Fermentasaurus snubnose fermenter review

[RGeats]

A few months ago I was lucky enough to win a competition by @Brew2bottle Homebrew.

I have now done 4 brews with the fermenter now so thought it was time to provide a review.
I have done two fermentations under atmospheric pressure, and two under around 10-15psi. Also I have just dry hopped an IPA. Each time I have allowed the fermentations to build up 15psi at the end for carbonation and to help with transfer. I've also used the excess CO2 produced to purge the corny kegs and make sure everything is oxygen free.

Bear in mind I've had to buy a spunding valve and some more disconnects etc. to use the kit which have bumped up the cost a bit.

What do I like:
1. Being able to see the fermentation underway, its almost hypnotic!
2. Being able to carbonate as part of the process. Saving CO2 and time.
3. Oxygen free transfers. Not sure yet if it has made any difference to the final product. I guess the proof will be in the IPA currently dry hopping. (also used the magnet trick with the dry hops to prevent O2 ingress.
4. No more syphons! And also the conical shape allows the trub to compact, reducing waste.
5. Easy to take samples using the beer out post and a party tap.
6. It's bigger than my old fermenter. Could come in useful down the line.

Things I don't like:
1. It can be difficult to move around, the metal handles and holder are awkward. Especially when trying to turn it upside down when cleaning.
2. Cleaning takes a bit longer than my old plastic bucket fermenter. (have found putting it in the shower to clean makes it easier)
3. It doesn't fit under the tap of my brewzilla, so I have to use the pump now. Not a big issue but worth pointing out.

I think that's about it for now, if I think if anything else I'll add later. All in all its a cracking bit of kit which I'd recommend to anyone who fancies giving pressure fermentation a try. It's also simpler not having the yeast collection vessel. That might be a downside to some but simpler if better for me.

Hope this is useful, if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks again to brew2bottle homebrew for the opportunity to get into pressure fermentation.

Cheers!

 

[RGeats]

A few photos

 

[chillipickle]

Nice review, pretty much the same experience as I have had with the snub nose ( from b2b also).
I wish the neck was a little larger to make cleaning a bit easier.
Doing closed transfers to corny kegs has certainly made the hoppy ipa’s taste better.

First time using the brewzilla + snub nose at the weekend with a west coast ipa.....fingers x.

 

[RGeats]

Nice review, pretty much the same experience as I have had with the snub nose ( from b2b also).
I wish the neck was a little larger to make cleaning a bit easier.
Doing closed transfers to corny kegs has certainly made the hoppy ipa’s taste better.

First time using the brewzilla + snub nose at the weekend with a west coast ipa.....fingers x.

Cleaning is definitely harder, but I've got into a routine of using a chemclean soak, and cleaning a corny at the same time to resuse the cleaning solution. Then rinse, then starsan. Then store the starsan in the clean corny. I've set up a garden sprayer with a gas disconnect and use that to wash the diptube and any transfer lines. Seems to work well. Having it in the shower means I'm not worried about making a mess. And have warm water on tap.

 

[chillipickle]

Edit, will certainly buy the gen 3 snub nose for dry hopping lid, when brew 2 bottle have them in stock

 

[chillipickle]

I’m in a flat, so like you cleaning in the shower is not to bad.
disconect shower head and can blast the inside of snub nose.
Need smaller hands lol

 

[chillipickle]

All in all a great fermenter, well worth the money imo

 

[RGeats]

Edit, will certainly buy the gen 3 snub nose for dry hopping lid, when brew 2 bottle have them in stock

How do you dry hop at the moment?

 

[foxy]

For me it is the best of the PET fermenters out there at the moment, but there is a new one coming out which I will be swapping out my current snub nose fermenters for.
It is a 30 litre so smaller and with the large opening, I believe it will be thicker as the same preform is used in a smaller mould.
I dry hop by putting the hops in secondary, with the co2 from primary ferment flowing through the seconadary then when ferment is slowing right down transfer to secondary.

 

[chillipickle]

Just as it’s fininshing I dry hop.I don’t re pressurising with co2 From the bottle, just purge a couple of times after dry hopping.
I make sure to slowly release the pressure before opening the lid.So far only been 10 psi when fermenting.
Will certainly get the gen 3 when b2b has stock, like the idea of dropping the hops through the lid.

