Stainless Steel Fermenter with Bottom Drain

[jceg316]

Is there a stainless steel conical fermenter out there which has a bottom drain/yeast dump and is <£200? I'm looking at options for a next fermenter.

Fermentasaurus, whilst plastic, is an option as it can ferment under pressure. I used to have a FastFerment but it broke so I don't really want another. The SS Brewbucket would be good but it doesn't have a yeast dump.

Thanks.

 

[jceg316]

I've been doing some research and seen a couple of videos where brewers with the SS Brew Bucket bottle straight from the FV. They put sugar into the fv and give it a stir. Does anyone here with a Brew Bucket do that, and does it disturb the yeast in the cone?

 

[uDicko]

When I bottled in a normal plastic barrel I did this and stir gently. Seemed to be fine.

Can't see how this would be any different unless the cone makes it worse?

 

[MickDundee]

I've been doing some research and seen a couple of videos where brewers with the SS Brew Bucket bottle straight from the FV. They put sugar into the fv and give it a stir. Does anyone here with a Brew Bucket do that, and does it disturb the yeast in the cone?

I tried batch priming in my Fermentasaurus and all the sugar sunk to the bottom despite stirring so I ended up with a very unevenly carbed batch. I’ve gone back to bottle priming.

 

[uDicko]

When I bottled in a normal plastic barrel I did this and stir gently. Seemed to be fine.

Can't see how this would be any different unless the cone makes it worse?

I should mention I poured in liquid sugar solution once it had dissolved in boiling water.

 

[jceg316]

I tried batch priming in my Fermentasaurus and all the sugar sunk to the bottom despite stirring so I ended up with a very unevenly carbed batch. I’ve gone back to bottle priming.

I take it this was just sugar and not sugar dissolved in water?

 

[MickDundee]

I take it this was just sugar and not sugar dissolved in water?

Nope, caster sugar dissolved in water. I was told (I think it was on here but might have been a Facey HB group) that because of the shape it just sinks. It might be wrong.

 

[lancon]

Is there a stainless steel conical fermenter out there which has a bottom drain/yeast dump and is <£200? I'm looking at options for a next fermenter.

Fermentasaurus, whilst plastic, is an option as it can ferment under pressure. I used to have a FastFerment but it broke so I don't really want another. The SS Brewbucket would be good but it doesn't have a yeast dump.

Thanks.

How did the fast ferment break? I've been thinking about buying one and this does not sound good

 

[simon12]

Is there a stainless steel conical fermenter out there which has a bottom drain/yeast dump and is <£200? I'm looking at options for a next fermenter.

Fermentasaurus, whilst plastic, is an option as it can ferment under pressure. I used to have a FastFerment but it broke so I don't really want another. The SS Brewbucket would be good but it doesn't have a yeast dump.

Thanks.

These are good value but the bottom is only slightly conical https://www.en.sansonestore.com/product/welded-barrels-conical-bottom/

 

[JonBrew]

I've been doing some research and seen a couple of videos where brewers with the SS Brew Bucket bottle straight from the FV. They put sugar into the fv and give it a stir. Does anyone here with a Brew Bucket do that, and does it disturb the yeast in the cone?

I've had a SS Brewtech Brew Master bucket (with thermowell) for just over a year and I love it. I've never bottled direct from the bucket in the way you describe but I can imagine it working fine with little trub disturbance, albeit perhaps depending on the yeast strain and how much trub is in the cone - I would definitely not suggest doing this if you dry hop loose in the bucket.

Before I got the Brew Bucket I have been weighing up going for this Brew Builder conical which I believe is the cheapest you'll find:
https://www.brewbuilder.co.uk/7gal-std-conical-fermenter.html

I'm pretty sure it was £269 a while ago but seems to have gone up in price since I last looked. After much back and forth I realised that it was too big, for both my needs and available space, and that in reality the ability to dump trub from the cone was a something I actually had very little need for.

