commercially manufactured temp regulated fermenting cabinets?

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wworker

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Hi all,

I'm trying to find commercially built fermentation cabinets, no DIY. Are there any out there? I'd really like one with seperate compartments that will allow two, or more different temp zones for different styles. I guess this would require seperate compressors, thermostats, lines, etc...? I would like heating capabilities also...

I've looked at the jacketed conicals, but they seem to only work well when you brew a batch the size they are intended for....is this correct? I like the idea of a cabinet because you can put any sized batch in(as long as it is big enough of course...

what do the the small craft breweries/restaurants use...short of a dedicated room?

Have I put together too tall of an order?

Thanks,
Matt
 
My local microbrewery has a walk-in that has three different zones that can be set to different temperatures, even though it is one big open room. It's wicked awesome. It cost them about $13,000.

For your project, find a minifridge that will fit a carboy/fermentation bucket, buy TWO of them, and put them side by side. Voila!!

Seriously...I'm sure there is a commercial example of what you are asking for, but it is going to be a boutique product that will cost you several thousand. Two brand new mini fridges, even if you add digital temp controllers to them, should be under $400. You could get two small used chest freezers off Craigslist and two temp controllers for about $150.00.

For heating, two brewbelts will do the trick for about $20 each. Some people even just use a lightbulb and a $2.00 fixture to heat their fermentation chambers, quite effectively.

Don't overthink this.....
 
Hey thanks for the reply. And thanks for trying to save me money and headache.

What I need though is a turnkey product that does what I need it to...see above...right out of the box. It can be a dedicated room (cool story about your local microbrewery setup) with a build/installation process, but I am also interested in a cabinet that you might find in the home of a serious homebrewer with money to burn. Who would you go to?
 
Do you have the space for two small walk-in coolers? Those are readily available, and you could easily keep separate temperatures in each room. That's what I would do if I had the space and had money to burn.
 
Thanks for working with me :) Yes space wouldn't be a problem. I can see that small walk-ins might be the best option around... Oh and just to clarify...it's not for me. I don't have that kind of money. I'm trying to think of ways to spend other people's money. ;)

I clicked on that Spokane Industries banner a bit ago and they look like they do some good work...big to for smaller commercial outfits, but once again I'm thinking those heating/cooling systems down't work unless you brew the batch the tanks are designed for....

All that 304 stainless sure is pretty!!
 
The closest you're likely to come to what you're looking for are smaller fridges or freezers with outboard temperature controllers.

BrewPubs and Microbreweries are working in much larger volumes than we are, and their equipment isn't going to translate to what we're using. That said, they're typically using jacketed fermenters (on the order of 3bbls+ in capacity, usually 7bbls+) or they're using large custom-built walk-in coolers if they're really small (this is very common among nanos I've visited).

Edit: It might help to know what kind of volumes are you looking at. If you're looking to spend other folks' money, and you're looking at outfitting something for a professional outfit, you might find more useful advice over on probrewer.com (most of us are much more familiar with homebrew-scale stuff and stuff much more DIY in nature!)
 
If you looking for out of the box I would likely simply purchase a kegorator with an in-line thermostat control for each style. Then once each is complete you can also independently control serving temperatures.
 
Thanks yall. The feedback is definitely appreciated. Thanks for that link also Stratslinger.

I have been into homebrewing for about five or six years now. very casual. I use a swamp cooler and do a couple of batches of all grain a year. I've recently started working for a company that makes custom food service equipment...both back of the house all stainless and front of the house, serving stuff like food heating and cooling equipment, heated and refrigerated displays, etc etc etc. We've been in business since 1945 and we can do just about anything. We have our own UL testing laboratory...lol

Before this place I was in residential and commercial cabinetry and architectural woodworking for 6 years so my natural tendency is to think about cabinets. I'm just not seeing any commercially made...NON DIY...products that will hold a batch of beer, cool it to the desired fermentation temp, or heat it to a desired ambient temp, and any other bells and whistles that homebrewers would find useful and convenient.

In a nutshell, I'm wondering if we could make a product tailored to serious homebrewers, at a price that enough would be happy to pay to make venturing into a new market worthwhile.

Just brainstorming really... am I way off base here?
 
