Please help me increase my batch size

Over the winter I welded a brewstand with burners and march pump. I acquired kegs for the MT and Kettle. I went to the local store today to buy ingredients to make a 15 gallon batch and was talked down to a 10 gallon batch due to possible boilover. I am brewing an American IPA. Ingredients I picked up are as follows:

30lbs Pale Malt (2 row american)
2.5 lbs crystal 60
1 oz millenium hops (60 min)
7 oz columbus hops (60 min plus all remaining stages including dryhopping)
Irish moss
Safeale Yeast (2 pks because I'm fermenting in 2 fermenting buckets)

Can't I brew a 15 gallon brew in kegs? I thought that was the point of going to kegs. I used to brew 3 gallon boils when I did extract and topped off to get to the 5 gallons it asked for. Can you not do this with all grain?

Thanks!

A keggle is only 15.5 gallons. Boiling 15 gallons in that is almost guaranteeing that you have a boilover. Additionally, in order to get 15 gallons post-boil, you'd have to have greater than that in the kettle pre-boil. For 10 to 11 gallon batches, I usually start with 12-13 gallons in my keggle and even that much wort almost boils over.

If you really wanted to do 15 gallon batches, you should probably be looking at a 20 gallon pot or larger.

That's what I was told. It's just disappointing that I thought I was set for 15 gallon batches and can only do 10...

Thanks.

with the help of brewing software, I use Beer Smith,you can calculate your reciepe with 5 gallons of top off water to hit your targets

you will lose some effieciancy and some hop utilization but it can be done

Thanks Redman67. I have Beer Smith (just upgraded to 2.0 too) and not too sure how to use it yet. I put the recipe in and have been playing with it for the last 2 days straight but its a bit confusing to me still.

I've also been looking all morning at 20 gallon brewpots...

Any particular reason you are looking at 15 gallon vs. 10 gallon batch sizes?

Just that it doesn't cost that much more to do 15 vs 10 or 5. Plus I have 3 corny kegs.

...and I drink it fast...



Thanks for the help Ace!

When you set up an equipment profile enter 15 gallons and there is an entry for top off water set this to 5 gallons and you should be all set as long as your m/lt can handle the grain bill

Saw this this morning
http://cgi.ebay.com/CONCORD-80-QT-F...134799&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=1198972478303095827

Thanks guys!