So I plan on upgrading my boil kettle and fermentation vessel within the year. Any suggestions on both items? Thanks!
Can you explain what boil kettle and fermentation vessel you are currently using? A little more information on what your setup is and what you are trying to achieve may help in making recommendations.
I use the Megapot 1.2 from Northern Brewer and the BrewBucket from SSBrewTech.
The BME products from SS Brewtech are nice.
At the moment I’m using the 5 gallon economy kettle that came with my starter kit and a 6.5 glass carbon. As far as my set up goes I just have one blichmann burner. I don’t really want a mega pot because I read that anheuser Busch bought out Northern Brewer and I believe that kettle is exclusive to NB. I prefer to not give my money to a company that has anything to do with AB. I was looking into the same fermentation vessel as yours, has your fermentation bucket held up well?
I bought my MegaPot several years ago, when they first came out. Not sure if that’s when Chris Farley still owned and ran the place or if he had sold to the investment firm. Either way it’s a good product and precedes any AB purchase.
The BrewBucket is great, it doesn’t smell, is easy to clean and use.
The older style megapots from NB (I have a 10 and 15 gallon size) are basically the Update International SPS-40 and SPS-60 kettles. Stainless steel kettles with aluminum bottle sandwiched between 2 layers of SS.
They can be found at restaurant supply sites or on Amazon fairly cheap. There are excellent kettles and won’t cost a mortgage payment like Blichmann.
What is it about your current equipment you find lacking and what additional features do you need/want in new equipment?
I’ve got my eye on a custom spike brewing Kettle. Waiting for a quote. https://spikebrewing.com/
And a ssbrewtech brew bucket. Brew Buckets - Ss Brewtech
Ssbrewtech kettles look really nice too and come stock with ballvalve and pickup tube
Whatever you do don’t get an 8 gallon kettle to save a few bucks. Its a pita. Get at least 10. If I could go back I’d go right to 15
I just want a good quality kettle that distributes the heat more effectively. As far as a fermentation vessel goes I wanted something that was easier to clean and easier to transfer without getting trub into the secondary.
This my opinion, others will have theirs. All of this is contingent on your brewing desire and longevity in the hobby. I would purchase nothing under 15 gallons. Saves you with boil over, and can grow with you if you desire. I started with a 10 gallon Polarware. I use it for almost nothing. I thought I would only do 5 gallon batches. That didn’t last long, and a double batch will not fit in a 10 gallon vessel. I would buy a kettle that is of triclad construction, and induction capable. Only way I would go is with welded fittings. I would also prefer to have welded handles w/o rivets inside. That is hard to find, but we are dreaming right? I would want fittings for a ball-valve, thermometer, whirlpool/recirculating. You may or may not have a pump. If you don’t, and you get serious, you will. I don’t have a sight gauge and could care less about that. I personally would put my money in my kettle. I don’t know your funds situation. I’d rather have a killer kettle than a stainless fermenter. Id love to have a nice 1/2bbl fermenter. I ferment in 15 gallon plastic barres w a screw top lid. Love them and never have had an issue.
I bought the 10 gal SS kettle on cyber Monday with free shipping. I love it but haven’t figured out the pick up tube yet, might be worthless unless you can recirc with a pump during WP. Maybe I’ll have to try draining slowly as to not suck up the trub. The kettle is actually 10.5 gal and has plenty of head space to avoid boil overs. I chose the brewtech over spike because it has the return port at the top, which I plan to eventually use with pumps down the road.
As of now I use the plastic big mouth and added a valve to transfer directly to kegs. When I decide to get a SS fermentor, it’s going to have a bottom valve to remove yeast and will be able to hold pressure for transferring. But for now, I’m good with my $25 plastic.
One thing I will recommend is to keep that 6 gal pot for your hot liquor. Try adding a ball valve so you can drain straight to mash tun.
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your thoughts and opinions. Lot of great info here.
I’ll post a pic of my dip tube. Nothing more than running a pipe to the wall of your kettle. I cut the bottom out of the pipe. It sucks right from the bottom of the kettle.
That easy, works great w gravity too. Only reason mine is so long is because when I made the kettle, I made a sloping bottom.
Yes, drain slowly after good whirlpool and rest.
Will do on my next batch which will be a kölsch. Last batch I did a WP and rest for 25 min at 60f and still picked up a bunch of trub. Is that long enough? and How long do you rest?
I rest about 20-30. I typically open my drain a bit past half way to get the tubing full and then back it off. Takes about 5 minutes to pull 5.5 gallons. You should also plan on losing half gallon or so if you don’t already.
I do pump, but a good stir for a minute and rest is all that is needed. It doesn’t need to be a massive whirlpool
I’ll give that whirl[emoji6]on my next brew. I think I have my ktl loss set anywhere from .5 to 1 gal depending on hop usage. I used a mix stir that I use with my drill, I barely squeeze the trigger.