 

[chillipickle]

Oh that new one sounds very interesting foxy

 

[foxy]

Oh that new one sounds very interesting foxy

Happened to call in to Keg King today, I had only seen a mock up of the new 30 litre, but Will had the real thing sitting on his desk. Under EU law all pressure vessels have to be pressure tested and certified, so Will says that will be getting done. Looking forward to their release.

 

[CEO Keg King]

Nice review, pretty much the same experience as I have had with the snub nose ( from b2b also).
I wish the neck was a little larger to make cleaning a bit easier.
Doing closed transfers to corny kegs has certainly made the hoppy ipa’s taste better.

First time using the brewzilla + snub nose at the weekend with a west coast ipa.....fingers x.

The new one has a bigger opening in the top

 

[Justin Dean]

Cleanong. I use bucket blaster to clean fermenters including this one and kegs

 

[Doive]

Bought a Fermentasaurus Snub Nose back in May, and it's been superb. Agree that the cleaning can be a slight challenge, but I've found a combination of oxy-clean, and a cleaner attached to a stick, means I can get right down to the bottom and give the inner surface a wipe down. For moving it around, have you moved the handles to the upper rail? I'm not sure why they come attached to the lower rail, but it's nearly impossible to move the full vessel safely in this configuration. Moving to the upper rail either side of the legs means the movement of handles is limited and makes it much more secure. During construction they could provide a small spot of weld either side of the handle locations to stop them sliding around the rail, would make things much more stable.

 

[RGeats]

Bought a Fermentasaurus Snub Nose back in May, and it's been superb. Agree that the cleaning can be a slight challenge, but I've found a combination of oxy-clean, and a cleaner attached to a stick, means I can get right down to the bottom and give the inner surface a wipe down. For moving it around, have you moved the handles to the upper rail? I'm not sure why they come attached to the lower rail, but it's nearly impossible to move the full vessel safely in this configuration. Moving to the upper rail either side of the legs means the movement of handles is limited and makes it much more secure. During construction they could provide a small spot of weld either side of the handle locations to stop them sliding around the rail, would make things much more stable.

Yes I have moved them to the top rail, but not either side of the legs, so it does move around a lot! I'll get them moved as you suggest. Something to stop them sliding would definitely be useful!

 

[BlackRegent]

I'm a big fan of the snubnose and I agree with earlier comments that the lack of a collection bottle makes for a more straightforward user experience. I haven't found dry hopping an issue. You just have to be careful in slowly dropping the pressure. The blanket of CO2 will protect the fermenting beer from any oxygen exposure. I just tip the hops in and then do a purge to be doubly sure there is no oxygen in there.

I have also found cleaning to be generally fine. I can get my arm in to clean the krausen line which is usually where the harder to shift residue is. A good shake with some oxi clean or sodium percarbonate gets it sparkling again. I always remove the dip tube and float before shaking to avoid scratching the insides.

 

[David_M]

Christmas is round the corner,

 

[CEO Keg King]

This is a good time to introduce how the lid on the 60 and 30 litre Fermenter Kings looks and works. For the Snubnose versions the centre tower is used to attach the internal thermowell. For the yeast collection version this retains the valve operation tube/Thermowell. In addition it’s a standard thread which can be used with our cleaning kit by screwing on our CIP spray ball underneath.

All in all this is a really versatile item and it is made from polypropylene which is food safe. Supplied with the right O-ring it also works on Fermzilla vessels and can replace the glass reinforced plastic used on those vessels for those who prefer not to have glass reinforced plastic touch their beer and to enjoy the extra functionality.

 

[Braufather]

This is a good time to introduce how the lid on the 60 and 30 litre Fermenter Kings looks and works. For the Snubnose versions the centre tower is used to attach the internal thermowell. For the yeast collection version this retains the valve operation tube/Thermowell. In addition it’s a standard thread which can be used with our cleaning kit by screwing on our CIP spray ball underneath.

All in all this is a really versatile item and it is made from polypropylene which is food safe. Supplied with the right O-ring it also works on Fermzilla vessels and can replace the glass reinforced plastic used on those vessels for those who prefer not to have glass reinforced plastic touch their beer and to enjoy the extra functionality.

regarding the cleaning kit, I’ve googled it but can’t find anything on it, has it been released yet in Europe/UK