KK - 'Fermentasaurus' conical PET fermenter

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To minimise any chunks getting into the Fermentasaurus along with the wort, I bought one of these Stainless "Coffee Filters" / funnels;
It's 95 in diameter and would sit on top of the tank when it's being filled. It should also help airate and cool the wort a little (I hope).

Is9utzo.jpg
 
I found my FV had a small leak into the catchment bottle the other day when it was empty, valve closed and a full beer on top. A very small amount of wort had dripped into the bottle, under pressure that would of been more. Id suggest always have the bottle on and valve open.
 
Found these at Big W, 2x 1ltr bottles $10 and the 500ml were 2x $10.
Will need to modify the fridge not too big a job and plenty of yeast will be collected[emoji106][emoji481]
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G'day Brewers -
I am currently running my first Fermentasaurus brew. Asking if others brewing under pressure have found the fermentation to take longer? I have a brew in now and it is still showing visible signs of fermentation activity in the collection bottle at 1 week. OG was around 1040. Temp 18º for 4 days then lifted to 22º for remainder. Brewing around 13psi. Brew still has colour of smashed bananas. Not sure if this is normal but it seems to be taking longer than my unpressurised brews. Asking how long others are taking to get to FG with their pressure brews?

Thanks
Morrie
 
mine always looks like there is still fermentation but usually after 4-5days and that kind of temp raise she should be done.

Just pull the PRV red valve and release the C02 right down to 1psi and let it go, Watch as all the pressurized yeast in the bottom of the collection bottle will re-enter the beer and if there is any sugars to comsume they will gobble them up and new pressure will be created.

Do this now and later today when its settled down again and you will see that the pressure wont re-gain to 13psi, probably <5psi if there is in fact any sugars left over.

I sometimes think its just c02 pressure carbonating the beer which appears as foam.
 
I can actually see trub/yeast upward movement in the collection bottle and it looks to be ascending through the butterfly valve. Along with that and the colour of the beer I think it is still fermenting. I haven't taken a gravity reading though. I do have a krausen still but was not taking that into consideration when guessing that the fermentation had not ended.
 
Couple of questions re fermentasarus ‘s

Has anyone tried a 30L batch ?

I've done eleven batches in the Fermentasaurus so far, all being typical 23L.
Now I'm planning a recipe for a 28L batch - low gravity stuff, so not expecting a huge krausen;
Are there any issues with this sort of capacity / weight? Or head space?
:cheers:
 
I can actually see trub/yeast upward movement in the collection bottle and it looks to be ascending through the butterfly valve. Along with that and the colour of the beer I think it is still fermenting. I haven't taken a gravity reading though. I do have a krausen still but was not taking that into consideration when guessing that the fermentation had not ended.
If you still have krausen then fermemtation is still going. When the krausen drops and you want to check if FG is near or done, pull that prv and drop the pressure out to get a heap of yeast into supsension and see what pressure pushes back into the fv.
 
I've done eleven batches in the Fermentasaurus so far, all being typical 23L.
Now I'm planning a recipe for a 28L batch - low gravity stuff, so not expecting a huge krausen;
Are there any issues with this sort of capacity / weight? Or head space?
:cheers:
Depending on yeast but likely with 7Lts of headspace you wont have any issue.
 
If you still have krausen then fermemtation is still going. When the krausen drops and you want to check if FG is near or done, pull that prv and drop the pressure out to get a heap of yeast into supsension and see what pressure pushes back into the fv.

Thanks for your help there Dan. I did release the PRV to rouse things up a bit today. When fermentation is eventually completed and I have released the PRV as you suggested and I only end up with about say 5psi @22ºC, what will happen when I crash chill to zero? Will the side of the FV get sucked in due to only having 5psi in it prior? I don't want to let any air in as I want to keg transfer without any air exposure also.
 
^ ^ if your worried about the sides sucking in during the cold crash, prior to that fill it with C02 from the bottle and then cold crash. be mindful that that c02 is being absorbed and will start to carbonate your beer.
 
Found these at Big W, 2x 1ltr bottles $10 and the 500ml were 2x $10.
Will need to modify the fridge not too big a job and plenty of yeast will be collected[emoji106][emoji481]
View attachment 111193
They had the 2x 1ltr bottles at aldi last time they sold the soda stream for $8 may be worth getting if repeated.
 
This is one of those things that seems to be endlessly repeated but doesn't appear to have a basis in facts.

Increasing the CO2 pressure will slow yeast growth, mostly due to the increased solubility of CO2. The pressure at which growth is effectively stopped varies with yeast strain and conditions, the lowest I could find quoted in a reliable source was 300 kPa, on the other hand the yeasts used in MC wines survive at 500 - 600 kPa.

Fermentation doesn't stop when the yeast stops growing in these conditions but the slower growth will mean less yeast and slower fermentation. This is, BTW, the effect you are exploiting in the first place: the slower growth reduces the demand for lipid synthesis, since ester production is tied to lipid synthesis it is also reduced.

The pressure effect can be partially alleviated by feeding the yeast with an organic nitrogen supplement. It can also be alleviated by preconditioning the yeast: yeast grown under moderate pressure will adapt to higher pressures faster.

Dan - I just found this interesting post by Lyrebird_Cycles relating to a slower fermentation under pressure. This explains why my fermentation is taking longer than my non pressure fermentations.
Cheers
Morrie
 
^ ^ I've done about 12 or more brews under pressure now and the fermentation time is no different to before. its all yeast pitch rates and viability of that yeast pitched and the temperature you ferment at.
 
I am going to get a Fermentasaurus tomorrow. :)

Where from? I've been trying to get one but I suspect the KK v KL thing has caused all supply to stop, most shops I've looked at are out of stock.
 
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