Brewing Master

Question:

: I am thinking of trying an all-grain brew, but am put off by the cost in : my local home brew store -$150 for a 10 gallon stainless steel kettle. : Any ideas for a cheaper alternative? One solution is to buy another 5gal brew pot. This works well because you can use one of them as your mashing vessel, and other to warm up the sparge water. 5gal. pots are cheap…. Keith

Response:

I am thinking of trying an all-grain brew, but am put off by the cost in my local home brew store -$150 for a 10 gallon stainless steel kettle. Any ideas for a cheaper alternative? Sure, $50.00 for a 10 gallon aluminum kettle. The pros and cons

Better:  Get a 15 gallon keg.  I paid $15 for mine.  I live in a nice community that was boonies not 10 years ago, so there are farms and… tada! a guy who has a machine shop who ground off the top for me and drilled a hole near the bottom for a tap.  It’s beautiful.  He didn’t drink, but his son-in-law did, so I gave a bunch of beer to his son-in-law for the work. BTW, I stopped in a beer store and asked what the deposit was for a keg.  The guy just came out and asked, "why? do you want to buy one?  I get people who want them, so I just sell them outright."   Works for me… should work for you. | Tim Robinson                   | Those who would give up essential | | Excalibur BBS: 918-445-3091    | temporary safety, deserve neither | | http://www.ionet.net/~timtroyr | liberty nor safety.  Ben Franklin |

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: $150 is about what a good quality new Stainless Steel pot costs, and there : are very few used ones at the restaurant supply houses. They will, : however, last forever. : : One cheap alternative is to cut up a keg. Try local salvage yards for old : kegs, look in the yellow pages and phone around. Then buy a whole pack of : top quality metal cutting blades, some cutting oil, take your saber-saw : and plan to spend the afternoon.    snip : : Greatferm I’ve got to agree, though I took the lazy way out.  Bought the keg at a scrap yard for $15.  Took it to a welder (get someone to recommend a good one) and paid him to take the top off.  Had him weld on a couple of stainless couplers, weld a flange around the cut off top to make a lid, and paid one six pack and $30 bucks for the whole shebang.  Total cost $75.  Stainless hardware is EXPENSIVE. Besides the half a day spent working on the keg could be better spent BREWING! Jay

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< < I am thinking of trying an all-grain brew, but am put off by the cost in < my local home brew store -$150 for a 10 gallon stainless steel kettle. < < Any ideas for a cheaper alternative? < <I bought a 8 1/4 gallon ceramic-coated aluminum pot for $40.00 from <K-Mart. < If you have a Chicago Cutlery outlet in your area, check it out. I bought a 8+ gallon ceramic on steel pot at their store in Gulf Shores, AL for $17.99. <Hasta, < <Craig Haynie (Houston) — Bob Sweeney "We’ve got to pause and ask ourselves:  How much clean air do we need?" — Lee Iacocca, on Detroit’s resistance to tougher auto emission standards

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: I bought a 8 1/4 gallon ceramic-coated aluminum pot for $40.00 from : K-Mart. : One of those and a $20 Easymasher and you’re all set to do all-grain.  I : don’t know of a better way to get started either.  You’ll never look : back… You might look back if you ever chip your pot or lose a handle, as has been reported several times in the HBD. There is another alternative.  The Bruheat.  It’s thermostatically controlled so it doubles as a mash-tun and a boiler.   They’re electric so you can brew inside in the winter.   You can find ‘em from $90 to $100.   |   |                   Kinney Baughman                         |   |   /                                                             /   |        "Beer is my business and I’m late for work"            |

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I bought a 8 1/4 gallon ceramic-coated aluminum pot for $40.00 from K-Mart.

One of those and a $20 Easymasher and you’re all set to do all-grain.  I don’t know of a better way to get started either.  You’ll never look back… -Marty Marty Tippin                 |Tippin’s Law #23:  A watched pot never Check out my Two-Tier Converted Keg Brewing System at http://www.sky.net/~martyt/2tier.html

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I am thinking of trying an all-grain brew, but am put off by the cost in my local home brew store -$150 for a 10 gallon stainless steel kettle. Any ideas for a cheaper alternative?

Sure, $50.00 for a 10 gallon aluminum kettle. The pros and cons of aluminum have been debated in this forum, ad infinitum, but the aluminum/alzheimers connection, which at one time was the primary concern, has been thoroughly debunked. I brewed from extract for many years, doing partial boils in a 6 gallon stainless steel kettle and pitching with rehydrated dry yeast.  When I switched to all-grain, I also switched to liquid yeast but because of the price of stainless, I bought a 10 gallon aluminum kettle for my full wort boils.  Speaking from my own experience, while my extract, partial boil in stainless, brews were "OK", my all-grain, full boil in aluminum, brews are Superb. I realize I made many changes all at once but if my aluminum kettle has in any way contributed to this mega increase in quality, I say "viva aluminum". Cheers, Ross. Ross Reid, Branchton, Ontario, Canada.

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I am thinking of trying an all-grain brew, but am put off by the cost in my local home brew store -$150 for a 10 gallon stainless steel kettle. Any ideas for a cheaper alternative?

I bought a 8 1/4 gallon ceramic-coated aluminum pot for $40.00 from K-Mart. Hasta, Craig Haynie (Houston)

Response:

I am thinking of trying an all-grain brew, but am put off by the cost in my local home brew store -$150 for a 10 gallon stainless steel kettle. Any ideas for a cheaper alternative?

Response:

$150 is about what a good quality new Stainless Steel pot costs, and there are very few used ones at the restaurant supply houses. They will, however, last forever. One cheap alternative is to cut up a keg. Try local salvage yards for old kegs, look in the yellow pages and phone around. Then buy a whole pack of top quality metal cutting blades, some cutting oil, take your saber-saw and plan to spend the afternoon. The cheap way is a 33 quart blue enameled steel pot, the old blue canner your Grandmother had. We have them for $34.95. They are fragile, one chip and the rust just eats them up, but they are cheap. Inspect carefully for chips. Greatferm

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