Latest fermenter technologies?

[bondra76]

Hey fellas

Just getting back into the brewing game after having a son last year. It’s been about two years since I last brewed.

My biggest ask is this - are there any new fermenter technologies out there that allow you to both cool/heat carboys and hold temperature reasonably well (ie not a lot of swings in temp every hour)?

I already am aware of heat lamps, freezers, etc. I’m looking for a newer conical type fermenter that has both heat/cool abilities and can alternate between the two very easily to maintain temp. Has technology broke through to that point yet? When I left brewing there were jackets that took temp down or up but not both.

Thanks!

 

[TechFanMD]

My dad uses a Brewjacket (bad name for what it is) peltier cooled immersion system. It both heats and cools to maintain temp.

Personally I think the price is a bit high unless you have space limitations. I expected the price on these to come down closer to $150 by now but they haven't budged in a long time.

https://www.homebrewing.org/BrewJacket-Immersion-Pro_p_6152.html

 

[Bent-Brewer]

Both Spike and Ss BrewTech offer very popular conical fermenters / unitanks with heating and cooling options. I've been using the Ss system (FTSs 2) for a while and it works well, but you still need a chiller source (for either brand) whether it's something as simple as a cooler filled with frozen water bottles or as complex as a glycol chiller.

I've seen peltier chillers (BrewJacket, MoreBeer) where the chilling source is thermoelectric, but have no experience with the products.

There's also heating/cooling controllers (inkbird is a popular brand) where you can plug a fridge into the cooling outlet and a heat wrap into the warming outlet. Or plug an aquarium pump into the cooling side and use it to recirculate a chilled liquid (ice in cooler/etc) through stainless coils submerged in your fermenter.

The cost on any of those options will run a pretty penny.

 

[bondra76]

Any thoughts on the grainfather? I’ve been reading about that vs the ss brewtech

 

[Bent-Brewer]

No clue. In terms of features, it checks the boxes of being stainless, has a conical base with a tri clamp port, insulation, and a jacketed cooling area to make cleaning easier. Gasketed lid is pretty standard. Don't know if it can take any pressurization (most others can take about 2psi for closed transfers).

From the photos, I'd be a little concerned about the port getting clogged. Also it's pretty tall and narrow, so if it isn't on a stable surface there could potentially be a bit more risk of tipping.

I'm don't know anything about how well it maintains cold temperatures or the quality of construction, but people seem to like their electric systems so far.

 

[bondra76]

Thanks

I was watching this video comparing SS Brewtech to the grainfather:


This video is totally slanted to the grainfather, almost to the point that it seems like the dude might be associated with grainfather in some way. But he does make great points about how it’s built.

I’m pretty floored that the grainfather can attach to a glycol chiller now (glycol chiller is $1000 bucks tho). I did think it was pretty cool that 4 grainfather can run independent temps off the same glycol chiller too. Dunno that id ever get to having 4 beers in grainfathers at the same time, but maybe having that glycol chiller attached to a kegerator tap tower would be a nice mod at some point.

 

[Bent-Brewer]

Any system that uses liquid cooling (Ss, Spike, Grainfather, etc) is capable of connecting to a glycol chiller. It isn't necessarily needed though. I use a large cooler with ice (pop bottles or gallon jugs) and water. It has enough thermal mass where I can hold temperature pretty well and only swap out the jugs as needed. Dropping temperature means I need to swap ice more often, but maintaining temperature is easy.

Can't watch the video while I'm at work, but I'll check it out later. Regardless, it seems like a pretty decent system.