Conical Fermenter - Anyone use one?

[trustyrusty]

Hi When I first started brewing I had in my head a design for a conical fermenter before I know anything ( not that I know a lot now ), all the gunk will be on the bottom and you can tap off until clear, and then dont have to worry about issue with the trub on the bottom causing issue. No secondary fermentation tank, and I have seen ones with a small bulb on the bottom so you can tap off trub if you want to recover yeast. You can bottle or keg from the bottom without wasting a drop. Makes real sense....

Thanks

 

[Roosterboy]

I haven't used one , but I think the price is the problem. People look at the price for a plastic fermenter. If it came down,they would sell more. A smaller margin but larger sales volume should be their approach.

 

[warra48]

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/93589-kk-fermentasaurus-conical-pet-fermenter/

These seem to be generating some interest.

 

[Weizguy]

Warra, seems to be a good entry-level conical. A bit small for my batches, but adequately sized for general acceptance.

 

[Dr_Rocks]

I have the malt mechanics 60L hdpe conical fermenter. Dual tri clover fittings for sampling and dumping/harvesting yeast. It really is as easy as you say just open the bottom valve and I harvest yeast into a glass jar. Itts made out of one molded piece if plastic and it has a thermo well too. Got mine from clever brewing for under $500. No affiliation etc.

 

[Lethaldog]

I've just recently bought an SS brewtech 17 gallon chronical and I love it, so easy to use and clean, ok they are initially expensive (around $1000 with a couple of upgrades) but since I have been brewing in plastic for 20 years and always wanted one I lashed out and now I'll never look back, not to mention it's the only vessel I'll personally ever need now!

 

[Weizguy]

I have an 80 litre (about 20 US gallons) conical and a fridge which it fits into. Similar to Stout Tanks conical.
Great for lager or ales. Have only brewed in it a few times already.
Easy to clean and sanitise. Easy to fill/drain. Also OK for No-chill, using a blow of tube in a growler of sanitiser
Looks pretty and shiny. Will last a long time, but buy right/ buy once, and no need to replace

 

[trustyrusty]

I did see this in US - 99.00 http://www.eckraus.com/fastferment-conical-fermenter.html%C2 Looks ok.. the link above looks good, cheers

 

[GalBrew]

Get an SS Brewtech brewmaster bucket. It has a conical(ish) bottom and works great, is cheap and crud compacts to the bottoms nicely. I bought a conical previously and now never use it. Unless you want to reuse yeast you really don't need a proper conical fermenter.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Much has been debated about conical's

From what has been said over the years, conical's may not be actually any better than wide flat bottomed fermenters, in fact they may not be as good due to the smaller overall yeast surface area

I may be wrong

 

[malt junkie]

Much has been debated about conical's

From what has been said over the years, conical's may not be actually any better than wide flat bottomed fermenters, in fact they may not be as good due to the smaller overall yeast surface area

I may be wrong

DBS are you outing yourself as a lager only brewer, because ale yeasts ferment on top; wouldn't they have the same yeast surface area? I do love my shiny conical and yet to try a lager in it. Happy to give some honest feedback on a lager when getput one down.
Ales so far have fermented well and attenuation has been good if not better, the ability to harvest clean yeast is a big bonus.
Though the best thing is stainless is so easy to clean!

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Have never brewed Lager...dont even really like them TBH

Dont get me wrong, conicals are good things and have advantages, but the are not the golden item brewers think they are

Just because ales brew from the top does not mean that wide large surface area's are not good for Ales*


* Based on what I have gleaned over many years on here reading the many debates

** I have also know to be wrong, and many can cite some pretty awesome threads about my incorrect views

*** Many pro brewers have speculated stuff as well

 

[Gelding]

Much has been debated about conical's

From what has been said over the years, conical's may not be actually any better than wide flat bottomed fermenters, in fact they may not be as good due to the smaller overall yeast surface area

I may be wrong

I think you are.

Are you implying for yeast to work they must face the wort they are feeding on ?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I think you are.

Are you implying for yeast to work they must face the wort they are feeding on ?

I shall let you know in 15 pages

 

[mfeighan]

i have had 2 50l conicals for about 2.5 years now. Absolutely love them, i don't use them to their full potential for yeast harvesting etc but i do dump the trub usually around day 2-3 and the yeast just after cold crashing. For myself the added bonus is my fementers are pressurisable so my beers finish cleaner/faster as i can do them at higher temps. I did use one of my old plastic fems about a year ago as i was brewing for a bucs and had no room, dont know if the plastic degraded in the shed or something but i had to tip it after that i threw out my 4 70l plastic ones and have never looked back.

 

[Gelding]

I shall let you know in 15 pages

predictable.

The "surface area" available to the yeast is the liquid that surrounds its cell wall.

The function of a conical is to facilitate the collection and removal of the yeast from the beer on completion of fermentation, as well as sampling and drainage following CIP, to name a few.

 

[Brownsworthy]

I got the SS brewtech 54L conical and I love it. Great for cleaning and ever since I've owned it I get a much clearer product going into my kegs and less trub left behind in them.

 

[trustyrusty]

Hi I dont really understand the Oxebar one. Are they saying after initial ferment and after you remove the trub you add the pressure cap you naturally ferment, but are you supposed to put in the fridge and serve from there. If not are they saying that will enough pressure to fill into another keg. The concept seems good to carbonate but you have have to own 3 or 4 if you were going to server from the fermenter as they say? cheers

 

[oxebar]

Hi Trustyrusty,
We have tried to make an entry level conical that will cater to as many brewers as possible. It can be used as a standard conical with the gravity lid; you can dump your yeast/trub and clarify, then stick a hose on the bottom to bottle or keg your beer.
If you are using the pressure cap then we suggest using it for the entire fermentation. For blowoff you can connect a gas disconnect with a tube going to some water/sanitiser. Personally, I normally ferment under a bit of pressure with a spunding valve connected to the gas post. I can take samples from the liquid post for those occasions when I am interested in the gravity. I ferment in an old fridge; I crash chill, carbonate and pour a beer to see if it is missing anything. If I'm happy with it I transfer to a corny and that goes in a kegerator. If it needs something else I can do additions through either the collection bottle or directly through the posts. I find I am able to keep oxygen contact to minimum in this way. The Fermentasaurus is a bit bulky and I prefer use it for fermenting rather than serving, but serving is still an option for those brewers toying with the idea of kegging and haven't made the plunge (yet).
Depending on the size of your batch, there might be enough pressure in the headspace to transfer to a keg; but if you are doing this then chances are you will have a gas bottle available to connect up to the fermenter. If you do have a gas bottle available you can also counter pressure bottle fill straight out of the Fermentasaurus and not need any extra conditioning time; I will sometimes do this if I want to take just a couple of beers out somewhere.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

predictable.

The "surface area" available to the yeast is the liquid that surrounds its cell wall.

The function of a conical is to facilitate the collection and removal of the yeast from the beer on completion of fermentation, as well as sampling and drainage following CIP, to name a few.

Which is why they are well suited to large scale commercial brewing