Coolship build

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ChugachBrewing

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I've had some good success so far with spontaneous batches, so I'm attempting a new project.

I'm going to be attempting a coolship build this weekend. Going to make a stainless tub, 22 guage ss, 24 x 36 x 8" high with an NPT drain in the corner. Anyone have any ideas, thoughts, etc? There aren't any threads for this AT ALL so I'm looking for input. Thanks!
 
I read an old BYO article about building an open fermenter recently, here: http://***********/stories/projects...yourself/390-build-an-open-fermenter-projects
 
That does look cool, but I would want to be able to clean everything well and I'm not convinced grout would be easy to do. Sounds like a trap for all things microbe.
 
Very cool. Post some pictures of the process and how it turns out. I've heard of some people building a wood "box" and then lining it with thinner metal to save on cost.

I think I'd prefer copper over stainless. I know its expensive, but maybe doing the above would help with that?
 
I've got a friend who can get a sheet of stainless at cost. Why would you use copper? I can't see any advantage other than thermal conductivity... and I wouldn't want to risk oxidation of any kind, ever.
 
You can't be too concerned about oxidation of your beer and a cool ship. You are, after all, exposing your beer to a large surface of air.

I've had mixed results with wild fermentation but if I were going to build a coolship I'd go with stainless steel myself, just for ease of cleaning. It's more obvious when steel is dirty than copper IMO. I'd also probably build a fairly small coolship and only open expose part of the beer and then let that portion inoculate the rest but if you have the space to coolship the whole batch why not.
 
I'm more concerned about the copper oxidation, not the beer. Obviously I want the beer exposed. I will be using stainless. So far I've had great results with the wild fermentations I've done.
This will be a coolship for a 'comfortable' 10-15 gallons, so that can either be the whole batch or part of a larger 45 gallon batch (I've got the Blichman-55).
Thanks for the advice.
 
Copper is a natural antimicrobial surface. Its what Cantillon and others use. Its not going to sterilize your wort, but it will help keep it clean in between uses. Also, I think there is some minerals the beer picks up from copper? Not sure on that though.

Probably not that big of a deal either way...
 
Also, some food for thought. When I was considering doing a coolship (and hopefully still will some day), I thought doing a "swimming pool" design would be best. Having a sloping bottom and a drain at the "deep end". This would allow for variable fill levels, which would be good if you ever wanted to use it for a 5 gallon batch as well as a 10/15 batch.
 
I like the swimming pool idea, that's a good one. I'll see how much welding/cutting I feel like doing. The other (budget) option in my mind would be to just tilt it several inches or put a wedge under one side - I don't plan on having it on a stand, just on a tabletop.
 
SS is a bit easier to clean, but I think brazing a copper sheet is easier than welding a 22ga SS sheet, thats some THIN stuff.
 
I have seen some nice SS basins on craigslist, search for stainless sink, you be amazed what come up. Old dark room sinks are excellent for this(make sure to clean it uber well)
 
Here is my new thought. Gonna cut a keg in half hotdog ways and add a port. Cheaper for me, I already have all the equip. Photos this weekend. Thoughts?
 
vwbrewer said:
Here is my new thought. Gonna cut a keg in half hotdog ways and add a port. Cheaper for me, I already have all the equip. Photos this weekend. Thoughts?

Not a bad idea. I think it's at least worth giving it a try if you have a spare keg around
 
I've got one. Just called a friend and he's going to cut it this weekend. I guess essentially I'll have two "ships" once I'm done.
 
CoolFlotilla perhaps.
Cut didn't get done this week. Brewed up 20 gallons of a "cream" style ale. 10 with british yeast, 5 with Brett-C and 5 with "old ale".
 
Keg sharks!

Step 1 complete.

