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  • Converting Dairy tanks to a fermentors

    Any feedback on how well refrigerated dairy tanks work as fermentors? If so what is the best way to use them. Can the refrigeration component be modified to be able to adjust the temperature?

  • #2
    you could do it, but it is a huge pain in the ass

    Originally posted by Ullmer's Dairy
    This can be done with the dome top style tanks with a little bit of work to the tanks. The cooling controls on these tanks will cool but i think that it would be to cold for the wort. You could use the copper lines in the tank with a glycol chiller instead


    You will waste tons of beer, have trouble separating out the yeast, probably get oxygen contamination, waste hour upon hour. Way better off to find $10,000 via kickstarter or some investor that will not take any equity. Spend your time looking for free money instead of trying to save money.

    That being said, if you really want some dairy tanks to convert to fermenters we do this and have done many of them, but in our opinion if you do not have the money to buy conicals you probably do not have the money to start a brewery. That is just our version of reality, perhaps you live in an alternative version of Earth where really weird sh-- turns majically into gold and in your world anything goes, and if that is your world, AWESOME!!!!! for you. GIve us a call to discuss further. James

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    • #3
      Originally posted by gimurtu View Post
      You will waste tons of beer, have trouble separating out the yeast, probably get oxygen contamination, waste hour upon hour. Way better off to find $10,000 via kickstarter or some investor that will not take any equity. Spend your time looking for free money instead of trying to save money.

      That being said, if you really want some dairy tanks to convert to fermenters we do this and have done many of them, but in our opinion if you do not have the money to buy conicals you probably do not have the money to start a brewery. That is just our version of reality, perhaps you live in an alternative version of Earth where really weird sh-- turns majically into gold and in your world anything goes, and if that is your world, AWESOME!!!!! for you. GIve us a call to discuss further. James
      Damn I'm sorry you feel this way! I was thinking of ultimately talking to you about building one, from a rectangular bulk tank in the 500-600 gallon range. The idea was open fermentation (in a single purpose clean room, sized for the open fermenter, w/ positive pressure, HEPA filters on the air-in side etc) and then transfer to conicals for maturation/conditioning, also dry hopping where appropriate to style, after the first 3-5 days in the open fermenter. My understanding was discard the first, "skim" krausen after roughly 24 hours and harvest good creamy yeast from the second krausen.

      A lot of old-school folks point out benefits to yeast health over multiple generations from open and un-pressurized fermentation...also easy to top-crop.

      You might say, why do this if you're buying conicals anyway so not saving money, in fact probably spending more. Good question and the answer may be weak: for the purported yeast health and (therefore) better and more consistent fermentations and (therefore) ultimately, perceptible flavor benefits. Maybe they're mythical though. And I've never done it.

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      • #4
        it might be worth the effort

        A rectangular dairy tank makes a cheap open fermenter, except the jacketing is usually only on the bottom third of the tank, except some of the oldest models have coils around the entire sidewall.

        If you wanted to go this route to do open fermentation then this would probably be acceptable. Most people who buy dairy tanks do so because they cannot afford unitanks. Your case seems totally different. If you wanted to have an open fermenter then you might make really good beer and have the option to use unitanks for separation, cooling, etc.

        There are plenty of cases of rectangular dairy tank fermenters that resulted in good beer and longevity of business. Hales Ales in Colville, then Spokane, then Kirkland, then Seattle, then Kitsap, WA is one of these. He started doing this in 1983 and now is making 40,000(guessing) bbls a year.

        Anyhow, its up to you, we can do the work if you want one of these tanks, James

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