Brew Kettle Size

[scutiger]

Hey everyone,

Now that I just recently upgraded to kegging and all that, I'm looking to up my production. Right now, I'm doing simple extract or partial mash recipes using a 6 gallon pot where I never boil more than maybe 4 gallons at a time.

I'm ready to start moving up and doing some AG batches, and so I need a new kettle that I can do a full boil in. So I'm obviously drawn to something in the 15 gallon size range which will be plenty for a 5 gallon batch, but what if I wanted to do 10 gallons? Is it absurd that I'm thinking of jumping up to a 20 gallon kettle right away?

Oh and I should mention I'm leaning towards going with BIAB because of the whole one vessel set up.

Any opinions or insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated in helping me make a decision. Thanks!

 

[mpcluever]

You can get by with a 15 gal kettle for 10 gal batches, but probably wouldn't be able to do really extended boils and even a 60 minute boil gets fairly close to the top where you have to be careful of boilovers. My brother went with a 20 and he won't regret it. I've got the 25 gal for 15-20 gal batches.

 

[lumpher]

You can get by with a 15 gal kettle for 10 gal batches, but probably wouldn't be able to do really extended boils and even a 60 minute boil gets fairly close to the top where you have to be careful of boilovers. My brother went with a 20 and he won't regret it. I've got the 25 gal for 15-20 gal batches.

many of us do 10-11 gallon batches with a 15 gallon keggle. it seems to be the norm. i've done 11g batches for years like that, i was shown how to do it by people who'd been brewing 10-11g batches in a keggle, i've shown people... etc

 

[mpcluever]

Yes, it is the norm and it works just fine. However in my kettles, I'd go with the biggest you'd ever really want to have it, depending how much you really have to spend. Especially with BIAB, I'd go for the 20 for sure if you can afford it.

 

[Cyclman]

The incremental cost of a 20G isn't that much, avoiding boilovers probably makes it worth it.