IMAG0844.jpg
 
As luck would have it, I was stopping to pick up a friend and saw his neighbor had a split keg out at the curb. Cut exactly how you have it pictured. I grabbed them :) If this goes well, I may copy you.
 
reading about doing this, curious on updates as well as a few other questions that come to mind.

i've read about how cantillion and other places fear cleaning the area of cobwebs and other filth to ensure they aren't tampering with the yeast. would anyone do anything specific to the area they plan on keeping the coolship to make sure it's a air is cleaner (if that makes sense and is possible)? i'd like to do this in my garage, but feel like it's got all sorts of airborn nonsense. i'm thinking on building a box and then have the coolship inside.

still working on my thoughts, but those are the only concerns i've come accross so far. hope you're still progressing this idea.
 
BGates14 said:
reading about doing this, curious on updates as well as a few other questions that come to mind.

i've read about how cantillion and other places fear cleaning the area of cobwebs and other filth to ensure they aren't tampering with the yeast. would anyone do anything specific to the area they plan on keeping the coolship to make sure it's a air is cleaner (if that makes sense and is possible)? i'd like to do this in my garage, but feel like it's got all sorts of airborn nonsense. i'm thinking on building a box and then have the coolship inside.

still working on my thoughts, but those are the only concerns i've come accross so far. hope you're still progressing this idea.

The point is to get airborne nasties. Clean air means no yeast and it would just mold over.
 
right but i meant for purposes of dirt and overall cleanliness of the room. theres some "nasties" that aren't exactly preferable to collect.
 
I can't remember, it may be Russian River, but somebody has a "clean room" where their coolship or open fermenters are where they have basically created their own flora and fauna to be able to recreate the inoculation each time.
 
jeepinjeepin said:
I can't remember, it may be Russian River, but somebody has a "clean room" where their coolship or open fermenters are where they have basically created their own flora and fauna to be able to recreate the inoculation each time.

Allagash of Portland, ME
 
The coolship is coming along. I'll post a photo later. I'm getting rid of the nasties from the plasma cut. I got one area down to a mirror finish, now for the other 95%.

I live in Portland and have checked out Allagash's coolship. It's pretty rad. Although as far as "nasties" they are in an industrial part of town - and if they're getting some results, I don't know why I couldn't. That being said, they've had that coolship a while, and there haven't been a "ton" of beers coming out of there using it - maybe there having a tough time getting good results as well...?

For my use, I have a room in my place (our raclette room in the winter...) where I can close it off from the rest of the house and then open all the windows. The only other things in their with bugs are my plants. It's getting cooler now, I may be looking more towards spring for regular use with this thing. I've done 4 spontaneous batches using more primative methods and they are still aging. With one batch I even harvested the yeast and have a starter going. So far, pretty ester-y, lots of banana, which are not flavors I like. We'll see how the rest goes. More later.
 
That would be awesome... although being a "lab sink" I'm not sure about the kind of bugs that are there. Not as good in the beer.
 
That would be awesome... although being a "lab sink" I'm not sure about the kind of bugs that are there. Not as good in the beer.

Its stainless, it will clean up. Even a fast application of bleach(I know it pits bleach, but also kills germs)
 
Yeah, I know. Just makes my stomach turn at first sight.
If you can get it, go for it! If you don't want it, get it and I'll swing on down there... :)
 
I'd be wary of a manky looking lab sink. If it were a sink from one of my labs, you would never EVER want to drink or eat anything that ever came into contact with it, even after extensive cleaning.

However, if you're looking to get something new and something that's a little more compact and easy to work with than a sink, you can buy the Arkay developing trays new for a bit more than $100. This place has a 26x30x3" tray (10 gallons full capacity) for $177

http://www.bizrate.com/arkay-2630-3-stainless-steel-355415282/shop

and a bunch of other versions ranging in volume from a couple of gallons to 15 gallons.
 
Awesome that American homebrewers are starting to embrace making coolship ales. I gotta do some spontaneous ferments soon
 
next up, open fermentation! hopefully most of the coolshippers have a dedicated shed to build up some microflora in there!
 
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