I have a thousand dollars for a conical

Help me pick one out. I live in Oregon so we have conical and glacier here local. I'm thinking for a grand I can get one big enough for a two batch brew.
What would you guys get if you had a thousand dollars?

I would go with the Brewhemoth (that is until we roll out our conical ). Can't go wrong with Made in the USA.

Conicals are cool, but do you have a sitrplate / pure oxygenation / temp control setup? I would spend my money on that first, it will have a bigger impact on your brew if you don't have that equipment already.

What size batches are you doing?

At least 10 gallon batches.

Conicals are nice but as cyclman said they don't make good beer alone. You need to have a temperature controlled environment for it also so be sure you add that to the cost of the conical. It takes a full sized fridge to keep one cool.

What does the room tempature need to be for 10 gallon batches? I have ac in the room. And don't really need that here in the mountains of Oregon from late fall til early summer.

bela said:

What does the room tempature need to be for 10 gallon batches? I have ac in the room. And don't really need that here in the mountains of Oregon from late fall til early summer.

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It has nothing to do with batch size. You need to be able to hold a set temp (ale or lager) while you are fermenting. Being able to crash cool a conical helps drop the yeast out also.

Monster Mash said:

It has nothing to do with batch size. You need to be able to hold a set temp (ale or lager) while you are fermenting. Being able to crash cool a conical helps drop the yeast out also.

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Sweet, I'm good then. Been doing it with carboys for years.
You got me worried. I thought maybe 10 gallons and bigger or just bigger batches created more heat during fermenting.

bela said:

I thought maybe 10 gallons and bigger or just bigger batches created more heat during fermenting.

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Pretty sure they do considering the width, also with conicals you have the risk of autolysis with the yeast being packed into the conical after fermentation

You will need to control ferm temps AND keep them constant which is why a jacket or fridge is reccomended.

Seems like you would do a lot better with 2 6.5gal buckets.

If the main appeal of conicals is the stainless, I'd recommend fermenting in sanke kegs -- it's just so much more cost effective.

If you have your heart set on conicals, though, I don't get the advice that you should invest in temperature control first. Conicals are tall, so if you get a chest freezer or mini fridge for temperature control now, you'd just have to swap it out later when you get your conical.

You can probably get by without temperature control in the short run, since the climate in portland is pretty mild. But do have a plan & budget for temperature control in the longer run, since you'll almost surely want the increased control that it brings. (If you want an all-in-one solution, Morebeer offers a heated/cooled conical, although that's significantly more than your 1K budget.)

I love my MoreBeer 14 gallon conical. Being able to roll it around and pressurize it to assist transfers or push through a filter really make it easy on the old spine. Nice wide opening for dumping the cone, large top opening for dry-hopping and a great little sampling port/racking arm. I'd get another one in a minute.

The main reason isn't because there stainless. I always have 4 or 5 carboys going at once. I do a lot of ipa's and consistently racking from carboy to carboy and luging them around is a pain. Temp control is not not a problem. I would like to pressurize it too. I have a bad back so less work is just plain better for me.

The Glacier conical's here in my area look aweful nice. The Brewhemoth look sweet too!

Why are you racking from carboy to carboy?

I hate to be a debby downer, but man there are a lot of other things I’d like to do with $1000 than buy something that I could accomplish with a $60 sanke keg.

With that said, if you gave me $1000 and told me I could only use it on a conical, I would go with the 15 gallon glacier tanks http://www.glaciertanks.com/Conical_Fermenters-15_Gallon_100L_Conical_Fermenter.html

That way you can ferment 15 gallons at a time if you want.

kpr121 said:

Why are you racking from carboy to carboy?

I hate to be a debby downer, but man there are a lot of other things I’d like to do with $1000 than buy something that I could accomplish with a $60 sanke keg.

With that said, if you gave me $1000 and told me I could only use it on a conical, I would go with the 15 gallon glacier tanks http://www.glaciertanks.com/Conical_Fermenters-15_Gallon_100L_Conical_Fermenter.html

That way you can ferment 15 gallons at a time if you want.

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KPR121, your not a debby downer.
I dry hop alot. I can only add 2oz of hops in the primary and my 6 1/2 gallon carboys are full so I need to rack to secondary to add more hops and to get off yeast cake.

I'm open to the sanke keg. How do get your yeast out? and do you use a false bottom if you add hops? Can you get a sanke keg with legs?that would be nice.

