This doesn't make much sense to me and I completely disagree even though I'm not even interested in this product. I'd bet that SS Brewtech sells more 7 gallon conical a than 14 gallon conicals. To say that 5 gallon Brewers don't spend as much money on equipment as 10 gallon Brewers I think is completely false.
NEW Conical Fermenter - The Catalyst: 3" Butterfly valve, Mason jar compatible...
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This doesn't make much sense to me and I completely disagree even though I'm not even interested in this product. I'd bet that SS Brewtech sells more 7 gallon conical a than 14 gallon conicals. To say that 5 gallon Brewers don't spend as much money on equipment as 10 gallon Brewers I think is completely false.
You can get a stainless steel SS brewtech brewbucket for the msrp of this. I guess that's my biggest nope. Theres always gonna be a market for low cost fermenters especially for brewers just looking to do this part time once in awhile etc. Tons of guys are just using buckets and yes you can make really good beer in a bucket if you want to do it right. I think the cost of it when compared to stainless is a serious detractor. To each his own though.
I agree that this is too much money for the material...but a SS brew bucket isn't a conical, it's just a fancy overpriced bucket. This thing might be expensive for plastic, but it is a conical and it isn't as much as a stainless conical for folks that can't afford those.
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My only thought looking at that. How much spills when you remove the mason jar? Because it looks like it sits below the butterfly valve, and once you let that fill up, your options appear to be remove jar and deal with spilling liquid, or wait until you empty the fermentor and pour out the extra first.
Did you watch the video? How steady is your hand? I think it wasn't editing that made the jar removal look good. Just saying.
frettfreak
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really like the idea but i am with others.. at $200, i would rather spend a little more and get an all stainless SS brewtech or similar. 150 would be more in the ball park for me with this material. Really like the idea though!
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CraftaBrew
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While the BrewBucket is $225 it does not feature the benefits of a true conical such as being able to remove trub or yeast from the bottom of the conical. They do have a conical that has a bottom dump valve but it retails for $395.
With our system you are able to see the trub build up in a mason jar and see when the trub has all settled and a layer of yeast begins to form. This allows you to close the valve and swap the mason jar for a smaller one to catch fresh yeast that doesn't require a wash. Also while the material we chose is not stainless it does have some great benefits over any other plastic seen in a fermenter.
I think most of the hold outs will just need reports on the durability to become converts. I don't personally have any problems with good plastics, and combining a crystal clear fermenter with the function of a conical has great merits for people that don't like fermenting blind (me). Stainless has the one advantage and that is the sanitary nature of good welded TC ports. It is conceivable however that running the wort into the catalyst when it's still near boiling temps and doing the immersion chill there would heat sanitize anything hiding in the valve area. Then wait, dump the break material out of the jar, replace with a jar that has your yeast slurry and away you go. $200 feels like too much to me, but so does a $12 hamburger and I order those all the time.
petrolSpice
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If only the stand were narrower to fit into my 5 cuft chest freezer.
texaviator23
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I just backed the project, so I hope to have it in time to brew my October beer!! Great idea and perfect for my apartment.
frettfreak
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I understand the differences for sure, but still think the pricing is just off. I love the idea and i am not trying to down play it, just giving feedback. I can get a 7.3 stainless conical from stout for $330. Wish you guys the best!
jaw005
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When screwing on empty jars and opening the valve arent you letting in Oxygen? is there a way to reduce this?
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the way I do my yeast catch is I put it on. I open the valve a tiny bit and watch the water get sucked up the blow off. Then I shut it off until the blow off starts burping again, then I open the valve again etc until the catch is full. As far as air in the jar I guess you could flood it with co2 before attaching but not sure how much youd gain by that. In any event its not very much.
This is a topic discussed to death in the FastFermenter threads. It really is not enough to do any damage. The air goes straight up and out the airlock. Contact is very minimal. You have no more problems then when opening the top to dry hop.... Here comes the discussion on C02 blanket.
I would not let a jar full of air burp up through my post ferment beer. At that stage, the jar can be pretty small since you've already dumped most of the yeast. I think filling it with sterile water would be better than air. If you had a sampling port, you could fill the jar with the beer.
texaviator23
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After primary you can always use a smaller jar. Say 8oz pepper jar.
Flush the jars with CO2 first? I have a Preservino, and I just use CO2 cartridges instead of argon, although argon would work just as well.
r8rphan
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Open the valve before primary, and just leave it open the whole time, only closing just before removing the jar?
r8rphan
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I really like this... I always though it would be great if someone made an actual glass conical.. But this might be a better approach if the plastic is as scratch resistant as claimed...
Let me know when you have a version for 10-12 gallon batches (15 gallon fermenter?)... I'm afraid the thing will be so big then that I'd need a new fermentation chamber though....
Let me know when you have a version for 10-12 gallon batches (15 gallon fermenter?)... I'm afraid the thing will be so big then that I'd need a new fermentation chamber though....
hawkeye121
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Do you have any plans for larger sizes? I hope so.
I would probably get one if it was 10 gallons as I do 8 gallon batches. 10 gallon would be my preference however if you made it 12 gallons for those who do 10 gallon batches I would probably get it too. It looks great, great features. I really want one.
I would probably get one if it was 10 gallons as I do 8 gallon batches. 10 gallon would be my preference however if you made it 12 gallons for those who do 10 gallon batches I would probably get it too. It looks great, great features. I really want one.
