Stainless fermenter for mead?

[MightyMosin]

I'm looking for recommendation for a stainless fermenter for making mead. I mostly brew 5 gallon batches though I typically go as low as 3 gallon or upwards of ~7.5 gallons. I would like to be able to do 10-ish gallon batches but the typical sizes don't seem to align.

I looked at SSBrewTech and their 7 gallon fermenters are intended for 4.5 gallon minimum. The minimum batches are 8 to 8.5 gallon for the 14 gallon fermenter. That would seem to put me in the ~7 gallon unit size.

I know I want a glycol temperature control and I prefer a jacketed unit instead of one that I would insert coils into the liquid. CIP would be mandatory if I'm going to take the $$ hit. I would prefer to keep the cash in US manufacturing and I'm OK with paying a bit more for that especially if support is US based with local supplies.

With temperature control, I would prefer a unit that can handle a higher external temperature if I should want to keep it in the garage. The ability to carbonate in the same unit would be highly desirable.

I'm sure there are items I'm not thinking about, which is why am asking for input.

 

[Dan O]

I wish I had something to offer, but I still work mainly from glass, my FERMONSTERS & food grade buckets, as SS just isn't in the budget right now.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I have a Spike conical fermenter I really love. It's A ten gallon capacity one but it's not jacketed. It's pressure rated too.

Look at one of their Flex units, they are smaller in height as a conical with many if the same features and would easily fit in a repurposed fridge for controlled temps. At a lower cost point you could have two or more units.

There are other fermenter options out there that align better with all of your needs but cost loads of money. If you're serious with that I would look more at the professional lines of equipment and possibly the used brewery equipment.

ABS Commercial was a place I was considering when I was entertaining going pro. Blichmann is another.

 

[Broken Crow]

I would prefer to keep the cash in US manufacturing and I'm OK with paying a bit more for that especially if support is US based with local supplies.

Deepest respect on that! I wish more people were that community/future minded! Even though I sometimes post links for bits from aliexpress, I only do so for parts that are made exclusively in China and I don't feel like engorging the pockets of importers... most of my triclamp parts are made in Canada and I get them from https://www.equinoxstainless.com/ in Montreal...Heck; half the reason I love my fermonsters is because they're made in Canada. In all my purchases of any and everything I'll pay more for (in order): Local/Provincial/National/Primary Major Trading Partners [USA, Mexico} I even paid a higher interest rate on the mortgage I'm still paying to have an 'Ethical Mortgage' that won't fund labour/human rights/environment abusers or war-profiteers.
Enough of the rant...
When I was still a lurker on here, I lusted after Blichmann and SSBretech eye-candy gear that was deemed the Top-Dogs of the time but there were quite a few posts around that time of bad rusting welds in the SSBrewtech conicals. Recently, there have been some more quality issues posted (eg: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/my-experience-with-ss-brewtech.731437/ )
In all these cases, to thier credit SSBrewtech did make good on replacements but it's made me wary of their quality-control.
That said; The majority of SSBrewtech users never experience an issue like that....all the same: If there's a dealer within driving range, I'd strongly recommend looking over the unit you intend to buy in person in a bricks and mortar shop. Personally I'm more inclined to go with @SpikeBrewing ...US-made and I can't recall any build-quality issues being reported on here..only the occasional 'Bad Shipping' involving loose parts banging around inside during transit and causing scratches and dents which entirely the fault of either the vedors packing or the shippers negligence.
Hope this is at least some useful food-for-thought from a fellow users perspective.

 

[SixShooter]

Have you looked into the Brewbuilt X3 Jacketed Uni Conical? My husband and I just picked one up. We haven't used it yet (plan to in a couple of days), but it looks amazing and has just about all of your requirements covered.

 

[MightyMosin]

Deepest respect on that! I wish more people were that community/future minded!

I completely agree and I choose specific companies to avoid as well... but that's a different forum topic. Thank you for that link to the SS Brew Tech... ouch, I would have been extremely angry to receive that with so many issues. Talk about a lack of post manufacturing QC checks. Do they think they are Boeing?

Have you looked into the Brewbuilt X3 Jacketed Uni Conical? My husband and I just picked one up. We haven't used it yet (plan to in a couple of days), but it looks amazing and has just about all of your requirements covered.

They are on my list to look through... I believe they are Chinese made which causes me reservations.

I like what I've seen from Spike, but I am really leaning more toward jacketed instead of a cooling/heating loop that goes into the liquid as it represents more cleaning and places for things to go wrong. I need to start putting these onto a spreadsheet to compare cost and features.

 

[MightyMosin]

I am really leaning more toward jacketed instead of a cooling/heating loop that goes into the liquid as it represents more cleaning and places for things to go wrong.

I just ran across CoolStix... nice options there. Looks to be easier cleaning than a bunch of looped coils and there are options to use them in carboys. This possibly makes looking at non-jacketed items by Spike or others a more attractive option.

https://brewbuilt.com/search?search=coolstix

 

[Broken Crow]

I just ran across CoolStix... nice options there. Looks to be easier cleaning than a bunch of looped coils and there are options to use them in carboys. This possibly makes looking at non-jacketed items by Spike or others a more attractive option.

https://brewbuilt.com/search?search=coolstix

A couple times in the last few years I've seen posts about those and the users experiences but I don't remember them that well...just that there is one thread that went into a lot of detail, but using this; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/search/8331361/?q=coolstix&o=relevance I can't find it. Maybe you'll do better.

