Way back at the dawn of time, when I started all-grain brewing, I had a 5 gallon brew rig. I wasted a lot of money on that rig buying expensive 5 and 7 gal SS pots and making dinky batches of beer. At some point (pretty damn quick, actually) I realized that I could make a 10 gallon batch in the same time and, holy crap, I could pick up used 15 gallon Sanke kegs for about $40.00 each! So I went to keggles.
1/2 barrel Sanke kegs are ideal for brewing (as far as I'm concerned) because of their low cost and their concave bottom. You have to cut a hole in the top and add a weldless fitting: Big deal!. But now I'm thinking about moving up to a 20 gal rig, because it takes the same time to brew a 10 gallon batch as it does to brew a 10 barrel batch. So time saving. lol
My chief concerns are:
1. There seem to be no brew pots with a concave bottom like the Sanke.
2. 30 gallon brew vessels are rather expensive.
3. Knockout time would double, possibly impacting my brew's flavor and aroma.
Have any of you dealt with these issues, and how did it work out?
TIA,
Charlie