Boil Kettle

I have recently replaced my kettle with a full 15.5 gallon keg instead of the 50 liter model shown in the photos. I should have new photos up soon. With the added volume, I can now do a full wort boil for a 10 gallon batch.

Since the coupling on the keg does have threads on the inside, I decided to attach a siphon tube to collect as much of the boiled wort as possible. I was concerned, however, about siphoning out a lot of trub and/or clogging up the tube with hop debris and break. I then had the grand idea of using a screen. All of the research I did basically pointed out that hop pellets (which I use almost exclusively) and hot break will clog a screen in nothing flat. Then my mind started working and I thought "All I need is a really big screen!". This gave birth to what I refer to as the Pancake Screen, but is now called The Hop Stopper.

Basically, the Hop Stopper is a giant screen that will remove hops and trub from the boil in just about ANY amount. Whole hops, pellet hops, it doesn't matter. This thing drains every bit of wort and leaves all the hops behind. It has been rigorously tested with over 7 oz of pellet hops on one batch, and over 1 POUND (yes, a full pound) of whole hops with no clogging. I am offering them for sale through my company, Innovative Homebrew Solutions.

Like the HLT, I installed a Sight Tube kit from Innovative Homebrew Solutions on the second coupling. Personally, I think the Sight Tube is a must. I don't like the idea of using a calibrated "stick" to determine volume. Being able to just glance at a calibrated device and instantly see volume is a good idea in my book. The sight tube on the kettle is an invaluable tool when monitoring the volume of wort collected from the mash and knowing how much water has boiled off. These are key to nailing your target gravities.

The Kettle sits on a 135,000 BTU high pressure burner. I highly recommend the high pressure propane burner for the boil kettle. I have found it is really hard to get a good rolling boil with a low pressure burner, plus, the high pressure burner is a LOT faster.

The burner is supported on a wooden stand to raise it to a level so that a glass carboy can sit upright underneath the outlet valve. There are some pins embedded in the stand that slide into holes on the burner legs to hold it in place. I also installed some leveling feet on the stand for when I have to set it on a slightly uneven surface.