 

[MightyMosin]

I think I have decided on the BrewBuilt X3 jacketed conical and adding Clean In Place (CIP) spray ball. Will pull the trigger very soon.

I'm not sure which pump I'll use for the CIP but many comments online seem to like the Blichmann RipTide. I'm not sure yet if I would do the version that is tri-clamp natively and then use adaptors for hoses.

The X3 just has so many included features for the price that it is hard to go another route. I'm likely going to bite the bullet and do the Glycol chiller, though I may wait to add that portion until the weather warms up a bit.

I'm liking the idea of a spunding valve and fermenting under pressure for the meads that I would normally carbonate... let that CO2 work for me instead of adding it afterward.

Looking for input from others that have this or similar units in case there may be other options/things to consider.

 

[Maylar]

Ask the beer guys.

 

[MightyMosin]

I swear, I forget that there is an equipment board on here.

Thanks.

 

[MightyMosin]

I ended up looking at two fermenters. The Brewbuilt X3 which is loaded with a lot of features in the base package and the BrewTools MiniUni+. Both in the ~7 gallon range and both are jacketed fermenters.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-x3-jacketed-conical-placeholder.html

https://www.morebeer.com/products/brewtools-miniuni-30.html

Huge difference in base prices. About $1100 vs. $349. I was pretty excited about the BrewTools based on the price alone, though I eventually went with the Brewbuilt conical. If I wanted to go up to the BrewTools ~10 gallon, I could get 2 for the price of one BrewBuilt, though that doesn't really work for my typical batch sizing.

The BrewTools MiniUni has a 2" TC port on the bottom but it is useless when on its included base. To make use of that bottom port you have to either add the optional leg kit (~$35) or hang it on a wall with the included hanger. Unfortunately, I don't have a dedicated spot that I can hang it that will work for me. If I had a truly dedicated space where I can have water and drainage where I needed it, this would be a very attractive solution.

For the BrewTools, adding the legs, I need a 2" TC butterfly valve, 2" 90 degree adaptor, gaskets and clamps to get that dump port horizontal below the stand and just barely above the ground unless its up on a table with a hole to come straight down. The BrewBuilt has a 3" TC port, butterfly valve, gaskets, TC clamp, as well as a bottom dump chamber. You'd have to add the dump chamber to the BrewTools and the horizontal alignment will get messy when you disconnect the clamps.

I want to do O2 free transfers to kegs. I need to add the pressure kit ($179) to the BrewTools. The BrewBuilt includes a pressure kit. Now the BrewTools pressure kit includes a spunding valve, which BrewBuilt doesn't have on theirs. But A Kegland Blowtie spunding kit is only $26 to add to the BrewBuilt.

Front 1.5" TC ports. BrewTools has 2 and BrewBuilt has 3... But its a jacketed fermenter and if using a chiller, you will use up one of those with a thermowell for temp sensing... so you lose one off of each.

Taking samples or racking. BrewBuilt includes a sample port that you can use on one of those 3 front ports. That is extra on the other (~$30) plus gasket and clamp. Granted, you can use the pressure pack to get liquid out, but that isn't necessarily useful during fermentation if you aren't building pressure and you have to inject CO2 to push the liquid out.

TOSNA additions. The BrewTools has a single 4" TC port at the top. You either take the 4" plate with airlock off to add nutrients or you leave the optional pressure pack on and remove its single centered TC opening to add nutrients... which isn't really a bad deal if you have the pressure pack. The Brewbuily has 2 TC ports on the main conical and another two on the top 8" TC plus another on its pressure kit. Plenty of options for nutrient adds.

Moving the fermenter around. While neither probably should be moved when full, sometimes things don't work out as you want. The BrewBuilt has the option for caster on legs that are slanted outward for stability. Nothing at all the same for the BrewTools. The BrewTools will use less floor space, but it is really built to be in a stationary spot, preferably mounted on a wall.

Jacket coverage. The BrewTools is the big winner here. The BrewBuilt has no jacket on the conical portion while almost all of the BrewBuilt is jacketed. That will certainly translate to $ when it comes to chiller electricity and cooling time.

If I had the space to wall mount one of these BrewTools units, I would have gone with that instead as it would be great for mead. I just really value the potential to roll it around for cleaning or just go get it out of the way while it is full.

I will add that for still meads the BrewTools would likely be a great choice with the addition of a racking arm and if it was up on a table for a gravity transfer to work. If you are OK with some CO2 and a pressure kit, both will do what you need. The BrewTools would also be great as a second temp controlled fermenter/bright tank... but I think it really needs to be up on a higher table top or wall mounted if you want that option of gravity transfer or to be able to get a bucket under the dump port.

