comparisons of different fermentation set ups

[Onthebrew]

Obviously there are price differentials, but ignoring those for the time being, I am interested in performance gains to be found and would welcome peoples thougts, especially if you are using one of these set up currently.

So forgetting about cost for now, in terms of ease of use and set up, and producing better beer though temp control how do they rate against each other.

I currently have a brew fridge but am thinking of using that for storage as ive been getting good results by chilling beers compared to room temps. I am also tempted to upgrade to stainless steel brewbucket, chronical or other SS options so would be interested on what people's thought are on this. Rather than get another brew fridge i want to consider other options.

1. Regular chronical, Brew fridge, inkbird and heater
2. Brewmaster Chronical with Ftss, with cooling controlled by a shelf chiller ( maxi)
3. Grainfather chronical with glycerol chiller
4. Brewjacket pro immersion

So apart from price, what are the main benefits of each?

[simon12]

If where your fermenting it is warm enough to not need heating only cooling I would go no 2, if you need to chill right down around 0C then get no 3 otherwise brew fridge. This is just my 1st thoughts after a quick look.

[Fil]

sounds like you already have the best option, if after a more robust FV then a stainless steel stockpot or SS brewbucket.

conicals can bring more problems to the table than solutions, and the extra flexibility they offer is limited to trub/break dumping, yeast harvesting, CIP capacity (only needed if big), less waste (only relevent when huge), and o2 less transfer under pressure possibly a few more but lttle you cannot achieve in your existing setup other than the dumping, but you can always transfer into a 2ndary fv or tertiary ...

[Onthebrew]

in my current method, i just use the one FV, leave it in there at FV temp for three weeks and bottle straight from that ( or sometimes cold crash for 3 day as well) . Don't even use a bottling bucket. As such I was thinking the ability to dump trub would be a step up in this regard or at least to limit its contact with the beer.

In terms of temp control- also is there any consensus on whats best? - a brew fridge set up or the chronical with heater and cooling jacket attached to a maxi? also is there any improvement from stainless steel from quality food grade plastic for the home brewer?

[Fil]

difference between SS and plastic is plastic can get damaged more easily, a scratch or gouge on the inner surface is good enough reason to retire a fv in most cases. SS you can scrub.. there may be chemicals that pass from the plastic into the beer but afaik the plastics used dont exhibit that behaviour but its chemistry beyond my lay understanding..

the gentle ramping of temperature changes effected by a fermentation fridge with a fan moving the air about is about as close as you can get to a lab grade mega efficient incubator so pretty much ideal, racking off the brew will reduce contact with trub, what problems is the trub giving you? i have never had any noticeable problems.. .

I think most folk who buy a conical will admit to at least part of it being a bit of a vanity purchase, and there is nowt wrong with that as long as its an eyes wide open purchase. but if making the investment you could find yourself spending a few months and a bit more cash tweeking and refining a conical system to get you almost as good as a result as you have now. If you persevere you will end up with the most flexible option (beyond movement), but its a learning experience, leave the wrong yeast 1 day too long and it can set like a concrete plug...

there is a low budget PET conical shaped FV that should fit in a fridge called fermentasaurus or similar, its a NZ based product that should arrive in the UK sooner or later.
might be worth a look?

[Onthebrew]

Actually no problem so far with trub per se, but just trying step by step to improve my system. I was looking at that fermentausaus earlier as it happens but as I've got two good plastic fvs, would prob stick with them unless upgrade to ss. Either way brew fridge seems best and cheapest option then.

[yourbrew]

I think it all depends on how much do you brew and what's your capacity/space for the equipment. If it were up to me, I would probably invest in something like the Chronical Brewmaster because it offers a lot of advantages:
- you can harvest the yeast (which would mean a lot of savings in the long run)
- Makes dry hopping easier because you can blast CO2 from the bottom of the cone to really mix up the hops with the beer, giving better results in aroma and flavour
- Temperature control, which is essential, can be easier with glycol.
- Using triclamps which are industry standard, is very safe and sanitary
- It's easier to clean
- Kegging is also easier.

