Time for a new brew kettle and chiller

Northern Brewer General
1

So I’ve been doing batches with the 5-gallon kettle that came with the brew kit my brother got me for Christmas a few years ago, and I’ve been doing it on the stove. Of course, since I have a hard time leaving things alone, I very quickly made the change from extract kits to partial mash brewing, via BIAB. Now I haven’t brewed much this past year because of work and other obligations making it difficult to set aside the time to do a partial mash brew on the stove and wait on the water/ice bath to do it’s thing before pitching.

Well, for this Christmas, my brother got me an outdoor burner, which should speed up the boiling process and also opens the door to me being able to brew larger batches of beer (I’m thinking making a few 10-gallon batches now and then). It also has me thinking that I’m long past due for a larger brew kettle and the need for a chiller to become more efficient. But in looking at new equipment, I’ve become undecided as to which way to go with it.

My first impulse was to go cheap on the kettle. Something like the {Bayou Classic} for $137

Being it’s winter and funds are limited for me (I work construction), I wasn’t really sure that I wanted to go with something like a 15 gallon MegaPot for $260

Then I stumbled across the {Ss Brew Kettle} which looked kinda nice, but the $250 price tag gets me around the same as the MegaPot.

And of course, I looked at the {Spike Brewing} kettles and they look like a lot of nice features for $210.

So those are my likely options unless someone has a better suggestion. But I’d like some input as to what might be the best option. Or if I should be looking at a 20 gallon kettle. Basically, my requirements are that it has to be a stainless kettle (I’m not buying aluminum, period) and I want a bulkhead fitting for draining the kettle. I’m not sure that I want to deal with a thermometer through the side with doing BIAB. At some future point, I’ll probably get set up with a mash tun and all of that, but for right now I’m sticking with my current method.

Now… I also would like to get a chiller to get the process moving a little faster. My first thought was towards a counterflow chiller, but then I saw some plate chillers that claimed they would chill via gravity flow or pump. Not sure what brand would be best for my needs or if an off brand will work fine. I’d like to hear what kind of chiller would likely suit my needs and what brands I should be considering. Again, funds are limited, but I don’t like buying things twice if I can help it.

2

Looking at Spike I think that is an awfully nice kettle for $210! I too would avoid a thermometer since your doing BIAB.

If you’re looking for a CFC I have this one:
cfc wort chiller

Plate chillers can be used without pumps but take a long time to drain. I would also be concerned with them getting clogged. I’ve also heard horror stories about cleaning them. For those reasons I avoided a plate chiller.

If you decide later to get a pump Chugger makes a nice pump at a decent price.

3

I’ve looked at that CFC before, but the price has kept me thinking of buying something cheaper or making my own. After looking around, I’ve been thinking of this CFC

And you bring up some points on the plate chiller that I had forgotten…

4

Check this out:
CFC ON SALE!

Might want to act quick as I saw it has been on sale for awhile and don’t know how much longer it will last.

5

I wouldn’t get a special port for a thermometer, you can put a tee fitting that you can use a thermometer AND extract yer wort. I do however like an extra port to recirc with the pump as yer chillin. I can cool off very nicely that way… Sneezles61

6

That’s a heck of a deal… I might have to get one…

7

I plan on getting a pump and building a counter flow just not there yet. Now I use a 50’immersion that I made quite cheaply. It works pretty good I chill only till I get a descent cold break and then just let if cool the rest of the way on its own, works fine. I have a bayou classic with a basket which to me is a must for ten gallon biab, ask sneezels.

8

I have 2 bayou classic 1064 kettles and a duda diesel plate chiller. Very happy with them.

9

I have the Bayou Classic 16 gallon. Came with a spigot and a thermometer as well as a false bottom and a bazooka screen. If I were doing it over I would skip the thermometer. It’s inaccurate and get’s in the way. The false bottom was great for me since I do BIAB. I did a brass elbow and short length of pipe to the inside of the spigot to get all the wort out after I whirlpool.

The item code was BAYOU-800-416 and it cost $203.00 I got it from http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/ They were great to deal with…no issues. It now costs 232.50

They have this one for 199.00 it doesn’t come with bazooka screen or false bottom. I couldn’t find a Bayou Classic brew pot without the thermometer,

10

I think I’m going to go with the Spike brew kettle with one port for now. I like the idea of it being made in the USA and having a welded port.

11

Damn…that is an awesome pot…yes I would have gotten that over the Bayou Classic in a heartbeat!!! Wish I’d seen that last year.

12

Well, brew kettle is ordered… with a false bottom. Probably going to pull the trigger on a chiller here too. So much for my extra money, lol.

13

I don’t think you’ll regret the Spike kettle, or the chiller - and while I’ve slowly built up my system, I also added a pump. I won’t say I’m getting to old for this stuff, but it’s way better not to have to lift gallons of hot water/wort/etc. I will say that adding equipment adds clean-up, but I’ve made my peace with that.

14

I’m interested in this thread because I will soon need to purchase a larger chiller (for 11 gallon batches) I ran across this one in my search. It’s a “King Cobra” I know nothing about it but it looks promising. Although looks like a pain in a arse to clean. I just thought of a real downside to this one. With all that copper surface that would stop a 5 gallon boil when you dropped that into the pot with say 5-10 minutes left. Would that be an issue?

15

I don’t know what that cost but when you go up to 10 or more gallons I believe you would be better off buying a counter flow.

16

Interesting idea for a chiller for sure, I guess it may work a bit more efficiently than normal chillers that go in the pot with all that copper, but I still don’t see it being overly efficient for a large batch. And with the price being up around the price of a counterflow, I’m not sure it’s worth it.

A counterflow seems like a logical solution for my purposes, especially with getting a larger pot with a drain. I plan to set up the outdoor burner and pot high enough that when it’s done, I can shut off the burner, get the counterflow hooked up and going, and open the drain on the pot, and ideally run it right down into the fermenter. Boom. Done. I don’t want to lift 10 gallons of hot wort for any reason. I have enough trouble with my back and hip already. 5 gallons in a fermenter is plenty for me to handle at one time.

I really hate saying that. It’s sad really because I’m still on the sunny side of my 30’s, the problem came when someone (most likely being careless and I’ll leave it at that) ran a red light and totaled the truck I was driving. Fighting insurance to get my hip fixed has been an uphill battle to say the least.

17

I’ve been looking at Spike brewing for a while and when the time comes I want to graduate from converted kegs to a true brew kettle, Spike will be my choice. Again, I add a tee and can put a thermometer into it and then the down spout is where I drain from the kettle. This way the stem of the thermometer isn’t in very far, or, if at all. I do have to calibrate my thermometer from time to time. And do check out utah biodiesel filters for a brew basket. Add a pump too…. Sneezles61

18

I hear ya brother. I’m 57 and have had back issues for 25 or more years. Get your self a good pump.

19

Pump will have to wait a bit yet, but it’s on the list. I’m already starting to see the need for a dedicated brewing area and a fixed setup, but that will take some time and money to achieve.

As it is, I thought I was done spending money on my brewing other than ingredients for a bit. Then I sat down to start working out a couple possible brews to do when my new pot and chiller gets here and discovered a flaw in my plan…

Since I’m almost out of brew, I wanted to bang out a 10 gallon batch or two of something I’ve already done and liked the way it turned out. So I dug out my brew book and went to scale it up and… 18+ lbs of grain? That’s not going to be practical for me to BIAB the way I was doing it…

So I guess it’s time to start thinking about a mash tun…

20

I rigged up a ratchet pulley above my brew stand to lift the bag. Saves my back and the bag of grain is still easier to get out of my brew pit than a cooler full of wet grain.

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