BIAB - brew kettle and fermenter recommendations

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zinn

zinn

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I've decided to start brewing via the BIAB method (I did partial mash years ago).

I plan on boiling on the stovetop and bottling. I plan on doing 5 gallon batches.

I'm hoping to get some starter equipment recommendations. Ideally, I'd like to keep the cost of the brew kettle and fermenter at roughly $500 total. Any recommendations for a brew kettle and fermenter that will make my life easier?

Thanks!
 
zinn said:
I plan on boiling on the stovetop and bottling. I plan on doing 5 gallon batches.
Click to expand...

Are you prepared to make some changes? For a 5 gallon BIAB, the minimum pot size would be 8 gallons and 10 would be preferred. Will a 10 gallon fit on your stovetop and not damage it? Will your stovetop be able to boil 7 gallons of wort? Will it bring that much wort to a boil in a reasonable amount of time?

Hmm, how to keep the cost of the kettle and fermenter at $500? A new aluminum kettle with lid would run you about $65 so that would leave you with $435 for fermenters. A bucket fermenter costs around $20. That would be a lot of fermenters to keep filled or stored if empty. Perhaps you need to rethink your dollar amount. Pretty equipment isn't needed to make beer, barley, hops, and yeast do that.
 
RM-MN said:
Will a 10 gallon fit on your stovetop and not damage it? Will your stovetop be able to boil 7 gallons of wort?
Click to expand...

Great point. I hadn't really thought about whether my stovetop can boil 7 gallons of wort without doing damage (I'm new to all-grain brewing, and still relatively new to partial-mash). I suppose this is one advantage of an electric brew kettle? I don't need portability. I'll probably brew in the kitchen regardless. But if an electric brew kettle offers better control and won't damage my stove, that may be the way to go.

RM-MN said:
Perhaps you need to rethink your dollar amount.
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan of saving money! With that being said, I'd also like to minimize potential frustrations as much as possible. I'm excited to get into all-grain brewing, and I want to give myself the best chance to enjoy it by minimizing frustrations. Very much open to suggestions for where to put money to do that.

Thanks again for the input all.
 
Several years ago I decided that I wanted to try all grain brewing in this newfangled way called BIAB but I wasn't so sure that all grain would be worth my while so I made a half batch (2 1/2 gallons) in my 5 gallon pot I already had. My big expenses were a pair of paint strainer bags (because they come 2 in a package) , , a cheap grain mill (Corona mill), and the grains needed for that batch. After that it was really hard to go back and brew the extract kits I had bought. I upgraded to a 7 1/2 gallon pot, barely big enough for a 5 gallon batch (Note that I mentioned 8 gallon minimum and 10 gallon preferred?) and brewed several batches with that but a bad back quickly told me I should be making smaller batches and more of them so I returned to the 5 gallon pot. I can do the heating on the kitchen range, take the wort outside to chill, then ferment it in my 6 1/2 gallon bucket. BIAB makes all grain simple and the beer is every bit as good as any other method.
 
zinn said:
I've decided to start brewing via the BIAB method (I did partial mash years ago).

I plan on boiling on the stovetop and bottling. I plan on doing 5 gallon batches.

I'm hoping to get some starter equipment recommendations. Ideally, I'd like to keep the cost of the brew kettle and fermenter at roughly $500 total. Any recommendations for a brew kettle and fermenter that will make my life easier?
Click to expand...
For stovetop brewing, you might consider mash-in-a-bag instead. This is what I do, and I love the convenience and easy cleanup. I actually use 3 pots (first running, sparge 1, sparge 2) because I don't have a single pot big enough for a 5 gallon batch, and even if I did, my electric stove couldn't maintain a boil in it. After boiling things down, I typically end up with about 3.8 gallons of wort in my largest pot, which after chilling I then dilute in the fermenter to reach my target gravity.

What you need:
  • 10 gallon round cooler (I actually have two of these, one for mashing and the other for pre-treating my water)
  • ball valve and nipple to replace cooler spout
  • brew bag
  • silicone tubing
  • 3 pots from ~2 to 5 gallons each
  • Immersion chiller, or some other way to cool the wort
  • Other stuff you'd need for any type of brewing (fermenter, thermometer, hydrometer, bottling bucket, etc.)
For my 5 gallon batches, I use a very basic stainless steel fermenter with no outlets (so it requires an autosiphon to get the beer into the bottling bucket).

The price point for all of this should be much less than $500.
 
