Conical fermenter advice/information

[Hoddy]

So I'm looking at investing in a conical fermenter. Spec/use in looking at is:

1) plastic or stainless (although we do love shiney)
2) ability to harvest yeast from the cone is a nice to have rather than a requirement. Although I would like to be able to.
3) temp control is achieved in my brew fridge so need for other controls
4) batch sizes are about 22-23litres

I'm looking for any comments and reviews/feedback from people that have a conical fermenter.

Which one do you have? Have you seen improvements in your beers? What what have you found you wished you had got/not got?


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[terrym]

A few relevant comments in this recent thread which might be of help...
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66181
If you use the search facility at the top of the forum page you might come across some more.

 

[jonncfc]

A further question about conicals and the ability to drop the yeast out of the bottom of the fermenter. Presumably opening the valve to harvest the yeast will result in an equal volume of air bubbling into the fermenter through the airlock. Does this cause any issues with potential infection and contamination of the beer?

 

[Godsdog]

A further question about conicals and the ability to drop the yeast out of the bottom of the fermenter. Presumably opening the valve to harvest the yeast will result in an equal volume of air bubbling into the fermenter through the airlock. Does this cause any issues with potential infection and contamination of the beer?

speaking who has owned and used the fast fermenter since xmas and done at least 20 brews in it there are no issues with contamination as the seal between the bottle and the conicle is air tight and you need O2 present to get an infection.i have a review of it on here and although has a few minor issues I would recommend them
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58536
ps you open the bottle valve upon aerating the wort just before pitching the yeast so the yeast fall out occurs with the bottle open and not shut

 

[Fil]

A further question about conicals and the ability to drop the yeast out of the bottom of the fermenter. Presumably opening the valve to harvest the yeast will result in an equal volume of air bubbling into the fermenter through the airlock. Does this cause any issues with potential infection and contamination of the beer?

generally the lid isnt sealed during a dump, the co2 above the beer just drops down with the dumping..

imho a conical at the 5 gallon level of brewing is not going to get you much brewing bang for your bucks..Temperature control can become very expensive to both invest in and maintain /run, they tend to be too big for domestic fridges..

the brewtech brewbucket seems a good comprimise, SS, with a conical yeast trap all be it without a dump capacity( bet you can wait a few days for the yeast ) And it will sit in an under the counter fridge.

You get the long life scratch resistant SS FV for a fraction of the Full Conical price tag.

 

[Godsdog]

generally the lid isnt sealed during a dump, the co2 above the beer just drops down with the dumping..

imho a conical at the 5 gallon level of brewing is not going to get you much brewing bang for your bucks..Temperature control can become very expensive to both invest in and maintain /run, they tend to be too big for domestic fridges..

the brewtech brewbucket seems a good comprimise, SS, with a conical yeast trap all be it without a dump capacity( bet you can wait a few days for the yeast ) And it will sit in an under the counter fridge.

You get the long life scratch resistant SS FV for a fraction of the Full Conical price tag.

As Fil says the downside is the difficulty in getting it in a brew fridge but I have never concerned myself with tempature control during fermentation, I have mine in a corner of a shaded room and it rarely gets above 22, right now I have had a brew in it for16 days and it hasn't budged much above 19, some folk fret about temperature during fermentation I never have and have had some great beers out of it

 

[DoctorMick]

How do you plan on measuring the temp of the brew? Does insulating the probe on the side work with S/S?

 

[steveshep8676]

So I'm looking at investing in a conical fermenter. Spec/use in looking at is:

1) plastic or stainless (although we do love shiney)
2) ability to harvest yeast from the cone is a nice to have rather than a requirement. Although I would like to be able to.
3) temp control is achieved in my brew fridge so need for other controls
4) batch sizes are about 22-23litres

I'm looking for any comments and reviews/feedback from people that have a conical fermenter.

Which one do you have? Have you seen improvements in your beers? What what have you found you wished you had got/not got?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I bought two 20 US gallon ones with a double skin with glycol heating/cooling coil sandwiched between the layers. They were imported from brewers hardware in USA. Excellent quality but they were expensive, they do lots of sizes so no need to splash out. I have a heat/cool pump which ranges from 90c down to -28c (that's using a special glycol) this way I can brew pretty much anything at any time of year.

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[steveshep8676]

I bought two 20 US gallon ones with a double skin with glycol heating/cooling coil sandwiched between the layers. They were imported from brewers hardware in USA. Excellent quality but they were expensive, they do lots of sizes so no need to splash out. I have a heat/cool pump which ranges from 90c down to -28c (that's using a special glycol) this way I can brew pretty much anything at any time of year.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DoctorMick]

I bought two 20 US gallon ones with a double skin with glycol heating/cooling coil sandwiched between the layers. They were imported from brewers hardware in USA. Excellent quality but they were expensive, they do lots of sizes so no need to splash out. I have a heat/cool pump which ranges from 90c down to -28c (that's using a special glycol) this way I can brew pretty much anything at any time of year.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Fil]

PHooaaarrrrrr!! top shelf brewporn there Steve :thumb:

How do you plan on measuring the temp of the brew? Does insulating the probe on the side work with S/S?

HA! good Q DrM, my own theory/conclusions on the subject are that positioning temperature measurement close to where the change is being applied should provide the best results. SS while having a low coefficient of heat transfer compared to say copper, is still better than plastics so Yes if in a brewfridge an external insulated probe should be fine. If applying change via an internal hex coil then a thermopocket or thermowell positioned close to the hex coil could be a better option..

When fermenting activly the yeast will keep the liquor in motion and normalise the bulk temp throughout fairly efficiently. However at the start and end of the primary period the liquor will be still and transfer of heat through the bulk will be slower.. SO, If you measure the liquor temp a distance from the change being effected (ie centrally when using a brewfridge) you run a much higher risk of over/undershooting the target temp before the probe reads any change..

 

[jceg316]

I've got a FastFerment and have written a couple of reviews on my blog http://www.honestbeerguide.com/tag/fastferment/ and have also used on many occasions an SS conical fermenters by Brewtech.

The FastFerment, IMHO, is better for a homebrew level. The plastic (apparently) i not permeable to air, and after leaving a beer in there for a couple of months I can confirm it is not oxygenated. It has a collection ball for yeast which is actually very useful. It's easy to clean - easier than a glass demi anyway. On cleaning, the plastic is tougher than what you get on plastic buckets but I'm still a bit careful with how hard I scrub, probably just paranoia. There is a thermowell for a thermometer. To control the heating I built a fermentation cabinet similar to a Son Of Fermentation Chamber which could fit it.

The SS fermenters are really cool and I feel way more important than I am when I'm clipping all the joints into place whilst admiring my reflecting in the super shiny exterior. But they aren't as practical as the FF. One benefit is they usually come with legs which a FF doesn't, but other than that they are more expensive, heavier and yeast is harder to get out. To get the yeast the bottom tap has to be opened, and as you can imagine the yeast, trub, any bits of hop etc come out from a 15" tap with the force of 30 litres of beer sitting on top of it. Don't harvest the yeast in your Sunday best! You may need to wash the yeast too.

Both have pluses and minuses. For me, if money wasn't an issue I'd still get another FF. If you want shiny still, I won't judge you for wrapping a fastferment in silver foil.