Has switching to a stainless ferm improved your beer?

[Truman42]

There seems to b a lot of good deals around for stainless fermenters at the moment, which has made it easier to upgrade for tight arses or those who need to get it past the minister for finances.
(I fall into both of those categories as Im sure many of you do)

But my question is to those that already have a stainless fermenter and have been using one for awhile now.

Have you noticed a definite and measurable improvement in your beer? Assuming your brewing technique, sanitisation and all other parameters havent changed also and that you had all these at the best standard possible already, did switching to a stainless fermenter improve your beer?

i know there are other benefits owning one (including the bling factor) but for the cost I would like to know that on top of this my beer would improve quite measurably before I forked out $500 or so.

I dont want to end up with something just to impress my brew mates.

 

[lukec]

I have a core brew conical 28l and have used it 5 times and already noticed an improvement. I'm no expert or anything but everything just seems better. In my experience so far I think it's that I've been dumping trub and dead yeast 4 -5 days into each ferment then let it finish off, it just seems to leave me with a cleaner taste.
This is only my experience and other people may have ahead different results but that's how it worked for me. I've also just invested in a stainless olive oil drum from wine equip for crash chilling so I'll let you know how that goes when I keg my first batch from it tonight.

 

[mje1980]

My beers have become much more shiny and much less magnetic.

 

[Batz]

I'll love to know the real truth here as well, I do believe that brewers who invest over a couple of hundred bucks in one will believe there's a marked improvement. I'm not having a go at those brewers at all, I'm sure I would be the same.

It's just that I've brewed in plastic for over 30 years and never considered the change to stainless until now, and why? I've never had a problem. I my case I use 4 and sometimes 6 fermenters at one time, there's no way I can replace all those with stainless. Then there's the question of an oxygen bottle kit to kick off fermentation, plenty of good feedback on those as well.

I need a lotto win, problems solved ! $$$

Batz

 

[mr_wibble]

I'm only on the 2nd brew, but it's a ~28 litre stainless bucket-style fermenter. It cost ~$200.

It's quite difficult to move around without handles - even with a "brewhauler" it's still not easy.
Given I drop it into a chest-freezer-fermentation chamber, this is a big minus.

I was disappointed to find that the steel was too thin for my local metal-shop to weld in threaded pipe fittings.

But cleaning is very easy, and the lid clamps on, so there's no threads to get covered in dry krausen.

All up I'm happy so far, but I'd be much happier with handles.
(Are you old enough to remember that old TV pizza ad "... Look at teh-handle!" )


EDIT: didn't answer the question...

> Is my beer better?

*shrug* Last batch turned out very nicely, but I've never made this recipe before.
And it was the first time I used the O2 bottle as well.

So maybe the fermenter has nothing to do with it.

 

[mje1980]

I'm no scientist so can't give a nerdy reason, but i think breweries certainly wouldn't fork out so much money for stainless of they didn't need to. I understand cleaning and maintenance is much easier for them with stainless.

Smart arse comment aside, I'm keen to know as well. I'm dreaming of one day having a ferm chamber with a custom made stainless steel square fermentor , with a pump hooked up to it and no lid at all.

 

[SJW]

There may be a slight improvement in 2 areas,
1) a cleaner environment compared with plastic (if your saw my plastic fermenters you would understand)
2) maybe a slight increase in the speed a wort cools in the fridge with S/S)

I have done 100's of brews in plastic so when my 30L S/S olive drum turns up I'll let u know if there's any diff.
But who cares really? It's shinny a blingy

 

[SmallFry]

Cleaning of the krausen ring is going to go from an overnight soak with Sodium Percarbonate to a 2 minute blast with the Gerni.

That alone is worth the price of admission...

 

[Batz]

Not all breweries ferment in stainless, a lot of micro's ferment in plastic, I can think of a couple of local micro's who also won recent awards. That aside I would love 4 nice new stainless fermenters, I just can't see that happening anytime soon. It's quite inexpensive to change over my Bunnies square jobbies ever couple of years.

So many nice brewing things are made for us to buy these days.

Batz

 

[lukec]

I just used my mine first time for crash chill. They are awesome and so easy to clean. Just racked from it to fermenter and 1/2 silicon hose fits over tap perfectly.

There may be a slight improvement in 2 areas,
1) a cleaner environment compared with plastic (if your saw my plastic fermenters you would understand)
2) maybe a slight increase in the speed a wort cools in the fridge with S/S)
I have done 100's of brews in plastic so when my 30L S/S olive drum turns up I'll let u know if there's any diff.
But who cares really? It's shinny a blingy

 

[carniebrew]

Cleaning of the krausen ring is going to go from an overnight soak with Sodium Percarbonate to a 2 minute blast with the Gerni.

