Brew Bucket by SS Brewing Technologies

While I agree with your post in terms of breaking down only as far as you did don't most breweries use butterfly valves? Way less hiding places then the brewbucket valves or ball valves.

EtA: I guess since mantooth proved you can take out that gasket that should be sop. While you probably could get away with not taking it out and cleaning everytime I wouldn't risk it as it looks like a place nasties would love to hide.

 

I hope they keep the same price... That's one reason that makes these so attractive. Oh, and still trying to get my hands on one

 

I wouldn't count on it. Unless MoreBeer! is a non-profit organization and I wasn't aware of it, they are going to want to make some money off of these sales. I would look for a $50-$100 mark-up... at least.

It was fun while it lasted.

 

I hope that the pricing stays where it is, this is a refreshing development in the home brewing hobby to have a product of quality and value priced...clearly shown by the immediate sell out of the product. Hopefully this encourages more vendors to offer value to the consumer!

 

I'd expect they're selling to morebeer at a wholesale price, and morebeer with retail pretty close to the same price. The question is why bother partnering with retailers and share the profit since you're selling out immediately with every shipment???

 

I have watched this item for a while now and have almost pulled the trigger a few times. I just keep going back to pros vs cons. It still seems to me like there aren't enough pros and maybe folks can set me straight, because these things are so darn popular.
Pros
1. Looks cool and good construction
2. rack into kegs without an annoying siphon
3. take gravity readings easily

Cons
1. Unless you use a pump, you have to put the thing on a counter to rack to a keg
2. Can't shake it to aerate the wort like you can with a plastic bucket (PB)
3. More involved to clean compared to a PB
4. can't be moved around during fermentation like a PB
5. Can't remove the yeast and trub until the end of the process. Similar to a PB.
6. Can buy 10 PBs compared to one SS (and will probably go up in price with the great interest)

I just wonder if it's more glamor than usefulness for me. I can see if folks use temp controls than are more stationary like ferment chambers then might be more helpful. I need to brew in the garage and dump my wort into the fermenter there then move it to an area of the house where the temp is right. Then based on what I need for temps, I may need to move the fermenter to other areas of the house like the garage, cellar, attic, etc. I then put the bucket on a table to rack into a keg.

 

1. Yes
2. Sure you can, I have when I don't have any O2
3. Disagree on this. I find them as easy or less work than a bucket
4. Has 2 handles and weighs about the same. Also why would you move it during fermentation?
5. True
6. True


One more Pro

Stackable, whereas a bucket is not


I do love using these things



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Hopefully it's because MoreBeer has the facilities to handle larger and/or more frequent shipments from the manufacturer.

 

I have one and just finished kegging a beer from it and then cleaned it.

Pro #1 is definitely true and people love shiny things, see any Apple i-product.

Pro #2 & #3 I consider just as true with a PB with a properly located spigot.

Con #1 I say is no different than a PB - although there are already posts from people who have modified the lids and have had success transferring with 2 to 3 PSI of pressure.

Con #2 I disagree with, with the handles it's easier to move and shake than a PB.

Con #3 is true, but it's SS, so easy to clean - the crud just washes off with minimal wiping and you know it's clean, because it doesn't smell like beer like a PB does after cleaning. I cut the lid gasket to get a better fit, so for me it was easy to get out and it didn't affect the air tightness because the lid was bulged before I released the pressure from the bucket.

Con #4 is false.

Con #5 is irrelevant, as it is the same as a PB.

Con #6 is definitely true, but I don't see a lot of room for upward movement in price because then you start getting into 15 gallon SS fermentor territory, which would kill the market for the Brew Bucket.

Yes I still agree that it is pricy and I think there is room for someone to come in and undercut them with a cheaper product or one with a dump valve in the cone (more features). But they are first to market, and that can be a big difference in retail. I am planning to get a second one, but that will be it for me. That will allow me to do two beers at a time or secondary fermentation (but I don't do that too often). I will say I think there is a big advantage with the cone - my beer was definitely clearer and the trub packed like mud in the bottom of the Brew Bucket, so am already seeing a benefit from this product. You don't often see that with new gadgets, so to me this makes it worth the price alone.

 

I agree with these answers and would like to add to answer #1: Every bucket I have ever used had to be sitting higher than the keg I was racking into. Siphons and gravity apply to a plastic flat bottom bucket the same way as the stainless steel conical brew bucket. As TVHABrewguy says they have handles and they are actually not that heavy. Before I bought my two Brew Buckets, I was using HDPE containers with screw on lids. They have served me well and I don't plan to get rid of them yet. But, the longer I do this, the more stainless I seem to acquire.

 

They mentioned the reason in the email, but everyone overlooked it...

Distribution

In the retail world, distribution can have a lot of different meanings. In this case they are referring to warehouse space and location. MoreBeer has 2 - 3 major distribution points located on the West Coast and the East Coast. This makes it easier to receive bulk inventory and package for drop shipping to consumers. Likely they were trying to do it initially out of their own small location and just got overwhelmed and couldn't afford to grow the capacity fast enough without bringing on a partner. In that case the lost of profit to be able to do more volume is worth the trade off.

Another benefit with MoreBeer is their connection to Asian and European contract manufacturers. Potentially they have more/better relationships to get these Brew Buckets built faster and shipped back to the US in greater volume. Likely we'll see an increase in quality as well. The finishes on the welded areas could be improved, and MoreBeer could demand better quality control. You'll also see more standardization leading to less variations between batches like people have been reporting (different gaskets, different spigot designs, etc...).

