Catalyst Fermentor Kickstarter

[Redlantern]

I ferment my sauerkraut in a ceramic crock. I ferment pickles in glass jars. I ferment beer in stainless. I must admit I do like looking at the pickles.

When you think about it - a pickle is just a drunk cucumber

-unknown-

 

[xwass]

Things I like about this design:

• Having a "generic" container for the valve is a plus.
• Don't mind paying a little extra for a more durable and temperature resistant plastic. I like my better bottle, but have never felt good about the flimsiness of it and is not rated for higher liquid temps.
• This looks very easy to clean, and to transfer wort to.
• Being able to clearly see what is going on in the fermenter is a big benefit over other conicals designed for homebrewers.

In terms of $$ (listed at $160-175 on KS for the complete setup):

Not saying it is better than the products below as I haven't tried personally, just wanted to put the price in perspective as I don't think it is that outrageous.

• If you compare with a FastFerment w/ carrying strap, stand and extra collection bail that is around $170+ shipping which is not that far off.
• You could get a pretty nice stainless steel fermenter in this price range, but I have not found one with a bottom valve that is close in price. Without the ability to separate out the yeast/trub that kind of defeats one of the main points of this device which allows you to ferment, age, and bottle from one container.

--------------------

Maybe I'm just another Kickstarter fool (I did go for that BrewNanny on Kickstarter which was a colossal waste of time/money) but this seems like a pretty nice product design to me at a reasonable price-point. I am not associated with this at all, just wanted to provide some positive input since many posts seem to disregard it rather quickly.

 

[jddevinn]

Why does everyone want to see what's going on :fro: from brew day until a couple of seconds before I drink it I never see my beer.... and haven't ever really had a desire too.

 

[bford]

Why does everyone want to see what's going on :fro: from brew day until a couple of seconds before I drink it I never see my beer.... and haven't ever really had a desire too.

There is just something about the first couple of days of fermentation.... after that.... it doesn't matter as much...

I currently use Speidel fermenters so I don't really see what is going on.... I can just tell where the krausen moved up to..

 

[xwass]

I guess I am just impatient, bored and like looking at beer

When fermenting/cold crashing I like being able to see what is going on. It is not really that big of a deal but it gives me a little reassurance on what is going on.

Pledged my $$ to the Kickstarter. I never go by the "expected" ship dates but hope to have a nice fermenter in the somewhat near future. Until then I've got plenty of buckets and carboys to play around with...I'm sure once they ship a new thread will pop up with people's experience using these.

 

[jddevinn]

If you can see it then it has light on it!!! I guess maybe i'm paranoid, I'll even throw a brewery rag over my blow off tube connection so light doesn't shine down it.

 

[8rnw8]

Glass carboys are clear also, so I don't see why that is even being mentioned. I like to watch fermentation happen also. Obviously I throw a towel around it when I'm not peaking at it. The company has already said they're coming out with a jacket for it that will block light and have handles.

LOVE the wide mouth mason jar usage. Depending on your process, this would only introduce air 0-1 times into the fermented brew from the mason jar, and far less air than transferring would. I don't use a secondary, but do have to transfer to a bottle bucket occasionally.

Fast ferment is cool, and I've been eyeing them up for a while also, but I like the design of this system. The clear fermentation tank, the larger much less likely to clog valve, the use of mason jars instead of proprietary catcher you buy from the company. I wouldn't want to mount either on a wall, so I would have to buy the stand.

I considered the Ss brew bucket, but want a conical with the ability to collect yeast/dump trub from the very bottom.

Eventually I'll get a 14 gallon Ss conical, but for now this is PERFECT for my needs.

$175? Sold. The fast ferment with equivalent stand and only ONE trub collector is $184 on Amazon currently.

 

[lewandowski46]

I wonder how well it would take to modification, e.g. if you want to add in a sampling port, thermowell, herms coil, etc.. I know on the HDPE, it takes well to drilling, but Tritan is a lot harder and seems more brittle. Think of drilling a new age Nalgene bottle, I think it would weaken and probably crack. @CraftaBrew, is that something you have tried? Just curious as a lot of home brewers will look to that instead of coming in through the lid for their accessories.

