concrete fermenters??

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Seems like unlined concrete would be good for sour beers - the concrete would breathe a little like a wooden barrel. I wonder if unlike wood, it won't support bacterial yeast.

Pete
 
Yeah I can just see SWMBO's face if I told her I wanted to build a concrete fermenter. No, I choose the life with far fewer hassles.
Still, if I were going to have one, I like that A-6 epoxy -sounds like it would do just the trick. Take a tractor to move the bloody thing around as needed though. Still, I DO like odd projects.... But UNSEALED and UNLINED? I don't care WHAT the winos say, I'm not wasting my beer ingredients that way.
 
hmm. maybe not. Perhaps its how you look at it? "Incidentally, I'm storing beer on it until its done fermenting or conditioning. Incidentally, of course". :D
 
mattd2 said:
Umm it says:

Don't know if storing beer on it would be considered incidental :O
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Very true. Take the info for what it's worth. I wouldn't try it without calling the mfr first. Then again, I'm more than happy with my carboys.

However, FWIW you've probably drank and brewed with water that passed through this lining at some point. I know it's in my municipality's water system. And that's not "incidental" either.

Acquiring certifications can be extremely expensive. The maker of this epoxy markets to drinking water systems, not the food industry. Therefore it wouldn't be logical to invest in testing to achieve higher levels of USDA or FDA certification. Their AWWA certification covers their market. I'm only speculating though.

Prost!
 
Being epoxy, I have to wonder if there are bpa concerns with prolonged contact.

Personally I think that all of the BPA concerns were pretty overblown thanks to the media, but that said I did stop using my old style Nalgene....
 
Obviously this is not a solution for homebrewers, but for commercial guys, lined concrete tanks might offer a lower cost alternative to stainless steel.
 
Mm:mug:If you build one large enough it could double as a safe room, storm shelter, bomb shelter, or time out room for the kids.:tank:
 
Brewing is just as difficult as one makes it!!!!!! material is dictating the way YOU brew! Interesting how few people in the world will try new things? mee mee....... we all just a bunch of sheep mee...following the hurd?
 
DannyD said:
Brewing is just as difficult as one makes it!!!!!! material is dictating the way YOU brew! Interesting how few people in the world will try new things? mee mee....... we all just a bunch of sheep mee...following the hurd?
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post reads quite drunkardly... ;)
 
bigbeergeek said:
But, but, South Africans speak English. Good English, too. :)
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But not "American" english. The post looks much like the way my former roommate from SA spoke when he first arrived in the US. Also, there are a boat load of languages spoke in SA. I think they have more than 10 "official" languages. Assuming the poster is a native english speaker seems silly.
 
jd3 said:
But not "American" english. The post looks much like the way my former roommate from SA spoke when he first arrived in the US. Also, there are a boat load of languages spoke in SA. I think they have more than 10 "official" languages. Assuming the poster is a native english speaker seems silly.
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You're right! What a globe trotting multi-lingual bunch we are here on HBT! I've got my translation almanac tableside at all times so I can get through this rot! Tally-ho, you silly ninny.
 
After watching videos on youtube about old breweries & whatnot,I saw something like this stuff. It looks like they had copper FV's set in bricks covered with concrete. I saw a lot of this in many of the old breweries being filmed. But,on a home scale,I say no,it's impractical.
 
We are?! Dang,I thought I was on drunkenramblingonhomemadehooch.com...That's what I get for drinking the hydro sample from my IPA at 9:25am...:drunk:
 
Samuel Smith brewery in England ferments in stone squares. Stone (usually slate) can give off minerals which the yeasties will thrive on. Not to mention the awesome temperature retention. If only space (and money) would allow such an investment....
Nice fermentor, Revvy!!!!
Sarah.
 
Nightbiker said:
Yeah I can just see SWMBO's face if I told her I wanted to build a concrete fermenter.
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This is why you need to buy a house on at least three acres. Then SWMBO won't care what you do on that acre she allots you.

The Portuguese use granite vats, called lagers, for crushing grapes that go into Port. Still, they don't ferment in there, but build one and you can say you lagered your lager in a lager.:rockin:
 
beer_wookie said:
This is why you need to buy a house on at least three acres. Then SWMBO won't care what you do on that acre she allots you.

The Portuguese use granite vats, called lagers, for crushing grapes that go into Port. Still, they don't ferment in there, but build one and you can say you lagered your lager in a lager.:rockin:
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O.....I....SEE......(hehe) majority of the guys here are "WIPED", "ge tiiiicchh" :off:
 
Was reading this thread this morning, and happened to stumble across this about 2hrs ago at Thomas George Winery. Would think it would be hard to control the ferm temps. 5G size? :)

egg.jpg
 
When I was a kid , my uncle would make beer in large terra cotta squares, set directly on the cement floor of his basement. I remember he would cover the fermentors with cheese cloth. I remember the family elders being amazed at how much flavor the beer had. I think he brewed german styles in them mostly. And wine too!
 
WELL it must be said............. small concrete fermentor.. 1, making beer in it ... 0. the bloody thing broke, because i was to impatient.

so my mud hut needs to be fixed first, and we have a small elephant problem that needs attention.......(I live in souh africa)

but WILL try this again.........
 
Nope. Nice fermenter, but I don't have a T-Shirt that big so I couldn't control the temps.


StMarcos said:
Was reading this thread this morning, and happened to stumble across this about 2hrs ago at Thomas George Winery. Would think it would be hard to control the ferm temps. 5G size? :)
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While I respect the open-minded philosophy, I don't hesitate to answer: practicality, necessity, functionality.
 
I'll go along with that. At most, it seems that in this environment (homebrewer) it would be little more than a novelty just because its so far out of the box, but it also seems like it would be too expensive and more of a pain in the neck to actually do right. Oh, you could build a tank like a square (or circular) OPEN fermenter easily and cheaply enough, but you would have to be careful how you sealed it to keep anything nasty from getting into the concrete (or out of it) -and I don't know any brewers who actually practice open fermentations -in Florida it would be absolute lunacy.
That said, I cannot deny that there IS an appeal to the idea -not that I intend to act on it. I have enough projects to last another lifetime.
 
StMarcos said:
Was reading this thread this morning, and happened to stumble across this about 2hrs ago at Thomas George Winery. Would think it would be hard to control the ferm temps. 5G size? :)
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That is incredible
 
Cliff Lede in Stags Leap is another winery they quote as customers. I used to sell their wines. One of the hottest Napa wineries out there. They are doing a portion of their sauvignon blanc in it. Their SB is really great, not to mention Cab. Winemaker mentions that its really just a hobby or part of the palate profile to blend with, not that they make the whole vintage in it or anything.

Anyhoo... I just don't see these as very practical for wineries or breweries. The footprint and weight are large for what it is. Need a crane to move it. The volume/floor space is not very good. Wineries need a lot of space. For example, another winery that I sold in the past, Chateau Montelena (of "Bottle Shock" movie fame... et al), has rectangular (cubical) conical fermenters (stainless) for the sole reason that they can fit more gallons in their fermentation cellar.

By the way, I'm not under the impression partially oxidizing beer has a good effect on it, like it might for wine. Especially oxidizing beer with no influence of oak? For example, there is a technique wineries use sometimes (even actually Cliff Lede, for that matter) called Micro-oxidation... whereby basically, with a wand, they stick a .5 micron Ox stone inside the finished wine for a couple minutes. I don't hear anyone doing that with their beer and many brewers have the same kit to do it, pretty much. Must be cause beer skunks- and wine just oxidizes.
 

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