Speidel Fermenters

[bwible]

Hi, I discovered these things recently and I really like the idea of these things.

Here’s a question, if I use one of these as a second stage fermenter (without getting into the debate over use of secondary) do you think its reasonsble to bottle directly out of this without the need to transfer to a bottling bucket? It looks like the faucet opening sits up a bit above where any settled matter would be. But probably not enough to bottle straight from primary. I’m thinking that could eliminate a few steps and make life a little easier come bottling day.

Anybody doing this or even tried this? Sorry if this is a known thing and I’m just catching on.

Thanks

 

[Broken Crow]

I saw a very old thread on here years ago when I was still a lurker where Speidel users were doing exactly that. I also recall a more recent thread where it was done in a speidel with a floating diptube and bulkhead-modded lid. I tried the search function here and couldn't find it easily, but if you dig through, I'm sure the threads are still here...this might work better:
https://duckduckgo.com/?va=k&t=hy&q=speidel+bottling+HBT+Homebrewtalk&ia=web

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

"site:homebrewtalk.com" is another way to limit searches to a specific web site.

 

[rburrelli]

I have been using this fermenter for about 7 years now. I do bottle directly from it with no issues.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I have been using this fermenter for about 7 years now. I do bottle directly from it with no issues.

Same here, and I love it. (I just brewed a cream ale today and put it in the Speidel a couple hours ago). In the past I've used a bottling bucket, but I mostly keg my beers now. Although for the coconut milk stout I brewed recently, after kegging I still had enough to fill two 22 oz bombers directly from the fermenter.

Here's an excellent add-on for the plastic Speidel fermenters. It's sold by HBT member @Jaybird at NorCal Brewing Solutions and it allows you to easily attach a blow off (to purge kegs with fermentation gas), and also to do oxygen-free pressure transfers when kegging. I bought one, used, from a fellow member here. It's awesome.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

do you think its reasonable to bottle directly out of this without the need to transfer to a bottling bucket?

I am sure it will work fine. I often bottle directly from the spigot on my Fermonster fermenters, that is directly from primary fermentation and I tend to transfer quite a bit of trub into my fermenter.

 

[Witherby]

I love these fermenters and have a number of NorCal add ons. I definitely recommend the upgrade to the stainless spigot: https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Speidel-Fermenter-OEM-Stainless-Steel-Spigot.html

The standard spigot is too fat for normal tubing you probably use for bottling.

Adding gallon lines on the outside in marker also helped my sanity.

 

[rburrelli]

I love these fermenters and have a number of NorCal add ons. I definitely recommend the upgrade to the stainless spigot: https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Speidel-Fermenter-OEM-Stainless-Steel-Spigot.html

The standard spigot is too fat for normal tubing you probably use for bottling.

Adding gallon lines on the outside in marker also helped my sanity.

The silicone tubing I use fits over the standard spigot and perfectly on the bottling wand. I use a stainless wand.

 

[cvbrewer]

I also used the 8ish gallon spiedel for years. I bought the thermowell adapter and screwed a cleanable half inch ball valve onto it for keg transfers or even bottling. I also adapted the top port to a keg post for pressure transfers. I recently upgraded to a stainless conical and have all of those parts if someone is interested.

 

[Miraculix]

Hi, I discovered these things recently and I really like the idea of these things.

Here’s a question, if I use one of these as a second stage fermenter (without getting into the debate over use of secondary) do you think its reasonsble to bottle directly out of this without the need to transfer to a bottling bucket? It looks like the faucet opening sits up a bit above where any settled matter would be. But probably not enough to bottle straight from primary. I’m thinking that could eliminate a few steps and make life a little easier come bottling day.

Anybody doing this or even tried this? Sorry if this is a known thing and I’m just catching on.

Thanks

View attachment 846156

I use this one and I always bottle directly out of primary. Cheers!

 

[Jaybird]

Same here, and I love it. (I just brewed a cream ale today and put it in the Speidel a couple hours ago). In the past I've used a bottling bucket, but I mostly keg my beers now. Although for the coconut milk stout I brewed recently, after kegging I still had enough to fill two 22 oz bombers directly from the fermenter.

Here's an excellent add-on for the plastic Speidel fermenters. It's sold by HBT member @Jaybird at NorCal Brewing Solutions and it allows you to easily attach a blow off (to purge kegs with fermentation gas), and also to do oxygen-free pressure transfers when kegging. I bought one, used, from a fellow member here. It's awesome.

Thank you! I am still using 1 as well for various things around the brewery and distillery.

 

[Pehlman17]

I use this one and I always bottle directly out of primary. Cheers!

