Anyone using a stainless steel Conical fermenter

[auralabuse]

As the heading states, I have been looking to upgrade to a 30 litre ss conical fermenter but the prices are crazy. Has anyone picked one up at a reasonable price from anywhere?

[Leann ull]

Malt Miller or Homebrew builder are your best bet
let me know how you get on I'm in the market for 1 as well.

[Bubbles]

Malt Miller or Homebrew builder are your best bet
let me know how you get on I'm in the market for 1 as well.

How much shiny stuff do you have now?? 

[Dr Jacoby]

The exchange rate has made the SS Brewtech conicals less affordable from Malt Miller but they're still decent value when compared to the other options. If I were you I'd strongly consider a 14 gallon conical. The smaller SS Brewtech conicals only take 26 litres.   

[Bubbles]

The exchange rate has made the SS Brewtech conicals less affordable from Malt Miller but they're still decent value when compared to the other options. If I were you I'd strongly consider a 14 gallon conical. The smaller SS Brewtech conicals only take 26 litres.

What is the compelling reason(s) for upgrading to a conical? Do they really make life that much easier?

In a commercial environment, where you have jacketed conical fermenters, I understand that it's beneficial to be able to dump yeast before cold crashing and filtration. But on a home brew level, what does a €1K steel conical give you that racking to a secondary bucket/carboy doesn't?

[nigel_c]

I use the fast ferment conical and find it great. everything drops clear and no oxygen pickup. Dry hop with pellets as well.

[Bubbles]

Dry hop with pellets as well.

This.

That's a good reason for me to get one. I'd rather dry hop with pellets, and I'd rather go "bareback" (no hop bags).

[molc]

I dry hop with loose pellets. Fine with Gelatin and drop them all out for the last 3 days, then siphon off the beer and leave the trub. One issue is you can't repitch that yeast though, since it's covered in hop matter. There has been talk that it strips the aroma when you gelatin a dry hop, but I don't notice it myself.

I like shiny SS, but I still can't bring myself to spend that much on a fermenter, especially when the PET bottles gives all the advantages of carboys but are light and easy to clean.

[Dr Jacoby]

What is the compelling reason(s) for upgrading to a conical? Do they really make life that much easier?

In a commercial environment, where you have jacketed conical fermenters, I understand that it's beneficial to be able to dump yeast before cold crashing and filtration. But on a home brew level, what does a €1K steel conical give you that racking to a secondary bucket/carboy doesn't?

It's an interesting issue. I wouldn't say that there are any compelling reasons, but there are some advantages (I don't own a conical by the way but I have borrowed one and brewed maybe 5 or 6 beers in it):

First, it allows for oxygen free transfers. This includes taking samples without having to lift a lid etc. and racking the beer away using low pressure transfers. Taking samples is a joy.

Second, harvesting yeast from the bottom port is quite straightforward (though not as easy as some people claim - yeast and crud can sometimes form a block that is difficult to drain or push out).

Third, they're very easy to clean and maintain.

Fourth, I like using them for dry hopping. You can just throw the hops directly in without a bag and wait for them to settle so they can be dumped from the bottom port. You can also hook the bottom port up to a gas line to bubble the hops back into solution.


There are also some disadvantages:

First, they are expensive - but not 1K expensive!

Second, they are a little unwieldy in terms of moving them around.

Third, you'll need a fridge big enough to contain them if you want proper temp control. There are other temp control options but they can be expensive.

Fourth, you will need to buy a few bits and pieces for transfers etc. that fit the outlets.

   

[Dr Jacoby]

One issue is you can't repitch that yeast though, since it's covered in hop matter.

I might be misunderstanding you but can't you just rinse the yeast?

[molc]

One issue is you can't repitch that yeast though, since it's covered in hop matter.

I might be misunderstanding you but can't you just rinse the yeast?

In the back of my head, there is more chance of the yeast mutating due to the high hopping rate, but maybe that only applies to the active fermentation? Also, wouldn't you get more hop flavour carryover, even after rinsing?

Still working on the my goto method for yeast reuse, so feel free to enlighten me. Upto now, I've just been overbuilding starters to have a clean sample each time, but since starting lagers, I'm experimenting with reusing the slurry. If I'm repitching, I just use the slurry and don't rinse it with any water.

[Dr Jacoby]

Over building starters is my favourite way to do it too. But when I was using the conical I did harvest yeast for a series of lagers I did.

I found it difficult to get the yeast out while the beer was still in the conical (primary fermentation is longer for lagers and the temps are colder so the yeast had packed fairly tightly). What I did was transfer the beer out into cornies for lagering and then I put the lid back on the conical and did a pressure transfer to force the yeast out the bottom port. I then had to wash it with some cooled boiled water and decant away from the crud. It was fairly easy and I got a shed load of yeast from it (which came in especially handy for a bock I did).   

[gazz]

[quote ]
The exchange rate has made the SS Brewtech conicals less affordable from Malt Miller but they're still decent value when compared to the other options. If I were you I'd strongly consider a 14 gallon conical. The smaller SS Brewtech conicals only take 26 litres.
[/quote]

The exchange rate is the best it has been in an awful long time €1=79p

[Dr Jacoby]

That's exactly the kind of information my wife hopes I never find out

[auralabuse]

The best I have seen in terms of price is about 200 for a 26l brewtech but stock levels are shit in Europe so you could be hit for customs. 26l is ok for me as I like to end up with about 20l batches.