches, but that is a lot of beer to drink when I am the main beer drinker in the house. Moving to smaller batches will hopefully get me brewing more and allow me to experiment and try different things. I am currently using the el cheapo pot that came with my Northern Brewer starting kit years ago.

I am looking to find a kettle that is stainless steel and has 2 couplers for a thermowell and valve. I would really like the thermowell to be used for 2 gallon batches. I would also like to have etched markings that have half gallon markings (quarter would be awesome) In my research I have found the following that would work I think:

  • SSBrewtech 5.5 gallon
  • Spike Brewing 10-gallon with horizontal couplers
  • MegaPot 1.2 8-gallon
  • Edelmetall Brü® Kettle 8 gallon
  • Various amazon/ebay ones that I would prefer to stay away from.

The SSBrewtech is the one that I am leaning towards as it seems to meet everything I am looking for and is pretty dang cost effective for a well made kettle. I like the Spike 10-gallon quite a bit as well, but the pricing gets up to more than double the SSBrewtech with the valve, thermometer and pickup tube. And then there is the fat that NB runs 20% off at times and both the Edelmetall and MegaPot can be bought using that.....

Where I am torn is that I might want to do a 5-gallon batch every now now and then. Is a 10-gallon pot like the Spike to big to do smaller batches in mainly? Would it make more sense to maybe buy a cheaper 10-gallon pot for the infrequent (if at all) 5 gallon batches that I would make? While I do not want to under buy I also do not want to over buy in size either.

Anyone else in this same predicament - what did you decide to do?

OR do I keep using El Cheapo pot and upgrade from glass carboys to a stainless steel fermentor? I am eyeing the 3.5 and 7 gallon Brew Buckets from SSBrewtech....with the goal of FTSs eventually since I cannot do a chamber or anything else and just have my ambiant basement temp to ferment at.

decisions, decisions....
 
Sailingeric said:
I have an SS Brewtech 15 gallon kettle for my 5 gallon batches and love it. Go as big as you can afford.
Click to expand...

That is what I am thinking, BUT at $300 for the Spike 10 gallon it is quite a bit more than the 5.5 gallon from SSBrewtech. And the SSbrewtech 10-gallon has the thermowell at 4 gallons so that would not work for my small batches.
 
http://www.homebrewing.org/10-Gallon-Brew-Pot-with-One-12-Welded-Coupling_p_7421.html

Skip a thermowell and get a decent probe thermometer like the chef alarm from thermoworks in my opinion.

Personally if I knew I were doing 2 gallon batches I would get a kettle that could fit inside my oven to hold mash temps. I use a nice stainless 3.7g kettle i found at tj maxx for all my stovetop biab 2 gallon batches. At that volume I just dump the kettle into the fermenter so a valve isn't needed.
 
Sailingeric said:
Go as big as you can afford.
Click to expand...

This..I am in the process of upgrading from all 15 gallon pots to 20 gallon pots and upping my Mash Tun to a 25 gallon pot. Going small will limit you in many ways (boil over potential/ability to brew bigger beers/etc.)
You want as big as you can reasonably afford or you will be regretting it at some point down the road.
 
bucketheadmn said:
Anyone else in this same predicament - what did you decide to do?

OR do I keep using El Cheapo pot and upgrade from glass carboys to a stainless steel fermentor? I am eyeing the 3.5 and 7 gallon Brew Buckets from SSBrewtech....with the goal of FTSs eventually since I cannot do a chamber or anything else and just have my ambiant basement temp to ferment at.

decisions, decisions....
Click to expand...


Out of curiosity, how does a mini-fridge not work in your basement, but a FTSS brew bucket system would?

If you are constrained to brewing on the stovetop, then I would probably keep using your existing pot or stay small.

Also, adding a valve to an existing pot is really, really easy with a weldless kit. If you don't have a drill, you probably have a friend that does. Step bits are your friend.