Came here for this specific reason. Been looking at getting the 5 gallon version for some experimental batches. So, do you feel like the spigot on these typically sits high enough above the trub line to rack directly into bottles with carbonation drops in them for conditioning? I'd prefer not to rack to a bottling bucket (which I currently don't own anyway) if possible.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Came here for this specific reason. Been looking at getting the 5 gallon version for some experimental batches. So, do you feel like the spigot on these typically sits high enough above the trub line to rack directly into bottles with carbonation drops in them for conditioning? I'd prefer not to rack to a bottling bucket (which I currently don't own anyway) if possible.

That sounds like a good plan. As far as the trub line, it's close. I had some beers that had more trub than others, so it depends. I keg now, but when I bottled out of the bottom port of my 7.9 gallon Speidel I usually placed it on a counter a day or two ahead of bottling day. I would roll up a towel and stick it under the fermenter at the spigot. This allows for most of the trub to slide away from the spigot.

 

[Pehlman17]

That sounds like a good plan. As far as the trub line, it's close. I had some beers that had more trub than others, so it depends. I keg now, but when I bottled out of the bottom port of my 7.9 gallon Speidel I usually placed it on a counter a day or two ahead of bottling day. I would roll up a towel and stick it under the fermenter at the spigot. This allows for most of the trub to slide away from the spigot.

I had a similar thought! I supposed maybe I could prop the front end up about an inch or so so the sediment settles away from the spigot.

 

[wsmith1625]

These were nice when I used plastic bucket fermenters. I didn't know if they'll fit on a Speidel.

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...nt/Valves-and-Small-Parts/Invert-Tube-Backnut

 

[Pehlman17]

These were nice when I used plastic bucket fermenters. I didn't know if they'll fit on a Speidel.

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...nt/Valves-and-Small-Parts/Invert-Tube-Backnut

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Miraculix]

These were nice when I used plastic bucket fermenters. I didn't know if they'll fit on a Speidel.

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...nt/Valves-and-Small-Parts/Invert-Tube-Backnut

I used to use something like this as well with a speidel, but it's just not necessary imo. The first pint has trub in it, the following don't.

 

[Snuffy]

I use my 30L a lot and they are great. Kind of a Playskool look to them but they are flawless fermenters. The 30L has about an 8 gal capacity. I think that's as close to 5 gal capacity as they make. Works great as a primary but the headspace as a secondary would make me a little nervous about air exposure. Without the pressure of active fermentation you'd have more air in there than I would be comfortable with. I usually move to a smaller vessel to secondary if I go there. Been a while since I needed to. I use 1/2" (I think) tubing on the spigot and transfer to kegs no problem. I also bottle right from the spigot using fizz drops. The internal indention for the spigot always catches some yeast so regardless of position you will get a glob in at least the first bottle.

 

[MikeCo]

I have a 30L and 20L Speidel and really like them also. I have noticed some light brownish stains on the “ribs” on the inside that I can’t easily clean out. Has anybody else experienced this? Is it beer stone?

 

[Miraculix]

I have a 30L and 20L Speidel and really like them also. I have noticed some light brownish stains on the “ribs” on the inside that I can’t easily clean out. Has anybody else experienced this? Is it beer stone?

Never saw that but I clean mine after every usage with a hot oxyclean soak and occasionally vinegar plus bleach. Maybe this dissolved everything.

 

[Miraculix]

I use my 30L a lot and they are great. Kind of a Playskool look to them but they are flawless fermenters. The 30L has about an 8 gal capacity. I think that's as close to 5 gal capacity as they make. Works great as a primary but the headspace as a secondary would make me a little nervous about air exposure. Without the pressure of active fermentation you'd have more air in there than I would be comfortable with. I usually move to a smaller vessel to secondary if I go there. Been a while since I needed to. I use 1/2" (I think) tubing on the spigot and transfer to kegs no problem. I also bottle right from the spigot using fizz drops. The internal indention for the spigot always catches some yeast so regardless of position you will get a glob in at least the first bottle.

That's why I got myself the twenty litre version.... Now I'm doing 17 l batches with the occasional spillage, usually when using verdant IPA.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I have a 30L and 20L Speidel and really like them also. I have noticed some light brownish stains on the “ribs” on the inside that I can’t easily clean out. Has anybody else experienced this? Is it beer stone?

Never saw that but I clean mine after every usage with a hot oxyclean soak and occasionally vinegar plus bleach. Maybe this dissolved everything.

I've had mine nearly 9 years now and, aside from the Sharpie pen markings I put on the outside, it looks brand new. I almost always have mine soaking in hot Oxyclean within an hour of transferring beer out of it.

