LeverTime
Well-Known Member
What are the options for stainless steel fermentors for ~5 gallon batches? I know about conical fermentors, and that some people use kegs. Is that pretty much it?
Watch the classified section here or eBay for 10 gal corny kegs. They will run $100 to $150. I have one and love it. Plenty of head space for a 5 gal batch. Biggest advantage is being able to do closed transfers from fermenter to serving keg. Beer never see's oxygen.
How do you do a pressurized transfer out of a corny keg that you've fermented in without sucking up all the trub/sediment?
just dump the first half pint that comes out cloudy (imo, the easiest option).
Blichmann has some really nice-looking fermenters, but I was never able to pull the trigger. I lurked on ebay for a while, even bidding occasionally on a couple of fermenters--until I realized that they were auctioning off "Stout" fermenters for not much less than you can buy a new one. www.conical-fermenter.com
But think hard about what you want to do with it. Glass works great, is readily available, and reasonably easy to clean. Conical fermenters have more moving parts than a carboy, which means you have to clean them. And they cost about 10x more than a carboy.
So why? Because you want clearer beer (less trub, less yeast in the bottle or keg). Because you don't want to risk contamination in transferring to a secondary fermenter (and you do secondary fermentation). Because you want to more easily harvest and re-use your yeast. Because you want some real, industrial-looking stuff with thermowells and ball (or butterfly) valves. If those are reasons enough to take the plunge, then do. I'm glad I did.
The main reason is that I want something more durable than plastic. I don't like glass because of the safety issues with it. I have to carry my brews from my second floor rear deck into my basement, through two doors and a set of stairs. My house is 100+ years old, and these are narrow stairs and hallways. I know lots of people use glass safely, but I am clumsy. I am the guy who would drop it down the stairs and fall on top of the broken pieces, face first.
I also want something that fits in my chest freezer, so that I can control the temperature. I have exactly 27" of vertical space, so that seems to rule out conical fermenters.
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