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CraftaBrew
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We are considering a larger tank size and will make it if the original 5 gallon version sells well enough. The manufacturing costs are quite high on the tank so we also need to ensure the demand is there to meet the production minimums.
Well, it depends on whether you want to dump yeast twice or not. Dumping twice simulates racking to secondary and racking to a bottling bucket.
I feel like you could keep it open when you transfer from kettle, and dump the trub, (nice to be able to take EVERYTHING, and let it settle in the fermenter). Attach a new jar and open before you pitch yeast (oxygen is good at that point), and then take away that jar after primary fermentation is done. So the only oxygen introduced would be after that if you wanted to grab yeast after having already drained out the krausen to avoid washing. Could get around that a couple ways, distilled water, co2 purge, etc.
Great to see more innovative products in the homebrew world. Best of luck with your venture!
My main concern about the product is going from the boil kettle to the fermenter. My system is setup for a lower output height as 26" is fairly tall. I do not know the exact height of many three vessel systems. Would they gravity feed into your product?
Also, since it is a conical it always needs the stand which seems kind of awkward to move around. Maybe wheels on the stand?...
I used to use buckets and now use a SS fusti. Both are pretty low profile and pretty easy to move around. I paid $130 for the fusti and love it. If I was a yeast collector the $200 price could be justified if the product ticks all of the usage boxes. When you do this hobby for 15+ years, you just want things that work really well and lasts.
What I did not care for in your promo video is the false impression that your product would be used on the counter. Fermentation always needs temperature control. This means some sort of refrigeration at the home level. This seems like a homebrew centered product directed to wealthy millennials with no brewing experience. Kind of a strange cross mix if you ask me.
My main concern about the product is going from the boil kettle to the fermenter. My system is setup for a lower output height as 26" is fairly tall. I do not know the exact height of many three vessel systems. Would they gravity feed into your product?
Also, since it is a conical it always needs the stand which seems kind of awkward to move around. Maybe wheels on the stand?...
I used to use buckets and now use a SS fusti. Both are pretty low profile and pretty easy to move around. I paid $130 for the fusti and love it. If I was a yeast collector the $200 price could be justified if the product ticks all of the usage boxes. When you do this hobby for 15+ years, you just want things that work really well and lasts.
What I did not care for in your promo video is the false impression that your product would be used on the counter. Fermentation always needs temperature control. This means some sort of refrigeration at the home level. This seems like a homebrew centered product directed to wealthy millennials with no brewing experience. Kind of a strange cross mix if you ask me.
xandersaml
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I beg to differ. I suspect there are plenty of 5 gallon homebrewers spending lotsa' money on lotsa' brew stuff. Is 5 gallons not the "standard" batch size for homebrewing? Grainfathers seem to be selling well.
This looks like a great product with great features ( too pricey perhaps?) and I hope they do well. You should be pulling for them as well, since they claim to be willing to create larger versions if all goes well with this one.
Brew on.
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CraftaBrew
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Thank you!
Yes you can gravity feed, pump or simply dump into the fermenter depending on your setup. We have some graphics up on our Kickstarter campaign illustrating how easy it is to pickup and move. We will be coming out with a light proof cover that has incorporated handles within the next few months.
Putting the fermenter on the counter is for demonstration purposes and for new brewers we include instructions on where the unit should be stored during fermentation. While fermentation temperature is a constant point of discussion we know that when working with a neutral yeast like US-05 you can create some excellent beers at room temperature. I have home brewed for years and utilized a closet with an air vent that averages around 70 degrees and consistently make some pretty good beers. Of course the yeast used at room temperature are limited yet I'd say it is not always necessary to have a dedicated fermentation chamber to make good homebrew.
Yeastieboy
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Congrats on the great design and Kickstarter success. The compact size and yeast collection almost made me pre-order it. However, I would like to see a sample/racking valve. I would also like to see a method for adding a thermocouple / thermowell. Without these features, I can't quite justify $200. Had I not missed the $160 level, I may have pulled the trigger. I think $149 is more appropriate, for me anyways. If I'm going to be in $200, I'm going SS 7G Conical for $395.
Weezy
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The site says the plastic can stand up to 230°F temps. Would it be OK to dump hot right from the BK?
Yes, the manufacturer answered this on another thread. All the parts the hot wort touches are temp safe to boiling.
I'd worry about hot side aeration though. Or has that been debunked? Lol, I can't keep up with all the "facts" about brewing technique that have been proven false in recent years.
I'd worry about hot side aeration though. Or has that been debunked? Lol, I can't keep up with all the "facts" about brewing technique that have been proven false in recent years.
Yeastieboy
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debunked and then rebunked again...
Weezy
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It's a semi-annual requirement around here, I think. We need a sticky.
Yeastieboy
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Forget HSA. Now you got LoDo to worry about! [emoji47]
Low Dissolved Oxygen.
This is HSA taken to the extreme. The premise is that oxidation of the malt apparently happens very quickly. So quickly that people think it is myth because most all beers have it. So in looking for HSA the forest through the trees comes into play.
LODO is about brewing without introducing any oxygen at any point. Like milling your grain in Nitrogen gas environment etc... Very difficult for homebrewers.
This is HSA taken to the extreme. The premise is that oxidation of the malt apparently happens very quickly. So quickly that people think it is myth because most all beers have it. So in looking for HSA the forest through the trees comes into play.
LODO is about brewing without introducing any oxygen at any point. Like milling your grain in Nitrogen gas environment etc... Very difficult for homebrewers.
