SS Brewtech Purchase - What to do...

[zgreenside]

I haven't brewed in what feels like forever, and I want to get back into it full swing, but want to do so with good equipment. I've used budget equipment for a while now, shored up my brewing process, and feel like I can really treat myself to some good equipment and really put it to good use.

I cannot decide what to go with for my fermentor, though I am heavily leaning towards the buckets due to cost.

Brewmaster Bucket 7G - $225
Or
Brewmaster Chronical 7G - $650 plus the FTSS Temp Control - $250

I constantly have multiple beers going at once, so the buckets feel like the obvious choice. My other option would be to go with 10G batches, which would take the place of 2 buckets, but I would end up buying a larger kettle and mash tun, which makes the cost higher, and I'm still only brewing 10G rather than a potential 20G, and I'm limited to a single brew rather than 4 different.

Otherwise, $900 for 1, or $1000 for 4 is almost a no brainer, I think maybe I just need some sense knocked into me, or explained to me why I have to have the Chronical over the buckets (or 1 chronical in addition to a couple buckets, thereby spending more, but the cost being worth it, though I'm not sure why, hence the post).
I really like the Brewmaster, I have seen the other lower end model Chronical, I much prefer to go Brewmaster if I go that route.
I like the chronical mostly for the looks – it looks like pro equipment; why else would I want the chronical over the bucket?
Any other insights or anything I might be missing?

 

[arnobg]

How about for the fact that the Chronical is a conical fermenter and the bucket is just a shiny overpriced....well....bucket. Just my opinion but I think those brew buckets are a waste of money, they do the same thing as a bucket except they're stainless.

A conical allows you to do so much more such as dumping trub and yeast. If you can afford it go for the conical and you won't regret it.

Why not get 2 SS Brewtech Conicals instead of 1 brewmaster edition?

 

[kev211]

I have 2 brew buckets. Love them. The thermowell is with my Johnson temp controller is accurate within 1-2 degrees. Yeah I cant dump trub, but Ive never felt like that was a real downside. For the price difference I would go brew bucket any day.

 

[zgreenside]

How about for the fact that the Chronical is a conical fermenter and the bucket is just a shiny overpriced....well....bucket. Just my opinion but I think those brew buckets are a waste of money, they do the same thing as a bucket except they're stainless.

A conical allows you to do so much more such as dumping trub and yeast. If you can afford it go for the conical and you won't regret it.

Why not get 2 SS Brewtech Conicals instead of 1 brewmaster edition?

That's an option, problem is that they don't fit in my existing ferm cabinet. I would either need to spring for the FTSS for each of them as well, or I would have to build a new cabinet that I really don't have space to add in my garage. Those FTSS's add up - I would end up buying 2 conicals and 2 FTSS units at a cost of around $1400, on top of the cost of the mash tun and kettle, I'd be in the 2k+ range, when realistically I'm trying to stay under $1500 if I can help it.

What are the benefits of being able to remove the trub and yeast off the beer while it's fermenting? Just for clarity and the ability to utilize it as a secondary without transferring to another vessel? I've never had any issues with trub/yeast autolysis so far, but I've also never brewed anything that took longer than a couple months, at which point I thought those issues weren't really existent. This is why I love picking your guys brains on these questions, I never really do think of all the things, and that's something I never really considered.

I have 2 brew buckets. Love them. The thermowell is with my Johnson temp controller is accurate within 1-2 degrees. Yeah I cant dump trub, but Ive never felt like that was a real downside. For the price difference I would go brew bucket any day.

I have the Johnson control unit (well, two, long story) as well, but didn't realize the brew bucket came with a thermowell, which is why I was looking at the brewmaster - which comes with an lcd therm. I could save a little more going with the brew bucket over the brewmaster then too.


I will have to check the sizing on the conicals as well, maybe I miscalculated, and if I can get the non brewmaster conicals to fit in my cabinet, I might be able to go that route since I wouldn't need the FTSS.

Decisions decisions...

 

[kev211]

I have the Johnson control unit (well, two, long story) as well, but didn't realize the brew bucket came with a thermowell, which is why I was looking at the brewmaster - which comes with an lcd therm. I could save a little more going with the brew bucket over the brewmaster then too
Decisions decisions...

The normal one doesnt. Ive purchased the thermowells off of SS's website and drilled the holes myself. I just ordered the brewmaster with the LCD one in hopes that I can remove the LCD and put my controller in its place.