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

I wonder how well it would take to modification, e.g. if you want to add in a sampling port, thermowell, herms coil, etc.. I know on the HDPE, it takes well to drilling, but Tritan is a lot harder and seems more brittle. Think of drilling a new age Nalgene bottle, I think it would weaken and probably crack. @CraftaBrew, is that something you have tried? Just curious as a lot of home brewers will look to that instead of coming in through the lid for their accessories.

Is it a thermoset or thermoplastic polymer? If it's a thermoplastic polymer, you could bore through it with a soldering iron, as long as there's no special coating on the inside that would be ruined by doing so. If it's a thermoset polymer...don't do that.

 

[8rnw8]

Seems like it would be too brittle to use a drill. Soldering iron is an interesting idea.

 

[CraftaBrew]

I wonder how well it would take to modification, e.g. if you want to add in a sampling port, thermowell, herms coil, etc.. I know on the HDPE, it takes well to drilling, but Tritan is a lot harder and seems more brittle. Think of drilling a new age Nalgene bottle, I think it would weaken and probably crack. @CraftaBrew, is that something you have tried? Just curious as a lot of home brewers will look to that instead of coming in through the lid for their accessories.

We spoke with our reps over at Eastman Tritan and they said the material can be drilled since it is not brittle like acrylic. This is from the manufacturer:

Parts also can be die-punched and can be drilled without significant microcracking in the entrance or exit. Contact Eastman Chemical Company for recommended drill bit types and drilling speeds.​

 

[Bobby_M]

Glass carboys are clear also, so I don't see why that is even being mentioned.

......................

$175? Sold. The fast ferment with equivalent stand and only ONE trub collector is $184 on Amazon currently.

Of course glass carboys are in the game if you like clear fermenters at low cost. The down side is breakable, dangerously so, and the fact that you have to rack off of them. I think the Catalyst is a reasonable hybrid between a glass carboy and a stainless conical but without the breakage danger.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

SS Brew TechBrew bucket can be had for $195 and can be upgraded with temp control later. Trub settles nicely into it's conical portion. Don't have to worry about scratches and if you tire of the hobby, a nicely cared for unit will probably fetch $125 to $150 resale. Remember, It's stainless, durable for a lifetime

 

[8rnw8]

Yeah, I did strongly consider the brew bucket.

I like that the catalyst is clear, and that you can dump trub or collect yeast from the bottom of the cone.

Brew jacket is making a temp controlled sleeve that will heat or cool the catalyst.

 

[lewandowski46]

We spoke with our reps over at Eastman Tritan and they said the material can be drilled since it is not brittle like acrylic. This is from the manufacturer:

Parts also can be die-punched and can be drilled without significant microcracking in the entrance or exit. Contact Eastman Chemical Company for recommended drill bit types and drilling speeds.​

Awesome! Thanks for the answer

 

[StoutNoDoubt]

Backed this Kickstarter as well and can't wait to do a YouTube review of it when it comes in. Cheers!

 

[8rnw8]

I'm sort of ridiculously excited.

Wish it was a tad bigger, like 7-7.5 gallons to help avoid blow offs, but should be fine.

Wonder what the diameter of the hole in the lid is, for both blow off tube and wine thief.

 

[CraftaBrew]

I'm sort of ridiculously excited.

Wish it was a tad bigger, like 7-7.5 gallons to help avoid blow offs, but should be fine.

Wonder what the diameter of the hole in the lid is, for both blow off tube and wine thief.

Thanks, we can't wait to begin shipping them and see them in use!

The diameter of the hole is 1.15" we made this large enough for any common used sampling device/thief.

 

[Artifishal]

Based on the prices, I assume it will cost more than a Fastferment conical, even with the stand. I like it, but unless I am missing something, it seems the same as the Fastferment product.

That said, please let me know if I am wrong, because I love my conical so far and am all for another one that might be better made or function better.

I backed it bc it has a few advantages over fast ferment. Clear, complete open top for cleaning, mason jar instead of ff 's ball like yeast harvest container.

