Brewtech SS fermenting vessels discussion thread

[razz]

To be honest stux, i don't even rotate the racking arm on the SS. I install it sitting just above horizontal and leave it that way. I don't do any yeast collection either, I just dump trub and then yeast from the bottom valve and then chill the whole thing down and rack the beer off when it's about 4-5 degrees. I did have a hard gasket in a previous conical (ptfe maybe) I always put silicon grease on it when I installed it so I could rotate it easily.

 

[camNZ]

My past experience was with a ball valve as I have only just brought a butterfly valve. You can transfer wort and dump cold break/trub etc an hour later but the OP asked if you lose wort. Yes you do, but YMMV.

You can dump yeast once fermentation is finished but you will also lose some wort even when using a ball valve. Ive found that the best way to dump just yeast is to cold crash. Then I get a nice thick yeast sludge come out first. Other than that im getting a mixture of wort, but with practice you can minimise the amount you lose.

First brew in SS Brewtech 1/2BBL Unitank, ESB using Wyeast 1084 been 1.5 weeks at 20ºC no CC, no major issues with dumping trub through 1.5" TC B/V. Got about 500ml of soft serve consistency trub oozed out, shut off B/V as soon as wort broke through but it did make abit of a mess. Would of been good to get a video, but needed 3 hands just to dump the trub. Going to setup B/V directly to bottom of unitank with a capped sightglass under that to make this easier, fill unitank with B/V open, when sightglass is full of trub close B/V and empty sightglass. Purge sightglass with CO2, reconnect and open B/V to harvest yeast cake. This is the part I'm not sure about, the bubble of air/CO2 up into the tank. This would be a better solution https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Tri-Clover-1.5-Inch-x-3-Inch-Yeast-Brink.html

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Has anyone had issues with the carb stone blocking as it's left in the wort for the whole fermentation before being used?

 

[razz]

Hey CamNZ. Nice job on the first brew. Did you allow the beer to carb up towards the end of fermentation? Or are you planning to use the carb stone, hence your question? I haven't used the carb stone, when I first set up the unitank I left the carb stone out and added a blank plate to the TC fitting. I pressurise the fermenter after 2-3 days of primary and then when I'm ready to push the beer into kegs I hook a gas line into the blow off fitting.

 

[camNZ]

Hey CamNZ. Nice job on the first brew. Did you allow the beer to carb up towards the end of fermentation? Or are you planning to use the carb stone, hence your question? I haven't used the carb stone, when I first set up the unitank I left the carb stone out and added a blank plate to the TC fitting. I pressurise the fermenter after 2-3 days of primary and then when I'm ready to push the beer into kegs I hook a gas line into the blow off fitting.

Thanks, but it's not quite finished, stuck at 1.020 right now.

Was planning on carbing in uni with gas, hence the question. So you pressure ferment after 2-3 days and allow to naturally carb? Using a spunding valve to set the pressure?

 

[razz]

Thanks, but it's not quite finished, stuck at 1.020 right now.

Was planning on carbing in uni with gas, hence the question. So you pressure ferment after 2-3 days and allow to naturally carb? Using a spunding valve to set the pressure?

I use a blowtie valve and go by the reading on the pressure gauge. Usually sits around 100 kpa.

 

[camNZ]

On to the second brew in the ss unitank. Tried a different setup for trub and yeast harvesting with a 1.5" TC sightglass. Good for trub dumping but gave up trying to collect all the yeast with it. Ended up just cracking the valve direct into a mason jar, this worked really well!

Question for you guys about naturally carbing; How do you get the carb levels you want? I know i can set the spunding valve to the desired pressure for the volumes of CO2. But at fermenting temps i.e. 18degC the pressure required is higher than the PSV i.e. 26psi and close to the design pressure of the vessel. Are you only part naturally carbing then force carbing after cold crash?

 

[razz]

I usually don’t worry about accurate carb levels Cam. My current batch is 9 days in the fermenter and sitting at 80kpa and 13 degrees. It was at FG about 3-4 days ago. I do know that the pressure won’t drop much between now and getting the beer down to 3-4 degrees for kegging. After a week in the kezeer the carb level is sitting around 60kpa (which is the permanent setting on my reg) Any slight discrepancy after that corrects itself when I try a schooner or two!

 

[camNZ]

What's everyone do with dry hopping whole cone hops? Hop bag keeps blocking the racking arm outlet and there's no where internally to tie the bag to.

P.S. I replaced the cooling coil lid with a 6" to 3" plain tri clover adapter as the hop bag just got stuck in the coil.

 

[fdsaasdf]

What's everyone do with dry hopping whole cone hops? Hop bag keeps blocking the racking arm outlet and there's no where internally to tie the bag to.

P.S. I replaced the cooling coil lid with a 6" to 3" plain tri clover adapter as the hop bag just got stuck in the coil.

I would have suggested you hang it off the cooling coil I rarely use cones because they're expensive, take up so much room when they expand in the tank and make racking a real PITA.

 

[camNZ]

I would have suggested you hang it off the cooling coil I rarely use cones because they're expensive, take up so much room when they expand in the tank and make racking a real PITA.

@fdsaasdf I'm with you on that, but friends grow them tho. I've asked them if the can pelletise them for me, but for some reason they don't seem to want to do that for me when I complain about their free hops?????

 

[fdsaasdf]

@fdsaasdf I'm with you on that, but friends grow them tho. I've asked them if the can pelletise them for me, but for some reason they don't seem to want to do that for me when I complain about their free hops?????

yeah, well, not a bad problem to have... I also grow them but keep them out of the conical!

I'd probably use a paint strainer bag and hang it on fishing line tied off to the inside of the blow-off valve