Wife wants to buy me a starter kit for Christmas. Looking at the basic kit from Northern Brewer. For the 5-Gallon Brew Kettle that comes with the kit, it says: Please Note: The bottom of the kettle has a slight ridge, which can make it less than ideal for an electric stove. I have a glass top electric stove. Will this be an issue? Or, will it just take longer to get it to a boil? Thanks in advance!!
I’d get a slightly bigger pot. I can link one if you like... CONCORD Stainless Steel Home Brew Kettle Stock Pot (Weldless Fittings) (30 QT/ 7.5 Gal) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078XN9JW6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_cI.UFb4YDFTWX a 5 gallon pot will be limiting if you eventually want to get into all grain. Also this one will work fine on a glass top.
Brewing 5 gallons on an electric stove is challenging. It is something many us have dealt with. Then we get a cajun cooker and a bigger kettle. A 5 gallon pot is too small for the standard 5 gallon recipe. You really need at least 6.5 gallons, and even that is rather small. Remember you want to end up with 5 gallons, so after adding all your ingredients and accounting for boil off, and leaving some headroom for boiling, 5 gallons is not enough volume for 5 gallons. But you can make 3 gallons brews. An electric stove is limited in BTUs. You need a lot of BTUs to get over 5 gallons to a rolling boil. And the electric element will barely get there. But, it is not a deal breaker. Even a gas stove is limited to around 12,000 BTU, and that is too small as well. So, this pot is heavy when filled. And it's in your kitchen at waist height. Full of boiled sugar water. And your kitchen is steamier than a Panama yoga studio. There's that. Back in the day, before the internet, before on line shopping, before this forum, we figured out how to make beer in a kitchen using an electric stove and a lobster pot, so it can be done. Just not ideal. Cheers
Buy a 8 gal kettle with a valve on the side. Stainless steel and you will be happy with your purchase. And as said, get a propain burner to boil outside, if you boil over, not such a big deal and you have space.
Just after T-Day the turkey deep-fryer kits will go on sale. See if you can find a a kit with a stainless steel pot. They hold around 7-8 gallons, come with a lid, and fit the LP-gas burner that's part of the kit. I never found a kit with stainless steel but settled on a pot with an enamel finish and it's been good for me. So that's an adequate alternative. (Never use that pot to fry a turkey. Keep it dedicated to beer.)
I would agree you want a larger pot to do full-boil of 5 gallon batches. But if forced to, if you're doing extract brewing you can do a partial-boil (with lower hop efficiency) and then top up the volume with water in the fermenter. Not ideal, but I did my first couple batches this way on an electric stove, before I upgraded to larger pot and a propane burner.
To add: my "5"-gallon pot that came with my kit actually holds less than 5 gallons... found out the hard way when I first started out all-grain and my mash (which was supposed to occupy less than 5-gallons) overflowed the pot. I second the idea of getting a larger pot! I wound up getting a 8 gallon Bayou Classic, which I have found to be completely adequate on my glass-top stove, although I still have to carefully monitor it when the boil first starts and also at the first hop addition. When our old electric stove died, I made sure I had input into it's replacement. Our Samsung's big burner is rated at 3000 watts, which I find is enough for brewing 5-gal batches. Although it does take a while to reach boil, I get a good rolling boil with 7 gallons of wort. I maintain the rolling boil with the dial at 7 (out of 10... it does not go to 11, LOL). Best of luck!
You will start with extract brews, my first kit came without a brew kettle and I purchased one from walmart (or somewhere else). Not really sure what this note is supposed to mean from NB, however you'll be fine. If you enjoy the hobby you will upgrade later, but this kit looks like you will be good to get started. I'd suggest buying some starsan though for sanitization and campden tablets to dechlorinate your water. Less than ideal is better than spending money on something that you won't enjoy. Boil 3 gallons, top up with two. Less than ideal will still boil over on hot break, so don't walk away on batch 1.
Based on the description, I would say that it will not sit well on the glass top stove. It will still work, but not nearly as well.
Agreed with all of the above. A 5 gallon kettle is fine for extract brewing, where you do a less-than-full boil then top off in the fermenter. For full boils, you really want 8 gallon (32 quart) minimum. I would also be a bit wary of doing a big boil on a glass stove - even 4 gallons, that's close to 40 pounds pre-boil including the pot... What they said about the propane burner is spot on. Next week you'll be able to find good deals on them. Many do come with aluminum pot, though that's not a deal-breaker. You can get a graniteware 33-quart for cheap, or spend more and get a brewing-specific kettle.
Two things; No where is it written the batch size has to be at least 5 gallons Large vols can be hard to boil on electric stoves A 5G kettle is large enough to brew a 2.5G 'all-grain' batch ....
