DIY Fast Ferment Conical Fermenter

[bionut]

I am myself a DIY guy, but still don't see any advantages for using a conical in homebrewing. Commercial breweries brew at least 4-5bbl, there the beer staying on the yeast cake/trub could be a problem because of the surface/volume ratio. In homebrewing the yeast cake won't affect the beer in any way, at least with a normal fermenting time. BTW, i saw some craft breweries that were using cylindrical tanks for fermenting, is not a norm to use conical, it's just easier to just dump the yeast from the beer, chill it and carbonate it in the same tank. You can't do that with yours. I respect your work, but i only see a conical in homebrewing as a bling.
I thought that secondary fermentation was debunked long time ago, it brings nothing to the table.
I hope this won't seem like i busting you nut, i just wanted to tell my opinion about the subject. Matter of fact i would like a conical myself, but only if i could force carbonate in it
You conical turned out great, btw

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

Thanks bionut. It would be nice to have a stainless steel one that I could force carb. in. I started the home brewing hobby around last January and I have really gotten into it, wanting to learn everything and anything about it. Every batch is a learning experience, finding new techniques, researching new equipment, getting better efficiency, modifying recipes, etc. I find myself enjoying brewing even more than drinking beer itself. I love this forum site, as it is full of brewers working together to make better beer! Cheers!

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

Check out this video of my beer fermenting. It looks like a rolling boil. It has been 24 hours and the krausen has already disappeared. Unfortunately I have had some trouble adjusting the amount of jugs of ice I need in the jacket to control my temp (first run) and it is fermenting at a pretty high temp of 84! I put another 1 gallon ice jug in there hoping to try to get it down and im about to squeeze in another. Im want it to plummet to 65 ASAP.

https://youtu.be/P56K_EFzfjE

 

[treacheroustexan]

Check out this video of my beer fermenting. It looks like a rolling boil. It has been 24 hours and the krausen has already disappeared. Unfortunately I have had some trouble adjusting the amount of jugs of ice I need in the jacket to control my temp (first run) and it is fermenting at a pretty high temp of 84! I put another 1 gallon ice jug in there hoping to try to get it down and im about to squeeze in another. Im want it to plummet to 65 ASAP.

https://youtu.be/P56K_EFzfjE

How long has it been at 84? That might not be good.

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

for about 6 hours or so. I got it down to 81.7 in the past hour and a half. I just put another gallon of ice in there (4-gallon ice jugs now). Hoping this can plummet ASAP! I might dump all of my Ice I have in my fridge in a garbage bag and put that in there too. This happened because I pitched my yeast when it was about 75 degrees. This is my first 5 gallon batch. I used to do about 2.5 gallon batches and it did not have nearly as much as an exothermic reaction creating such a spike in temp! Ill cool my wort down to 60 the next time before I pitch, preparing for such a spike. It should not be that bad. I caught the problem and I am fixing it as fast as I can.

 

[user 40839]

That beer's gonna taste.. interesting!

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

I got it down to 74 with basically all the Ice I had. This is still pretty high and its been a little past 48 hours since I pitched the yeast. I have now moved the fermentation jacket into my closet in my house which is 73 degrees vs. the 85 degree garage (against my fiance's demands). This should be easier to control the temp in here. First runs with new equipment can either go really well or horrible with lessons to learn. I'm dealing with the latter. If I would have pitched us-05 this would not be much of a deal, but it's nottingham which operates in low temps. Just threw more Ice in there and I'm hoping I can get it below 70 overnight, being in the 73 degree closet and having atleast a 10 degree drop in the fermentation jacket. The beer smells good, but still does not have that smoked smell I am looking for (prob. the esters added took that away). We will see my friends.

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

UPDATE: I got down below 70 at about 2.5 days. No off smells, except there is a dark chocolate smell despite never using chocolate malt. I am still looking for the smoked smell that I want. I am hoping the smoke will come out more as the sugars continue to get eaten. Adding vanilla beans at week three to the fermenter may help cover up any "fruity off flavors'' that have been created. We will see.

 

[frankdontsurf]

Great