Consider buying a slightly little bigger fermenter than your brewhouse capacity, that way if you expand you'll still be able to use your fermenter for a while or as a pilot system.

[Onthebrew]

Don't think you can get the s brewtech glycerol chiller over here yet, so it would have to be a maxi. Would that be better than a brew fridge ( brewmaster chronical has heating already sorted )

I think the ss brewtechs look far better than the gf conicals, but are the gf ones, with their in built insulation as actually better performing?

[guypettigrew]

My SS 7 gallon Chronical, with insulation jacket, cooling coil and heating pad works a treat. A Maxi 110 is used for cooling.

The cooling function is provided by pumping water throught the chiller coil in the Maxi ice bath then through the cooling coil in the chronical then back through the chiller coil. The pump switches on and off under control from the SS control box, as does the heat pad.

The whole system stays within +/- 0.5 C of the set temperature. Good enough for me!

Guy

[Onthebrew]

Cheers guy. Is it just a case of connecting the maxi to the the chronically jacket and enering the desired temp?

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Note that jacketing the conical is not as effective an insulator as a sealed fridge. This can affect how low your sustained lowest temp can be, which is important for crash cooling and lagering, as well as running costs.

[jaroporter]

Note that jacketing the conical is not as effective an insulator as a sealed fridge. This can affect how low your sustained lowest temp can be, which is important for crash cooling and lagering, as well as running costs.

disagree. i'll suggest it more effective..

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

I have done a DIY insulation (armaflex & thermawrap) with my chronical. Which I admit may be less effective than the fitted one. However I don't insulate the cone, and the domed lid has limited insulation.

It struggles to maintain 6C with the maxi kicking in a lot.

You should easily get a larder fridge down close to zero and maintain it as long as you keep it shut.

I believe that contact cooled units like FTSS and my DIY job are more effective at stabilising active fermentation temps, but a boring larder fridge will hold the low temps better. IME my setup is fantastic at keeping a set temp with the inkbird driving it. I am making pale ales like a boss for the first time.

[Kev888]

If you insulate the FV well (i.e. with a similar thickness and quality of insulation) then it can be similarly effective to an insulated fridge or cupboard - the surface area is less which helps, but it really depends what bits (if any) are left sticking out of the insulation. Though mine too was a DIY job, I've no idea how well the ready-made jackets work, they look a little thin.

Re the OP: Assuming your brew fridge works fairly well then you're unlikely to see much improvement in beer quality by changing to a different method of doing more or less the same thing. The differences are more of a practical nature, such as having the FV unrestricted by a cupboard/fridge (but tethered by hoses), allowing faster changes in temperature (but more complication and noise), and that kind of thing. People's own circumstances and preferences mean that there is no one 'best' answer, and a lot is down to how well any of the approaches are implemented; they can all work well or poorly. Sadly I have none of those exact systems you mention so can't help more specifically.

Similarly, a pointy FV will not really result in noticeably better beer unless there is some problem with the current FV or process; it is again mostly about practicalities IMO. A conical can offer really great convenience if you would use the facilities, or else it can be unnecessarily cumbersome, expensive and more to clean if you wouldn't. You can dump initial rubbish if you have any getting into the FV, selectively harvest clean yeast slurry, and later dump old settled yeast and possibly pellet hops. Some people aren't interested in these things, or have other methods of achieving them - so a flat-bottomed equivalent may suit them better (the other attributes many conicals have, such as being stainless, having hygienic bulkheads, sealing lid and so on are available without the cone part).

[Tomp]

I moved to an SS Brewtech Chronical last year so have around 10 brews under my belt with it now.

Drawbacks:

More expensive than a plastic bin which was my previous kit.
Cant see what's happening without unclipping the lid.

Benefits:

Easy to clean.
Allows removal of some of the trub, although I'm not sure what benefit this has but the beers are good.
Temperature well is useful as the probe sits in the middle of the beer.
Racking arm. This is the best thing as my beers are much clearer when kegging.

It sits in the cellar and I don't do lagering, I have no need to cool it. Just a brewbelt round the outside and an insulating jacket to maintain fermentation temperature.


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