Once again I don’t want to stray you away from a nice shiny new conical if that is what you are set on. But I’m going to speak my two cents anyhow…

bela said:

KPR121, your not a debby downer.
I dry hop alot. I can only add 2oz of hops in the primary and my 6 1/2 gallon carboys are full so I need to rack to secondary to add more hops and to get off yeast cake.

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I understand that concern, but there are ways around this that do not involve a conical to dump trub. One thing to think about is if you are planning on bumping up your batch sizes you could size your fermenting space accordingly to have enough headspace. Say if you were doing 10 gallon batches you could use those two 6.5 gallons carboys. Or if you did 8 gallons you could use a 6.5 gallon and buy a 3 gallon. Just a thought.

bela said:

I'm open to the sanke keg. How do get your yeast out? and do you use a false bottom if you add hops? Can you get a sanke keg with legs?that would be nice.

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When I personally use a sanke keg I pop an orange carboy cap and airlock on it for the ferment. When done I just rack out of it with an autosiphon. Usually I don’t harvest yeast out of it, but if I want to save yeast I add distilled water, swirl and pour into a sanitized container and wash my yeast from there. I’ve never cared about getting rid of the yeast until after I’ve racked the beer. To clean I just fill it up with hot water and oxyclean and let sit overnight.

Some commercial examples of a little more in depth keg fermenting (some more expensive than others):
https://brewmagic.com/products/fermenters/brew-magic-fermenter
http://www.brewershardware.com/sanke-fermenter-kits/

A lot of this could be DIY’ed also. There are people on here that have made some awesome setups with sanke kegs. I don’t have links right now but I’m sure if you do some searching in the DIY section you’ll get some ideas.
Of course having friends that can weld would be a plus, but I’m sure that even without a “hookup” you could get all the work you wanted done for less than a couple hundred bucks from your local shop. A very simple setup would be cutting a hole in the top that a lid could sit on tightly, and drilling a hole through the side or bottom for a ball valve. Putting a sanke on some sort of stand would be fairly simple for even the most amateur welder. Or you could build something from wood.

Look up wortmonger’s pressurized fermenting thread also. There’s some really cool (and some off the wall) ideas there.

kpr121. good points! those brew magic tanks are nice. so are these
http://www.synergymetalworking.com/BrewingEquipment_2.htm

But for that price you can buy some cheaper conical's, like the stouts, to bad there made in china.

SpikeBrewing said:

I would go with the Brewhemoth (that is until we roll out our conical ). Can't go wrong with Made in the USA.

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That's what I went with, but if your total budget is $1k they're likely not the best choice as they don't come with any of the TC Fittings. I ordered what I wanted for TC fittings without trying to be thrifty and came in at $450. Even if you got it down to half of that, you're going to be right at or over the 1k mark.

The glacier tank someone linked looked nice, but at the price I would have expected full TC fittings, and it looks like the racking & dump valves are NPT.

If you're ok with weld-less fittings you can get a 14g Blichmann for under 1k. If you don't mind Chinese made conicals the Stout's are probably the best bang for the buck.

bela said:

kpr121. good points! those brew magic tanks are nice. so are these
http://www.synergymetalworking.com/BrewingEquipment_2.htm

But for that price you can buy some cheaper conical's, like the stouts, to bad there made in china.

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Yeah! Those Uni Fermenters look sweet! But see how that is so overpriced for what you get? Get your hands on a frat keg and find a welder and you could have that exact same setup for under $200. Then spend the rest on a kegging system, or upgrades to your brewery, or 50 lbs of hops!

I'd get the conical and then plan on how to temp control it.

tophmck said:

You can probably get by without temperature control in the short run, since the climate in portland is pretty mild. But do have a plan & budget for temperature control in the longer run, since you'll almost surely want the increased control that it brings. (If you want an all-in-one solution, Morebeer offers a heated/cooled conical, although that's significantly more than your 1K budget.)

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I don't know of anywhere that the temperature stays @ around 65 degrees 24 hours a day for 14 days straight. Temperature control is one of the biggest factors in making great beer, after sanitation, and yeast propagation...ect...

Monster Mash said:

I don't know of anywhere that the temperature stays @ around 65 degrees 24 hours a day for 14 days straight. Temperature control is one of the biggest factors in making great beer, after sanitation, and yeast propagation...ect...

