devils4ever
Well-Known Member
I got my new SS Brewtech Brew Bucket on Friday and immediately put it to use on Saturday with a Saison. I thought I'd share my impressions so far.
I ordered this directly from SS Brewtech on Sunday and it arrived in 5 days.
First off, the quality of this fermenter is very high. The inside and outside are polished with no rough areas nor scratches. Good QC. The lid and gasket seem to create a tight seal. I cleaned it with TSP/90 followed by Star San made with a ratio of 1 oz/gal per instructions to passivate the SS.
Next, I used my 1L graduated cylinder to check the volume markings. I found they were off by about 1 quart (1/4 gal). No big deal since I'll just mentally correct for it.
The valve seem to have a tiny leak at first, but it was quickly corrected by tightening the inside nut by hand a little more. I read it can be overtightened easily, so I was afraid to go too tight at first.
So, I transferred my cooled wort to the fermenter at the end of the boil. I did have a slight snag at first doing the transfer. I usually use a plastic funnel with a fine screen mesh to aerate the wort and to prevent the hops from getting into the fermenter. Obviously, I couldn't use the funnel in the normal way by just placing it on top of the narrow neck of a carboy like in the past. So, I had to use some twine to support one end of it in middle of the opening. I think I'll need a better method on the next batch. How does everyone else do this?
I attached the 90 degree SS elbow from SS Brewtech for use as a blow off. I attached a hose into a pot of Star San. Easy to do. I'll switch to the airlock after a few days. The handles are awesome and made moving this a lot easier than bear hugging a carboy! The opening for the airlock has a nice rounded opening so to not cut into a stopper.
I used an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the Brew Bucket. I put a small piece of masking tape on the Brew Bucket as recommended by the maker of the thermometer. It seemed dead on.
Overall, I've very pleased with this purchase and plan on adding another in the near future. The only downside is not being able to see the wort through the side as with a plastic or glass carboy. But, the ease in cleaning and sanitizing this will more than make up for it.
I ordered this directly from SS Brewtech on Sunday and it arrived in 5 days.
First off, the quality of this fermenter is very high. The inside and outside are polished with no rough areas nor scratches. Good QC. The lid and gasket seem to create a tight seal. I cleaned it with TSP/90 followed by Star San made with a ratio of 1 oz/gal per instructions to passivate the SS.
Next, I used my 1L graduated cylinder to check the volume markings. I found they were off by about 1 quart (1/4 gal). No big deal since I'll just mentally correct for it.
The valve seem to have a tiny leak at first, but it was quickly corrected by tightening the inside nut by hand a little more. I read it can be overtightened easily, so I was afraid to go too tight at first.
So, I transferred my cooled wort to the fermenter at the end of the boil. I did have a slight snag at first doing the transfer. I usually use a plastic funnel with a fine screen mesh to aerate the wort and to prevent the hops from getting into the fermenter. Obviously, I couldn't use the funnel in the normal way by just placing it on top of the narrow neck of a carboy like in the past. So, I had to use some twine to support one end of it in middle of the opening. I think I'll need a better method on the next batch. How does everyone else do this?
I attached the 90 degree SS elbow from SS Brewtech for use as a blow off. I attached a hose into a pot of Star San. Easy to do. I'll switch to the airlock after a few days. The handles are awesome and made moving this a lot easier than bear hugging a carboy! The opening for the airlock has a nice rounded opening so to not cut into a stopper.
I used an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the Brew Bucket. I put a small piece of masking tape on the Brew Bucket as recommended by the maker of the thermometer. It seemed dead on.
Overall, I've very pleased with this purchase and plan on adding another in the near future. The only downside is not being able to see the wort through the side as with a plastic or glass carboy. But, the ease in cleaning and sanitizing this will more than make up for it.