Home of the BrewNosers

Merry Christmas everyone!

While searching for Christmas presents for a certain dashingly good looking homebrewer, I stumbled upon the FastFerment conical on Dave's site.
https://www.everwoodavebrewshop.com/pro ... t-conical/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyone seen/used/read anything about this? Seems reasonable?

Thanks

Josh

they are amazing.. ill never ise a bucket again... that is all

See...now I want one...I need a 2nd job

What about temp control? I use a heater wrap on my carboys. Can't see that working very well.

looks great, but the $120 a pop is a quite pricey for very little added benefits

Looks pretty spiffy. Now can somebody make a SS or glass version

GasMD30 wrote:Merry Christmas everyone!

While searching for Christmas presents for a certain dashingly good looking homebrewer.

Josh

I'm trying to get a Brewnoser's calendar going to raise funds for my new mega-brewery (going it alone). So far I have Keith naked in the dark for January, Keith again February ...naked yoga. Would you consider the March position?

ps. don't mess about with plastic things like that, throw the yeast in the boil pot and put the lid on (the pot, ball valves etc. are all sanitised by the boil), keg or bottle 4 - 7 days later. That's what I do, and I do that because of what I learnt from real ale techniques in the UK. In North America the idea is to get the beer off the nasty yeast ASAP, in the UK the idea is to keep the beer on the lovely yeast. What's the German approach Josh?

GuingesRock wrote:
I'm trying to get a Brewnoser's calendar going to raise funds for my new mega-brewery (going it alone). So far I have Keith naked in the dark for January, Keith again February ...naked yoga. Would you consider the March position?

Need money? Does NS give modifiers for after 6pm and procedures? Run an evening clinic for wart removal! Nitrogen that shit off! Cha-ching!

I hate that stuff Josh, especially working in the evenings. I'd rather pimp Brewnosers on calendars.

GasMD30 wrote:Merry Christmas everyone!

While searching for Christmas presents for a certain dashingly good looking homebrewer

Josh

Jeez, Josh, you shouldn't have. Now I got to go out and get a gift for you.

Tony L wrote:

GasMD30 wrote:Merry Christmas everyone!

While searching for Christmas presents for a certain dashingly good looking homebrewer

Josh

Jeez, Josh, you shouldn't have. Now I got to go out and get a gift for you.

Sorry, but had to post some laugh emoticons

Every stunning guy should have a mirror, get him a mirror Tony, I have several.

GuingesRock wrote:ps. don't mess about with plastic things like that, throw the yeast in the boil pot and put the lid on (the pot, ball valves etc. are all sanitised by the boil), keg or bottle 4 - 7 days later. That's what I do, and I do that because of what I learnt from real ale techniques in the UK. In North America the idea is to get the beer off the nasty yeast ASAP, in the UK the idea is to keep the beer on the lovely yeast. What's the German approach Josh?

Hey Mark, I'm curious about this comment as it seems to be a bit confusing. How long do real English ales stay on the yeast cake? If you are following this technique why do you keg 4-7 days later? That's even less time then the most conservative (and out-dated) brewing techniques here in the NA. I've never read anything about the yeast cake providing any benefit to the beer (as it is mostly dead yeast and other trub)

Traditionally in North America the conventional home brew technique was to keep beer in the primary for 7 days, transfer to secondary for 2 more weeks then bottle (the old 1-2-3 rule). There were a few reasons for this, including removing the beer from the yeast cake to avoid off flavours from dead yeast. And once in secondary there is a layer of yeast that the beer sits on for as long as it's in the secondary anyway. However it is common knowledge that the off flavours sometimes induced by the yeast cake don't occur over a week or even 4 if kept at proper temperature. Even on HBT.com there is a general consensus that 4 weeks in the primary is perfectly acceptable. So while there are those who transfer to secondary after a week out of habit, neither myself, Noble or Wine Kitz promote that exclusively. Commercial brewing is a different beast completely.

GasMD30 wrote:Anyone seen/used/read anything about this? Seems reasonable?
Josh

But to get this thread back to the original topic. I agree with Jonathan, the FastFerment concials are awesome. You can keep the beer on the yeast for as long as you want. While a small number of folks have had issues with plastic, proper sanitation and care can keep any plastic fermenter in brewing shape for years. I'm still using the buckets I got from The Brewing Center (Pre-Noble Grape) back in 2000 when I moved to Halifax. The benefit of the wide-mouth is that you can easily clean the fermenter with your hands, and be as gentle as you feel necessary. I like the ability to mount it to the wall, the available thermometer and the 30L size. Overall a well designed product and I wish I could justify taking more from my inventory!

