pot size for one gallon brewing

[stewrrx]

hello i am thinking of having a go at one gallon all grain brewing and would like to know what size pots to get hold of ,thanks stewrrx

 

[Clint]

32 litre....face it....you'll need one eventually. You can fit a gallon in a 32 litre pot ....

 

[Dutto]

Welcome to the Forum! :thumb:

I agree with Clint, you can always brew less in a bigger pot but it's impossible to brew more in a smaller pot!

 

[Zephyr259]

Clint and Dutto are most likely correct but I got on well with a 10L stock pot when I started. After a batch or two I realised it could do an 8L batch nicely so long as I started the boil split over 2 pans, and topped up the bigger one as the boil progressed. It would it a 1 gallon batch perfectly.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.

 

[Dutto]

......... I got on well with a 10L stock pot when I started. .......... it could do an 8L batch nicely so long as I started the boil split over 2 pans .........

Er .... logic dictates that it's possible to do any amount of brewing if you buy enough pans!

I knew nothing about Microwave Ovens when I bought my first one and the lady who served me said "I don't know anything about them either. The only thing I can tell you is that no-one has ever come back to get a smaller one!"

I doubt if many people on the Forum have decided to get smaller Boilers as they got more into the hobby! :thumb:

 

[MyQul]

I have a 15L pot that I got from wilko that I do either 5L or 10L brews in (but I mash in a 5L pot for 5L brews then transfer to the 15L pot)

 

[Zephyr259]

Er .... logic dictates that it's possible to do any amount of brewing if you buy enough pans!

Haha, yeah I guess that's true, think it was also that 8L batches was a good volume of grain to mash and then fermented neatly in two 1 gal demijohns. Without risking a boilover too much I'd say a 10L pan would do a 6L batch, so plenty for the 1 gal the stewrrx is asking about. :-)

 

[Sandimas]

+1 on the 15L pan - will do a 12L AG brew.

But I'm now doing half-and-half, topping up an AG recipe with 1kg DME, and the 15L pan allows me to do 16L/17L brews - seem to have hit my "sweet spot" with this setup.

 

[stewrrx]

thank all so it looks like i can get away with a 10 l stock pot or 2

 

[Oneiroi]

I started off with a 15l stock pot as they seemed best value for money (it was about £14 I think, not much more than smaller pots but the prices on bigger pots seemed to jump quite a bit). With a dunk sparge it was good for up to 10l batches.

 

[Cwrw666]

I believe there is a size limit for stove-top brewing. Too big and you'll never get it up to the boil.

By the way I've been thinking of getting a stainless steel stockpot as an emergency measure in case my Ace boiler packs in halfway through a brew. Are those cheap pots on ebay - Buckingham ones - good enough? Or are they too thin.

 

[Clint]

I just about manage on the wok burner on my range cooker with around 27 litres.

 

[Sandimas]

By the way I've been thinking of getting a stainless steel stockpot as an emergency measure in case my Ace boiler packs in halfway through a brew. Are those cheap pots on ebay - Buckingham ones - good enough? Or are they too thin.

Yes they're fine, I've been using a 15L and a 12L one for years - the 15L one is about 7 years old.

 

[Cwrw666]

Cheers Darrel, think I'll get a 15L one then. Been using the Ace for 3 years now and sooner or later it'll let me down. Wouldn't want to waste the brew though.