Kettle Size for 5 gallon batch (full volume boil)

Considering what liquid may boil off over a 1-hour boil (assuming a gallon) and you therefore start with 6 gallons, you should be okay. If your typical boil-off rate is higher, you may be pushing the limit and will want to watch that pot like a thirsty hawk.

 

As @Mothergoose03 alluded to it is dependent on your boil off rate.

For the sake of discussion the default sizes for the Brewers Friend calculator is a pre-boil volume of 7.5 gallons and a post boil volume of 5.5 gallons. Considering this as a 'baseline' I would suggest that an 8 gallon pot is on the small size.

Cheers!

 

8 gallon will work, I used one for 5 gallon batches for years. However it is the minimum I would go with. You need to be very careful with boil overs. I’ve since upgraded to a larger kettle and find it much easier to deal with.

 

Be safe and go with ten and that way you can biab without worry if u choose to go that route. Buy once cry once.

 

10 would be ideal, but 8 should be fine. Like the others said you'll have to babysit it. Considering you'll want to start the boil with 6 to 6.5 gallons, that leaves you with less than 2 gal headspace. Keep some cold water handy next to the kettle, and 10 drops of FermCap added to your wort pre-boil should help keep the foaming down.

 

Depends on what you mean by a 5 gallon batch. I end up kegging 5 gallons, but that is after 6 gallons into the fermenter, 6.5 gallons post boil, and often 8 gallons to start the boil. No problem, as I use a 15 gallon brew pot. I've come sort of close, but I've yet to have a boil-over. Personally, I'd not go with anything less than 12 gallons. Cheers!

 

8 works for me, but I also have a 12 gallon pot for any stout over 8 %. Those beers seem to be more of a boil over concern vs pales IPAs.

 

What’s your definition of a 5 gallon batch? Do you define it as putting 5 gallons in the fermenter or do you define it as packaging 5 gallons of finished beer? The reason I ask is if you are planning to package 5 gallons of finished beer then an 8 gallon pot would be tricky because you will be starting your boil with 7-7.5 gallons of liquid to get 6ish in the fermenter. As said above you will have to watch it very close to avoid boiling over and making a mess. I use a 10 gallon pot and would recommend this size.

 

When I was kitting out early last year as I started homebrewing, the general consensus I found was to get a boil kettle 2x the size of the batch you wanted to brew. I BIAB 2.5 gallon batches (which I measure as the volume that goes into the fermenter) and my 5 gallon BK has been great. Upper limits were tested when I pulled off an 11.2% imperial stout successfully.