Homebrew pot for finishing?

[82cabby]

So we are just a family operation with 113 taps. My usual process is to get the syrup close on the evaporator , filter it as I take it off, bring it inside and get it down to the right density on the stove and filter it again. Then I heat it up to 185 and bottle it. The problem there is twofold: first filtering, but I plan on making a vacuum unit at some point. Second, getting the syrup from the stock pot into the bottles is messy at best.

We also homebrew and I’m wondering if this pot would work for the indoor portion of the maple operation as well as being helpful for home brewing. The cost is high, but if it serves two purposes it might be worth it:

https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/10-gal-megapot-1-2?variant=30231847141420

[Swingpure]

I will be using something almost identical for my bottling. I will be filtering after finishing and the syrup, either will be filtered directly into the kettle, or another vessel, then dumped into the kettle. I will take the kettle into my house on the stove, reheat it to 185/190, take bottles out of the oven and then using the ball valve on the kettle and a food grade hose, will fill the heated bottles.

I will be using a large stock pot that is good to go on an induction stove for my finishing.

[NHnewbie]

I do same process, but a propane burner so I don’t make a mess in the house. I bought a cheap 5 gallon brew pot, works well for bottling, but I transfer from another pot that I boil in, I wasn’t sure if the rubber o-rings could withstand the heat at the ball valve. The nicer pots have valves welded on.

[maple flats]

That should almost be perfect. Is the pot stainless, it likely is. The only issue might be the syrup left in the pot below the draw-off. Maybe you can just tilt it to get the last out. You might also want to chenge to a 90 off the valve, as it is when you have plenty of syrup in it the flow may be hard to catch without a mess. Another option, add a length of silicone hose (it's high temp) and then hold it in the neck of what you are filling, open and close the valve as needed.

[Cjadamec]

Yep using the same thing to finish this year. Works way better than I expected although that might be thanks to the 200k btu high pressure propane burner under it.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

That’s what we use to fine tune our syrup before sending it to the press. They work really good, like the built in thermometer on that one.

[NhShaun]

You may want to look into a pot just like that but with the thermometer level with the draw off not above. With a 10 gal pot and the temp reading so high up you will end up with a gallon of syrup or more that won't have an accurate reading to maintain proper bottling temp. It cooks down a lot faster once you get to a lower level and you may end up going over temp and creating more niter. If you lower the heat to try and combat that you may end up under temp which may not seal the bottles properly. Just throwing that out there from my own experience using my homemade brew kettle with weldless bulkhead fittings. I drilled the holes too high and have played the game described above ever since.

[fisheatingbagel]

I have this same pot as my bottler. The thermometer is too high up but works fine with a full pot of syrup. I installed a thermometer through port in my old bottler so I could use a digital thermometer. I'm planning to move it to this pot at some point.

[82cabby]

Thanks gang! I pulled the trigger and placed the order. When the thermometer is above the syrup I will use a handheld digital we have. This should make life a bit easier!

Thanks for the feedback