SS Brewtech Brew Bucket -- worth $200

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MrBJones

MrBJones

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I brew 5 gallon all grain batches, using a 6.5 gallon glass carboy that goes in a chest freezer. My results consistently run (in my opinion) from good to very good. So if I got a 7 gallon Brew Bucket, might I see better results? Whether it's better results, an increase in ease and convenience, or a combination of the two, is it - in your opinion -worth $200 (or $230 with the thermowell)?

What say you?
 
I have the Brew Bucket Brewmaster Edition and it is worth every penny I spent. Much easier to move than a carboy and much easier to regulate your temps if you get the thermowell. Other positives are: easy to clean, easy to avoid yeast and trub when kegging, replacement parts are available, cold crashes well, can use an airlock or a blow off tube...I'm sure there are others but that is all I can think of at the moment.
 
I started with a Fermonster, went to a Speidel, then to a SS Brewbucket brewmaster version. My main reason was for ease of cleaning. Cleanup is a breeze, basically the same as cleaning your brew kettle. I plan on doing transfers to the keg with co2, which is easily done with the brewbucket. The thermowell is nice, don't have to tape my sensor to the side anymore.

So to answer your question, you wont notice better results, but I can only imagine coming from a glass carboy things would be easier and more convenient. To me $230 isn't that much to pay for something that will last and makes things easier.

Once my keezer project is finished, I'll be adding another Brewbucket.
 
I could buy a pile of plastic bucket fermenters and a few pounds of ingredients for that kind of money. My 10 year old bucket still makes good beer so the longevity of the Brew Bucket wouldn't seem to be a major factor either. However, my plastic buckets would never wow! a girlfriend but the beer I make might.
 
I have not regrets. Thinking about buying a second one. Very easy to clean, love the spigot(just don't forget to close the spigot before you transfer the wort into it - DOH!) and the thermowell.
 
Worth every penny. I ditched carboys long ago due to their PITA factor and switched to plastic buckets, which have served me well for several years. Yet, I couldn't shake this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I should get away from plastic and move to SST. So glad I did. Is my beer any better? I don't really know, but I now do CO2 pressure transfers and CO2 back purging while cold crashing, so in theory my beer should be less exposed to O2 than when using plastic buckets, so it should age better if nothing else. Also, no more auto-siphon to clean and sanitize, which it worth it right there. If you do it, spend the extra $30 and go with the BM edition.
 
LLBeanJ said:
Worth every penny. I ditched carboys long ago due to their PITA factor and switched to plastic buckets, which have served me well for several years. Yet, I couldn't shake this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I should get away from plastic and move to SST. So glad I did. Is my beer any better? I don't really know, but I now do CO2 pressure transfers and CO2 back purging while cold crashing, so in theory my beer should be less exposed to O2 than when using plastic buckets, so it should age better if nothing else. Also, no more auto-siphon to clean and sanitize, which it worth it right there. If you do it, spend the extra $30 and go with the BM edition.
Click to expand...

Curious how you do pressure transfers and back purge with the Bucket? I see they have some accessories you can buy but I was just thinking of drilling a small hole and adding a co2 poppet.
 
The best thing about it is the FTSs chilling system. I understand they have a new one that both chills and heats. I just use my old fermwrap for heating. The only two things I dislike is not being able to dump yeast - and I find the spigot to be on the verge of useless. I get better (clearer) transfers by siphoning.
 
I started out using glass carboys (cracked), moved to a FastFerment for three batches (leaked) and then tried the Brew Master Bucket. I've never had second thoughts about the Brew Master Bucket or the money I spent. In fact I liked it so much, I bought a second one!
 
Murphys_Law said:
Curious how you do pressure transfers and back purge with the Bucket? I see they have some accessories you can buy but I was just thinking of drilling a small hole and adding a co2 poppet.
Click to expand...

I purchased the domed lid with the 3" Tri-Clover port along with one of these drilled out to accept one of these to feed CO2, as well as serve as a blow-off. I'm sure there are cheaper/easier solutions, but I brew 6 gallon batches into the fermenter and figured the domed lid would give me some additional head space. The TC port in the lid is great for adding dry hops and other stuff.

20171215_121338.jpg
 
"Easy to clean" seems to be a frequent comment. With my carboy, I just fill it with very warm water, drop in a scoop of Oxiclean, wait, and rinse. Is the Brew Bucket even easier to clean than that?

(Hoping so! Cleaning can never be too easy!)
 
LLBeanJ said:
I purchased the domed lid with the 3" Tri-Clover port along with one of these drilled out to accept one of these to feed CO2, as well as serve as a blow-off. I'm sure there are cheaper/easier solutions, but I brew 6 gallon batches into the fermenter and figured the domed lid would give me some additional head space. The TC port in the lid is great for adding dry hops and other stuff.

View attachment 549900
Click to expand...

The website says the domed lid allows "cleaning your fermenter in place". What do they mean by that?
By the way, about how much extra head space does the dome give you?
 
My evolution:

Plastic Pails in a chest freezer w/ATC

Bought out a buddies entire set of brew gear including an Ss Brewtech 7G Brew Bucket. Used Brew Bucket down in the freezer for temp control.

Bought FTSs heat cool unit for the Brew Bucket and used ice cooler and frozen water bottles - pumped cooling water with supplied pump. This freed up my freezer to be a keg lagering freezer.

Bought 2nd Ss Brew Bucket with FTSs heat cool system.

Upgraded to Glycol Chiller and ditched ice cooler....PITA.

Long story short...Ss Brew Bucket worth every penny.

