Buying new fermenters

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TerryH

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I am trying to move up in the world and am replacing my old Ale Pails. As much as I would love to go stainless I have to stick with plastic. Does anyone have experience with the other plastic options: Speidel, Fast ferment, etc. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
I respect your decision to stay plastic, but I feel I have to say glass isn't that scary if you put the carboys in some milk crates.

Any reason why you don't want to get new buckets?

I've heard more good things about speidel than fast ferment. To me, conicals are more form and cost than function.
 
Really a fermenter is just fermenter......... What do you want? I'm transitioning to Big Mouth Bubblers, though they are larger than I need. My priorities are a large opening for cleaning, clear so I can observe fermentation, and a spigot. The BMB meets all these criteria at a reasonable cost, though it's constructed out of lighter plastic than I would like.
If you want conicals, there are a number of plastic conicals out there, and the minibrew brand look like the best of the lot, though they are decidedly not cheap. The jump to SS Brewtech is not a big one. The fast ferment looks pretty nice, but it does lack the side spigot which may or may not be an issue to you.

Here's an article on choosing fermenters.... we all have different priorities. Stainless looks cool and professional, buckets look cheap, both are very functional. If you want your brewing operation to impress your friends, scratch up the funds and buy a conical stainless unit, and build a 3 tier electronic brew stand. If you just want to make good beer at low cost and minimal labor....... use brew buckets and BIAB. The end product will be exactly the same....... It's the beer I'm after, not the admiration of my friends.

http://www.fermentedlychallenged.com/2009/11/choosing-fermenter-for-your-homebrew.html


H.W.
 
I have 2 - 60 litre Speidels and I also have a fast ferment conical for small batches.
I really like both of them. I had the cash to buy a SS conical but just couldn't justify the amount.

If I were to recommend one over the other I would say Speidel. Just way more versatile in how you can handle them. The fast ferment is quite good but requires special handling. it either has to be hung on the brackets or a stand made or bought. The spieled is also way cheaper than the fast ferment
 
Hobanon said:
conicals are more form and cost than function.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure I'd agree with that - Cost marginally, but switching to a conical saved me three hours per brew in cleaning and racking times. A conical on wheels is MUCH more ergonomic than two manually lifted buckets.

The only problems I've ran into are trying to get it to seal (I gave up) and long term storage between brews. I've never had an infection while using it - knock in wood. :mug:

My conical is plastic but I'll probably replace it with a Stout or SS Brewtech sometime next year.

http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/5813/15-gallon-cone-inductor-tank-fully-draining-infd15-19
 
Yeah, I'd have to go with the Speidels as well. I've transitioned fully to them for my brewing setup. I even use the little 12L ones to make 3 gallon batches of Kombucha now.
 
I'm using Big Mouth Bubblers. The only reason I'd use my glass one now would be if all the other fermenters were full. The bubblers are easy to clean and light.

It just depends what you want.
 
This is going to be a case of asking ten people and getting ten different answers.

Glass is good, doesn't scratch easily so germs don't have those places to hide. But glass carboys have their dangers, and we have numerous threads devoted to all the accidents that have happened to people. You have to take on the risks and decide if it's worth it.

Plastic is safer, but you have to take care not to scuff or scratch it. You already know this, having used buckets. Better Bottles have been out of production for a while, but you can find used ones for sale on Craigslist. Lots of fans (and detractors) of Big Mouth Bubblers. Easy to reach in and clean. Some people have had problems with the lids not sealing tightly. There's a good thread on a DIY solution to that.
 
Here's my "fancy" fermenters:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FKA49FW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I LOVE them. I put 5.5 gallons of beer in them, or 6.5 gallons of wine, and they are easy to clean and semi-opaque. They're cheap as well.

I'd love to someday get a few stainless conicals, but until that day, this is what I use.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I bought a FastFerment recently and am pretty pleased with the purchase

As someone else noted, after all the threads detailing gruesome injuries cause by glass carboys I will never buy one, so the plastic scratching issue is neither a new concern for me, or one that I worry about. I never scrubbed my buckets with scouring pads and will continue not to scrub the FastFerment. Caked on gunk is easily removed from plastic surfaces with oxyclean and a facecloth.

Although the whole "dump trub and collect yeast for reuse" sounds like marketing spin, it really does work. It's also really nice having a bottom draining fermenter. You can just attach the hose, put a keg in place and open the valve. Hands free operation as opposed to using an auto siphon from a bucket which I have always found a fiddly experience. I also pulled about a pint of clean yeast slurry out of the collection ball from my last batch. Transferred into a sanitised mason jar and kept in the fridge, it should last a good while.

Admittedly overall it is mostly a fancy toy, it certainly had a few aspects which make it a nice upgrade over buckets or carboys.
 