Dave

Dave what are most people who use this doing for temp control?

EverwoodAveBrewShop wrote:

GuingesRock wrote:ps. don't mess about with plastic things like that, throw the yeast in the boil pot and put the lid on (the pot, ball valves etc. are all sanitised by the boil), keg or bottle 4 - 7 days later. That's what I do, and I do that because of what I learnt from real ale techniques in the UK. In North America the idea is to get the beer off the nasty yeast ASAP, in the UK the idea is to keep the beer on the lovely yeast. What's the German approach Josh?

Hey Mark, I'm curious about this comment as it seems to be a bit confusing. How long do real English ales stay on the yeast cake? If you are following this technique why do you keg 4-7 days later? That's even less time then the most conservative (and out-dated) brewing techniques here in the NA. I've never read anything about the yeast cake providing any benefit to the beer (as it is mostly dead yeast and other trub)

Traditionally in North America the conventional home brew technique was to keep beer in the primary for 7 days, transfer to secondary for 2 more weeks then bottle (the old 1-2-3 rule). There were a few reasons for this, including removing the beer from the yeast cake to avoid off flavours from dead yeast. And once in secondary there is a layer of yeast that the beer sits on for as long as it's in the secondary anyway. However it is common knowledge that the off flavours sometimes induced by the yeast cake don't occur over a week or even 4 if kept at proper temperature. Even on HBT.com there is a general consensus that 4 weeks in the primary is perfectly acceptable. So while there are those who transfer to secondary after a week out of habit, neither myself, Noble or Wine Kitz promote that exclusively. Commercial brewing is a different beast completely.


Dave

Dave, commercially in the UK, a normal gravity real ale is put in a cask after 7 days and secondary fermentation occurs in the vessel from which the beer is to be served (i.e. cask or bottle), which is one of the requirements for real ale. The design of the cask is such that as the beer is poured, it draws over the surface of the yeast that has settled to the bottom of the cask, which is said to impart some of the character that real ale has, compared to the "cleaner" beers of North America.

Someone posted a video of the Maine Beer Company that I watched. Their Lunch IPA is rapidly becoming famous. They bottle condition all of their beers, because they believe it makes a much better beer. I think it might be the yeast in the bottles improving the flavour.

I “keg condition” my beers by kegging after a 4 – 7 day ferment into kegs with shortened dip tubes (1 ½”), then letting secondary fermentation occur in the keg. The yeast settles to the bottom of the keg and when the beer is eventually served it is drawn over the surface of the yeast at the bottom of the keg as it passes towards the dip tube.

I will bottle from the kegs to send to competitions, by then the beer has cleared, but I still believe the beer picks up yeast flavours that are transferred to the bottle.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Question for you Dave, because I don’t know the answer. You say “it’s mostly dead yeast.” …is the yeast dead? And what percentage of the yeast that has settled at the bottom of a cask of real ale would be dead, around the three week mark, when it was being drunk? real ale is often said to be "living"

If you hang this translucent plastic container up on a wall with beer in it, won't the beer get skunked?

I'm not sure about that, but I know plastic absorbs UV quite well. Unless you blasted it with fluorescent light or the sun I figure it would be fine.

after almost 5 months i received my 2 fast ferments xmas eve (still not all the parts), just put my first batch into them today. for temp control i spiraled a brew belt and taped it in place with tarp tape, bought one of those windshield insulators from the dollar store to keep in the heat (basement is about 11* in the winter) wrapped and taped that. honestly so far i'm not terribly impressed by them. it seemed like a great concept to save time/exposure to 02, dumping trub ect. the one thing i realized is if you remove the ball and empty it then open the valve on an empty air filled ball you basically bast air though the wort. what do you do? purge the ball with co2? rack the ball with beer before you put it back on? funnel wort from the valve into the ball before you attach it? seems like its really not making things easier. dont get me wrong dothink that it is a good product but in my case i think i shouldnt order things on the internet while im drinking, saved my money untill i could buy a conical.