CONS: Price compared to plastic pails. Cannot dump yeast. Need way to keep beer temp controlled.

When transferring/racking, I apply 2 psi of CO2 through the 90 BO barb and do O2 free transfers into keg. The ball valve is small, but I can do a full keg fill in 7-10 minutes going slowly.

If your budget aligns, $230 is a great start and you can add and build on to the system.
 
MrBJones said:
The website says the domed lid allows "cleaning your fermenter in place". What do they mean by that?
By the way, about how much extra head space does the dome give you?
Click to expand...


Some conical systems come outfitted with a domed lid or some fermenters allow a domed lid to be purchased later as an add on. Several advantages with a domed lid, but not necessarily volume of wort you put in the vessel. There is, however, a bit more room for krausen to rise w/o coming out of the airlock. Domed lids are stronger and can handle slightly more pressure than a flat lid. Many domed lids are outfitted with ports to accept a variety of special attachments and accessories w/o drilling.

Cleaning your fermenter in place: CIP....Clean In Place. A special CIP spray ball is attached by a tri-clamp (TC) to the domed lid' port and cleaning solution is pumped thru the CIP spray ball to clean the interior of the tank. With a small tank that has a removable lid, this is basically unnecessary. With larger conicals that are heavy to move, CIP becomes more of a necessity. I have a uni tank from Ss, and it is difficult to clean w/o a CIP.
 
MrBJones said:
"Easy to clean" seems to be a frequent comment. With my carboy, I just fill it with very warm water, drop in a scoop of Oxiclean, wait, and rinse. Is the Brew Bucket even easier to clean than that?

(Hoping so! Cleaning can never be too easy!)
Click to expand...

Yes, it is easier than that. What you describe is a PITA to me and is the main reason why I stopped using carboys years ago (the glass also made me nervous). The BB is like any other bucket... remove the lid and rinse with hot water, maybe hit with a scrubby sponge if necessary. Next, dump the trub from the fermenter and spray it out with hot water in the kitchen sink. Again, maybe lightly hit the stubborn stuff with a scrubby sponge. Remove the ball valve and thermowell and rinse with hot water. Quickly run a small scrub brush thru the ball valve. Reassemble and put away. Takes all of 5 minutes to clean. No PBW or Oxiclean (or any other cleaner) is necessary, just hot water and a very minimal amount of elbow grease. No having to lift and dump (multiple times for wash and rinse) a heavy fermenter full of 5 or 6 gallons of liquid. No need to wait for the PBW to get it clean before dumping and rinsing. Anybody using soap to manually clean a brew bucket (or plastic bucket, for that matter) is wasting soap and their time; hot water is all that is necessary. Now, if you're doing CIP, then that's a different story.
 
MrBJones said:
Definitely don't do that!

How does the weight compare to a 6.5 gallon carboy?
Click to expand...

Much lighter. I think they say it weighs 10 lbs, but it doesn't seem that heavy to me. It's quite a bit lighter than a glass carboy of similar volume.

Check that: I just lifted my 6.5 gal glass carboy and I'd say the weight is similar, with the BB being a little lighter.
 
I have two of the standard brew buckets and I love them. I don't really have a use for the brew master edition. I control the temperature in my chest freezer and it would be pretty tough to view the temperature reading. I would consider putting a thermowell into the top of the lid with a long probed thermometer and view the temperature from the top. SS Brew Tech has 90 degree fittings for the standard lids with 1/2" barbed fittings for blow offs. The domed lids look nice but I think the 90 degree fittings work just as well. I also regularly brew 5.5 to 6 gallon batches without any issues.
 
sillbeer said:
I have two of the standard brew buckets and I love them. I don't really have a use for the brew master edition. I control the temperature in my chest freezer and it would be pretty tough to view the temperature reading. I would consider putting a thermowell into the top of the lid with a long probed thermometer and view the temperature from the top. SS Brew Tech has 90 degree fittings for the standard lids with 1/2" barbed fittings for blow offs. The domed lids look nice but I think the 90 degree fittings work just as well. I also regularly brew 5.5 to 6 gallon batches without any issues.
Click to expand...

How do you control the temp without a thermowell? I stick the prob from my temp controller into the thermowell on the brew master edition. I think it's worth the extra 30 bucks but it would he easy to rig one up on the lid.
 
For big ticket items I consider the resale value to help justify the purchase. I was thinking I could get 150 for mine if I wanted to sell it until the anvil buckets showed up, guessing the resale price is now closer to 100.

If 200 sounds like too much go with a knock-off for 130.

I do like the two I have but the little handles on the side are not as easy to use as the rotating handles on a ale pale for lifting and moving. Would not be afraid to hit it with boiling water if I ever get an infection.
 
I recently bought one of these (7 gallon Brewmaster edition) to replace the aging plastic bucket I have fermented many things in. At first I was a little put off by the price, but I ended up considering it more of an investment. The quality is pretty high, and if you take care of it, it will last you a very long time. The Brewmaster edition is not essential, but I felt the extra $30 was worth it for me. Could the handles be better? Sure. But they make it significantly easier to move around compared to a filled plastic bucket or a glass carboy. The lid secures tightly, as well. Just make sure, if you get one, that you clean it thoroughly per the instructions. I read a few cases before my purchase where people somehow ignored this and then complained that their beer tasted horrible.
 
philly224 said:
How do you control the temp without a thermowell? I stick the prob from my temp controller into the thermowell on the brew master edition. I think it's worth the extra 30 bucks but it would he easy to rig one up on the lid.
Click to expand...

I use a Auberins controller with a chest freezer.
 

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