Boil in a Nesco Roaster

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ben Mompier

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
1
New brewer here, my stove is a bit weak and even struggled to get a gallon of wort up to a boil (required some partial coverage). I have a Brewers Best Kit which I want to use to make the jump to 5 gallon batches. It only requires a 2.5 gallon boil but I'm sure my stove won't do that. I have a nesco roaster that can probably hold and boil that much liquid, any issues that might arise using this vessel to boil?
 
I checked Amazon reviews, people complain that it boils on warm when they want a slow cook. So I think it will boil your wort. I would test it with water before brewing. Let us know how well it works.
 
If you're really serious about brewing, indoors, and doing 5 gallon batches regularly, a 240V, 3500 Watt countertop induction plate (i.e., Avantco IC3500, <$200) and a suitable 10 gallon kettle ($50-200) will do it. The move from extract to all grain would be easy and fairly painless.

But it's a $300-500 outlay together. And you need access to a 240V socket, 20A or higher, such as an existing 30A clothes dryer one.
Unless you can put one of those in yourself or jimmyrig one that's safe to use, easily adds another $300-500 or more, becoming cost prohibitive quickly.

A ready to use single burner, 120V 1800W induction plate (and a suitable kettle) can be used in a jiffy, and plugs into any 20A (kitchen) outlet. However, expect boils to be slower as the volume increases. Using a 1000-1500W heat stick could boost that quickly if needed.

2.5 gallon (partial) boils are very doable on such a plate using extracts or smaller partial mash batches. But for many very hoppy beers as well as any all grain you need full volume boils. You could do full extract boils and even all grain if you stick with smaller 2.5 gallon batches. That gives you more variety too. Brew 2 batches back to back (only one prep and cleanup) if you need more beer.
 
I agree with the comment above that you should test boiling in it with water at the desired volume first. If it works with water it will work with wort but see how much extra space you have with the liquid volume to account for any foamy hot break. You may need to buy fermcap to avoid boilovers.
 
Back
Top