concrete fermenters??

[SarahMatt]

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.

 

[beer_wookie]

Yeah I can just see SWMBO's face if I told her I wanted to build a concrete fermenter.

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:

 

[morebeerpls]

There is a picture of one of those stone squares fermentors here:

http://tombedell.com/golf/golf/lifestyle/965/tap-beer-of-the-week-45-yorkshire-stingo/

looks delicious!

 

[SankePankey]

Why would anyone want to revert back to the stone age? You'd need a crane if you ever wanted to move that thing.

Not to belabor the point, but this is why you'll actually find these more in old world wineries (Europe) than new world.

 

[DannyD]

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

 

[DannyD]

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:

O.....I....SEE......(hehe) majority of the guys here are "WIPED", "ge tiiiicchh"

 

[Dynachrome]

http://www.sonomastone.com/concrete-wine-fermentors/why-concrete.htm

That is pretty cool. They don't specifically mention beer though.

 

[StMarcos]

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?

 

[erikhild59]

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!

 

[DannyD]

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.........

 

[Spitzbube]

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

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?

 

[LuckyPenny]

Not to belabor the point, but this is why you'll actually find these more in old world wineries (Europe) than new world.

Yeah, but the impression I got was that some people may be considering it for homebrew. I salute anyone if they try.

 

[Nightbiker]

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

Hehehe, well spoken! And I don't have a big enough chest freezer-temp control unit- to squeeze that thing into either.

 

[DannyD]

when most people ask "why"? ........I ask why not?

 

[bigbeergeek]

While I respect the open-minded philosophy, I don't hesitate to answer: practicality, necessity, functionality.

 

[Nightbiker]

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.

 

[jgln]

They look cute in your pic but those things are huge!

That's what she said.


Yep, I had to do it.

 

[Clann]

Ha Ha

There was a diferent picture posted at first that made them look small

 

[lastsecondapex]

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?

That is incredible

 

[SankePankey]

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.

 

[elswago]

Most are missing the point of the concrete fermenter! The idea is to ferment within the concrete to get a better flavor quality. Glass lined is ...well... glass which is not the idea here.

all other liners, epoxys , tile and grout recipes given here are the making of a disaster which could result in poisoning or worse but we're all grown men and women here and will do what we want.

I find it very interesting and the possibilities are endless.

Stainless steel blinders cause the mind to narrow.




or even death.

 

[mattd2]

Most are missing the point of the concrete fermenter! The idea is to ferment within the concrete to get a better flavor quality. Glass lined is ...well... glass which is not the idea here.

all other liners, epoxys , tile and grout recipes given here are the making of a disaster which could result in poisoning or worse but we're all grown men and women here and will do what we want.

I find it very interesting and the possibilities are endless.

Stainless steel blinders cause the mind to narrow.




or even death.

I thought the point was that the concrete would be a good insulator (but this doesn't make sense for hot places since the yeast are producing heat that you want to get out of there, cold places will stop the beer getting too cold to ferment, I don't know really just talking out my... )
I can't imagine it to be for taste though, what are you expecting it to taste of? Cement? I'm sure that would be called an off flavour in beer

 

[bigbeergeek]

Most are missing the point of the concrete fermenter! The idea is to ferment within the concrete to get a better flavor quality. Glass lined is ...well... glass which is not the idea here.

all other liners, epoxys , tile and grout recipes given here are the making of a disaster which could result in poisoning or worse but we're all grown men and women here and will do what we want.

I find it very interesting and the possibilities are endless.

Stainless steel blinders cause the mind to narrow.




or even death.

No disrespect intended, but I think this post misses the point. :cross:

 

[erikhild59]

I wouldn't drink beer fermented in concrete.

 

[LilManBrewing]

I'm not going to say anything negative until I actually drink a beer that has been fermented in concrete for myself..

 

[DannyD]

I wouldn't drink beer fermented in concrete.

this is so shortsighted its not even fair!! 200 year old tech used sandstone fermetors, whats the difference? just remember these nice beers everybody is making with tap water, where does that come from and in what is it stored (dam, resevour made of.......?) not to mention the old asbestose pipes that brings it to your house...

 

[erikhild59]

this is so shortsighted its not even fair!! 200 year old tech used sandstone fermetors, whats the difference? just remember these nice beers everybody is making with tap water, where does that come from and in what is it stored (dam, resevour made of.......?) not to mention the old asbestose pipes that brings it to your house...

Actually I use filtered artesian well water , no pipes or reservoir. Concrete is loaded with chemical additives for curing and flexibility. Not trying to start a riot here, just wouldn't want to drink those chemicals so that I don't get cancer in the future...and asbestos is insulation, not pipe material.

 

[elswago]

Some get and some don't.

It just cracks me up how the herd line forms and the view never changes.

 

[mattd2]

Some get and some don't.

It just cracks me up how the herd line forms and the view never changes.

How can you expect the view to change if you don;t persued them? Just saying this o that is better doesn't change peoples minds/opinions, actually explainy why does

 

[elswago]

I thought the point was that the concrete would be a good insulator (but this doesn't make sense for hot places since the yeast are producing heat that you want to get out of there, cold places will stop the beer getting too cold to ferment, I don't know really just talking out my... )
I can't imagine it to be for taste though, what are you expecting it to taste of? Cement? I'm sure that would be called an off flavour in beer

Concrete has been used for fermentation tanks for centuries and has been a proven front runner in blind taste tests over Stainless Steel and Oak.

Concrete provides the benefits of oak and the efficiency of stainless while producing a fine wine.

“I am blown away by the color density verses stainless steel for the Estate Pinot Noir” Chris Russi, Thomas George Estates