Castle Meadow Brewery
Hop Head
I told some people I'd post this as soon as I got into this. So here it goes.
I was surprised at how thick the walls were. Definitely strong. The stand however is lacking if not pretty cheesey. It doesn't give enough clearance under conical. I twisted a meatloaf pan under there to dump my trub only to find out it wasn't coming out from under there without twisting it again. What a mess. However I did find a round Tupperware bowl that worked perfect. A little forethought on my part would've eliminated the initial mess. Dumping was a snap once I got the right bowl underneath. You must remember to either remove airlock or crack the lid a little to allow air in or you'll trub will GLUG, GLUG out disturbing sediment. So all in all I'm happy with my purchase. My first time using was a little rough but seems to be worth not having to rack your beer to a secondary. Also large opening on top allows for easy dry hopping. Racking valve up the cone wall also allows for simple keg transfers and bottling.
I really have only one question maybe someone can help with. There's way more head space than in a 5 gallon carboy for your secondary. When trub comes out, air has to go in. It's simple physics. Do you think there's going to be a problem w/ oxidation?
The trub can easily be removed as it forms so if fermentation continues and produces a CO2 blanket on top, in theory it will push the air right back out pretty quick. What do you think?
All conical owners please chime in on this one. Thanks..
Alex
I was surprised at how thick the walls were. Definitely strong. The stand however is lacking if not pretty cheesey. It doesn't give enough clearance under conical. I twisted a meatloaf pan under there to dump my trub only to find out it wasn't coming out from under there without twisting it again. What a mess. However I did find a round Tupperware bowl that worked perfect. A little forethought on my part would've eliminated the initial mess. Dumping was a snap once I got the right bowl underneath. You must remember to either remove airlock or crack the lid a little to allow air in or you'll trub will GLUG, GLUG out disturbing sediment. So all in all I'm happy with my purchase. My first time using was a little rough but seems to be worth not having to rack your beer to a secondary. Also large opening on top allows for easy dry hopping. Racking valve up the cone wall also allows for simple keg transfers and bottling.
I really have only one question maybe someone can help with. There's way more head space than in a 5 gallon carboy for your secondary. When trub comes out, air has to go in. It's simple physics. Do you think there's going to be a problem w/ oxidation?
The trub can easily be removed as it forms so if fermentation continues and produces a CO2 blanket on top, in theory it will push the air right back out pretty quick. What do you think?
All conical owners please chime in on this one. Thanks..
Alex