From my experience: I started off saying I would never do more than 5g. I just finished my second 10g batch. I have two keggles, both with thermowells, and I don't pay attention to them most of the time. I calibrated them against my thermopen (which is worth the $70, believe it or not), but I still use the pen most of the time.
 
bucketheadmn said:
That is what I am thinking, BUT at $300 for the Spike 10 gallon it is quite a bit more than the 5.5 gallon from SSBrewtech. And the SSbrewtech 10-gallon has the thermowell at 4 gallons so that would not work for my small batches.
Click to expand...

I'm brewing 5-gallon batches with a starting boil volume of up to 9 gallons, and my 16-gallon kettle frequently feels too small. Somehow I still get boilover pretty much of the time.

IMO, it's easier to make do with a pot that's too big, than with a pot that's too small...
 
FWIW.....I always said I am going to {always} make 5.5 gallon batches so they fit perfectly into my soda kegs. So I build up all my kettles (BIAB) and fermenters so they accommodate 5.5G batches.

Guess what....I am doing 11G batches now. Think ahead and think bigger than you are thinking at the moment.
 
jekeane said:
Skip a thermowell and get a decent probe thermometer like the chef alarm from thermoworks in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Yes, A Chef's Alarm from Thermoworks along with the Sous Vide waterproof, high temp probe is ideal especially for BIAB when you are focused on accurate mash temps. I use this and almost never refer to the thermometer on my kettle so its simply in the way of my grain bag. A thermometer installed in your kettle is something may not be as important to you later down the road as it seems now.
 
mirthfuldragon said:
Out of curiosity, how does a mini-fridge not work in your basement, but a FTSS brew bucket system would?

If you are constrained to brewing on the stovetop, then I would probably keep using your existing pot or stay small.

Also, adding a valve to an existing pot is really, really easy with a weldless kit. If you don't have a drill, you probably have a friend that does. Step bits are your friend.

From my experience: I started off saying I would never do more than 5g. I just finished my second 10g batch. I have two keggles, both with thermowells, and I don't pay attention to them most of the time. I calibrated them against my thermopen (which is worth the $70, believe it or not), but I still use the pen most of the time.
Click to expand...

Which mini fridge would fit a 5 or 6 gallon carboy? I would have to look at a smaller upright or freezer for that I think - at least none of the small mini/dorm fridges would that I have seen. And having one appliance with a keg in it already I would not want to add another. So in addition to space the power requirements would be a bit cheaper to run a FTSs I assume. Also a bit easier to sell a FTSs to my wife since I can put it away when not being used and it is not another appliance

My thought with the termowell is for the mashing. How do you use your thermopen without losing heat to open up the lid to check temp? I have a el cheapo thermopen that I use for grilling, but not a quick insta-read one.

While I am not stuck in the kitchen I just do not see myself getting into big batches. However, if I do I will pony up for bigger kettle(s), etc.. then. Would rather get something that will work well for smaller BIAB in the kitchen for now.
 
Morrey said:
Yes, A Chef's Alarm from Thermoworks along with the Sous Vide waterproof, high temp probe is ideal especially for BIAB when you are focused on accurate mash temps. I use this and almost never refer to the thermometer on my kettle so its simply in the way of my grain bag. A thermometer installed in your kettle is something may not be as important to you later down the road as it seems now.
Click to expand...

Nice! I had not known about the waterproof probe like that. Little more expensive than a built in thermometer, but lots of other uses as well. Time to look into them a bit now....
 
JMO disclaimer...

An inexpensive 5 gallon pot will work fine for 2-3 gallon stovetop batches, perhaps even better than your dream larger kettle as stovetop heat is limited, a larger kettle will heat slower. Walmart has a 32 qt aluminum tamale pot for like 23 bucks lol.

Jmo again but I think your suffering FOMO on a bling kettle.

Myself as well as others prefer a hand held thermometer over a kettle mount just saying...

My apologies for poo pooing your kettle dream...jmo
 
wilserbrewer said:
JMO disclaimer...

