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It's probably a simple solution, but I'm planning on making the jump to AG very shortly and, having only done 5-gallon batches in the past, am wondering what is the easiest way to ferment a full 15-gallon batch. I would expect most people to say "just use 3, 5-gallon carboys", and that is fine. I am curious if there another way short of purchasing a 15-gallon conical fermenter? I suppose it's simply a question of volume, but would like to know how other AG brewers do it and what kinds of setups might be involved.

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Not sure why all-grain is necessarily related to 15 gallon batches... –  baka Nov 5 '11 at 21:42
It's not, but most extract batches aren't 15-gallons. –  Bill Craun Nov 5 '11 at 23:55
in my experience, neither are most all grain batches. –  baka Nov 6 '11 at 0:13
I don't understand these comments. –  brewchez Nov 6 '11 at 1:48
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up vote 4 down vote accepted

The advantage (aside from price) of getting three 6 or 6.5 gallon better bottles or glass carboys would be that you can move them around without injuring yourself. I'm using two 6-gallon better bottles for the 10 gallon batch I made recently, and they're working nicely. That also lets you experiment with different kinds of yeast in the same wort, etc.

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3 vessels are the way to go for sure, simply because you can't easily move a 15 gallon filled fermentor around very easy. Not to mention you MUST have temp control at that volume, so you'd need an even bigger fridge or something to hold that volume fermentor. –  brewchez Nov 6 '11 at 1:48
Also, I brew ten-gallon batches in two fermenters, and it is nice to be able to experiment. For example, I made a Saison with both Wyeast 3711 and Wyeast 3724, so that I could taste the difference between the two. –  Dustin Rasener Nov 6 '11 at 2:12
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