Stumbled on this thread for some advice on brew kettle brands for BIAB. I'm looking for a 10 gallon pot but I'm stuck between the Mega pot from northern brewer, the Anvil, or the cheaper route with Kegco or others. Any experience and preference between either of these?
 
BrewningBeerWorks said:
Stumbled on this thread for some advice on brew kettle brands for BIAB. I'm looking for a 10 gallon pot but I'm stuck between the Mega pot from northern brewer, the Anvil, or the cheaper route with Kegco or others. Any experience and preference between either of these?
Click to expand...
I have the anvil 10.5 and regret nothing except not getting a bigger one.
 
Sounds like the op has an electric stove, but if you have gas something you need to consider is the BTUs output of your biggest burner. When I was doing my stuff in the kitchen, mine struggled with anything over 7 gallons of liquid.

BrewningBeerWorks said:
Why would you want a larger? Can you do a full volume mash for 5% - 6% 5 gallon batches?
Click to expand...

That is right in the 10.5 Foundry’s wheelhouse. Full batches of high ABVs (RIS, Barleywine) can be done with a little creativity.
 
Knightshade said:
Sounds like the op has an electric stove, but if you have gas something you need to consider is the BTUs output of your biggest burner. When I was doing my stuff in the kitchen, mine struggled with anything over 7 gallons of liquid.



That is right in the 10.5 Foundry’s wheelhouse. Full batches of high ABVs (RIS, Barleywine) can be done with a little creativity.
Click to expand...
Perfect. I've got an 8 gallon Brewers Best kettle right now but I have to do a pour over sparge for most batches so I want something larger and a little more sturdy. I use a propane burner and have no issues with boil times or intensity.
 
BrewningBeerWorks said:
Why would you want a larger? Can you do a full volume mash for 5% - 6% 5 gallon batches?
Click to expand...
Sure, but if you want to do a bigger beer a bigger pot helps. Hence why I use a Brewer's Best 16gal kettle...not really having to worry as much about boil overs is nice too.

Cheers
 
I can say, I went from starting with Mr. Beer to BIAB all grain and since I had several fermenter buckets, I just modified them to take a different spigot and as fermenters, they are perfect.
I started doing 5 gallon mash and boils on my electric stove top, but that was NOT a preferred way to go... so I got an induction plate, a nice 8 gallon induction ready pot, and (the most important part) a Blichmann Hellfire burner.
My beers have all turned out VERY drinkable, so the moral of MY story is... You don't really need alot of fancy equipment, just time, space and proper procedure..
 
As the OP asked for a recommendation on equip, mine would be to worry less about the kettle and get a nicer fermenter. I have my eye on one of thos fermzilla conicals you can get for roughly $150 myself.

A kettle is pretty well a kettle imo other than volume & if you want ports or not 🤷‍♂️

Something to consider tho if your going to BIAB in your kitchen is how you plan to remove & squeeze the bag (over whatever kettle you choose) without making a god awful mess.
 
DannyBoy270 said:
As the OP asked for a recommendation on equip, mine would be to worry less about the kettle and get a nicer fermenter. I have my eye on one of thos fermzilla conicals you can get for roughly $150 myself.

A kettle is pretty well a kettle imo other than volume & if you want ports or not 🤷‍♂️

Something to consider tho if your going to BIAB in your kitchen is how you plan to remove & squeeze the bag (over whatever kettle you choose) without making a god awful mess.
Click to expand...
Need to get a BIG (and sturdy) strainer
 
DannyBoy270 said:
As the OP asked for a recommendation on equip, mine would be to worry less about the kettle and get a nicer fermenter. I have my eye on one of thos fermzilla conicals you can get for roughly $150 myself.

A kettle is pretty well a kettle imo other than volume & if you want ports or not 🤷‍♂️

Something to consider tho if your going to BIAB in your kitchen is how you plan to remove & squeeze the bag (over whatever kettle you choose) without making a god awful mess.
Click to expand...

Protip: Remove kettle from burner before lifting out the bag. Better to have any spills go on your counter than turning to burnt sugar on your stovetop.
 
+1 for spending money on a good fermenter.

If you are dead set on stovetop brewing 5 gallon batches, I'd definitely plan on using multiple pots to achieve that. Since you are bottling and the batch size really doesn't matter at this point, 2.5 or 3 gallon batches may be more realistic for stovetop brewing. I have an SS Brewtech 5.5 gallon kettle ($140) and Anvil 4 gallon fermenters ($130 each) and can do up to 3.5 gallon batches if I sparge. After fermentation, this comes out to up to 30 bottles. For full volume BIAB (no sparge) I can do up to 3 gallon batches depending on the grain bill. The only limit there is the mash volume that the kettle can handle (for super light brews, I could do up to 3.5 gallons). Lifting the bag is a piece of cake as well, and I bought a stainless steel colander that fits perfectly on top of my kettle for draining the bag.

