I have done all grain batches this year in my plain jane steel kettle. I saw a Blichmann G1 on Craigslist this morning. For those that have upgraded, is the move to a G1 for $200 worth it? Or am I just being enticed by shiny things?
To me, with my buckets and carboys, it looks like shiny s###. To each their own, though. Some swear by their stainless.
As long as the kettle has been taken care of, I can't imagine that you'd be disappointed in the quality. Since starting sours, I've thought about purchasing a nice stainless kettle myself. The only drawback I've found with my aluminum pot is not being able to do kettle sours. Purchasing quality products is never a bad thing in my book. Especially if you can find a good deal!
Shiny bits can be tempting. I am proud of my plastic Fermonsters and plastic bottling buckets. What interested me was the G1 kettle being convertible to a mash tun. I am thinking it would have fewer contamination opportunities, and less clean up. It was probably yesterday's trip to Scofflaw Brewery that made me look for my own shiny stuff.
I am a sucker for quality tools as well. So much so that my wife no longer allows me on the Snap-On truck without adult supervision.