Affordable Conical Fermenter

[jstrausss]

dos anyone own one of these Affordable Conical Fermenter ?? I was thinking of getting this but was wondering if its a good investment. There said to have a thick plastic wall and are good for removing sediment, and taking gravity tests. One thing that I want to ask is how do you know when your brew in this fermenter is ready for the yeast to be pitched ??? with thick plastic walls I guessing I can't use the Temp readers that stick on the outside of brew buckets ? what can I use to check temp ?

[Beerconnoisseur]

1) Use a floating thermometer, and keep the beer covered until you are ready to take the temperature, or

2) Get a wort chiller, and cool the beer down to yeast pitching temperature before the beer ever reaches the fermenter.

[jstrausss]

yes - thanks - but what about holding the temp or making sure it stays within temps as the brew ferments? I'm wondering how people with these types of fermenters can tell if its hold the correct temp or do they keep taking samples . I hope thats not the case because by the time its done you may only have one case of beer left

[Beerconnoisseur]

...they put in a refridgerator, and use a Temperature Controller (http://www.morebeer.com/detail.php3?pid=FE600) to keep the beer at the right temperature (or close to it). That works for lagers; room temperature is usually good enough for most ales.

Or, you could skip the cheap conical altogether, and get one with Internal or External Cooling (http://www.morebeer.com/catalog.php3?secID=befermentors&secName=Conical+Fermenters). But I suppose that would be less than, um, Affordable. :)