Fermenter options

[Brewer #404298]

I brew about 6 times per year. I have been using the Big Mouth plastic fermenter. Works fine and I place it in a cheap dorm fridge with a Inkbird controller.

I am feeling like I should probably replace this soon as it has 15 brews from me and unknown number from the guy I bought it from. I understand the plastic could eventually retain bacteria (although I never scrub with anything that could scratch).

Would be nice to get to something stainless and something that has a little deeper pit for trub (the Big Mouth leaves maybe .25 gallon of beer in bottom). But, I am not ready to spend $1500-2000 a full system with Glycol. Thinking about a SS Brewtech Brew Bucket ($149).
I assume I can still use my inkbird set up with dorm fridge and heating wrap? I am guessing I would need to drill a 2nd hole in the top and put in long thermowell for Inkbird temp probe since it appears there is only a single hole for the airlock?
Am I making the wrong choice?

 

[Minbari]

I had a brew bucket for years, those things work great.

Look up "carbide hole saw" on Amazon. Will drill stainless like butter

 

[J A]

Well, first off, if you're using a dorm fridge, having the sensor outside the bucket won't hurt a thing. The lag time between outside air and inside liquid temp will be pretty slow and can lead to some pretty big swings. If you have an uninsulated fermenter, it's going to ride up a little higher than air temp and you can compensate for that. Heating is a little more suited to having the sensor inside. If you really prefer the sensor in the liquid, the weldless bulkhead fitting and the carbide hole saw is very easy and economical.
I do like SS Brewtech equipment, but you might look around and find something that's in the configuration you prefer.

 

[Craigerrr]

Allrounder with pressure kit FTW

 

[Semper Sitientum]

I encourage moving away from plastic. I may have an extreme opinion compared to others, but plastic not only scratches but degrades over time. I have two brew buckets. SS makes good equipment. As mentioned previously, no need to drill a hole. I tape my probe to the outside with a piece of foam over top to insulate. At our level, that’s sufficient.

 

[Dave Y]

I am not ready to spend $1500-2000 a full system with Glycol. Thinking about a SS Brewtech Brew Bucket ($149).

TL;DR: Think about how you're brewing now and how you'll be brewing in the future. All in all it looks like a good bang for the buck.

I see 2 potential issues here you might consider.
1) there's no apparent provision for simple yeast harvesting. Brewing 6x per year, this is not as much of a concern.
2) Even if you don't harvest yeast, the racking valve looks like is very close to the relatively shallow cone for the sediment. Ok if you don't mind racking some yeast before getting actual beer. Now, you can rotate the racking arm and that should get you away from the yeast bed, and for the $$$, it's not too shabby.

I have a Grainfather fermenter that is similarly provisioned, but, it has internal cooling jackets. Despite this, it's difficult to deal with by way of emptying it out. There is a dump valve, but it's a piston system with only about 3/4" movement. The racking arm gets fed from a small tower designed to sit above the yeast. Transferring is pretty easy, but cleanup was a PITA for all the features. The dump valve is full manual; you either hold it open or it closes.

So, if you think you'll be getting into yeast harvesting, think about your options.
What I did before glycol was to keep a keg of ice water in one of my kegerators and ran a submersible pump with temp control. It was good enough, but it ended up making me want glycol :-/

 

[Brew Cat]

stainless steel brew bucket is the way to go for 5 gallon home brewing IMO
my 9 gallon has a 2" bung that you can get a dbl hole bung to accept a thermal well and airlock
I've also fitted it with a 2' bulkhead and sanke keg converter kit to pressure transfer
normally I wait to rack the beer and harvest but also have no problems popping the lid to top harvest if needed
I do have a fermzilla with a collection cup but use it less and less ( much more cleaning involved and really cant easily top harvest from it)
I also use a 11gallon wine bucket that is plastic which I love for surface to depth ratio
you may be limited by the size of your dorm fridge

 

[Sandy Feet]

A 6-gallon plastic Fermonster is less than $40 on Amazon. If you are worried, replace it for cheap. I keep StarSan in mine most of the time and for most of the week before I brew. I don't worry about shit if it doesn't look damaged.

 

[Brew Cat]

well the other advantage of the SS brew bucket is you can mash, boil and ferment in it. a true all in one
https://www.howdybrewer.com/product...V8lrSAQWE5eqvsV4onSQ1Knw4t7x6ry9JhARng76Z4YaA
this is the one I would get because of the above mentioned ratio
many fermenters are to tall and skinny. Short and stumpy is what you want

 

[Craigerrr]

An expensive fermenter doesn't make better beer, a brewer makes better beer. Many make amazing beer with plastic buckets.

 

[Zefram]

I brew about the same rate a year (wanna do more, but life...). I switched from plastic buckets to a 7-gallon SS Brew Bucket and love it. I went with the temp control option (poor man's version... cooler with frozen water bottles instead of a glycol chiller), but with your setup I'd just do the temp probe like Semper recommends.

To Dave's point, there isn't a dump option but you can still harvest yeast if you want. I don't do it often, but I've had success just draining the fermentor from the bottom port and the dumping the yeast from the cone into mason jars. In all fairness, I've never gone more than one additional batch.

For the record, I'm not against plastic buckets or glass carboys - I will still use them if needed - but do prefer the SS bucket.

 

[Brew Cat]

I brew about the same rate a year (wanna do more, but life...). I switched from plastic buckets to a 7-gallon SS Brew Bucket and love it. I went with the temp control option (poor man's version... cooler with frozen water bottles instead of a glycol chiller), but with your setup I'd just do the temp probe like Semper recommends.

To Dave's point, there isn't a dump option but you can still harvest yeast if you want. I don't do it often, but I've had success just draining the fermentor from the bottom port and the dumping the yeast from the cone into mason jars. In all fairness, I've never gone more than one additional batch.

For the record, I'm not against plastic buckets or glass carboys - I will still use them if needed - but do prefer the SS bucket.

I have the 7 gallon stainless but the above 14 gallon is on my wish list
probably wont get it
I have too many kettles and buckets already

 

[Hawkbox]

I have 2 brew buckets and they're great generally. They do suck for transiting wort, if you're doing a group brew and going home with it they're top heavy as hell. I also have 2 fermonsters and I have no issues with plastic, at some point they will be degraded but I've never had an infection with one. I did have one crack though.

 

[Zambi]

I'm happy with my speidel.
But I am also happy with my homemade stainless milking can fermenter.
I think temperature control and hygiene is more important than the fermenter material

 

[Craigerrr]

I AM against glass carboys...
Google "glass carboy injury" and see the damage they can do.
My injury was pretty minor, only took 3 or 4 months to heal. Took a bit to figure out how to change my fingerprint on my phone.
I can share pictures of my accident if you like...

 

[Donoroto]

…or the “Bloody Finger” recipe.