I'm a serious homebrewer with a good bit of disposable income, and my fermentation chamber is a $1200 commercial True glass front beverage cooler that I bought from a catering company for $125 coupled with a Johnson A-419 temp controller I bought for $53.

I'm not sure even your most fanatical homebrewer would be in the market for a furniture-grade fermentation chamber, when you can get something functional for under $100 and something pretty darn nifty and blingy, like mine, for under $200. In general, our fermentation chambers have no need to be displayed or anywhere out in the public eye, so most could care less how it looks as long as it is functional.

I think PLENTY of homebrewers would be in the market for a furniture-grade kegerator!! That might be a better place to direct your energies and woodworking talents. I myself am an avid DIYer, but have almost no woodworking skills, and am always envious of the great furniture-grade kegerators/keezers that are showcased in the DYI forum. I'm sure plenty of folks in my same situation would be interested in that kind of retail product, at the right price point.

Good luck!
 
Topher, I wish I could magically teleport a pint into your hand right this instant. You're a good man. Thanks!

That's exact;y what I need right now...just finding out what people need or would like. What I'm thinking about might or might not have any wood on it at all. We do have an in-house woodshop, but we also do ALOT of stainless equipment or powder coated stainless with double pan stainless or even insulated glass doors. The sky seems to be the limit and it just doesnt seem like companies are catering to the "homebrewer" or many of them anyways. But...in the end I'm not a business man. I don't know much about exploring new markets, cost analysis, and all that other stuff.
 
ok...talked to part part owner of a local brewery/restaurant owner in town and he said his idea of the trend that beer going was the "firkin" different philosophy than what I am used to for sure....
 
There are many companies out there that make temperature-controlled cabinets that use heat / refrigeration to maintain temperatures to close tolerances and some can be programmed to adjust the temperatures on a time schedule. Some of these are large enough for fermenters (the homebrewer sizes anyway) but they are expensive! They're incubators used in laboratories....
 
I didn't think about the similarities to incubation but you're right... I'm guessing that the very high cost of those units is due not only to the precision control, but also the high standards to which lab equipment must be built for various certifications.

Anyone else have feedback? Topher through high end kegerators out there. Any features you'd like to see in those? What about built in stirring capabilities in fermenters?
 
I'm new to brewing and would seriously evaluate a purpose-built fermentation chamber if such a thing were available. Obviously, price is pretty important. Lots of people have modified fridges to do the job, but frankly I have too many hobbies and too little time... cruising CL for a fridge, and then cruising forums for advice on how to hack in a third party temperature controller is time that I would rather spend on a half dozen other things. So, I am willing to pay a price premium over the Craigslist special.

Anyway, on one end of the spectrum you have maybe a $100 investment, plus a lot of your time. On the other end, you could spend 20x as much on a Morebeer heated/cooled conical fermenter. I wish there were some options in the middle, because currently I have slightly more money than time or interest in building.

(That said, if someone has a link to a "buy this cheap fridge at Home Depot and turn it into a fermentation chamber in 30 minutes" hack, I am all ears... I just haven't stumbled on that page yet.)

Currently I bottle and have no interest in kegging or kegerators.
 
...(That said, if someone has a link to a "buy this cheap fridge at Home Depot and turn it into a fermentation chamber in 30 minutes" hack, I am all ears... I just haven't stumbled on that page yet.)...

Just quickly look at any junk mail you get to see if they have any fridges/chest freezers on sale when they do buy one. Then order a prewired johnson/love controller.
Plug the controller into the wall, plug the fridge/freezer into the controller, stick the probe in a jar of water somewhere in the fridge/freezer with the lead just running out through the door rubber, Done.
Easy enough? hell I bet you could get the fridge/freezer and controller delivered!
 
Well OK, that is pretty easy. :) I think I got sidetracked by the threads discussing modifying the thermostats in fridges or freezers, and those projects seemed kind of hacky... and not in a good way.

I did just now find a very reasonable looking project: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/vissani-fermentation-chamber-290663/

I am fine with building something--I just want to save my experimentation time for recipes, not gear!
 