 

[jceg316]

@MickDundee that's really curious, I'll look into that. I wonder why that would be?

@lancon the thread on the bottom warped or broke so if I opened the valve with the yeast collection ball on it would leak. I couldn't use it anymore which was annoying. I also found it quite difficult to clean. I had the stand and it was difficult to move both when the fermenter was full. When I first got it I loved it, but it didn't take any hassle out of brewing, just created new ones.

@simon12 have you used one of those before? It looks interesting but I didn't see a yeast dump and the smallest they do is 40 litres.

@JonBrew that looks great. I'm wondering whether I can stretch the extra money or not. It looks exactly like what I'm after, but is the extra ~£100 worth it? If I can bottle clean beers from the Brew bucket that's great, but if it turns out I need to rack to another vessel then I reckon it would be worth it in the long run.

 

[JonBrew]

@JonBrew that looks great. I'm wondering whether I can stretch the extra money or not. It looks exactly like what I'm after, but is the extra ~£100 worth it? If I can bottle clean beers from the Brew bucket that's great, but if it turns out I need to rack to another vessel then I reckon it would be worth it in the long run.

To my mind it depends on a) how much trub you're carrying over from the kettle to the FV and b) whether you dry hop loose or bagged. So if you are generally racking off only clear wort to the FV and you don't dry hop much/you bag when you do, I would personally question the need for a conical.

Another function of the conical is being able to harvest yeast from the cone via the bottom port. However, you can still harvest yeast from the brew bucket with relative ease.

Another advantage of the conical is that being able to dump trub lets you do extended secondary without having to transfer to a secondary FV. I never have a need to do this personally.

I'm on a SS Brew Tech user group on FB and as it happens there was a thread recently where the member asked was asking the pros and cons of Conicals vs Brew Buckets. As you would expect most people only had experience using one or the other and almost everyone sad they were happy with their choice but one post jumped out at me where someone with a conical said he regretted not going for the brew bucket instead - his reasoning was that he rarely dumped the trub and when he did he found that he got a lot of channelling through the cone which was resulting in wasted beer.

I'm not trying to way you either way. I love the brew bucket as it fits my needs perfectly but I'm sure there's loads of users on here that have conicals that could tell you lots more pros etc. I suppose if your main aim is to be able to batch prime in the FV without disturbing trub I might be inclined to say that the conical is the way to go if you want to be able to do this reliably and consistently.

 

[jceg316]

To my mind it depends on a) how much trub you're carrying over from the kettle to the FV and b) whether you dry hop loose or bagged. So if you are generally racking off only clear wort to the FV and you don't dry hop much/you bag when you do, I would personally question the need for a conical.

Another function of the conical is being able to harvest yeast from the cone via the bottom port. However, you can still harvest yeast from the brew bucket with relative ease.

Another advantage of the conical is that being able to dump trub lets you do extended secondary without having to transfer to a secondary FV. I never have a need to do this personally.

I'm on a SS Brew Tech user group on FB and as it happens there was a thread recently where the member asked was asking the pros and cons of Conicals vs Brew Buckets. As you would expect most people only had experience using one or the other and almost everyone sad they were happy with their choice but one post jumped out at me where someone with a conical said he regretted not going for the brew bucket instead - his reasoning was that he rarely dumped the trub and when he did he found that he got a lot of channelling through the cone which was resulting in wasted beer.

I'm not trying to way you either way. I love the brew bucket as it fits my needs perfectly but I'm sure there's loads of users on here that have conicals that could tell you lots more pros etc. I suppose if your main aim is to be able to batch prime in the FV without disturbing trub I might be inclined to say that the conical is the way to go if you want to be able to do this reliably and consistently.

