I am new to this Homebrewing thing, and due to space constraints, and volume of output, I am sticking to small batch brewing (it is fun and I vacant keep churning out new recipes)
Ultimately I want to get into all grain brewing. What is the minimum sized pot I would need to brew, say, 2.5 gallons? (That would Most likely be my maximum batch size).
Thank you.
-J
I brewed my first few years with a 5 gallon pot and made 5 gallon recipes. I just always had to top off the wort with water to bring up the volume to 5 gallons in the fermenter. I now have an 8 gallon pot which is as big as I can go before hitting our over the range microwave. I to have space constraints as I live in an apartment with no garage or outside space. To answer your question specifically a 10 quart stock pot is as low as I would go for 2.5 gallon batches. But every quart over that would help you do full boil without boil over.
For now you should be putting all your mental energies into figuring out how to control your fermentation temperatures. Controlling the temperature that your yeast ferments at is the biggest step you can make to improving your beer in the beginning.
Squeegee has you covered… All I would add… A kettle double the size you’d brew… 5 gallon batch, get a 10 gallon kettle.
Sneezles61
I agree. I use close to a 10 gal kettle for a 5 gallon brew.
Brewing for 2.5 gallons, I assume you will be doing the strainer/muslin bag approach, or BiaB as I did for my 1 gallon batches?
I’ve squeezed a half batch in a 4 because I had one but if you’re purchasing get a 5 not much bigger footprint
Definitely BiaB method.
You cant do a full volume 2.5 gallon in a 10qrt pot. Probably not even a 12qrt. You won’t be happy with that small of a pot especially stovetop . If you want that small of a pot I suggest smaller batch or using 2 pots and blend or top up. Depends on how much work you want.
While I agree the bigger the pot the better. I’m talking theoretically here. You can use a 5 gallon pot to do a 5 gallon BIAB batch. I did it for years. So I know I could make a 2.5 gallon in an equally sized pot. It sure makes it easier to have a big pot though. Maybe the OP lives in a tiny house.
I started with 2.5g batches as well but quickly moved to 5 gallons when I realized it wasn’t really anymore work.
I’m not saying you can’t do it just not full volume. Now you theoretically can do it in a even smaller pot just more steps
One nice thing about a larger pot is reducing the chance of boil over. I haven’t had one of those in a while but they can be a nightmare on brew day.
I was offered a 30 gallon Mega Pot for free but had no way to use it 
Too bad, I can see it now, squeegee threes nanoBrewery cranking out sours to a local tap!
Due to the size of my kitchen/stovetop, I cannot really go much larger than a 16qt kettle. I was wondering if I could split the mash up between my 8qt and whatever larger pot I end up with, then combine/boil in the larger. Seems like it is at least doable, if not a bit cumbersome?
Do a higher concentraded work… Then water down to your desired OG.
Sneezles61
16 qrt will work for the mash. I would mash with 2 gallons of water then drain and see how much room is in the pot. I would like to see about 3" below the rim. You can add some preboil and hold some back. If you start to boil over pour some in to knock it back. Doesn’t matter when you add the water jus want to end at your 2.5
