So i'll be going all grain soon, let me get this straight

[Zixxer10R]

From everything i've read it seems like i'll need a Mash Tun, i'm going to opt for a Hot Liquor Tank just because i've got a spare 1/4 keg laying around that has a sanke connection and it won't fit in my side-by-side kegerator, and that's about it right?

It doesn't seem that much more complicated to move to all grain, just a bit more time on brew day (which is fine with me, i love the passion) and a little more science during the brew is all.

I've got Brewpal on my iPhone to help with all the calculations, so now all i need to do is convert my cooler and 1/4 keg and it would appear to me that i've got everything i need since i already have a brew kettle and a propane burner.

Oh wait, i've been meaning to ask this for some time: Let's say that i can't get a hold of a bigger BK and i wanted to do a partial boil...how far off will my calculations be if i wanted to do that?

 

[Pappers_]

If you are already doing full boils, then that's it. If you've been doing partial boils, then going all-grain means you must do full boils, which means you'll need a large enough brew pot, a sufficient stove or burner, and a chiller for cooling down.

Good luck!

 

[Zixxer10R]

Cool, i've got all those except the full boil size pot. Any place you might recommend getting 10 gallon (or close to) aluminum kettles? I prefer the aluminum for the rapid heat transfer properties.

 

[Germelli1]

See if you have any resturant supply stores around you. That would be your best bet other than ordering one online!

 

[Zixxer10R]

Just found one. Coolest part is that they're in TX so shipping will be 2 days max!

Quick capacity question: I do 5 gallon batches so i was planning on a 10 gallon pot. That seem big enough to you for doing all sorts of "size" beers including big ones around 10% ABV?

 

[Germelli1]

Yup, my 7.5 gallon pot is a bit small for big beers, but if I ever run into a problem I just boil some seperately on the stove at the same time and add it back to the main pot when there is room!

 

[BrewerinBR]

A 10 gallon pot would be large enough for 5 gallon batches.

 

[Zixxer10R]

Well, what i want to avoid is the same situation that i'm in right now where i bought a 36 quart pot and it end up not being 8 gallons with some headspace.

Realistically it's only 2 more gallons with a 40 quart pot but in the past what i've been worried about is the volume dispersion when adding the extract to the pot. Now that i'll have collected 6 or 7 gallons from wort that i've made myself i don't have to worry about the volume dispersion because i'll only have hops to add to the boil instead of extract and hops.
That all makes sense to you expert brewers right?

 

[Germelli1]

Honestly I am not following that at all haha

 

[Pappers_]

Well, what i want to avoid is the same situation that i'm in right now where i bought a 36 quart pot and it end up not being 8 gallons with some headspace.

Realistically it's only 2 more gallons with a 40 quart pot but in the past what i've been worried about is the volume dispersion when adding the extract to the pot. Now that i'll have collected 6 or 7 gallons from wort that i've made myself i don't have to worry about the volume dispersion because i'll only have hops to add to the boil instead of extract and hops.
That all makes sense to you expert brewers right?

Yes, for a 5 gallon batch, you will be doing 6.5 - 7.0 gallon boils, so a 10 gallon pot will give you plenty of room.

 

[LVBen]

I do 5-7 gallon all-grain batches without an MLT. I mash in my 10-gallon boiling pot and I lauter in my bottling bucket that I line with a 5-gallon nylon mesh bag.

One of the drawbacks to this is that I usually have to turn the heat back on once or twice on the boil pot for a 60-minute mash to stay in the correct temperature range.

 

[azscoob]

This 60 quart pot would give you plenty of room for whatever you want to brew. and the price is pretty good.

 

[Zixxer10R]

Woot! Just in case anyone is wondering, this website i've found has literally the best prices i've ever seen on aluminum and SS stockpots.

www.missionrs.com

$45 for a 40 quart aluminum, somewhere in the ballpark of $120 for that in SS

 

[SailorTodd]

Well, what i want to avoid is the same situation that i'm in right now where i bought a 36 quart pot and it end up not being 8 gallons with some headspace.

You may not be able to get a big beer in a 36 qt pot, but most normal beers you'll be doing 5 gallon batches of will fit. My 36 qt stock pot works fine for the job. In case you're still shopping around, I found mine on amazon, on sale for half off. got the 36 qt SS stock pot for $65 (granted, not best quality, but fairly good quality nonetheless. Triple clad bottom and all).

 

[JustLooking]

If you've been doing partial boils, then going all-grain means you must do full boils...

Either that or mash with extra grain so that your OG is higher. Do a smaller boil with the pot you have and top off the fermenter. Beersmith will work out the numbers for you.

 

[certaut]

check Austin Homebrew, over 100$ shipping is free, and you will get it the next day during the week.

 

[Homercidal]

You can always brew a smaller batch of a bigger beer. It doesn't always HAVE to be 5 gallons, you know.

 

[Germelli1]

Either that or mash with extra grain so that your OG is higher. Do a smaller boil with the pot you have and top off the fermenter. Beersmith will work out the numbers for you.

Even if you mash extra grain, you won't get much extra out of it without increasing the water volumes accordingly (both mash and sparge).

If I ever do a biiiig beer, I either cut the batch size down, or boil the extra wort seperately on the stove, then add it back to the main pot!

 

[Zixxer10R]

All good advice people. Much appreciated.

 

[Zixxer10R]

Dang it, now i'm confused. Why WOULDN'T i want to have a 60 quart pot instead of a 40 quart? The difference is $24 on the site i've found, will i really gain anything valuable with that extra size?

 

[Germelli1]

Dang it, now i'm confused. Why WOULDN'T i want to have a 60 quart pot instead of a 40 quart? The difference is $24 on the site i've found, will i really gain anything valuable with that extra size?

I see no reason! If you got the 60 quart, you would be able to make 10 gallon batches in the future. If you can ever see yourself doing this, get the bigger pot.

Bigger is better in this case!

 

[PorterIdontknowher]

The only reason not to go bigger would be that as dimensions get larger things can get harder to fit places.

My 5 gallon pot will get under the kitchen faucet. My 9 gallon I need to use the sprayer to fill (at about 1/2 the flow rate).

Just a thought...

 

[Dhruv6911]

You will have to fill her up all the way and boil the first time to oxidize the metal, but that's the only downside. Enjoy! Oh and have a cut milk jug and heat resistant gloves ready, 60 quart pot is not a easy task to turn over.

 

[weirdboy]

You don't NEED to do full volume boils. You could make a higher gravity wort and dilute it. It's probably easier conceptually to do full volume boils, though. If you don't have some kind of immersion chiller or counterflow chiller, and are just using an ice bath, I highly recommend upgrading your chilling situation if you increase the volume of your boil.

Regarding 60qt vs 40qt, your process is probably going to have to change to accommodate larger vessels. So the aforementioned chilling is one thing, the guy mentioned space issues, but there is also the fact that a 15 gallon pot is a lot more unwieldy than a 10 gallon pot, especially when you fill one up with boiling hot wort. If you are manually picking stuff up and moving things around now, think about how you will do that if everything is 3-4x larger and heavier, where you are gong to store stuff, how you are going to get things cleaned and sanitized, etc.

I personally have a 15 gallon BK, but I planned around it. I made sure to get a valve on it and get all the appropriate tubing, etc. I figured out how I was going to get things cleaned up after a brew day before I bought anything. As opposed to my previous "pick it up and pour it into the fermenter" technique, doing that with 10+ gallons of wort in a large unwieldy pot is a whole other problem waiting to happen.