As of right now, I use either buckets or glass carboys. I use buckets for the vast majority of my fermentations, but use glass for long term aging, and namely for sours. I see zero reason to stop using buckets. They're inexpensive, effective, and easy to clean, and once one gets old or compromised or whatever, it's no big deal to replace. If you ask me, I won't bother with a conical unless it's jacketed, as otherwise temperature control becomes a major issue. But would I take a jacketed conical? Absolutely, 100%, without question. I just can't afford one :mug:

I was too wary of all the breakage issues with the Big Mouth Bubbler (that may or may not have been fixed) that I don't trust them, nor do I trust a carboy-type fermenter that I don't have the option to use a brush if need be (your Better Bottles or the like).

So my point is, buckets work just fine for me for most cases, and when they don't, glass gets the job done, but you do have to be careful with it.
 
TerryH said:
Part of me has been thinking of just getting more buckets :)
Click to expand...

I agree, I got into carboys to watch fermentation, but then one broke. So I bought more buckets! Basically you can buy 4 buckets for the price of a carboy.
 
If you do wine then the buckets that fresh pressed juice come work great. Just buy the appropriate grommet, drill a hole and you are good to go.
 
I have to admit I'm pretty new, only 4 brews in. not knowing any other i researched and kind fell into the coopers kit. It doesn't have a bubbler, the top just has a piston action, burping i think its called.

I like how you can see whats going on, the fermentation, k collar forming, etc all easily seen. for the noob its cool to watch.

I kinda of wish it had the bubbler, only for noobs sake, so you can see the co2 action.

not my pic, found it on google

fermenter-fruit-salad-ale.jpg
 
I got the carrying strap with mine. Its easier than you'd think. I set mine in a bucket whilst I'm filling it, then screw the lid on a couple of turns. Put my hands through the loops on the strap, then get both hands on the fermenter itself. Brace wrists against the strap, support and angle the fermenter with the hands. Lift from the knees and straight onto the wall brackets.
 
Started with equipment my wife got me for Xmas, including bucket AND glass carboy. Use the carboy for occasional secondary only. Pain to lift, clean, drain, carry when full, slippery, etc.. No interest in "watching" ferm; I keep it wrapped and taped with a black contractor bag when in use. I'd thought about a BMB, but scared off by reports of sealing issues. For my purposes, I'm happy with plastic buckets.
 
Another vote for Speidel fermenters. I use the 30 liter ones for 5 gallon batches. Enough headspace that you (probably) won't ever need a blowoff tube. The large opening makes cleaning easy. A spout for kegging. Handles that work.

They aren't exactly cheap, but will probably last almost forever, so the cost of ownership over time is pretty low.
 
TerryH said:
Part of me has been thinking of just getting more buckets :)
Click to expand...

I started with buckets, then moved to a combination of better bottles and glass carboys. I do sometimes wish I still had buckets. Easier to clean, easy access for adding fruit/hops/oak/whatever, and when they finish their life as fermentors, I can store and carry my junk in them.
 
I use buckets and have no interest in "upgrading". Cheap, lightweight, and easy to open for additions or top cropping yeast.

Also, I like to have a lot of variety, so it just makes more sense to have several buckets versus one or two expensive conicals.

However, I can see the argument for glass if you're aging sours for years.
 
imasickboy said:
I started with buckets, then moved to a combination of better bottles and glass carboys. I do sometimes wish I still had buckets. Easier to clean, easy access for adding fruit/hops/oak/whatever, and when they finish their life as fermentors, I can store and carry my junk in them.
Click to expand...

That's the beauty of buckets! You can always go buy more and you'll never break your budget
 
I have won a couple of plastic conicals over the years...they are still in the boxes.

5g batches are fermented in 6g glass carboys.
10-12g batches are fermented in 15.5g Sankes.
1-BBL+ batches are fermented in 60g plastic barrels.
 
I've personally never felt the need to watch fermentation and have been quite content with buckets. I would like a solution to minimize oxidation and while conicals might look cool they're a bit out of my price range. This may be perfect solution though. http://www.williamsbrewing.com/6-GALLON-COMPACT-BALL-LOCK-KEG--P3985.aspx. Six and a half gallon kegs, pressure transfer, the biggest plus for me would be no longer lifting full fermentors and kegs out of keezers and fermentation chambers.
 
careful with those crappy Chinese kegs. An LHBS here had to accept returns on every one he sold. They simply came apart
 
Can recommend Speidel. I'm doing my first ever 10 gal batch in a 60L Speidel this weekend. Been using two 6.5 gal glass carboys for 15 years. Sure was nice being able to dump the whole batch in one single fermenter. I was concerned about the weight and had all these plans to build a rolling platform that sat on top of my motorcycle lift to get it into my fridge. I was pleasantly surprised that I was easily able to carry it the 15 or so feet from my brew area to the fridge and place it inside. The handles are great. Large opening, easy to sanitize, spigot at the bottom, sturdy, German quality. I'm pleased. Also bought a 30l in case I ever want to do a 5 gal batch.
 
They wanted you to have a visceral connection to them. Thats why they didnt mark them. They want you to do it. But honestly, I dont need to know how much is in mine... I know pretty much what is going into them.
 
I have two 30L and two 60L Speidel fermenters and love them. Easy to clean, sanitize, move, and pressure transfer.
 

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