Stainless steel pressure fermenter recommendations?

[Phil_G]

Hi all,

I have been brewing for years, for a lot of them using basic kit and my fermenter was glass for the most part. Couple of years ago I got a SS BrewTech 7gal, I really like it has made many great beers. I have however now increased my capacity to 45L ish. As a stop gap I got a 27L Fermzilla when the gen 3.2 came out as I was interested in trying pressure fermentation, and I just split the batches between the two fermenters. I really like the Fermzilla too, it's been a good intro to pressure fermentation. I just wish I had bought the bigger one but there weren't any at the time.

I now I am thinking about getting a ~40L stainless steel pressure fermenter, at the moment the front runner is the BrewBuilt X3 as it looks well put together and reviews have been good. Alternative is the Brewtools F40, although I think that perhaps the 34mm TCs put me off a little and it's also a fair bit more expensive and maybe not so easy to find. SS BrewTech kit seems hard to get in the UK now, I don't think I have seen Spike here at all but I could be wrong.

Any recommendations or things I should keep in mind?
Thanks, Phil

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

I pressure ferment in Sanke kegs. They're cheap, can be pressurized to +50 psi, fit nicely in a keezer, have built in handles and are built like a brick shithouse. Downsides include the need for a keg cleaner (mine is homemade), they're not very sexy and a full 50 liter keg can way a lot. I stick to US tall 1/4 barrel kegs (7.5 gallon/28 liters). You can get setup @ $200 US per fermenter, 50L or US 1/2 barrel (58 liter).

An adapter goes in the top:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/k...suDbb66QgvflTycsHllqnpHYeMgmDZxRoCU2AQAvD_BwE

Use a floating pick up:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/floating-dip-tube-2.html

May not be what your looking for, but it works really good and it's cheap. $1200 is a lot for a single fermenter.

 

[Phil_G]

Interesting idea. I do actually have two PET mini pressure fermenters, they are 10L each. I do the odd ferment and serve project with them, often for Xmas. They work pretty well, and go directly in the keezer.

I was thinking that something that I can more easily control the temp etc of would be useful, especially if I also use for fermentation without pressure. Its an idea worth considering though, thanks.

 

[Brewer #443108]

whats the advantage of fermenting under pressure? Vendor gets to sell $$$$ kit?

 

[Phil_G]

whats the advantage of fermenting under pressure? Vendor gets to sell $$$$ kit?

Spending the $$$$ is optional, I could buy a bigger fermzilla tank for maybe $100 ish.
That aside I have found pressure fermentation useful, made a couple of lagers and the Baltic Porter I just made (which is a lager really) is awesome.

 

[Brewer #443108]

That aside I have found pressure fermentation useful,

Can you explain why pressurized was useful given the extra cost and complexity of the gear?

 

[Phil_G]

You can ferment a lager at 21C in a week or so and avoid off flavours from the yeast. Normally you would ferment at maybe 12-16C for perhaps 4 weeks to a month. Maybe longer. Is it exactly the same? I am not experienced enough to tell yet.

The Baltic porter I have made is the first time I fermented the same beer half in the pressure fermenter and half the normal way so I will be able to compare these two.

 

[Brewer #443108]

You can ferment a lager at 21C in a week or so and avoid off flavours from the yeast. Normally you would ferment at maybe 12-16C for perhaps 4 weeks to a month. Maybe longer. Is it exactly the same? I am not experienced enough to tell yet.

The Baltic porter I have made is the first time I fermented the same beer half in the pressure fermenter and half the normal way so I will be able to compare these two.

Hmm I think that was the whole USP for Heineken 200 years ago - the development of using chilled storage to make lager (a dutch word meaning to hold in a room or a pound)

It seems that pressure fermenting speeds up the process in the FV say from 10 days say down to 7 days - so for commercial brewers thats profitable.

I think lager is supposed to be fermented cool 12-16C as you say, not room temp - probably defeats the taste objective - but Belgians have their own rules?

It answers the question. There's a lot to be said for those 2/3L PET sparkling soda bottles - they can take 100psi+ - think Ive seen a YT vid of one exploded

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Can you explain why pressurized was useful given the extra cost and complexity of the gear?

Pressure fermentation mimics tall conical fermenters in larger breweries by trapping co2 in solution during fermentation. The co2 causes lower ester production, giving a very "clean" beer. It works really well for lagers, but is not very good ales if your looking for yeast character.

Some people will ferment warmer and under pressure to speed up the process. Ironically, excess co2 slows down fermentation and limits growth, but when the temperature is elevated the yeast go nuts.