Homebrewers Association | AHA Forum
General Category => Yeast and Fermentation => Topic started by: will on April 02, 2011, 03:33:59 AM
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Any advice would be awesome!
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If you have the money...Blichmann Fermenators are great and I'm biased towards them.
http://www.blichmannengineering.com/fermentor/fermentor.html
...but some folks prefer the morebeer version.
https://morebeer.com/view_product/10773
The advantages of using conical fermentors are the following:
- Ability to get most of beer in fermenter
- Ability to remove trub (allowing for a secondary fermentation in the same container)
- Ability to harvest yeast
The main disadvantage is the cost but I think the advantages can justify the cost. YMMV.
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Pros: They are great for dumping cold and hot break material. They are great for collecting yeast.
Cons: Unless you have temperature control on them, such as a fridge you can put them in, or a basement that is at a constant fermenting temp they will be somewhat useless. I have two morebeer 12 gallon conical fermenters, but I have a big Trauslen two door fridge to stick them in.
Conclusion: It's a luxury item that only benefits those with temperature control. There are other inexpensive and practical fermenters, such as carboys or other 15 gal stainless steel kegs that can be converted into fermenters.
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My question was more of tips on use. I bought a 14 gallon temp controlled conical from more beer. It's beautiful. Sunday is the maiden voyage.
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haha, oh! Make sure all valves are sealed, and all tri-clamps and tri-clamp gaskets are snug before filling. You might want to mark the rotating racking arm so you know when it's in the up position and when it's in the down position.
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I always wait about 2 hours after filling for everything to settle and then dump the trub just before oxygenating and pitching.
It takes a couple of tries to learn when the best time to harvest the yeast for each strain. (If you are going to harvest from the bottom.) With a real flocculent strain (like WLP002) I will harvest the day I start to cool or the next day, or the yeast will be too thick to come out. With a medium flocculent strain (like WLP001) I will wait a couple of days and so on. You will need to figure out what’s best for the yeast you like.
+1 on temp control, but I am from Vegas and it is almost impossible to make a good beer without temp control.
Matt
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+1 on temp control, it is impossible to make a good beer without temp control.
fixed that for ya! ;) I like the new More Beer temp controlled conicals. the tri clamp fiting make it way better than the blickmann's IMO (and I have 4 blichmann's that I installed tri-clamp finttings on). Good choice and report back on how well it works.
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There is a third option, Brewhemoth. There is a chilling option with them also, and the price is fantastic.
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THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON to use a stainless conical over a glass carboy is the improved safety. I really like my Blichman conical. But does it make better beer? Probably not. But I don't have to worry about severing a limb.
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So I was to hungover to brew today so next Sunday will be the maiden voyage. Everything looks good, all seals hold, all controls work. Built an easily cleaned transfer line with quick disconnects. The conical is awesome. can't wait to use it.
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So I was to hungover to brew today so next Sunday will be the maiden voyage. Everything looks good, all seals hold, all controls work. Built an easily cleaned transfer line with quick disconnects. The conical is awesome. can't wait to use it.
weak.
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SS is pricey! Anybody have any thoughts about this? I've looked at them for awhile now, and my 6.5 gal carboy died in a tragic accident...
http://www.minibrew.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=7
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SS is pricey! Anybody have any thoughts about this? I've looked at them for awhile now, and my 6.5 gal carboy died in a tragic accident...
http://www.minibrew.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=7
That seems pretty pricey for a plastic one - of course it's far less than the price for the stainless ones from MoreBeer (The 7.5 gallon one w/o any of the heating/cooling extras runs $895.)
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SS is pricey! Anybody have any thoughts about this? I've looked at them for awhile now, and my 6.5 gal carboy died in a tragic accident...
http://www.minibrew.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=7
That seems pretty pricey for a plastic one - of course it's far less than the price for the stainless ones from MoreBeer (The 7.5 gallon one w/o any of the heating/cooling extras runs $895.)
It is pricey for what seems to be an upside down bucket with a nose. Was wondering if anyone went for it and what they think.
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THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON to use a stainless conical over a glass carboy is the improved safety. I really like my Blichman conical. But does it make better beer? Probably not. But I don't have to worry about severing a limb.
Wait. What? Have there been reasonable glass carboy brewers that have sacrificed limb for their craft?
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THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON to use a stainless conical over a glass carboy is the improved safety. I really like my Blichman conical. But does it make better beer? Probably not. But I don't have to worry about severing a limb.
Wait. What? Have there been reasonable glass carboy brewers that have sacrificed limb for their craft?
I have a friend who almost lost his hand (and an awful lot of blood) once from a broken carboy. Imagine one shattering when you are holding it upside down to drain. All it takes is a little bump. I've broken 2 in 20 years, but never injured myself.
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THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON to use a stainless conical over a glass carboy is the improved safety. I really like my Blichman conical. But does it make better beer? Probably not. But I don't have to worry about severing a limb.