That alone is worth the price of admission...

What's wrong with a simple wipe off of the krausen ring with a soft wet cloth? That's all I do, the stuff's not that hard to remove. Wipe with sponge, quick pressure rinse with a hose, tip out. Then I make up around 5l of sodium perc solution in my 30l FV, shake, tip it out and rinse twice with about 5l of water each time. Clean as a whistle, all it needs is a quick dose of Starsan before next use.

Replace them every 2 years maybe, $28 a pop for new ones.

I don't understand how fermenting in stainless over plastic or glass can make "better" beer, other than that it's usually more experienced brewers who'd upgrade to them, so they're probably making better beer as they gain more experience. If you're getting any taste out of your fermenter then you're either not cleaning it right, or using the wrong type of plastic.

 

[Batz]

What's wrong with a simple wipe off of the krausen ring with a soft wet cloth? That's all I do, the stuff's not that hard to remove. Wipe with sponge, quick pressure rinse with a hose, tip out. Then I make up around 5l of sodium perc solution in my 30l FV, shake, tip it out and rinse twice with about 5l of water each time. Clean as a whistle, all it needs is a quick dose of Starsan before next use.

Replace them every 2 years maybe, $28 a pop for new ones.

I don't understand how fermenting in stainless over plastic or glass can make "better" beer, other than that it's usually more experienced brewers who'd upgrade to them, so they're probably making better beer as they gain more experience. If you're getting any taste out of your fermenter then you're either not cleaning it right, or using the wrong type of plastic.

It does seem that cleaning features high on the positives, I just wipe and soak my plastic ones overnight. Hardly raise a sweat :lol:

Still keen on a few if someones buys them for me.

Batz

 

[spog]

There may be a slight improvement in 2 areas,
1) a cleaner environment compared with plastic (if your saw my plastic fermenters you would understand)
2) maybe a slight increase in the speed a wort cools in the fridge with S/S)
I have done 100's of brews in plastic so when my 30L S/S olive drum turns up I'll let u know if there's any diff.
But who cares really? It's shinny a blingy

My fermentors are looking a bit stained as well ,so agree with you .
Also I imagine that an S/S fermentor would allow quicker cooling in the fridge as the metal wouldn't retain heat as much as a thicker walled plastic fermentor .
Chees....spog....

 

[Mardoo]

Screwtop talks a bit about his comparisons of beer fermented in plastic vs SS here

 

[Batz]

Screwtop talks a bit about his comparisons of beer fermented in plastic vs SS here

Mine main reason for thinking about one, I do respect Screwy's thoughts.

Batz

 

[mckenry]

I have used a 50L keg for my last 6 brews. I was impressed enough to order a 17 gal conical. The reasons I know my beer is better in SS is from my wife's comments. The first two brews I put down to the placebo effect. Keep in mind though, I didn't have to pay for the keg so didn't NEED the results to be better. The next few beers, my wife said they "taste fresher or crisper". To me I can pick the individual elements a bit easier.
I do have the input variable problem though. I have also added O2 to my process and been pitching bigger after finding better yeast starter calculators. So my scientific conclusion is 'I think so'. My wallet is hoping so...

 

[lael]

Mckenry, what are you doing for your starters now?

 

[Camo6]

I'm keen to see if there's a noticeable difference too. I plan on buying an Ss brewbucket to start with and since I do double batches I'll be able to do side by side comparisons between stainless and plastic fermenting vessels. While I agree that there's nothing wrong with plastic and it won't stop people winning competitions I just figure that a non-permeable, hard wearing surface has its benefits.
I've also found that while I can clean my cornies till there's not a hint of the smell of syrup/beer/cider remaining, no matter how I clean, soak or store my plastic FV's they'll always retain a smell about them. I can't warrant replacing all my fermenters with SS straight away, but if I get good results I'll definitely want more. In theory they should last you a lifetime too.

 

[Pogierob]

Nobody ever needed a refractometer because they had a hydrometer to do the same job. Until one day....

SS is always going to be better, it's just a cost verse benefit issue.

 

[Batz]

I have used a 50L keg for my last 6 brews. I was impressed enough to order a 17 gal conical. The reasons I know my beer is better in SS is from my wife's comments. The first two brews I put down to the placebo effect. Keep in mind though, I didn't have to pay for the keg so didn't NEED the results to be better. The next few beers, my wife said they "taste fresher or crisper". To me I can pick the individual elements a bit easier.
I do have the input variable problem though. I have also added O2 to my process and been pitching bigger after finding better yeast starter calculators. So my scientific conclusion is 'I think so'. My wallet is hoping so...

Great input, thanks.
My wife is a fantastic help in tasting my beers too, and she's not a beer drinker which helps I think.

Batz

Batz