 

[woo_pig]

The normal one doesnt. Ive purchased the thermowells off of SS's website and drilled the holes myself. I just ordered the brewmaster with the LCD one in hopes that I can remove the LCD and put my controller in its place.

Could of drilled the airlock hole out bigger and got a stopper with two holes. One for airlock and one for thermo well.

 

[xipetotec]

The brewmaster brewbucket has a thermowell (it costs $225 vs $195 for the non-brewmaster version).

Personally I have a 14G chronical with FTSS and a 2.5G brewbucket mini with FTSS. They're both great.
My Pros/Cons for the chronical over another fermenter (keep in mind I brew 10 gallon batches):
Pros:
-I don't have to clean/sanitize/maintain two fermenters.
-Because I don't have to split batches into two separate fermenters I just have one pitch of yeast to deal with.
-Pressurized transfers are possible, this is mostly a big deal because I can't fit kegs under the chronical and there's no way in hell I can lift a 14 gallon fermenter full of beer.
-I can dump the trub and harvest the yeast easily if I ever actually felt like doing that.
-Speculation here but 1 14G fermenter is probably easier to cool than 2 7G fermenters.
Cons:
-Price
-I can't do split batches using the chronical unless I bought another one and see the #1 con about that
-Difficult to move while full. Mine is on casters but in my garage its difficult to push around
-Price

Pros of either option over non-stainless options:
-So much easier to clean.
-Not really worries about hidden scratches
-Not worried at all about exploding glass
-Both make really clear beer thanks to the racking port.

For me, if I wasn't doing 10 gallon batches now I wouldn't really see the need to use the more expensive chronicals over the brew buckets. But at 10 gallons I like the ease of use of only having the one large fermenter to deal with.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

I have two SS Brew Buckets with the FTSS and the 14 gallon BME Chronical.

Love them all for different reasons. I love the trub dump, and yeast harvest of the Chronical. It's great getting 4-6 generations on a yeast pack, while being able to work my yeast count up from a blonde to a pale Ale to an IPA then a double IPA. Also love 10 gallon batches.

The brew buckets are just more portable, liftable when full and easier to clean because you can reach all surfaces, and inspect easier. I have been searching for the perfect bitter recipe and yeast combination so I brew 11 gallons and split to try different yeasts. Trub and yeast settle nicely in the cone of the bucket and it's easy to draw off to package without pulling in too much yeast if you crash properly.

Cleaning two Brew Buckets equals cleaning 1 Chronical IMO. If you have the funds, the triclover is the way to go on the Chronical. That said, you should boil the sampling valve (it's a small ball valve) after every fementation and if you are going to boil, you could boil the larger ball valves as well.

One thing that might favor the Buckets in your case is the FTSS. I love it but only because I upgraded my system with a chiller. If you use the cooler and ice block method, it gets to be a complete PITA. The first 6 to 8 times was tolerable for me but after that, I found my life resolving around creating and replacing ice. If you're retired, and home all the time, not a problem, otherwise, a chiller becomes a must have upgrade.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

One thing I would add, and I know some people love them, but a 7 gallon Chronical seems really expensive on a per gallon basis.

I'd also add that good stainless, well taken care of, retains a good part of it's value. So if you get out of the hobby 8 years from now, the stainless brewing equipment might be worth ~60% of what you paid for it which is more then any of us can say about the car we drive everyday.

 

[kev211]

Could of drilled the airlock hole out bigger and got a stopper with two holes. One for airlock and one for thermo well.

I have the blowoff assembly on mine

 

[zgreenside]

The normal one doesnt.

Ah ok, I'm glad you mentioned that because I started leaning heavily towards the normal brew bucket if it had the thermowell. I don't have any interest in drilling one myself or messing with it in any way, I just want plug and play, so the extra $30 is worth in for me.

Pros:
-I don't have to clean/sanitize/maintain two fermenters.
-Because I don't have to split batches into two separate fermenters I just have one pitch of yeast to deal with.
-Pressurized transfers are possible, this is mostly a big deal because I can't fit kegs under the chronical and there's no way in hell I can lift a 14 gallon fermenter full of beer.
-I can dump the trub and harvest the yeast easily if I ever actually felt like doing that.
-Speculation here but 1 14G fermenter is probably easier to cool than 2 7G fermenters.
Cons:
-Price
-I can't do split batches using the chronical unless I bought another one and see the #1 con about that
-Difficult to move while full. Mine is on casters but in my garage its difficult to push around
-Price

Pros of either option over non-stainless options:
-So much easier to clean.
-Not really worries about hidden scratches
-Not worried at all about exploding glass
-Both make really clear beer thanks to the racking port.

