Hello from Ontario

[Terminata]

I'm getting back into home brewing after about 15 years off... I'm seeing a lot of changes in equipment and kits. I did mostly malt extract kits and bottle ferments for carbonation. That over with; I got a new kegerator and three corny kegs. Two 19 liter and one 11 liter (for cider). I plan on going with extract kits again. I'm looking at the 'Mangrove Jack' and the 'Crafted Beer' kits...

I am seeing this new piece of equipment: Kegland Fermzilla 27L Tri Clamp Conical Fermenter V 3.0. With the way I'm planning on brewing, is there any advantage to me in using that fermenter?

Regards to all!
Andy

 

[Sammy86]

I'm getting back into home brewing after about 15 years off... I'm seeing a lot of changes in equipment and kits. I did mostly malt extract kits and bottle ferments for carbonation. That over with; I got a new kegerator and three corny kegs. Two 19 liter and one 11 liter (for cider). I plan on going with extract kits again. I'm looking at the 'Mangrove Jack' and the 'Crafted Beer' kits...

I am seeing this new piece of equipment: Kegland Fermzilla 27L Tri Clamp Conical Fermenter V 3.0. With the way I'm planning on brewing, is there any advantage to me in using that fermenter?

Regards to all!
Andy

Hi Andy, and welcome to the community!

A lot has certainly changed LoL

The Fermzilla is a nice fermentor don’t get me wrong but I don’t see any advantage other than its shiny and new LoL

Knowing what I know now I would spend my money on chest freezers and ink birds/Johnson controllers and get Big Mouth Bubblers or Fermonsters and make those closed transfers into the keg as cheaply as possible.

Are conicals cool, heck yeah they are…are they going to make your beer better? Thats up for debate.

 

[estricklin]

Hello from Oklahoma, and welcome to the forum. Welcome back to the hobby, definitely a lot of changes in equipment and even techniques in the past 15 years. Sorry I can't help you with advice on that particular fermenter, but hopefully some others will chime in.

 

[Terminata]

Thank you for that, Sammy. Looks like my old practice of a stainless steel primary (a vintage funnel necked milker pail) and glass carboy secondaries will carry on. I already use electronically controlled heating pads; got those when I was growing some 'herbs'! I also bought a Buon Vino Mini Jet to polish my product as I pump it into the keg.

 

[T Murph]

Welcome back to the addiction from Alabama

 

[Terminata]

Thanks, Murph!

 

[Broken Crow]

Welcome to the fun!
One of the changes over the years was the debunking of the 'osmotic pressure' reasoning for using a secondary... that's only a concern when you have a mass that can be measured in tons sitting on your yeast cake...at homebrewing levels, it's not a concern but risk of infection is, so the prevailing advice is: Skip the secondary, just leave it in primary. Save the glass carboys for small batches or some other purpose. We have a few users of milk-can fermenters on here, notably the sadly missed @Bracconaire ) As long as it has the capacity you need and it seals well enough to take a few psi, you can add gas and liquid ball-lock posts with a floating diptube to the lid and do closed-tranfers to eliminate O2 exposure...Your taste-buds will reward you richly! Here's the bits you'd need to do it:
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/1-2mnpt-post-gas-19-32.html
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/1-2mnpt-post-liquid-19-32.html
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/weldless-kit-thermo.html
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/fermentasaurus-ss-float-dip.html
or: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/284010813720
I have the gen 1 Fermzilla and while it works well for some, I found the whole collection/valve-bottom to be more trouble than it's worth..but I am disabled and the whole bending down and using my arms thing is my real problem...The version you posted has a great many users, both satisfied and those who have DIY'd improvements to them. My personal inclination is toward the Fermzilla All-Rounder... If I want to harvest yeast, the thing is so light I can just swish the beer around and pour it out;
https://torontobrewing.ca/products/fermzilla-30l-all-rounder-starter-kit-7-9-gal
Another worthy contender is a Fermonster
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/fermonster-7gal-pet-carboy.html
...and adapted for closed tranfers;
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...lete-closed-transfer-system-for-cheap.680992/
or you can get excessive (as I did) and make a single 'Fermhead' that can be attached to any pressure-capable fermenter:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...-fit-it-to-fermonster-sankey-whatever.704064/

 

[Terminata]

Thank you for your response. Lots of interesting info there! In my past, I went from primary to secondary because it cleared faster for me. No splashing will be allowed and the secondary will get a quick waft of CO2 to protect it. The primary contents will be siphoned gently into the secondary, not poured. In getting started again, I bought a power wine filter/pumping system which I plan to use to filter and transfer my beer from the secondary to my keg.

I feel obliged to confess that the reason I am returning to make my own beer is my way of giving the middle finger to Trudoh & his gang of merry taxmen and... my tastes are crude! Now if I could make Heineken or Tuborg..........

 

[T Murph]

@ Terminata I have the Fermzilla G3.2 also and it certainly has its place in my brewery. I do pressure fermentation with it. It works well for capturing yeast with the new edition yeast jar on the bottom. I do closed system transfers to the serving keg using a floating dip tube. My biggest concern is it's instability when handling it when full of beer. For the money I think it is a good fermenter. I did add a hop dropper to it (not pictured) for when I want the additional hop flavor and aroma. I have other fermenters that I use including a Spike CF5. But I find the little light weight Fermzilla a good tool to work with.

 

[Terminata]

View attachment 842660

Wow! I figured out one thing for free; you sure do have quite the setup and equipment there! Am I seeing correctly that you're slowly 'blowing' the fermenter contents into the corny? Holy mackerel; a fume hood! I see 50 pounds of pale ale malt. Grain. Two bags of corn sugar? Nice CO2 bottle; wish mine was that size! Yeah; a good looking setup!

 

[jcav]

Welcome back to the hobby!

John

 

[T Murph]

Wow! I figured out one thing for free; you sure do have quite the setup and equipment there! Am I seeing correctly that you're slowly 'blowing' the fermenter contents into the corny? Holy mackerel; a fume hood! I see 50 pounds of pale ale malt. Grain. Two bags of corn sugar? Nice CO2 bottle; wish mine was that size! Yeah; a good looking setup!

Yes in this picture I am transferring a Brown Ale from the Fermzilla into a sanitized and purged Corny keg. Thanks for your kind words. Oh and you noticed the pale malt, how about the Bohemian Pilsner beside it. I brew 2 to 3 times a month so I keep a stock of grains, hops and yeast.

 

[Terminata]

Yes in this picture I am transferring a Brown Ale from the Fermzilla into a sanitized and purged Corny keg. Thanks for your kind words. Oh and you noticed the pale malt, how about the Bohemian Pilsner beside it. I brew 2 to 3 times a month so I keep a stock of grains, hops and yeast.

I surely wish I could be there to try your beer... And what on earth can you do with that much beer!!

 

[T Murph]

I surely wish I could be there to try your beer... And what on earth can you do with that much beer!!

If you ever get down to North Alabama look me up. I can make that happen.