January 10, 2013
Review: BrewDemon Conical Fermenter (3 gallon)
I was finally able to get one of these new 2 3 gallon conical fermenters that BrewDemon is producing. There has been a lot of speculation and anticipation from much of the home brew community, at least the ones that I frequent about this new fermenter. There seems to be a lot of questions and hopefully I will be able to answer most of them here!
Does Size Really Matter?
One of the first thing I noticed about this thing was it’s size! It really seemed to be quite a bit larger then the Mr. Beer LBK, and there is a difference, but when you start looking at the measurements it really isn’t that much different. The BrewDemon Little Brown Conical (LBC) stands about 16″ tall and just over 9″ wide, where as the Mr. Beer Little Brown Keg (LBK) is just about 14″ long, 9″ wide and just under 10″ tall. The way that they physically sit causes a the BrewDemon Fermenter to look a lot bigger but when you put them side by side that difference isn’t as evident.
Voluminous
So yes this new conical fermenter is slightly larger on the outside but there’s much more space for your wort on the inside! Yes I said it’s bigger on the inside! How you ask? Well because of it’s shape the LBC can hold up to 2.5 gallons of your precious wort and still have plenty of headspace for the yeast to work and the krausen to rise! If you put 2.5 gallons of wort in the Mr. Beer fermenter there wouldn’t be enough room for the krausen and you would risk it spewing out from under the lid and creating a big mess. Why the big difference? Basically the BrewDemon version isn’t tapered like the Mr. Beer version and makes the best use of its out side dimensions.
Fit & Finish
One of the concerns that I’ve seen people speculated on is regarding the thickness and quality of the plastic! I mean lets face it the Mr. Beer LBK that many of us have grown rather fond of has been around for a long time and some people still use the same ones that they got over 10 years ago. So how does the LBC compare with the LBK? Well I have to say with all honesty that I’m impressed with the way this devilish fermenter has been put together. The plastic is at least as thick as the Mr. Beer fermenter and it feels durable and rigid like it’s built to last. The color of the plastic is just a tad bit lighter then that of the LBK which makes it easier to see what’s going on inside while still providing protection from the sun’s UV rays. Other then the molded BrewDemon logo it doesn’t have texturing or unnecessary molded decorative embellishments added to the outside appearance. This also keeps the inside smoother and easier to clean. Yes the inside is S-M-O-O-T-H! With the absences of ridges, seams, or burrs that could potentially trap bacteria it keeps the inside a smooth and clean surface. I was actually impressed by the finish of the inside of the LBC. There are no burrs or plastic seam welds that you might find on a cheap piece of plastic so the inside surface will be very easy to clean up once your brew is done. Did I mention smooth and clean?
Another improvement that impressed me was that the top opening is much larger, measuring just under 5″ across verses the Mr. Beer LBK at just 3.75″. This makes pouring the hot wort into it easier and for many of us with big hands clean up is easier! There really is no place in the fermenter that’s hard to reach so it can be wiped down to ensure that bit of dried on krausen or trub is gone.
Where’s The Trub?
Trub collection has been one of the big speculative points with this fermenter. Now remember BrewDemon claims that this is “the world’s first 2 gallon fermenter” so most home brewers don’t have much if any experience with using a conical and the concern is that the trub would collect quickly in the “small” space that’s at the bottom and intrude upon the spigot when it came time to bottle! Well I’m here to tell you that it’s not the case! One of the first things I did after I put the tap/spigot in was to fill the bottom of the container with water until it reached the bottom of the spigot. I was able to put 18 ounces of water in with no problem and that left the opening free and clear of any worry. I’m thinking you would have to brew a pretty big beer before you would have to worry about trub overtaking the tap! So why did they go with the conical design? Well several reasons, one being to mimic what professional brewers use and two, take advantage of the conical design to reduce the amount trub surface that is exposed to the wort. The thought here is that the less surface exposure to the wort the less chance of it causing off flavors to the beer.
Standing Tall
The striking thing about the BrewDemon conical is the way it stands! The conical itself rests completely in its sturdy three legged stand and does not touch the surface of the table or counter that it’s on. The full weight is on these legs which like I said are very sturdy and well designed and require minimal assembly. This adds to the over all quality feel of the fermenter.
The Little Things Matter
There are other things that this fermenter has that aren’t immediately apparent, but can make the brewing experience easier right off the bat.
- Clear easy to read measurements molded to outside back of the fermenter. To me they seem to be easier to read when compared with the Little Brown Keg. The measurement marks start at 1 gallon go up to 2.5 gallons.
- A stick on thermometer that’s already stuck on. This doesn’t seem like big a deal at first but when you pour the wort in there’s no guess work as to what the temperature is to pitch the yeast.
- Top vent and bubbler option. Instead or having notches under the lid there is an actual vent hole that comes with a vent plug to allow CO2 to escape instead of notches under the lid that could be come clogged from to much krausen. With very little modification you could add a blow off tube if you really thought there was going to be some action or you can but the optional bubbler kit ($6) and you can see the fermentation in action!
- The tap/spigot is sturdy and well made. I’ve seen the quality of these taps/spigot all over the place. Some with thin plastic that would break by just looking at it but not this one. There seemed to be a lot of thought when choosing a tap for this fermenter and this one will not easily break. Additionally has easy on/off lever function which allows for adjustable flow to make bottling easier. I really think this is a higher grade tap then others that are available and you wont have to worry about breakage.
Conical Concerns
So far I have pretty much sung the praises of this new fermenter but there are a couple of things that concern me. Are they big concerns? No, but I do need to mention them to give a well rounded review. The first concern is the 1 gallon measurement marking! I know I said the marking were clear and easy to read, and that remains true but when you put the fermenter into the stand it completely hides the 1 gallon mark which if you have already started to fill the fermenter makes it a little difficult to find where to stop filling. Second is if the spigot verses the stand! At least a half a dozen times when I went to lift the fermenter I would forget to also grab and lift the stand so the spigot would catch on the frame of the stand! This was a little annoying and made me worry that the spigot might some how get damaged at some point.
The Bottom Line
My first impressions are that I really like this fermenter! The look is different, the material is solid, capacity is great and it feels like a substantial piece of brewing equipment not just a toy that you can use to brew in. Even though the price of the BrewDemon Conical($25) is $15 more then the Mr Beer Keg ($10) I see a lot of potential for this product based on the concept and the quality. If the Demon Brewing Company can continue to grow their sales and following of novice to intermediate brewers with aggressive marketing and keep the quality up I see them being around for a long time and providing a solid competitor to the long standing Mr. Beer.
If you want to see more photos and read more about BrewDemon and their products head over the the BeerBorg Social and join the conversation!
Cheers!
LouieMacGoo
Coming soon Brewing with the Demon!
Read More about BrewDemon
Complete BrewDemon Product Line
BrewDemon Signature Kit Unboxing Video
BrewDemon Big Demon Conical – First Impressions