I actually prefer smaller batches for a few reasons:
  • Aside from occasional gatherings, my wife and I are the only ones who really drink my beer. I don't want my IPA's sitting around that long waiting to be drank.
  • With 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs, I can have more of a variety in my 8-ish cubic foot keezer and don't get bored as easily. I am able to store a 3 gallon keg on the hump and stack a couple of others which allows me to have 6 taps.
  • If I want a 5 gallon keg of a popular beer for gatherings and such, I can brew two 3 gallon batches of it and rack them into the same keg.
  • I'm not getting any younger, so it's easier on the body that I have abused for the past 30 years.
  • I can do it right in my kitchen.
 
You can literally ferment wort in a bucket. No need to spend much there, to begin with. Honestly, I'd invest $500 in a used serviceable system like a Braumeister, a dog's bollocks BIAB.
 
TestTickle said:
$30 for a temp controller, but still need a fridge or freezer to connect to it.
Click to expand...
My first fermentation fridge was free and I put together the temperature control process with an ATC800 and electrical scraps. It cost a lot less than $30 in today's money.
 
McMullan said:
My first fermentation fridge was free and I put together the temperature control process with an ATC800 and electrical scraps. It cost a lot less than $30 in today's money.
Click to expand...
But you are assuming free stuff. We could just as easily assume that the OP could come across a free kettle and fermenter. Any of this stuff can be had for cheap or free if we look hard enough.
 
TestTickle said:
But you are assuming free stuff. We could just as easily assume that the OP could come across a free kettle and fermenter. Any of this stuff can be had for cheap or free if we look hard enough.
Click to expand...
No shortage of free fridges, even these days. My current fermentation fridge is worth about 5 grand new. I'd probably get half that for it, as it stands. I paid about 150 for it a few years ago :p
 
I do 3 - 4 gallon batches, stove top, biab, in a five gallon kettle. Smaller batches mean I get to brew more often which means I have more variety on hand. Smaller batches also mean less weight too have to deal with.

You're not required to make five gallons at a time. I've always wondered exactly why five gallons got to be the "standard" .
 
dwhite60 said:
I do 3 - 4 gallon batches, stove top, biab, in a five gallon kettle. Smaller batches mean I get to brew more often which means I have more variety on hand. Smaller batches also mean less weight too have to deal with.

You're not required to make five gallons at a time. I've always wondered exactly why five gallons got to be the "standard" .
Click to expand...
Most likely because of five gallon kegs?
 
TestTickle said:
Most likely because of five gallon kegs?
Click to expand...

I don't think the five gallon keg, known formally as a Cornelius keg, got into general use until the early 1980's. They were used primarily to hold soft drink concentrate in bulk for restaurants and convenience stores.

Five gallons was the standard before then.
 
dwhite60 said:
I don't think the five gallon keg, known formally as a Cornelius keg, got into general use until the early 1980's. They were used primarily to hold soft drink concentrate in bulk for restaurants and convenience stores.

Five gallons was the standard before then.
Click to expand...
The availability of 5 gallon carboys? Final answer…locking it in.
 
Last edited:
zinn said:
I've decided to start brewing via the BIAB method (I did partial mash years ago).

I plan on boiling on the stovetop and bottling. I plan on doing 5 gallon batches.

I'm hoping to get some starter equipment recommendations. Ideally, I'd like to keep the cost of the brew kettle and fermenter at roughly $500 total. Any recommendations for a brew kettle and fermenter that will make my life easier?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
So my first question would be; what are you already using (or did use) when doing partial mashes before? What boil volume were you doing?

Big consideration if you plan on using stovetop is the height (clearance) between top of stove burner to bottom of vent hood? It’s unlikely you’ll have clearance for boiling a full 5 gallon batch. You could do BIAB on stovetop at say 3 gallons but use grain bill for 5 gallon batch size. That would require you to add water to your fermenter to get 5 gal. Your efficiency wouldn’t be great but additional grain cost wouldn’t be much.

Not what you want to hear, but if you want to do BIAB on stovetop and enjoy the benefits of this process I’d suggest sticking to 2.5-3 gal batch size.