An inexpensive 5 gallon pot will work fine for 2-3 gallon stovetop batches, perhaps even better than your dream larger kettle as stovetop heat is limited, a larger kettle will heat slower. Walmart has a 32 qt aluminum tamale pot for like 23 bucks lol.

Jmo again but I think your suffering FOMO on a bling kettle.

Myself as well as others prefer a hand held thermometer over a kettle mount just saying...

My apologies for poo pooing your kettle dream...jmo
Click to expand...

Hah - not poo pooing dream at all. One of the reasons I posted was to get opinions to make sure I consider everything. What I have will work just fine no problem - this is definitely a want and not a need. One of the reasons I want to upgrade my kettle is because what I have now is just a cheap thin one and it would be nice to upgrade to a more durable more heavy duty nice one. The other thing that I really would like to do is get one with a valve on it for transferring the wort - I do not like dumping into a funnel at all.

I think you and the others have sold me on skipping the kettle mount - I did not have any idea about the waterproof probe and we need a new thermometer for home use anyways. Nice double use! And one of my concerns was with the probe getting in the way of the bag of grains.

Using a temp probe opens up a few more options like the SSbrewtech 10 gallon since I am not worrying about where it volume hits the probe.

Just need to settle what I am doing so I can order one of your bags :mug:
 
I was in the EXACT same boat as you, and ended up buying an 8 gallon kettle because I thought that would be on the bigger side of what I could ever possibly need. Meanwhile, I've since had to buy an 11 gallon kettle because the 8 gallon can't quite handle some of the bigger split batches that I want to do. You should absolutely get at least 10 gallons, even if you think you're set with small batches. I also think you might want to rethink the kettle thermometer--there's nothing they can do that a handheld thermometer can't, and not having to have one mounted so low gives you a lot more options for 10 gallon kettles.
 
bucketheadmn said:
Which mini fridge would fit a 5 or 6 gallon carboy? [...] And having one appliance with a keg in it already I would not want to add another.
Click to expand...

I have two mini-fridges in the 4 cu ft range. I would have to check the model. I built a small platform that stands level to the compressor hump (scrap 2x4 and some plywood), so that makes it big enough to fit an 8 gallon plastic bucket fermentor. I had to cut the door panel out now that I think about it, but I only paid $30 for it off of Craigslist anyway. Did a quick search and a mini-fridge runs $30/year or less to run. At ale fermentation temperatures it would be a little less - not enough to worry about when you're considering the price of an FTS.

I use a cooler mash tun, and I did not think about a thermowell for BIAB. That might make more sense then.

In any event, six of one is half dozen of another - if it works for you, great.
 
I second a cheaper kettle. I bout a 50 quart jarhill kettle with ball valve and thermometer for cheap recently. Yes the metal is a bit thinner but it works perfectly fine for my uses.
 
I brew 3 gallon batches and I bought a Colorado Brew systems 10 gal pot with ball valve for a little more than $100. You can customize as you wish for added cost and a the time I purchased shipping was free.

I don't think you will be able to brew on a stove using a 10 gal pot so you may be limited on size.

For me, my 3 gallon batches use 5.5-6 gallons of water which I add all at one time. With the grains added the pot is more than half filled. I do brew outside on a burner.

The only issue with the Colorado brew systems pot is it doesn't maintain heat during the mash. Temps drop 5-8 degrees so I have to wrap in a couple sleeping bags which help with temp drops which is normally 3 degrees compared to not wrapped.

My next purchase would probably be a spike kettle. Check out their basement page as oftentimes they reduce prices on blemished items.
 
Morrey said:
Yes, A Chef's Alarm from Thermoworks along with the Sous Vide waterproof, high temp probe is ideal especially for BIAB when you are focused on accurate mash temps. I use this and almost never refer to the thermometer on my kettle so its simply in the way of my grain bag. A thermometer installed in your kettle is something may not be as important to you later down the road as it seems now.
Click to expand...

The sous vide probe will fail when used with wort.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=521991

The 12" probe is a better choice.
 
singybrue said:
The sous vide probe will fail when used with wort.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=521991


The 12" probe is a better choice.
Click to expand...


