{"id":4700,"date":"2021-03-19T09:55:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T14:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brewtogether.com\/?p=4700"},"modified":"2022-03-02T11:09:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T16:09:39","slug":"best-conical-fermenters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brewtogether.com\/2021\/03\/19\/best-conical-fermenters\/","title":{"rendered":"The 8 Best Conical Fermenters for Homebrewing [2022]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like most homebrewers, I got my start fermenting in plastic buckets<\/a> and glass carboys<\/a>. While you can make great beer in a plastic brew bucket, they aren’t exactly feature-rich. After hearing too many horror stories of lost beer, deep lacerations, and even death associated with breaking a glass carboy<\/a>, I eventually decided I didn\u2019t want to risk using them anymore and started looking for a better option. After looking at my options and looking at what was most similar to the fermentation tanks used by commercial breweries, I decided that a conical fermenter was the way to go after doing a lot of research. There are a lot of available options, and in this article we focus on conical fermenters that are ideal for standard 5-gallon batches. Here is our guide to the best conical fermenters for homebrewing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Conical Fermenter?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Conical fermenters are cone-shaped fermentation vessels with a valve on the bottom of the cone. As yeast and other solids fall out of suspension during fermentation, they settle in the bottom of the cone. This trub can then be removed from the beer introducing a risk of infection or oxidation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advantages of Conical Fermenters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Conical fermenters have several advantages over carboys and bucket-style fermenters. Here are a few of the main reasons that they are better than flat-bottomed fermenters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No-Transfer Secondary Fermentation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

First, there is no need to transfer to a secondary fermenter with a conical fermenter. You can simply open the bottom valve to remove the sediment that falls out of suspension during primary fermentation. You do not need to risk oxidizing the beer moving it to a second fermenter. This also improves your beer’s clarity, and avoids getting sediment into your kegs or bottles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Yeast Harvesting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Second, the bottom valves on conical fermenters provide you with the ability to harvest viable yeast during fermentation that you can reuse in future batches. Some of the fermenters below use butterfly valves with attachable yeast containers and others have valves to dump the yeast. Harvesting yeast from a carboy is very difficult, and harvesting from a bucket can cause infection issues. Upgrading to a conical fermenter makes yeast harvesting much easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easier Transfers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Conical fermenters have bottom valves and racking arms, making it easier to transfer the beer from the fermenter to a keg or bottles. Personally, I am very happy to not have to mess with siphoning beer anymore! The racking arms are generally able to rotate off of the yeast cake. This rotation results in clear beer and less sediment being transferred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easier to Clean<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Finally, conical fermenters are easier to clean. Most conical fermenters are made from stainless steel or high-quality plastic. This makes them easier to clean than the soft plastic that brew buckets are made from. Conical fermenters have large openings on the top and a bottom valve, making it easy to clean them. You don’t even have to pick them up and dump them out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are Conical Fermenters Worth It?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion, conical fermenters are worth the investment if you can afford one. Luckily, there are some very affordable conical fermenters on the market now! Here is a comparison of what we think are the best conical fermenters for homebrewing. Detailed descriptions of each fermenter are provided under the comparison chart in order of price from low to high. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Conical Fermenters for Homebrewing Comparison Chart<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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