Stepping up from 5-gallon (19 l) batches to brewing 10 gallons (38 l) at a time is fairly manageable, but what about bulking up further? There are plenty of 15-gallon (57 l) fermentors out there, from home-grown plastic malt extract drums to sweet stainless-steel conical tanks, and numerous options in between. You can even go larger if you’re game. The thought of brewing 15 gallons (57 l) at a time is awfully tempting, but before you commit, there are an ideological issue and a few logistical issues to consider.
The obvious question is whether high-volume brewing fits your brew style. If you’re the happiest experimenting with something new every time, larger batches will slow you down. The same is true if you’re a fickle drinker who would get bored with too much of the same beer. On the other hand, if you’ve settled on a dependable set of recipes, it might be nice to keep your taps well provisioned. Or perhaps you have a special event coming up and need a larger batch for it.
The weight of 15 gallons (19 l) fermenting is one logistical concern. Carboys and brew buckets work so well because, for most of us, 5 gallons (19 l) is easy enough to lift and move around. A 15-gallon (57 l) fermentor is more or less staying in one place. Still, if you go with a conical fermentor, you won’t need to worry about racking; you can just drain off the trub and other sediment.