Brew Bucket 2.0 or generic?

[GCP]

Newbie here, looking to jump into the hobby and it's tricky to look past all of the shiny stuff out there.
I plan to ferment LME and then bottle carbonate.

I'm leaning towards a stainless steel fermenter, the SS Brewtech Brew Bucket seems to be spoken fairly highly of.
I'm also looking at Keglands stainless steel option.
https://www.kegland.com.au/products/32l-304-stainless-steel-conical-fermenterA little bigger, $100 cheaper and a dump valve (i don't even know if i'll use it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

Any thoughts/experiences with either product?

Cheers

 

[Half-baked]

I have a SS Brewtech one. It’s just what you’d expect, does a great job. But if buying for the first time I’d get the Kegland one for the reasons you mentioned. Only concern is how sanitary the ball valve is… can you disassemble? I pasteurise all the removable parts of the BB when I clean, would definitely do that with the ball valve on the KL one

 

[golfandbrew]

If you've got the budget for Ss Brew Bucket I would opt for the stainless Apollo. Much more versatile and can grow with your brewing needs.

https://www.kegking.com.au/apollo-titan-30l-stainless-steel-pressure-fermenter.html

 

[Rohin Fretter]

I know this isn't answering the actual question, and if you do want to go stainless the ss brewtech is certainly well regarded.

But why stainless? If you are starting out, id recommend a 30L plastic fermenter for no more than $40. There are plenty of experienced homebrewers getting outstanding results with plastic! Good beer is made with good techniques, processes + a bunch of other variables. Start with gear that will do the job and build up over time as you get better. Unless you have the other aspects of brewing down pat, you are unlikely to get any value from investment in stainless steel.

 

[GCP]

Thanks for the replies...

- Ball valves in general are seen as potentially grubby? Would best practice be disassembling and sanitising each brew?
- Apollo maybe getting up there in terms of $$. Also it doesn't look like it comes standard with a tap?
- You make a number of good points Rohin. Initial plan was a Kegland PET fermzilla. My only worry is lifespan. Do they tend to last a while or will it need replacing every six months (obviously contingent to usage).

 

[philrob]

I use a 3 ball valve from my kettle to the fermenter.
After each brew I flush it, but it's no surprise there's still crud in there when I dissemble it.
So, yes, if you can, dissemble is the best policy.
Don't know about all the other stuff, as I still brew on my budget 3 vessel set up I put together 17 years ago.

 

[Gollywog]

Plastic fermenters (pressurised) you get a few years of usage out of, before they need to be pressure tested. well worth the money and ease of entry IMO.
If you do get the Kegland SS fermenter, just replace the tap with a three piece ball valve. These can be broken down for proper cleaning.

Which one you choose depends on the style of beers you want to make. If its a NEIPA, I would prefer the Plastic fermenter, because I can ensure a 100% oxygen free environment, including transfer to keg, the brew bucket is great for other styles, where you don't need the pressure and in fact want esters to blow off a bit.

 

[Georgedgerton]

It sounds like the stainless may be a bit of overkill at this stage. Definitely a plastic conical that you can pressurize is worthwhile as you can also toss it in a fridge with an InkBird or other temp controller on it and keep your fermentation temperatures under control, which many newbies don't understand the importance of. Just make sure when you crash chill you keep a bit of pressure in it or it buckle up on you.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

I would tend to agree with that. Plastic is the way to go in my opinion. If you look after them they can last for many years. I am obviously biased but I would be going with the All Rounder.

If you really wanted a stainless steel option then I would go with the kegmenter:
29L Kegmenter with 4inch Flat Lid and Airlock
then I would upgrade the kegmenter with ball lock post lid like this one:
4 Inch TC Pressure Lid with 2 Inch TC Port
or this one:
4 inch Tri-clover Kegmenter Lid with Ball Lock Posts, Floating Dip tube and PRV (Red 2.5Bar)
The stainless lid holds a bit more pressure but the plastic has the advantage of having the 2" TC port that you can use the hop bong with.

I would say these "copy" brewbucket fermenters that we sell and even the genuine SS BrewBucket 2.0 are really not worth the money as getting a proper pressure fermenter allows you to do a lot more.

 

[GCP]

Update - i did opt for plastic, a flat bottom.
I'm four days into a coopers kit with some Kveik in a steamy Sydney garage.
I'll just be bottling for now but the All Rounder looks to be the business when i've got some space for kegging.
Thanks you all!