I generally don't carry over too much trub to the kettle and I don't often dry hop, recently I got a large steel cage to out hops in but still haven't used it. Thinking about it though it's more likely I'll put in cocoa nibs and wood chips etc. I would like to bottle straight from the fermenter to reduce the number of surfaces the beer contacts, and to batch prime. But will this process get loads of yeast into the beer? Is cold crashing enough to compact the yeast into the cone and not enter the bottles, or if I dump the yeast will it make a difference?

On top of that I do harvest and reuse most yeast, which is still very doable without the yeast dump but it makes it a bit easier.

 

[Druncan]

I bought two 14 gallon brewbuilder conicals about a year ago. They are great quality and have performed faultlessly, clean easily and also have a remarkably small footprint. I use triclamp fittings and just think the combination and operation is perfect for me. There is a bit of technique to manipulating the clamp and washer, but, once sorted they are great, very hygenic and should never wear out. At this stage I do not harvest yeast, but it is something I will develop in the future. Currently looking at making a glycol jacket for cooling in the summer. I keg and gas directly and have minimal trub. I then dispense from the kegs.

 

[jceg316]

I bought two 14 gallon brewbuilder conicals about a year ago. They are great quality and have performed faultlessly, clean easily and also have a remarkably small footprint. I use triclamp fittings and just think the combination and operation is perfect for me. There is a bit of technique to manipulating the clamp and washer, but, once sorted they are great, very hygenic and should never wear out. At this stage I do not harvest yeast, but it is something I will develop in the future. Currently looking at making a glycol jacket for cooling in the summer. I keg and gas directly and have minimal trub. I then dispense from the kegs.

Thanks for that. Have you ever bottled from them?

 

[jceg316]

Extra thought: some people do bottle striaght from their conicals, but use carbonation drops instead of batch prime. This sounds like an option, it will make each batch of beer ~£2 more expensive, which isn't breaking the bank. I used to bottle prime with a half teaspoon measurement and funnel, and put half a teaspoon of sugar in each bottle. I Think this was uneven as a got a lot more gushers.

 

[simon12]

@MickDundee that's really curious, I'll look into that. I wonder why that would be?

@simon12 have you used one of those before? It looks interesting but I didn't see a yeast dump and the smallest they do is 40 litres.
.

I have a 50l one but have never used it, there very good quality but since they are only slightly conical maybe not great for dumping yeast. I plan to convert mine to a mash tun with no dead space.

 

[JonBrew]

I generally don't carry over too much trub to the kettle and I don't often dry hop, recently I got a large steel cage to out hops in but still haven't used it. Thinking about it though it's more likely I'll put in cocoa nibs and wood chips etc. I would like to bottle straight from the fermenter to reduce the number of surfaces the beer contacts, and to batch prime. But will this process get loads of yeast into the beer? Is cold crashing enough to compact the yeast into the cone and not enter the bottles, or if I dump the yeast will it make a difference?

On top of that I do harvest and reuse most yeast, which is still very doable without the yeast dump but it makes it a bit easier.

I couldn't say for certain having never batch primed in the bucket myself but I fancy giving a go next time so I'll let you know how it goes. Having said that, I would suspect with a really good cold crash and very gentle stirring in of the sugar solution I would suspect you wouldn't rouse up to much yeast - certainly not enough to cause you any issues.

Carbonation drops are definitely another possibility and one I've considered in the past too but they don't offer you much in the way of flexibility if you like to carbonate to different CO2 volumes depending on style.

 

[Druncan]

@jceg316 - I now only bottle my reference samples. I have loads of swingtops I recycle. (they just fit in our commercial dishwasher) but I don't carbonate at all as they are for quality backup. I do eventually drink them after a year and usually they have fermented out the remaining sugars slight head and flavour still great!

 

[foxy]

I have bought some of these, they are the snub nose fermentasaurus 75 GBP for 2 with pressure kits.
Fitted taps on the bottom, gassed up the secondary using the venting co2 transfer into secondary from tap to tap. If bulk priming using sugar or dextrose boil up for a minute or 2 pour into bottling bucket and bottle from there.