Keg fermenters? What to look at?

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Omega

Regular.
Joined
Aug 24, 2023
Messages
280
Reaction score
56
Location
swindon
Hi, everyone,
Having used Pinter before, I like the idea of having less kit (less maintenance and cleaning) even though it may limit what I can do. And I like the idea of keg fermenters. What features I should look at when choosing a suitable keg fermenter? I want something that is easy to clean, so wide opening is important for me. Safety - air pressure release valve. What else?
Thanks
 
What happened to the Pinter? I saw couple on sale for cheap recently.
I would first decide whether you want to go steel or plastic. That gonna narrow in my opinion the search. Do you want see the fermentation happening or not really....
If you had Pinter probably something around 10litres? How you gonna dispense? Are you happy to keep the beer above yeast. Pinter has that brewing doc so you can collect yeast that way... I don't think cornies have that... in which case you may need 2 kegs if you want to have similar functionality to the Pinter.... these are the things I would think about if I wanted keg fermenter.... that is 😀
 
I returned Pinter because it was collecting water inside. They said it was not affecting the quality, but what happens if water is accumulating between walls?
Here is one of Keg Fermenters, it has YouTube - ferment and then serve
 
That is a cool thing. Not sure about the shipping though 🤔 I think malt miller had 23 l corny at one time....

I really like the idea of steel cos you can ferment in the room/kitchen with no worry about the indirect light.... but... you cannot see fermentation magic ✨️ happening
 
I am sure there are lots of similar keg fermenters - Pinter, Minibrew come to mind, but they are small. Maybe someone knows about other brands and their pros and cons per model?
 
I think the first question is probably what are you planning to ferment? Kit brewing or extract/all grain?
That will give you an idea of size as most kits are 23l whereas if you go extract/all grain then you can brew as big or small batch as required.
It might also have an impact on the material, kits require you to add boiling water to the malt extract which may rule out a PET fermenter.

Finally I would personally prefer to have at least 2 vessels, 1 to ferment and 1 to serve from. If you are serving from your fermentation vessel then the beer is going to be sat on the dead yeast and hops until you have finished drinking it, it also means that you can't start another brew until you have finished one making it impossible to build up any stock
 
I think the first question is probably what are you planning to ferment? Kit brewing or extract/all grain?
I plan continuing with kits, but suspect I will switch to all grain in 1-2 years
Some manufacturers of keg fermenters argue that have the yeast is not all issue if drank within a few months. And Brewtools now has MiniUni that allows removing yeast
 
Last edited:
You beat me to it... and if going AG why not ferment in the kettle?
Like the idea. Are there all-in-one systems that allow pressure fermentation (probably not needed if used with MiniUni)?
And another question- can Grainfather G30 offer good temperature control if I ferment in it? It might be a good setup - Grainfather G30 for making wort and then fermentation of IPAs, Brewtools MiniUni 30 or 20 for pressure fermenting, particularly lagers, and a spare keg or plastic bottles to empty Grainfather after fermentation
 
Last edited:
Back
Top