I've been using a mason jar attached to my 17 gal plastic conical for two years. Love it. So easy. Detach, cap, put in fridge, next brew just refer to your mr. Malty app and repitch that volume out of the Mason jar (usually around 200 mL or about a third of a quart jar)

All fermenters have pros and cons imo. The Catalyst has enough pros for me I'm super pumped to have one. I will be installing a sample valve to make it even more ideal for me. I suppose they did not include one in order to keep cost down. I also hope they make a 14 gallon version in the future.

I plan to use SS Brewtech's sample valve ($25, I've done this on one of my upside down Sankey keg fermenters and it worked great). Anyone have any thoughts on this or other ideas for or against putting a sample port in?

 

[Artifishal]

Anyone heard anymore?

 

[badgerfan79]

Anyone heard anymore?

I just got an email from Northern Brewer saying they have them exclusively.

 

[xandersaml]

^^^ Me too. http://www.northernbrewer.com/catalyst-fermentor

Says it's in stock too.

 

[govner1]

This thing looks pretty good. Any opinions or thoughts?



I just backed on the early bird







https://www.kickstarter.com/project...rmentation-made-easy?ref=category_recommended

O offense but I've discovered (the hard way) that these crowd funded projects ultimately result in disappointment. Either in actually delivering the product anywhere near the projected (promised) date or in actually functioning as promised, etc.
My advice is to keep your money in your pocket until or if it reaches the market and then evaluate true user experiences.
You'll probably be able to get it on Amazon long before the original backers at a good price, too.
A perfect example is the uKeg on Kickstarter!

 

[thunderwagn]

O offense but I've discovered (the hard way) that these crowd funded projects ultimately result in disappointment. Either in actually delivering the product anywhere near the projected (promised) date or in actually functioning as promised, etc.
My advice is to keep your money in your pocket until or if it reaches the market and then evaluate true user experiences.
You'll probably be able to get it on Amazon long before the original backers at a good price, too.
A perfect example is the uKeg on Kickstarter!

It's available at NB.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/catalyst-fermentor

 

[StoutNoDoubt]

It's available at NB.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/catalyst-fermentor

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1476496937.869800.jpg
Mine came in yesterday. I'm posting an unboxing video to my YouTube channel this weekend. Search for "The Brew-Q" and subscribe! Appreciate any support in advance!

 

[jimmayhugh]

Posted on the Craft A Brew Kickstarter Comments section just a few minutes ago:

We expect to ship the majority of the remaining orders throughout next week. We continued to ship throughout last week while completing production of the add ons to ensure everyones orders ship before the end of October as promised.
Northern Brewer committed to purchase The Catalyst before our Kickstarter launched, with this standing order we were able to move forward with production quicker then anticipated and this allowed us to commit to shipping all backer orders by the end of October. Without the commitment from them we would not have been able to commit to proceeding with production until we completed a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Again we truly appreciate your support and are working to get everyones order in hand as quickly as possible. I have been working hard on this project for 2 years and it is great to see so much support and demand for The Catalyst.
Thank you & Cheers,
Kyle Westfall
Founder - Craft a Brew

So there you have it...

 

[thunderwagn]

View attachment 373552
Mine came in yesterday. I'm posting an unboxing video to my YouTube channel this weekend. Search for "The Brew-Q" and subscribe! Appreciate any support in advance!

I'll be on the lookout for it.

 

[StoutNoDoubt]

Here's the unboxing video I did for this new fermenter. Cheers!
https://youtu.be/ZjcBBaY7GJU

 

[xandersaml]

I hope everyone who buys one enjoys it. Two things for me: 1) I think it is overpriced and; 2) If it is truly exclusive to NB, I won't buy it even if the price goes down. Not a fan of the NB/AB/InBEV deal.

 

[StoutNoDoubt]

I hope everyone who buys one enjoys it. Two things for me: 1) I think it is overpriced and; 2) If it is truly exclusive to NB, I won't buy it even if the price goes down. Not a fan of the NB/AB/InBEV deal.

You can always just order directly from craft-a-brew themselves.