I kind of agree that a fermentation chamber probably isn't where people are hurting. What I've been thinking of is a piece of furniture kegarator like a buffet that can hold 2, 3 or 4 cornies in a line. One of the problems with keezers for me is that they are so deep. It makes it hard to have it in the house without it looking like there is a giant wooden freezer in your living room.
 
ok...talked to part part owner of a local brewery/restaurant owner in town and he said his idea of the trend that beer going was the "firkin" different philosophy than what I am used to for sure....

IMO, beer is certainly not trending towards firkins. Firkin aged beer is typically very lightly carbonated, as they are not designed to hold pressure. Firkins and cask beer engines are more of a European thing, and I think a novelty at best in the US, NOT a trend.

I've been to plenty of firkin fests, and trust me, 75% of the people that go to firkin fests find out really quick that they don't like firkin/cask beer. Everyone tries each of the firkin and cask beers, then the line for the normal carbonated beers starts to get really long.

Americans like carbonated beer!!
 
I think a furniture grade one corny keg deep kegerator is a GREAT IDEA! Maybe I can clarify and sharpen the concept a bit...

Somthing along the lines of a dinning room buffet table, sidebar server, or couch table are all good pieces of furniture to model it after. It should fit into dining room, den, living room layouts and decor styles, perhaps conceiling the dispensing faucets from open view too.

As was said earlier, current kegerators on the market are too big, esp. deep, and unsightly for use anywhere in the household except in a bar area. They are sized and designed to accomodate a full sized commercial Sankey key, but very very few homebrewers dispense in Sankey kegs. Instead homebrewers opt for dispensing either in bottles, which a wine cooler type device or normal fridge suit well, or much small dia. corny kegs readily available as cast offs from an obsolete delivery and dispensing method for soft drinks in food service.
 
I think a furniture grade one corny keg deep kegerator is a GREAT IDEA! Maybe I can clarify and sharpen the concept a bit...

Somthing along the lines of a dinning room buffet table, sidebar server, or couch table are all good pieces of furniture to model it after. It should fit into dining room, den, living room layouts and decor styles, perhaps conceiling the dispensing faucets from open view too.

As was said earlier, current kegerators on the market are too big, esp. deep, and unsightly for use anywhere in the household except in a bar area. They are sized and designed to accomodate a full sized commercial Sankey key, but very very few homebrewers dispense in Sankey kegs. Instead homebrewers opt for dispensing either in bottles, which a wine cooler type device or normal fridge suit well, or much small dia. corny kegs readily available as cast offs from an obsolete delivery and dispensing method for soft drinks in food service.

Thats exactly what I was thinking. If I were to do it, I'd probably make it so they could handle the tall sanke pony kegs. I don't think that would make it too deep.

If I were designing this, I'd probably make the base cabinet and include kits for adding towers if the customer wanted them. I'd also ensure there were no coils on the top so that one could easily add those towers. Some of the ceramic towers are quite attractive.
 
Topher, I couldn't agree more. He was very eager to talk though which is encouraging...

As far as the "slimline" kegerators are concerned, I'm liking this alot. And the "concealed" tap (I love it!!! I've always liked building stuff with hidden storage...makes me feel like a pirate!!!) what about a tap concealed in a top drawer or pull out that you put your glass under after you pull the drawer out! HA!

Any more feedback or interest in something like this?
 
Lots of varied and good ideas for cabinets! Maybe 2 or 3 configurations for the keg / serving part and a modular refrigeration unit as a side module that could be used with any of them. Maybe decor options could be thin, slide-in panels to change the look like some of the built-in refrigeration seen these days in higher priced homes.

Makes me thirsty just thinkin' about it! :D
 
Well this thing might be cost prohibitive, if built by us at least. Preliminary specs show it costing $3.5k or more and that isn't furniture grade. My company isnt capable of that level of woodwork, so I was also fooling around with what we call a "drop in". basically a kit that has all necessary components to be installed in a preexisting cabinet or just one built by someone else....

Granted, this is top of the line mechanical build quality. Foodservice(NSF) grade 1/3hp compressor. All copper refrig. lines. All stainless steel construction. Hell the thing would even be UL listed.

picture here ------> http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b232/mbmcewen/Misc/SLIMKEG.png
 
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