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Don't get me wrong, temperature control is awesome. But clearly it's more important in some environments than others. Someone fermenting in a 100 degree garage needs it day one, but it may not be the highest priority for someone fermenting in a basement that hovers at 65 for months at a time. People live in different places, brew different beers, and have different goals -- there's no single upgrade path that makes sense for everyone.

But my point before wasn't to downplay temperature control. I know I couldn't live without it (even with a basement that hovers in the sixties all summer, I find it essential for repeatability and so I can brew a variety of styles).

I'm just saying OP needs to figure out what fermentation vessels he wants to use going forward BEFORE he invests in temperature control. And while temperature control should probably be a part of his long run plan, the world most likely won't end if he brews without it for another year.

Around my parts its 40 to 60 degrees for at least 6 to 9 months out of the year. 60 is on the high and 20 degrees on the low side. If anything I need to open the door in the beer room to let heat in. If it gets to hot I open the window.

bela said:

Around my parts its 40 to 60 degrees for at least 6 to 9 months out of the year. 60 is on the high and 20 degrees on the low side. If anything I need to open the door in the beer room to let heat in. If it gets to hot I open the window.

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When you start going bigger temp control becomes harder and more important. Throwing a 15 gallon connie into a keg tub is not an option during a heat spell.
Even here in San Diego I got to add heat this time of year to keep my wort at temp. I bought an upright freezer for $40. It's not too big but would probably hold a 15 gallon connie well. I have a dual stage love controller I had from before. It controls the freezer and heater inside the freezer for the cold months. Total spent was around $130. It could be done for less than $80 using an stc1000. As long as you have the space temp control is too cheap and easy not to be high up on the list. A $50 freezer costs less than the foam to make an insulated fermentation chamber, and makes it cheaper to then keep your wort warmer or colder as needed.

When the money is available I would buy a Connie, but use a sanke for now with the orange carboy cap. I do plan on altering it soon though to make the ultimate kegmenter. I figure for under $300 i will be able to make easily cleanable pressure fermenters that can hold 12 gallons.

While I can and do pick up and move my filled sanke I don't like it and try to minimalize it. Once it's in the freezer controlling the temp is just a matter of pushing a few buttons.

Here in northern Oregon our heat spell is about two weeks. I think I can hold off for a couple weeks or so with out brewing.

I'm sure some day I will do temp control with a freezer but for now I will just get the connie. Been reading like crazy on conical's. I think I like the Glacier's the best but to much to set up like I want them so I will most likely get the Brewhemoth, just waiting for a email.

bela said:

Here in northern Oregon our heat spell is about two weeks. I think I can hold off for a couple weeks or so with out brewing.

I'm sure some day I will do temp control with a freezer but for now I will just get the connie. Been reading like crazy on conical's. I think I like the Glacier's the best but to much to set up like I want them so I will most likely get the Brewhemoth, just waiting for a email.

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If you get Brew Your Own magazine, scan the back issues. They sometimes have a coupon code in there for 10% off. It won't save you a ton, but will help offset the cost of adding in the TC fittings you'll need.

Also don't forget, you'll have to build yourself a CIP system as the lid doesn't come off. That will also add up fast. I have $80 into the pump, $46 into the tubing, $60 into the Spray Ball (I bought the one from brewershardware already on a 4" TC), $36 for the 1.5" TC Hose Barb fittings, and $5-6 bucks into hose clamps.

All told, I'm about $1500 into the brewhemoth for the unit itself with IC, their spunding valve, all TC fittings and the CIP system.

thank you, good to know.

One more question that I can't seem to find. How do you guys dry hop in your conicals.

At least to start, I plan on dry hopping in a hop bag using sanitized floss to the hop loup on the 4" tc. However eventually I will likely go to something like this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/pr...ry-hopped-nice-clean-beers-brewhemoth-376383/ once I have more free funds to throw at brewing equipment.

bela said:

What would you guys get if you had a thousand dollars?

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I am a total newb, my brother is actually the brewer in the family, I'm just funding some growth. We have a 50 gallon uni due in at the end of the month from Glacier. I'll let you know when it arrives how it looks. If it looks good, I'll order 2 more. They are $1500 each, but they do have smaller units. It is the non-jacketed model, we plan on creating a dedicated fermenting area that we can climate control.

They quote 3 months for shipment, I will be at 4 months by the time I pick it up (should be in the end of the month based on latest communication).