Fermenter

[cici]

Is it possible to use a steel drum as a fermenter rather than a plastic drum - if it can be made airtight and has a lock in the top and a tap at the base? Or does the metal impart flavour/impurities into the beer/mash?

 

[raven19]

Stainless Steel (Conical) Fermentors are utilised in larger applications generally.
Hence no issue if the metal is food grade.
Is this drum plain steel? If so I would be very wary due to rust/flavours etc - bare metal + moisture + oxygen = rust.
If you are only fermenting small batches (under 50L), best to stick with a plastic fermentor, or stainless in larger applications.
My 2c. Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Our transpacific mates in the USA and Canada almost invariably use big glass carboys, as do some of our members here, but I wouldn't have a clue where to buy one.

Disadvantages would be that they don't have taps so you would need to learn some syphoning skills and I guess they would be a PITA to clean.

Advantages, you can see everything going on in the fermentation.

Edit: apart from rust maybe the acids and other chemicals produced during fermentation might produce unwanted iron salts in the brew if they interact with the steel. On the other hand I know for a fact that in the Northern Territory some politicians used to send out 44 gallon drums of port and sherry out to certain Indigenous Communities at election time so some drums can obviously handle beverages. Thankfully a thing of the past.