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I have done 2 extract 23 litre brews so far. Am figuring i'd be happy to keep it at this even when i get to kegging (19 in the keg and bottle a couple). Is this also a standard output for AG? Do outputs increment in standard numbers? Or can you pick a number out of the air and go i'll make this much of it? Am wanting to get clear on what equipment to start looking for. And that reminds me, what is good and bad about stainless steel and aluminum?

Cheers.

Look for a pot that is about 2 gallons (10 or so litres) more than what you want as your finishing volume. You'll need a lauter tun too.

Al is cheap- that's about it. SS will last forever and will usually be better for heat distribution.

Get yourself a brewing program like Q-brew (free) or beersmith (costs, but well worth it). That'll help you play around with the numbers.

SimonH wrote:I have done 2 extract 23 litre brews so far. Am figuring i'd be happy to keep it at this even when i get to kegging (19 in the keg and bottle a couple). Is this also a standard output for AG? Do outputs increment in standard numbers? Or can you pick a number out of the air and go i'll make this much of it? Am wanting to get clear on what equipment to start looking for. And that reminds me, what is good and bad about stainless steel and aluminum?

Cheers.

You can choose how big or small you want to make a brew depending on what you want to put in it ( same goes for extract) as chris said grab yourself a program which will help out alot, i have beersmith and swear by it, as far as pots go i started out ag with a 40 litre pot that is great for single batches but soon bought myself an 80 litre ( both ally ) so i could do doubles, as far as im concerned the allys are great but in saying that i have never had a large ss pot but for my 80 litre - $ 150 compared to the same size ss approx - $ 400 i wont go past them, some say you cant succesfully drill a hole in ally for a tap but i did and it worked out fine, the only thing with ally is you have to be a little more gentle with it as ally is a naturally soft material and will scratch and mark if your not carefull.

I have a heavy gauge 30L aluminium pot, been used over the years for boiling wort, and has become badly pitted on the inside.
Now replaced with a 60L S/S as I think this metal is more suited to hot wort. IMHO aluminium is probably more suited to a HLT.

Hello all,

I dont want to hijack this thread but while on the subject of pots, I built my mash tun the other day . I have a 20ltr urn from work for my hlt .

Now, just wondering about the boil pot and if everyone has taps attached to drain the wort or could I just use a siphon to begin with or what would peoples advice be??

I realise that it would prob be much easier just to drill a hole, attach a bulkhead and tap etc then to be stuffing around sanitising a siphon to use etc etc??

Cheers

A tap is better as you can whirlpool.

You can whirlpool with a siphon too. Just ensure the pickup is over to the side.

As far as size of pot, for single batches you'd be looking at 36L minimum.

SS or Ali is up to you and your budget. Ali is really easy to drill if you are adding fittings.

Cheers,
Greg