 

[Snuffy]

That's why I got myself the twenty litre version.... Now I'm doing 17 l batches with the occasional spillage, usually when using verdant IPA.

I wish they made a 25l. The 20 is a bit short for a 5 gal batch and the 30 a bit tall. Works fine tho.

 

[Miraculix]

I wish they made a 25l. The 20 is a bit short for a 5 gal batch and the 30 a bit tall. Works fine tho.

Yep, exactly my thinking.

 

[Broothru]

I've had mine nearly 9 years now and, aside from the Sharpie pen markings I put on the outside, it looks brand new. I almost always have mine soaking in hot Oxyclean within an hour of transferring beer out of it.

I have three just gathering dust in my outdoor shed, sadly taking up room. Prolly been 6 or seven years since I used any of them, once I started buying stainless steel fermenters. I did use them for a while, fermenting wine for SWMBO'd (who's not a beer drinker), but now I use an idle 7 gallon SS BrewTech Brew Bucket for that instead.

 

[bwible]

Came here for this specific reason. Been looking at getting the 5 gallon version for some experimental batches. So, do you feel like the spigot on these typically sits high enough above the trub line to rack directly into bottles with carbonation drops in them for conditioning? I'd prefer not to rack to a bottling bucket (which I currently don't own anyway) if possible.

I have a couple of these now and I found I can make a dip tube. The #8.5 stopper that would fit an Erlenmeyer flask will fit in the faucet hole inside. Or If you have an extra airlock stopper for another Speidel. Then you can cut the curved part off of an old racking cane and make a dip tube out of that. I think most of the people using a dip tube want it to dip down and get the last bit without having to tilt the fermenter to get it. I want one for the opposite reason - to point it above the trub line and only get the clear beer.

There is this one at Nor Cal as others have pointed to:
https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Speidel-Fermenter-Dip-Tube-NPT-Male.html

But many of the reviews say it leaks and it's hard to get a good seal. There's that one and they have another one that also has a thermowell. The great thing there is it has thread for a ball valve, you would not need their spigot. But again, they both have loads of comments how they have finicky seals and they leak.

I recently bought a 3 gallon Speidel that I plan to use for real small batches, like 1.75 gallons, in an attempt to start brewing about a 12 pack at a time. I've not been real concerned with oxygen pickup but these also seem like they have a number of accessories available to simplify much of that.

 

[bwible]

Same here, and I love it. (I just brewed a cream ale today and put it in the Speidel a couple hours ago). In the past I've used a bottling bucket, but I mostly keg my beers now. Although for the coconut milk stout I brewed recently, after kegging I still had enough to fill two 22 oz bombers directly from the fermenter.

Here's an excellent add-on for the plastic Speidel fermenters. It's sold by HBT member @Jaybird at NorCal Brewing Solutions and it allows you to easily attach a blow off (to purge kegs with fermentation gas), and also to do oxygen-free pressure transfers when kegging. I bought one, used, from a fellow member here. It's awesome.

That cane setup is about $150 the way its configured in that video.

 

[BongoYodeler]

That cane setup is about $150 the way its configured in that video.

Yep, not cheap, but it is well made and well thought out. I really like mine, which I bought used for slightly more than half that price.

 

[cvbrewer]

I have a couple of these now and I found I can make a dip tube. The #8.5 stopper that would fit an Erlenmeyer flask will fit in the faucet hole inside. Or If you have an extra airlock stopper for another Speidel. Then you can cut the curved part off of an old racking cane and make a dip tube out of that. I think most of the people using a dip tube want it to dip down and get the last bit without having to tilt the fermenter to get it. I want one for the opposite reason - to point it above the trub line and only get the clear beer.

There is this one at Nor Cal as others have pointed to:
https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Speidel-Fermenter-Dip-Tube-NPT-Male.html

But many of the reviews say it leaks and it's hard to get a good seal. There's that one and they have another one that also has a thermowell. The great thing there is it has thread for a ball valve, you would not need their spigot. But again, they both have loads of comments how they have finicky seals and they leak.

I recently bought a 3 gallon Speidel that I plan to use for real small batches, like 1.75 gallons, in an attempt to start brewing about a 12 pack at a time. I've not been real concerned with oxygen pickup but these also seem like they have a number of accessories available to simplify much of that.

About a year and half ago I had upgraded from the Speidel to some SS conicals and I still have my parts available. It includes the rotateable dip tube and thermowell, adapter to do a CO2 pressure transfer and other misc parts. Worked great and no leaks.

Message me if you're interested.