There are more items to consider but for myself, to get the BrewTools similar to what I wanted it ended up having a lot of add on accessories that brought it fairly close to the BrewBuilt. The BrewTools was less expensive kitted out, though less expansion, easily available and I didn't have a good option for moving it unless I bolted the stand to a rolling table. A higher center of gravity doing that wasn't something I really wanted to do.

I'll add temperature control in another month or three.

I imagine that I'll edit this tomorrow after another read through and add some more thoughts.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I ended up looking at two fermenters. The Brewbuilt X3 which is loaded with a lot of features in the base package and the BrewTools MiniUni+. Both in the ~7 gallon range and both are jacketed fermenters.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-x3-jacketed-conical-placeholder.html

https://www.morebeer.com/products/brewtools-miniuni-30.html

Huge difference in base prices. About $1100 vs. $349. I was pretty excited about the BrewTools based on the price alone, though I eventually went with the Brewbuilt conical. If I wanted to go up to the BrewTools ~10 gallon, I could get 2 for the price of one BrewBuilt, though that doesn't really work for my typical batch sizing.

The BrewTools MiniUni has a 2" TC port on the bottom but it is useless when on its included base. To make use of that bottom port you have to either add the optional leg kit (~$35) or hang it on a wall with the included hanger. Unfortunately, I don't have a dedicated spot that I can hang it that will work for me. If I had a truly dedicated space where I can have water and drainage where I needed it, this would be a very attractive solution.

For the BrewTools, adding the legs, I need a 2" TC butterfly valve, 2" 90 degree adaptor, gaskets and clamps to get that dump port horizontal below the stand and just barely above the ground unless its up on a table with a hole to come straight down. The BrewBuilt has a 3" TC port, butterfly valve, gaskets, TC clamp, as well as a bottom dump chamber. You'd have to add the dump chamber to the BrewTools and the horizontal alignment will get messy when you disconnect the clamps.

I want to do O2 free transfers to kegs. I need to add the pressure kit ($179) to the BrewTools. The BrewBuilt includes a pressure kit. Now the BrewTools pressure kit includes a spunding valve, which BrewBuilt doesn't have on theirs. But A Kegland Blowtie spunding kit is only $26 to add to the BrewBuilt.

Front 1.5" TC ports. BrewTools has 2 and BrewBuilt has 3... But its a jacketed fermenter and if using a chiller, you will use up one of those with a thermowell for temp sensing... so you lose one off of each.

Taking samples or racking. BrewBuilt includes a sample port that you can use on one of those 3 front ports. That is extra on the other (~$30) plus gasket and clamp. Granted, you can use the pressure pack to get liquid out, but that isn't necessarily useful during fermentation if you aren't building pressure and you have to inject CO2 to push the liquid out.

TOSNA additions. The BrewTools has a single 4" TC port at the top. You either take the 4" plate with airlock off to add nutrients or you leave the optional pressure pack on and remove its single centered TC opening to add nutrients... which isn't really a bad deal if you have the pressure pack. The Brewbuily has 2 TC ports on the main conical and another two on the top 8" TC plus another on its pressure kit. Plenty of options for nutrient adds.

Moving the fermenter around. While neither probably should be moved when full, sometimes things don't work out as you want. The BrewBuilt has the option for caster on legs that are slanted outward for stability. Nothing at all the same for the BrewTools. The BrewTools will use less floor space, but it is really built to be in a stationary spot, preferably mounted on a wall.

Jacket coverage. The BrewTools is the big winner here. The BrewBuilt has no jacket on the conical portion while almost all of the BrewBuilt is jacketed. That will certainly translate to $ when it comes to chiller electricity and cooling time.

If I had the space to wall mount one of these BrewTools units, I would have gone with that instead as it would be great for mead. I just really value the potential to roll it around for cleaning or just go get it out of the way while it is full.

I will add that for still meads the BrewTools would likely be a great choice with the addition of a racking arm and if it was up on a table for a gravity transfer to work. If you are OK with some CO2 and a pressure kit, both will do what you need. The BrewTools would also be great as a second temp controlled fermenter/bright tank... but I think it really needs to be up on a higher table top or wall mounted if you want that option of gravity transfer or to be able to get a bucket under the dump port.

There are more items to consider but for myself, to get the BrewTools similar to what I wanted it ended up having a lot of add on accessories that brought it fairly close to the BrewBuilt. The BrewBuilt was less expensive kitted out, though less expansion easily available and I didn't have a good option for moving it unlessI bolted the stand to a rolling table. A higher center of gravity doing that wasn't something I really wanted to do.

I'll add temperature control in another month or three.

I imagine that I'll edit this tomorrow after another read through and add some more thoughts.

You made the right choice even though the cost is higher. The BB offers a lot more for the extra cost and being jacketed puts it on top.

I mentioned many posts ago that I purchased a Spike CF10 which shares many of the features of the BB without the jacketing. Side ports and extras in the lid are a must have for a proper fermenter/unitank.

Congratulations!

 

[MightyMosin]

Thanks.

I still need to get the CIP ordered and a chiller. The CIP is something that I will really want sooner than later based on all the individual parts to clean and sanitize.

I'm mostly planning on the temp control setup for my pyments and my next Marshmallow mead.