My wife picked me up one of these for a xmas gift. Initial thoughts were "this thing is cool as hell!". Made up a stand for it on the weekend...soaked and cleaned all the parts, assembled according to the instructions, wrapping everything with plumbers tape that needed to be. Filled thing this up with water to test for leaks...and it leaked in every spot I put the plumbers tape lol...so will have to disassemble and rewrap to see where I messed up. Based on that...my thoughts on this thing is its more trouble than good. And it's awkward as shit to carry around when its full! This thing should come with that straps...not as an add on accessory. I'm brewing tonight...was hoping to use it for tonight's brew...but i'm not sure i want to eff around with this more. Keep an eye in the classified section in the next few days...

mckay75 wrote:My wife picked me up one of these for a xmas gift. Initial thoughts were "this thing is cool as hell!". Made up a stand for it on the weekend...soaked and cleaned all the parts, assembled according to the instructions, wrapping everything with plumbers tape that needed to be. Filled thing this up with water to test for leaks...and it leaked in every spot I put the plumbers tape lol...so will have to disassemble and rewrap to see where I messed up. Based on that...my thoughts on this thing is its more trouble than good. And it's awkward as shit to carry around when its full! This thing should come with that straps...not as an add on accessory. I'm brewing tonight...was hoping to use it for tonight's brew...but i'm not sure i want to eff around with this more. Keep an eye in the classified section in the next few days...

I had leaks on both of mine as well. i tend to agree with you, quite awkward to carry even with the straps. my temp control by taping the heat belts around it works marginally at best, plus theres a plastic flavour in the brew thats in it now, dont know if its an infection or the container itself. kegging is the only place i can see this being of much use

Just added 5 buckets to my inventory at 6.5 gallons each at a cost of $105, tax in. Based on the above reviews, kinda thinking it was the right choice.

I just added 4 buckets myself and am completely happy with them so far.

RossBee wrote:Just added 5 buckets to my inventory at 6.5 gallons each at a cost of $105, tax in. Based on the above reviews, kinda thinking it was the right choice.

You guys still have it wrong

I keep sayin, just chill the wort in the boil kettle, chuck in the yeast and put the lid on.

I) zero f'ing around.

2) The kettle becomes an instant SS fermentor which has been thoroughly sanitized by the boil, including ball valves etc. (lid needs to be sprayed with starsan or put in the oven).

3) After a week or so, bottle or keg to kegs with shortened dip tubes (1 1/2"), for bottle conditioning/keg conditioning. With ales I do 4-7 days in the kettle (7 days if I am dry hopping, with the dry hops put in on day 4), then 7-10 days in the keg at room temperature, then in to the keezer it goes on CO2.

5) You can also make real ale this way by moving to the kegs around day 4-5, as described in the real ale thread.

6) The biggest criticism I've received on this is it ties up your kettle, but the kettle is freed up after 4 - 7 days and I don't brew more often than that. Can get another kettle also.

GuingesRock wrote: 6) The biggest criticism I've received on this is it ties up your kettle, but the kettle is freed up after 4 - 7 days and I don't brew more often than that. Can get another kettle also.

For me the biggest issue is temperature control. How are you doing this? I put my fermenting bucket in a mini fridge (that I previously had as a beer fridge) hooked up to a temperature controller.

CartoonCod wrote:

GuingesRock wrote: 6) The biggest criticism I've received on this is it ties up your kettle, but the kettle is freed up after 4 - 7 days and I don't brew more often than that. Can get another kettle also.

For me the biggest issue is temperature control. How are you doing this? I put my fermenting bucket in a mini fridge (that I previously had as a beer fridge) hooked up to a temperature controller.

Biggest issue for me too!

I installed a built in immersion chiller, which works as a wort chiller as well as for fermentation temperature control. http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewto ... =25#p86691" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I also added a boil coil: http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewto ... 50#p103663" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I do 10 gallon batches that way, but a 5 gallon batch would be more mobile and could be moved to a fermentation chamber, same as a bucket.

CartoonCod wrote:I'm not sure about that, but I know plastic absorbs UV quite well. Unless you blasted it with fluorescent light or the sun I figure it would be fine.

re. skunking.

Still not sure about this. Polythene greenhouses let the UV rays through. Those UV rays change to infra red when they hit the soil, and the infra red is trapped inside the polythene, and so the greenhouse warms up.

Maybe the effect is minimal but all these little things can add up.

I saw one of these in NG last week. I couldn't really get the idea, tried turning my head sideways, but that didn't help either.