Minibrew 6.5 conical review

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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
 
Castle Meadow Brewery said:
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

When you remove the trub (from the bottom), you are not removing any c02 that is in the headspace, so the c02 layer is still present. I wouldn't give it another thought.
 
But air has to come in from the top to replace space where trub was on the bottom. I figure if I remove trub as its still fermenting than CO2 layer will be replaced. I hope...
 
I have the same set up and reading your post is the first time I have ever thought about O2 entering the conical. It has never been a problem in the 10 batches that I have brewed. I guess you could look at it this way. CO2 is on top of your beer. When you drop trub out the bottom oxygen replaces the void left. CO2 is heavier then Oxygen so the O2 will sit on top of the current CO2 blanket protecting the wort. Another benefit of the conical is that when you remove some of the trub it will stimulate the yeast again and continue to ferment producing more CO2.

Just a couple of hints for using the conical. I take a rubber mallet and tap on the all the way around the bottom of the conical to help settle the trub into the cone. I do this after each dumping. I usually dump the trub every two - three days. I usually will keep the wort in the conical for two weeks but have left it for 4 weeks once with no adverse effects.

Also before racking open the bottling spigot to remove any trub that may have settled in the outlet. Just a couple of ounces will usually clear the line.

I also agree with you about the cheesy stand for it. Mine was so long that I cut several inches off it. Now I have the same problem of not being able to get a pan under it for drips after I sanitize from dumping the trub. Oh well, my summer project is to build a sturdier stand and I will probably by another one sooner then later.

TD
 
Ever attach a blow off hose to it or get kraussen in your airlock. I did a porter and got kraussen up in there. I don't even want to think about a crazy wheat beer in there.
 
Castle Meadow Brewery said:
Ever attach a blow off hose to it or get kraussen in your airlock. I did a porter and got kraussen up in there. I don't even want to think about a crazy wheat beer in there.

Well now that you mention it I brewed a Honey Wheat last summer and had to take the airlock off. I placed the airlock stopper back in with a 6 inch section of a cut off racking cane inserted in it and attached a hose and ran into a gallon milk jug. I left it there for a couple of days and then replaced the Airlock. That's the only time I had a to do it though.

TD
 
CO2 is heavier than air, so any air that gets in will stay on top until further fermentation forces it back out. You could tape a plastic bag over the airlock early in the ferment and let it fill up with CO2, then let that bleed back in, but I really don't think what you are currently doing will be a problem.

I've never had a batch oxidize.
 
I also have the MiniBrew 6.5 and had the same general concerns about drawing oxygen into the fermenter while dumping. I actually drilled a small hole in the top and installed a Schraeder valve (bicycle tire valve). After dumping, I then attach a CO2 cartridge bicycle pump to the valve and give a quick injection of CO2 for added peace of mind. David_42 is right that there really isn't much to worry about. I just do this because it was easy and I know for sure there's plenty of CO2 on top of my wort at all stages of fermentation.
 
Here's a thought. Kind of a take off on David's idea.

There's a guy down the street from me that does this so I know it'll work.

Instead of a plastic bag use a balloon.

The co2 will inflate it and as you draw your trub out it should deflate.

I would inflate the balloon with air first to kind of stretch it out, then deflate it. That way it will inflate easier the second time.
 

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