After the recent move to Nashville, it came with more space and luckily an upgrade in my equipment. I’m happy to announce to newest addition in my brewing arsenal: 15 gallon Megapot 1.2 Brewing Kettle. My decision came after a few months of comparing different kettles.
After reading through thread after thread on both homebrewtalk and reddit’s homebrewing community about how to choose kettles, I came to a two conclusions:
- It’s better to go bigger first. Starting small, selling and then upgrading is more expensive in the long run
- Quality over cost savings. I’d rather buy quality equipment that will last a long time than cheaper that will bust up after one or two years.
In the end, it came down between two main kettles: MoreBeer’s 15 gallon Heavy Duty Kettle and the Megapot 1.2.
Megapot 1.2
Key features:
- Tri Clad Bottom
- Volume markers on the inside
- Silicone handles prevent burning my hands
I was torn between the Megapot 1.2 and MoreBeer’s 15 gallon heavy duty kettle. They were priced the same, had the same features I wanted (tri clad bottom and would last forever) and were the same size. The major difference is that the heavy duty kettle was shorter and wider which would be easier across multiple burners on my stove.
Tri clad bottom refers to a layer of aluminum sandwiched between stainless steel, which evenly spreads out the heat so that there is less risk of scorching the malt.
Ultimately, I pulled the trigger on the Megapot for a very simple reason: it was on sale. I don’t remember exactly, but I think I got a free carboy with the purchase.
I’ve since brewed over 5 batches on this pot since I got it. Unfortunately, I had a mishap where I did not tighten the spigot completely and it leaked a bit. However, Northern Brewer was great and immediately replaced it. Since replacing, I have had no issues with the leaky spigot. Northern Brewer’s customer service was awesome (and I don’t even get paid to say that).
There you have it! I’ve been very happy with the Megapot and whether I continue doing BIAB (Brew in a Bag) or move into a more traditional 3 vessel system, my Megapot can come with me.