Reddit reviews Bayou Classic Steel 1440 Bayou Stainless Brew Kettle, 40 Quart
We found 6 Reddit comments about Bayou Classic Steel 1440 Bayou Stainless Brew Kettle, 40 Quart. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
40 Quart/10 Gallon Max Capacity Brew KettleUse for Malt Extract Home Brewing or "Brew in a Bag"Stainless construction enables easier sterilization prior to brewingMulti-purpose: Use as a standard stockpot for most outdoor cooking needsStainless construction provides for easy clean-up
If I were to start over and buy new equipment, one of those all-in-one systems would be very attractive. My only concern with them is I don't have a high voltage outlet and I wouldn't want to deal with an under powered system.
For a traditional system I'd do something like this:
Total $985
Bonus Upgrades:
Total $905
And you'll want various fittings and hoses and more kegs and a stir paddle.
Norther Brewer has the Homebrew Starter Kit on sale for $99 that trades the 2 glass carboys for a 5 gallon kettle and a second bucket. I personally think clear glass carboys only makes you look more like a pro brewer, rather than providing anything better. They make things more risky IMHO, so unless they excite you, do the buckets.
(edit) Also for the kettle, FYI I purchased the 10 gallon Bayou Classic Bayou Stainless Brew Kettle, Stainless Steel instead for half that price (see the other buying options for the 2 day free prime shipping, if you have prime.) It was definitely acceptable quality, for my purposes. Although for most kits, the 5 gallon kettle has been sufficient for me as well.
You can use those for brewing as long as the enamel stays chip free. Once it chips, you're going to want a new pot. Here's a stainless pot at 40 quarts for ~$50.
I would get a KAB4 burner. It straddles the line between performance and price IMO. $80.00
For the kettle I would go a little bigger than 8 gallons, because the price difference isn't all that great. Plus if you plan to do BIAB you really need a bigger kettle. If your handy you could buy this one and add your own valve. If your not confident about drilling the hole and doing the work yourself, heres one with a valve included obviously that a little more expensive. $114.00
I like the vintage shop fermonster carboys. They are plastic and easy to clean. These are actually cheaper at my LHBS. $34.00
And Last you need either need a Bag for your kettle for BIAB or you could go the cooler route and get a bag for your cooler for MIAB.
The MIAB option is a little pricer but I prefer having a separate vessel for Mashing because theres less lifting to do and doing a sparge is a bit easier that way. So Another $43.50
And you can pick up a cooler at most Big box stores for like $20.00
That clocks in at $291.50 so just under budget.
I just started doing 5 gallon batches, so others with more experience may have more well informed opinions. I bought a 10 gallon kettle (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MIA5OQK/). The Bayou Classic was the best deal I could find online. On my first try, I melted the bag, not bad enough to lose grains but bad enough to warrant buying a new bag. So I bought a false bottom from BrewHardware.com (https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/biabbottom15.htm). This setup worked well for me.
For probably $60 or less, you can get an 8 gallon stainless steel pot that you don't have to do any modifications to.
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-1440-Stainless-Kettle/dp/B00MIA5OQK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1538489917&sr=8-6&keywords=10+gallon+stainless+kettle
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Depending on how much you want to spend, you can get one with a thermometer, valve, etc.