Wait. What? Have there been reasonable glass carboy brewers that have sacrificed limb for their craft?
he's exaggerating a little (I think toes and fingers more common than limbs), but there have been plenty of horror stories posted on the forums about broken carboys and the trips to the emergency room.
the only nice thing about carboys is the voyeuristic aspect. otherwise, they are an obsolete relic of late 20th century brewing ;)
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One of these days I'll get that darn Blichmann conical. 11 yrs brewing, 300+ batches all in carboys, 1 close call. I was rinsing a 6.5g carboy upside down in my laundry sink. It slipped and hit the top corner of my 40 yr. old Maytag washer. I held my breath and waited for the explosion of shards. Nothing. It hit the corner right in the middle of the carboy. Damage: none to the carboy, dented the corner of the washer in, knocking off a chunk of the porcelain? paint. I shoulda bought a lottery ticket that day...
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Why buy a lottery ticket? You used your luck for the day.
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Luck is just probability taken personally. ;)
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SS is pricey! Anybody have any thoughts about this? I've looked at them for awhile now, and my 6.5 gal carboy died in a tragic accident...
http://www.minibrew.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=7
I have two 6.5g minibrew conicals. They work well, as long as you remember to totally disassemble, clean, and sanitize in between batches. The two valves have plastic threaded connections to the conical, have to use a little common sense in tightening them. I typically soak all the pieces in starsan for 30 min, including some teflon thread tape, before putting them together. Then fill them to the top, add an ounce of starsan, let them sit overnight. Drain and cover the top on the morning of my brewday.
With any conical an important thing to remember, especially with ball valves, you have to sanitize the exterior of the valve before you open it. Starsan in a spray bottle is what I use. spray, wait 60 sec, spray it down again, wait 60 sec, take sample or drain trub/break.
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Given the price of the plastic conicals from minibrew, I'd probably rather buy a brewhemoth. Less than $500 shipped, and most of the reviews all seem to be positive. Relatively inexpensive temp control as well, provided you can generate the hot/cold liquid for pumping through the immersion coil.
The reason I'm still fermenting in buckets for now is just volume- I tend to have a batch in primary and secondary at all times (well, at least in +1 week, I don't always rack to an actual secondary fermenter), and buying two or three conicals seems like quite an investment compared to just owning six buckets. Plus, my buckets all fit in my chest freezer. Still, someday *dreamy eyes*.
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Luck is just probability taken personally. ;)
heheh and the lottery is a tax on people bad at math! :)
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Luck is just probability taken personally. ;)
heheh and the lottery is a tax on people bad at math! :)
Right ;D
Here's a math illiterate bastard for ya ::)
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/06/lottery-jackpot-winner-claim-prize-wash/
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Luck is just probability taken personally. ;)
heheh and the lottery is a tax on people bad at math! :)
Right ;D
Here's a math illiterate bastard for ya ::)
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/06/lottery-jackpot-winner-claim-prize-wash/
I'm with turbercle on this one (at least I think I am). The lottery is a horrible investment strategy, but inevitably someone will win. If you expect it to be you you're delusional, but hoping is fine. As far as entertainment goes, it's way cheaper than a movie :)
(Yes, I play sometimes. I've won $30. Twice. Net loss though, I'm sure ;) )
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Lottery and nearly all casino games are negative expected value and high variance.
Penny stocks, venture capital, micro-loans etc are positive expected value and high variance so these are clearly the better high variance investments.
Appliance warranties are negative expected value, moderate variance, and have no entertainment value. These seem like the worst investments among these.
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Interesting, and a little cheaper:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/v-vessel.html
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Interesting, and a little cheaper:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/v-vessel.html
Yeah, I've seen that one. You'd better have strong beams in your walls though, as that one is designed to be hung on the wall.
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Lottery and nearly all casino games are negative expected value and high variance.
Penny stocks, venture capital, micro-loans etc are positive expected value and high variance so these are clearly the better high variance investments.
Appliance warranties are negative expected value, moderate variance, and have no entertainment value. These seem like the worst investments among these.
Interesting tangent :)
Penny stocks certainly don't have as high an upside as the lottery.
Any investment with a negative expected value should only be purchased to cover exceptional/catastrophic situations. Insurance covers the 1:1,000,000 case that your house burns down. The lottery is for the 1:300,000,000 case where you win an absurd amount of money that basically makes you a King.
I also believe that the non-linearity of the the utility function of money makes buying one ticket in the lottery a rational choice. The loss of $1 is essentially 0 negative utility for many people, while the gain of millions of dollars is an exponentially larger increase in utility, even if the probability is minute.
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I also believe that the non-linearity of the the utility function of money makes buying one ticket in the lottery a rational choice. The loss of $1 is essentially 0 negative utility for many people, while the gain of millions of dollars is an exponentially larger increase in utility, even if the probability is minute.
Well said
Sounds like a student of Adam Smith.