Crazy Idea To Recreate Uk Fermentor System. Pump?

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mje1980

Old Thunder brewery
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Ok, i've had a few Samuel Smith's, so this might be silly. I had this silly idea to grab a fermentor, and a cheap pond pump ( or an expensive peristaltic pump!! ) , and my drill, and maybe drill a hole in the bottom of my fermentor ( just above the tap level, where the wall is flat ), and then drill one up near the top of the fermentor. Add some bulkhead fittings. Then, i'd hook up the pump ( obviously everything would be sanitised thrice times ) and flick it on every few hours for a few minutes in the first 36 hours of fermentation. Probably be a special brew only thing, as it'd introduce a higher infection risk than most, but, shit, we **** around with fancy mash schedules etc, but other than temp control, fermentation is pretty much the same.


Anywaaaaaay, what do you blokes think??. Obviously i'd be using a UK strain that likes being "roused" often.
 
I was thinking of the same thing - with one of those brown pumps, attach the intake to the tap thread with a 1/2" to 3/4" adapter, and simply recirculate with a silicon hose back to the top of the fermenter - I figured I'd put in a 20mm grommet for the silicon hose. Then just use the pump and hose to drain the fermenter into the keg post ferment.

Haven't got around to it yet - my aim was for making very clean ultra cold ferments without worrying about the yeast dropping out early.
 
Yeah that's what i mean, for recirculating. I misread your post at first ( i have had a few ss's! ), but yep, exactly what you say.
 
I'd suggest you could try double drop fermentation first as brakespears do, rather than recirulation. I'm planning to give it a go in my next few english ales to see if there is any improvement. they drop fermenting wort one fermenter to another after 24 hours after pitching or something like that. Brakspears have videos on their website which has a lot of good info.
 
I'd suggest you could try double drop fermentation first as brakespears do, rather than recirulation. I'm planning to give it a go in my next few english ales to see if there is any improvement. they drop fermenting wort one fermenter to another after 24 hours after pitching or something like that. Brakspears have videos on their website which has a lot of good info.

In a similar vein as op I often wonder why aren't fermentations stirred? No major surgery on fermenter would be required as either a magnetic stir bar or an arm mounted on the lid that can be cranked with a drill when desired. It is not proper recirculating but shaking the wort nonetheless
 
Black Sheep Brewery in Yorkshire in the UK follow exactly this
same procedure for the first 36 hours after pitching the yeast.
I was there on a guided tour and saw it happen.
The wort was sprayed from the top of the fermentor onto the surface for about 15 minutes every few hours.


regards

Graeme
 
fermenters can be, and reasonably often are either stirred or more frequently re-circulated.

It changes the beer from what it would be if it was left be - not particularly for the good or the bad, just different (you'll have to google for the specific differences, its too late for me to go rummaging around in my head / notes to dig them up.)

Most of the different things mentioned so far are almost completely about getting some extra oxygen into the wort/beer... it could all be fairly accurately emulated by just giving your fermenter a bit of a shake every now and again during the first 24-36 hours.
 
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