I was looking at that as well. I am wondering about keeping temp during mash though. How do you use the probe and get your lid to close completely keeping heat retention? This was another semi reason I started looking at upgrading to a nicer kettle was to keep heat in during mash time.
 
bucketheadmn said:
I was looking at that as well. I am wondering about keeping temp during mash though. How do you use the probe and get your lid to close completely keeping heat retention? This was another semi reason I started looking at upgrading to a nicer kettle was to keep heat in during mash time.
Click to expand...

I wrap the flexible cord over the top edge of the pot, then put the lid on and wrap the pot with a sleeping bag
 
Thanks all. Sounds like 10 gallon is the way to go.

I am going to do my first BIAB batch tomorrow in my el cheapo 5 gallon - 2 gallon batch with a 4 gallon boil. How this goes will determine how quickly I need to buy a bigger kettle....
 
Morrey said:
Yes, A Chef's Alarm from Thermoworks along with the Sous Vide waterproof, high temp probe is ideal especially for BIAB when you are focused on accurate mash temps. I use this and almost never refer to the thermometer on my kettle so its simply in the way of my grain bag. A thermometer installed in your kettle is something may not be as important to you later down the road as it seems now.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I have a newer SS kettle with 3 ports and only use the lower with the ball valve. I thought I would want a thermometer but have been using a probe and realized that a thermowell was something that would just lead to an abused grain bag. Get a probe!

Also...I picked up my 10 gallon at a pretty decent price on Amazon when I signed up for Prime. $50 bucks is 50 bucks! I am totally happy with this one for 5-7 gallon batches.

Like the others have said though, if you think you will go bigger, skip it and get a 15 gallon kettle. Then you can fill 2 corny kegs! :ban:
 
I started with BIAB but went with the BIAB in a round cooler after 3 batches for a variety of reasons, but that wasn't your question so here's my 2cents regarding a kettle:
Your 5 gallon kettle will be fine for 2-3 gallon batches, you really don't need a bigger pot.
But, if you WANT a bigger/nicer pot:
I'd go for the 8 gallon Megapot 1.2 for the following reasons:
-Its a good value and 20% off now.
-It has the tall pot geometry that some other pots don't have.
-You can do 5 gallon batches in it, just keep an eye on it when the boil starts.
-You don't need a thermometer on the kettle, use a portable one.
-You don't need a valve, especially for 3 gallon batches. Put a big funnel in the carboy and dump the wort in, it will get aerated as you do this.
The money you save on a pot should go toward fermentation control ASAP.
I have a small chest freezer (5.5 cu ft)? The deepest part of the freezer will hold 2 corny kegs or 2 square 3 gallon better bottles with an airlock. The shallow part will hold a short 2.5 gallon glass carboy or 2.5 gallon corny kegs or gallon jugs with airlocks. So you could use the freezer for fermentation or for serving kegs.

Add a temperature control unit and you're ready to go.
The last time I looked at Lowe's these were being sold for like $169.
I fermented at ambient basement temps and then used a crude fermentation box with ice bottles for years, which actually works fine, I even did lagers in it, but having precise temp control is really a significant upgrade and well worth the expense.
 
I'm a 2 - 3 gallon brewer. I've thrown away plenty of money on equipment that I decided just complicated my life and no longer use. Kettles with spigots and thermo wells are fine for large brewers..... they're useless for me. They are expensive and result in single purpose equipment that doesn't store as well. Wilserbrewer's advice is good. Buy a cheap Walmart stockpot, and use a clip on thermometer. I have a number of thermometers, including a great little inexpensive Ebay electronic thermometer designed for cooking meat, with an audio alarm and a timer function also. Here is a thread about it. At $7.44 it was a great value. It lets me know when I hit strike temp, and I can monitor the mash temp also using it's remote sensor.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=629584

I use a cheap Walmart stainless steel stockpot. It's no problem pouring into a fermenter when we are talking about 2-3 gallons. The spigot is just a vulnerability.

