Oversized Boil Kettle

[nickjdavis]

Considering changing my brewing set up in the New Year.

Currently using a 20L Braumeister but want the flexibility of brewing stronger beers in the future, and perhaps with a marginal increase in batch size....say to 25L

Looking at going back to a 3V system and am considering options for kettle size.... typical pot of around 10 US galls (38L) seems to be about right for the typical finished volume I want to brew but there may just be the odd occasion where I want to brew a bigger volume, or perhaps utilise an extended boil....the thought keeps nagging at the back of my mind that perhaps a 15 gallon kettle (57 litres or so) is what I really should go for. In terms of price, the bigger pots don't really cost proportionally more so its not really a consideration.

My main question is....is there any downside to brewing a smaller volume....lets say a pre boil volume of 27 litres (which would be the smallest I ever brewed) in a pot of twice the volume?

I realise that I could just buy a mash tun of an appropriate size when the 6-7kg limit of the 20L BM isnt enough, but that then renders the BM as a glorified boiler and just doesnt seem to be the right thing to do!!!

Thoughts?

 

[user 40634]

Hi Nick, Did you get any answers to your question? It is something I’ve wondered as I want to brew small trial batches before going for a larger brew. I wondered if some of the unwanted volatile components might condense on the sides of a boiler that was half empty and run back into the wort

 

[crescent city Mike]

What you want to watch is the kettle geometry. The kettle should be at least the same (1:1) diameter to depth. I prefer a kettle with a 1:1.2 ratio. It reduces the amount of evaporation over the same length of boil. The evaporation of the unwanted volatiles is done without a major reduction in wort volume. I tend toward longer boil times and don't have to top up my fermenter at the end of the brew session. You wouldn't make soup in a big skillet. A brew kettle is expensive and you should put some thought into it before the purchase. It looks like you're doing just that!

 

[nickjdavis]

As it happens...I've reviewed what I plan to brew in the first 6 months of this year and there is no real need to go back to a 3V system....decided if I want to brew big beers I will stick with re-iterated mashes and extended boils...I've realised that I've no real desire to brew bigger vols so in the unlikely event that I made the transition then I'd stick with a pot of 10 gallons or so.

The garage seems to be shrinking so have no real space for more brewing kit so the BM is here to stay for a while.