 

Thanks for the feedback. You guys have seen and used these things which is valuable to me because I have only seen pictures. I can see how some things are the same as using a PB. I'm just determining if the pros make it worth the extra cost. I still cannot see how cleaning is just as easy. In the winter I need to clean in my kitchen sink. A bucket is so easy to hang over the sink, wipe it out and rinse. The SS just looks bulkier and more involved to handle. Plus you have to clean out the spigot and possibly disassemble it to some degree. Although I do hate trying to clean PB lids with all those flaps under the lid.

In the end I'll probably buy one, just for the pro#1 factor at least. Who knows? I may love it and buy 2 more. I won't be stacking them though. I have 2 young boys in the house and nothing stacked high would remain stacked for long.

I wonder if the cost goes up a bit, but evens out if Morebeer allows it to be eligible for free shipping. I don't think they usually do that with large equipment items.

 

Ahhhh warehouse space! makes a lot of sense fellas.

I'm 20 minutes from their PA warehouse. You can't pickup though, unfortunately...i checked

 

Spraying with starsan should be good enough. What I did was get a glass and drain off an ounce or so before I put my hose on and started draining it. There was a little yeast that had settled in the racking tube. Also make sure you take the airlock off or the lid to allow for some air flow so it drains easy.


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The price went up by $50. Maybe I won't be replacing my fermenters after all.

 

JR, where do you see that? (I'm curious to check.) Is it already showing up on the MB page?

While I'd expect some price movement due to how hot demand is on these things, I'm surprised they'd break the $200 barrier on these.

 

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/brewbucket

$225 now

 

Yup. I see it now. Thanks.

Obviously they've been advertising $175 as the introductory price, and now they can't undercut MB. This will be the MB price as well, most likely.

 

I'll stick with plastic buckets

 

I'm afraid to know what the conicals are going to be priced at.


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You mean the 17G?
A little birdie told me they would be around half the price of a comparably sized Blichmann.

 

At $175, I was willing. At $225, no way.

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I agree... I was willing to pay $175, but for $225, I'll pass. I can use that money to upgrade other parts of my process...

FYI, for those that are interested, it looks like Keg Outlet just opened up their pre-order, but at the new price of $225

 

They are gonna have to be cheaper then brewhemoth to make me want to bite..... I will take the fact that you have to buy valves and such for the brewhemoth and the welds are smoother with the ssbrewtech in to account BUT being able to use a spunding valve like you can with the brewhemoths is a huge plus...and its american made. I'll take a brewhemoth over a blichmann any day. As far as conicals go the only thing that competes with brewhemoth right now imo is the brewershardware conicals.

 

Maybe look into and back this guy on KS "Bru Gear"

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2055692701/bru-gear-stainless-steel-brewing-kettles-and-ferme


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Wow, $225... That's a 22% increase.. I got my one bucket back when it was 175 and I had the promo code for free shipping. I had a feeling that I couldn't pass that up because the price may go up. That's too bad.


- ISM NRP

 

I was looking at the brew bucket and the cavern fermenter from deep wood brewing. My decision was made for me.

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Yeah... Glad I got mine. I think they might not sell as many at 225. 175 was a really good number, but I wouldn't give 225 for one... If I didn't already have one, I'd go with the deep wood now.

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Actually, Ivan, it's ~28.6%.

I wonder how much softer demand will be. These items are so hot, though, that probably some cooling off would help them to build some supply and get a bit more ahead of their game. I can see what MB is thinking - this price point fits in between the cheap plastic designs and much more expensive conicals.

I don't have one and at this time I won't be buying one. I'm actually hoping that somebody else enters the market and undercuts that price.

 

The ssbrewtech website is showing the 17 gallon chronical for 595.00


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That's a good price.... hopefully it stays that price and they can keep up with demand!

 

I was debating between deep woods and the brew bucket. Easy decision now with the price hike. I can get a thermowell added to the deep woods product and still pay less

 

the cavern looks like a turd to me. not interested in sticking my arm through that narrow hole and guessing where I'm scrubbing.

6 gallons is also too small IMHO. My 6g better bottles can lose a lot of brew to blow off with a vigorous fermentation (which is normal for me).

i cant understand why people get so wrapped around the axle over a few bucks. this isn't a one time use only affair, it's something you're going to own for a very long time. for me, it's worth the extra cost to have a product that works for me.

if you wanna save money, get a better bottle...

 

i'm glad i got mine at the lower price even though i had to pay tax and shipping so it was not real far from the new price. it's still a pretty good price considering that there is nothing else similar for the price. the deep woods thing has a flat bottom, i think having the cone is part of what gives the BB an edge. hopefully more stainless fermentors will hit the market soon at more price points.

 

That's unfortunate. The deep woods 6gal sure looks more attractive now.

 

I have the deep woods cavern and while I'm not amazed by the quality it surely works. The metal is very thin and the built-in threads are too short to seal properly. The oring that's included gets squished easily. Be aware that when you're lifting it full it will warp and such in air. Other than that I like it enough but for $175 the SS bucket was a better deal. Feel free to ask specific question on the cavern if you like.

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I guess should have bought 2 when I had the chance. But one will take care of 90% of my fermentation needs.

 

Had two in the cart but them thought I'd try one out first. Even $175 is a big chunk and I don't brew enough to justify two of these beauties. I just time my brewing accordingly I guess. Can't wait to try mine out though! :rockin:

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225.00 is too rich for my blood for a brew bucket...looks like I'm sticking with Better Bottles.

 

I wonder if the price increase was due to the fact they they'll be selling on Morebeer's site. This way Morebeer gets their markup and SSbrewtech could still sell them..