For 2.5-3 gal batches, SS Brewtech has a nice 5.5 gal kettle that’s great for using on stovetop. About $140 from MoreBeer.com. Anvil makes a nice entry level fermenter at around $130 for their 3 gallon size.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/ss-brewtech-stainless-steel-brewing-kettle-55-gal.html
https://www.anvilbrewing.com/-p/anv-fv-4gal.htm
I‘ve used both of these and find them great for smaller batch sizes.

If you consider the all-in-one systems (Anvil Foundry, Brewzilla, etc) it might be good choice as well.

Bottom line; you can make excellent beer with very basic equipment. A 304 stainless kettle & some plastic food grade buckets….you don’t need stainless kettle for that matter but I’d get one if possible. Concentrate on the basics, establish solid repeatable process, and then move on with “upgrades” if you’d like.

Just my $0.01 worth.

Cheers 🍻
 
dwhite60 said:
You're not required to make five gallons at a time. I've always wondered exactly why five gallons got to be the "standard" .
Click to expand...

I have wondered this myself. My 1988 version of "The Complete Handbook of Home Brewing" by Dave Miller does not mention kegging as an option, but my 1991 copy of "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing" by Papazian has an appendix on kegging beers (where commercial kegs and Cornelius kegs are listed as options). I moved to kegging around 1998.

It seems like 5 gallon buckets and carboys have been pretty standard sizes in the US for a long time, but most homebrew fermenters are in the 6.5 gallon range. I could see where 4 gallon batches in a 5 gallon fermenter could have been a better "standard" size, but maybe the availability of 5 gallon kegs locked in 5 gallons of finished beer as the standard goal.

But I am also a big fan of smaller batch sizes. If I am bottling, about any batch size works. Liquid yeast works better for batches around 2.5 gallons, but dry yeast is pretty flexible. I recently acquired a second pair of 10L Torpedo kegs (now have 4!) and also a 3.5 gallon Brew Bucket (to go with my pair of 3 gallon Fermonsters). While I do a "standard" 5 gallon batch now and then, most of my brews are either 5 gallons of wort split into two fermenters (usually with different yeasts or another variable), 2.5 gallon stovetop batches, or 1 to 3 gallons of wort fermented in 1.5 gallon fermenters.
 
The homebrew shop where I bought my first gear had a three gallon option, I went with five. At the time I was single and was drinking a lot of beer. Five gallons seemed to make sense. There was no financial advantage as gallon for gallon it costs the same for ingredients. There is a time advantage though.

Something I learned though, five gallons of good beer is great. Five gallons off not so great beer can be a chore to drink through. It's hard, at least it was for me, to dump five gallons of hard work and money.
 
I love my anvil 10.5 but until I get 240 into the garage, winter brewing will be using my mega pot on a propane burner. My 8 gallon mega pot works for 5 gallon biab but must be real careful when hot break happens. 10 gallon would have been best. Btw I have a bayou classic 11 gallon pot but don't care for the thinner bottom. Well and no ball valve either.
 
Saunassa said:
I love my anvil 10.5 but until I get 240 into the garage, winter brewing will be using my mega pot on a propane burner. My 8 gallon mega pot works for 5 gallon biab but must be real careful when hot break happens. 10 gallon would have been best. Btw I have a bayou classic 11 gallon pot but don't care for the thinner bottom. Well and no ball valve either.
Click to expand...

I fill my pot until it is within 3/4" of the top. Using a thermometer I can tell when it approaches the boil and turn the heat down a bit so I slowly approach it, then have a whisk handy to stir down the foam so it doesn't boil over. I've done it several times without making a mess.
 
RM-MN said:
I fill my pot until it is within 3/4" of the top. Using a thermometer I can tell when it approaches the boil and turn the heat down a bit so I slowly approach it, then have a whisk handy to stir down the foam so it doesn't boil over. I've done it several times without making a mess.
Click to expand...
Before I upgraded I also did this 👍 3-3.5 gal batches in a 5 gal pot
 
Saunassa said:
Btw I have a bayou classic 11 gallon pot but don't care for the thinner bottom. Well and no ball valve either.
Click to expand...
I use that pot. Last week's brew saw 8 gallons of water and 13 pounds of fermentables in it. Hot break was fanned and stirred, and never left the pot. Even the hops additions were well behaved.

We wound up with just about 6.5 gallons of brew. I'll probably get to bottle 6 gallons of that.

As for the thin bottom, at least it heats up the water fairly quickly...
 

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