I really like and very much appreciate this list of pros and cons, it's helped me go through and decide which of those are most important to me, thank you!

I have two SS Brew Buckets with the FTSS and the 14 gallon BME Chronical.

Love them all for different reasons. I love the trub dump, and yeast harvest of the Chronical. It's great getting 4-6 generations on a yeast pack, while being able to work my yeast count up from a blonde to a pale Ale to an IPA then a double IPA. Also love 10 gallon batches.

I do like the ability to have the trub dump, but the cost to be able to get that just doesn't seem practical to me for what you get. It takes a little more work and time to rack it to a new bucket or rack it to the keg to let it clarify than to dump it, but for how much extra that feature costs, I definitely feel I'm more made up on what I want to do now.

The brew buckets are just more portable, liftable when full and easier to clean because you can reach all surfaces, and inspect easier.

Exactly why I want to go SS over continuing to use plastic or glass. So easy to clean, not scratchable, just expensive in comparison.

One thing that might favor the Buckets in your case is the FTSS. I love it but only because I upgraded my system with a chiller. If you use the cooler and ice block method, it gets to be a complete PITA. The first 6 to 8 times was tolerable for me but after that, I found my life resolving around creating and replacing ice. If you're retired, and home all the time, not a problem, otherwise, a chiller becomes a must have upgrade.

I was originally thinking about this, watching videos to see how people did cooling, and that would just plain suck after a while. My first thoughts were "How bad could it be, just rotate 1G water jugs from cooler to freezer" but seeing you say that is a huge turn off. I'm not retired or home all the time, I'm home almost never unless it's the weekend, and even those are spotty. I like to be able to set it and forget it...I would be able to likely use a stand up freezer I am getting to keep stuff cool in the summer, and I could use the FTSS to keep it warm in the winter since an aquarium heater is pretty "set-it and forget-it", so I think I could find ways around that. Something to consider for sure.

So if you get out of the hobby 8 years from now, the stainless brewing equipment might be worth ~60% of what you paid for it which is more then any of us can say about the car we drive everyday.

This is a good point. I want to maintain my equipment so I don't have to buy new equipment again, and hopefully (if I do ever leave the hobby), I can do just that and get back some of what I put into it.

Thank you for all the insight, I very much appreciate all the comments and suggestions!

 

[kev211]

Ah ok, I'm glad you mentioned that because I started leaning heavily towards the normal brew bucket if it had the thermowell. I don't have any interest in drilling one myself or messing with it in any way, I just want plug and play, so the extra $30 is worth in for me.

Ya. Now granted, SS sells a 17mm punch that you can use, but by the time you buy that and a thermowell you're over 30 bucks. I just used a step bit I had in my tool chest and it worked great.

I emailed them yesterday and the LCD is removable so you can use your temp controller or the LCD

 

[Vandulus]

The normal one doesnt. Ive purchased the thermowells off of SS's website and drilled the holes myself. I just ordered the brewmaster with the LCD one in hopes that I can remove the LCD and put my controller in its place.

Yes you can. I use an Inkbird for temperature control and the probe fits perfectly in the thermowell.

I've had 2 BrewMaster Buckets for about a year and couldn't be happier. Here are my opinions (feel free to ignore)
- I skipped the FTSS route as the cost was too high for both of my Brew Buckets >> $250 per bucket for FTSS and $1000 for their glycol chiller system. Plus I really didn't want to clean the coils after every batch. I went with a kegerator for a fermentation chamber at a cost of around $350 each including an Inkbird. If space is a limitation, then the FTSS system would make more sense.
- Whatever system you choose, the set it and forget it is wonderful. When I have to travel out of town for a few days due to work or my kid's sporting event, I don't worry about replacing any cooling agents (other than the power failing).
- Buy the BrewMaster Buckets which include the thermowell. That way if there are any leaks, it's their fault, not yours. SS BrewTech has great customer service.
- Stainless is a joy to use >> Easy to clean, easy to move, sturdy and dammit if I don't love the bling.
- I stopped harvesting yeast from the fermenter and make over-sized starters instead. My reasoning is that it'll be less stressed and you don't have any of the grain or hop particulate matter to deal with.
- Instead of worry about trub in the fermenter, I've tried reducing via whirl-pooling the wort, using a 300 micron hop screen, BIAB and then cold crashing before bottling.