I ferment in 6.5 gallon plastic pales. They’ve been working well, but have been getting some slightly off batches lately. I’ve gotten a few years out of the buckets so probably a good time to replace them. Maybe even upgrade to a stainless one. Chapman has a 7 gallon fermenter than might fit in my my fridge if I modify the inside moulding on the door. Not sure. Anyone have other suggestions? The plastic pale is a tight fit in the fridge as it is. Not much extra wiggle room.
By all means, get a new fermenter. Upgrading is always fun.
I’m just curious as to what leads you to believe the old fermenter is the cause of the “off batches”. Plastic pales can last a long time.
Upgrading is fun, isn’t it?
Short version:
Nothing in particular points at the plastic pales. They’ve worked out quite well, and for $16 I should probably just buy a couple more and be done with it. I do like the durability/insurance of stainless, just not sure I’m going to find something in the size I need.
The longer version:
I guess one thing I’ve noticed is when sampling a fermenting IPA batch from day-to-day, I notice a lot of changes going on in flavor and aroma. I used to get this wonderful smell and flavor on day 3 that was just awesome, but by day 14 it was considerably diminished. Still pretty good, just not the “wow!”. The past 6 months or so, though, every batch using the same recipe has been like “meh” both at day 3 and 14. I try to turn “all the dials” to the same settings for every batch (mash temp, minerals, yeast nutrient, starter, hop charges, etc) but not sure what’s going on. Also I’ve been getting like 7.5% and 8% IPAs when I’ve been shooting for 6.5%. I did get two new sacks of grain last fall and even though it was the same 2row and Maris, it’s like their is more octane coming out of these sacks.
I don’t rememer when I last changed the carbon filter so I did that on my last batch. LHBS was out of WLP002 so I had to use Lallemand ESB. So, even though other factors are as consistent as I can make them, the yeast makes this a “test batch”. I only brew once a month so it’s hard to make good comparisons, even when looking at my notes in Brewfather.
So, that’s a lot, but kind of what led me to thinking about a stainless fermenter. Maybe I’ve scratched it somewhere and stuff is hanging out in there and getting funky during ferment. It’s really just speculation though.
SS Brewtech has a 7 gal Brew Bucket you might be interested in.
Anvil has a 7.5 gallon fermenter you may want to take a look at
If you are looking at upgrading fermenters, don’t overlook the Kegland All-rounder. It can be fitted with a floating dip tube and a spunding valve for pressure fermenting (if you like, but clearly don’t have to). They are relatively cheap and you can watch fermentation through the clear plastic (I cover mine to avoid any light striking issues, though).
Cheers on your hunt.
Thanks all. I think the Chapman 7 gallon might fit in my fridge. Not much room at the top. I have to use a 90 elbow and blowoff hose instead of a airlock. The Anvil and other mentions are super nice, just too big.
The ball valve looks annoying to take off and clean. Would a tri clamp setup of some kind be easier or are they just as much work to disassemble?
I have been using steel fermenters (2 different models). Overall that’s the way to go. IMHO
I have been using steel fermenters (2 different models). Overall that’s the way to go. IMHO
I’m liking the Chapman and it fit the fridge pretty well!
Ended up going with a tri-clamp and mini ball valve though. It’s just easier to clean but the original valve is in the pic.
