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My current fermentation setup is the basic glass carboy. I never rack to secondary. Lately I've had my eye on this sexy piece of kit [ http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/SS_BrewT ... onical.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ]. I'm having a hard time getting past the "want" over the "need" factor. I guess what I'm wondering is, will this produce better beer, or would it simply provide sex appeal and convenience?

Some say getting the beer off the trub during secondary fermentation is very important. I've tried both, and haven't really seen any benefit. Does having less beer in contact with the trub make a difference.

Are there any benefits to this other than the obvious: easier to clean, run off the trub after primary fermentation, pressurized transfer, yadda, yadda.

While I realize that you can buy the best equipment and still produce mediocre beer (after all it is all about your process), at that price tag, I'd want to make sure that I was buying something that would improve the quality of my beer at least a little.

Convince me, and then I'll work on convincing the powers that be!

it's pretty for sure...but I'm still a cheap ass brewer lol...that is a lot of beer I could have made.
for me it's like buying a fancy wallet...fancy meaning pricey...if I spent all of my cash on the wallet I wouldn't have any cash left to fill it.

but that's just me...I'm not at the point in my brewing where I feel I should upgrade...I still am figuring out my water

jacinthebox wrote:it's pretty for sure...but I'm still a cheap ass brewer lol...that is a lot of beer I could have made.
for me it's like buying a fancy wallet...fancy meaning pricey...if I spent all of my cash on the wallet I wouldn't have any cash left to fill it.

but that's just me...I'm not at the point in my brewing where I feel I should upgrade...I still am figuring out my water

And that's exactly the point of this post! I have A LOT left to learn, but I also suffer from shiny object syndrome! It is sooooo pretty though!!!!

If it isn't going to help make better beer, then perhaps I should invest in a fermentation chamber first.

Personally I'm going to be looking at a conical this year. Here is my reasoning.

Brewing 25-30 Gallon batches. Less foot print.
Less sediment transfer to kegs
Easily rack from fermenter to keg under pressure
1 vessel vs 6
Easier to clean
Easier to dump trub

mstead wrote:
If it isn't going to help make better beer, then perhaps I should invest in a fermentation chamber first.

I'd say fermentation control is more important. (says the guy with a swamp cooler for temp control)

LeafMan66_67 wrote:I'd say fermentation control is more important.

^^^This.

You certainly do not need a conical to make good beer. Plain and simple. It will impress your buddies and that's about it. Cleanliness, pitch rate and temperature control are all factors that are MUCH more important than you fermentation vessel. You want to invest a little? I suggest getting a fridge and a good temp controller, which will also allow you to brew Lagers and cold crash your brews. I shared your syndrome a few years ago and bought a shiny conical, thinking it would make me a better brewer. I sold it after 3 batches and came back to good old carboys (I like seeing what's going on in the fermenter). Remember: bad beer in a shiny fermenter or flowing out of your kickass kegerator remains bad beer. Hope that helps.

I have one. In the winter my basement is fairly cold so I only need to heat to control the temperature. Fairly easy with a brew belt and a temperature controller utilizing the thermowell.

I do BIAB and I have never liked all of the trub and hops that end up in the fermentor even though I'm not sure if it really matters. So it works well to get rid of that material before fermentation picks up.

However, the one thing I have found is that I can't actually dump all of the trub after fermentation. It will dump some fine and then it tends to "tunnel" which results in good beer coming out while trub is stuck to the sides at the bottom of the conical. I don't know if this is a problem that is eliminated by larger conicals?

I like it cause it allows me to sample beer easily and I like the idea of eventually being able to fill my kegs without gravity by pressurizing. It is also kind of fun to have a new toy to play with and it does look nice. Does it really produce better beer...I doubt it.

I could convince you but I think 7 gallons is too small for an SS conical given the price and the added work. More stuff to clean (fittings, o-rings, valves). Just MHO.

A conical will only provide convenience, not better beer. Your process, control, and sanitation are what is really important. One could argue that the stainless is easier to sanitize, but that's about it.

With that being said, I love my conical

The fridge, conical, temp control, etc, etc, I use cost me less than $300. I can make up to 13 gallons in it. Works pretty good.

http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewto ... =41&t=6204" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jimmy wrote:A conical will only provide convenience, not better beer. Your process, control, and sanitation are what is really important. One could argue that the stainless is easier to sanitize, but that's about it.

With that being said, I love my conical

id rock one if they were cheap...and large enuf for 10gal batches...and if they were cheap....

did I mention they'd have to be cheap

I don't regret my 14.5 Blichmann conical one bit. It was a retirement gift to myself since I knew after I retired I could never ever afford one. I did smuggle it up from the US though as it was half of what it was up here in Canada.

McGruff wrote:I don't regret my 14.5 Blichmann conical one bit. It was a retirement gift to myself since I knew after I retired I could never ever afford one. I did smuggle it up from the US though as it was half of what it was up here in Canada.

Where did you get it?

And did you have to smuggle it?

i'm happy with my carboys, unless i ever scale up to >15gal. cheap, clean, and i like their appearance. but to each their own

Check this experiment from Brulosophy:
http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-gr ... ts-are-in/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I recall there was an old BrewingTV episode where they talked about either John Palmer or Jamil Zainasheff going back to carboys.

Sent from the brew timer.

Jimmy wrote:A conical will only provide convenience, not better beer. Your process, control, and sanitation are what is really important. One could argue that the stainless is easier to sanitize, but that's about it.

With that being said, I love my conical

I agree with this.
I had one a few years ago and yes it was nice to use and look at, but to tell the truth, it was a chore to clean. Time you took apart all the valves, cleaned the gunk out and sanitized everything, it took up a lot of time.
Give me a nice better Bottle anytime now.

I bought my conical in Texas and shipped it to a family member who drove it up here in the summer. That was back in 2005 where only one store in Canada sold them and they wanted $1000.00, plus tax and shipping. I am not sure if I would do it again as I was breaking the law.