I have no fermentation chamber. I use ambient temps in various places, and yeasts appropriate to the temps. My pump house maintains 60-65 degrees this time of year, with outdoor daytime temps approaching 90. I have an ancient hand dug well 30' deep in the yard, inside of a shed. It's about 48" diameter and has a platform about 6' below the surface. The temps in it are perfect for lagers, year round. It has a steel hatch to allow me access. In the house I have a 7 gallon Fast Ferment, currently showing 75F. I use Kveik yeast in it, on a continuous ferment. Sigmunds Voss Kveik is rated up to 100F without producing off flavors, and I do 2 gallon brews, maintaining 6 gallons in it, removing 2 gallons for secondary and dry hopping, and adding 2 gallons of fresh wort.... about once a week. Originally I varied the hops and malts........now just the malts. I hop the brew with Columbus to about 55 IBU, but dry hop with various other hop combinations......... This is strictly a pale ale fermenter, and I'm up to 19 brews. I pour boiling hot wort in, after loosening the yeast ball enough to keep it from overheating. The wort in the fermenter will jump up to 130F, and when it drops down to 80F, I pitch the yeast ball back in. It's turned into a great system and produces a steady stream of excellent beer. I use a very large diameter funnel (plastic oil drain funnel), with a splatter screen laying in it to make pouring easy, and also generally use a smaller stock pot to transfer the boiling hot wort, to make it easier and safer. The fine screen traps most of the trub. With a 30 minute mash, and 30 minute boil, and no chill, the whole process is fast and easy, and I often do back to back brews using my other fermenters for more conventional brews, such as saisons and hefeweisen recently.

Invest in ingredients.............. not equipment. Fancy equipment does not make high quality beer any better than cheap equipment. Brewing bling is fun to show off, but good beer is better.

H.W.
 
bucketheadmn said:
Thanks. I saw that as well. Still not sure - so many good thoughts/opinions in answers. Might have to brew a handful more batches to get some more BIAB under my belt to figure out what I really want to upgrade. I keep going back and forth.....
Click to expand...

I'm using a $130 Bayou Classic kettle with a ball valve. It's served me quite well. I don't know that I could recommend spending $300+ on a kettle... though who knows, maybe if I tried a fancy one I'd be hooked.

This one does it all though. Heats stuff up and has a spigot to pour stuff out. What more could you want?
 
Trail said:
I'm using a $130 Bayou Classic kettle with a ball valve. It's served me quite well. I don't know that I could recommend spending $300+ on a kettle... though who knows, maybe if I tried a fancy one I'd be hooked.

This one does it all though. Heats stuff up and has a spigot to pour stuff out. What more could you want?
Click to expand...

I can't speak for others, but welded ports was a must for me. I picked up a nice 10 gallon two port BrewBuilt with ball valve from MoreBeer for $180. The spikes a couple posts back @ $150 is a rockin' deal.

If you don't care about welded fittings, you can get a pretty nice kettle for right around $100 or less.
 
I picked up an Arthur's 201 stainless steel brew pot, 8 gallon for $100 CAD. I looked at the SS Brewtech and a few other options and I wasn't going to justify spending that kind of cash for a brew pot as an amateur. It's a solid kettle, I just did a 5 gallon Weizenbock BIAB and everything so far has turned out well. The great thing is it's all metric hardware (which sucks if you are a Yankee and don't have metric tools, though adjustable wrenches will do the trick for assembly. The thermometer is pretty darn accurate, within a degree of a digital probe, held temperature for an hour before starting to see some drop, but when I did the brew I was opening the lid every so often to stir the mash, but my initial test with hot water it held temperature well for mashing.
 
Right now go to www.bru-gear.com They're selling their 10 gallon kettles at 50% off. I own 3 of their kettles and couldnt be more pleased for the money and quality that I have for my current system. If you're looking for a cheaper pot that is Tri-Clamp and comes with 2 ports thats your pot to go to.
 

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