Its a great feeling when you finish brewing up your beer and put it into fermentation in your 5 or 6 gallon glass carboy. Its a beautiful sight and looks great on Instagram too! But, I’ve got a problem with them and that problem is bottling and kegging from them, without a closed system you risk oxygen exposure.
Conical fermenters are conducive to a closed post fermentation system. You can bottle and keg with little oxygen exposure. Yeast trub is also much easier reuse. There are two types of conical fermenters, plastic and stainless steel. Plastic conical fermenters are much cheaper than stainless steel.
In the process of becoming a better brewer without completely destroying my bank account I set out to find a fermenter that was under $200 dollars and would be great for years to come. Below are my results.
My Picks For The Best Economical Conical Fermenters
| Fermenter | Fermzilla Conical 7.1 G | Anvil Bucket 7.5 G | BrewDemon Conical Fermenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image |  |  |  |
| Price | $129.99 | $142.99 | $45.00 |
| Capacity | 7.1 Gallons | 7.5 Gallons | 3 Gallons |
| Closed System | Pressurized Closed System | Spout can be a closed system | Spout can be a closed system |
| Material | Plastic | Stainless Steel | Plastic |
Benefits of Conical Systems
The reason I set out on this journey to find excellent closed system conical fermenters was because I needed to fix the last part of my brewing process. Namely the exposure at the end.
I wanted to make sure there was no oxygen exposure and the only way I could do this was to have a system that had either a spout or a way of transferring finished beer without any air contact, or at least very minimal contact.
Traditionally I used glass carboys but in this instance glass just doesn’t cut it and either steel or plastic is the only choice. This does come with the benefit of being able to utilize a conical design for the first time, which is a huge plus and leads to many options for yeast harvesting and clear beer.
Fermzilla Conical 7.1 Gallons
The Fermzilla Conical is an exciting fermentation system. Not only does it have a conical design, but it is also pressurized. Not to mention its plastic so it is see through.
Since it has a pressurized system you can potentially dry hop and purge any oxygen from the system much like you would a keg. The great part about this system, unlike a keg is you can see what your beer is doing.
The conical design features the ability to dump trub from the system so that you can either reuse it with ease, or clear out your beer. The larger opening in the top makes it easier to clean than a typical glass carboy, which is good since you want to make sure you are not scratching the plastic.
I really like the closed system transfer, since you may not want to lift 5 gallons of beer out of a chest freezer, you can transfer it without gravity to a keg sitting right next to it. Plus the ability to close the system off leads to a quicker carbonation in the keg.
Disadvantages of Fermzilla
One of the biggest drawbacks of this system is that its plastic. This means you will need to replace it in the future. The plastic will degrade over time and possibly yellow. Scratches could also harbor bacteria.
The design does not have a sample spout, this makes a closed system pressure transfer the only way to transfer your beer. This may be more difficult for newcomers to use and using the old fashioned auto siphon defeats the purpose of the system.
Anvil Bucket 7.5 Gallons
At first glance this doesn’t seem like its a conical fermenter, but if you take a look you notice that it has a slightly raised black bottom. This is so it can stand on its own and have a conical shape inside.
One interesting aspect is the ability to rotate the spout arm so that you can either pull trub or beer. This makes it easy to bottle directly from the fermenter, however you will need to use carbonation drops in order bottle ferment. This makes the end process slightly more expensive.
If you are planning on kegging then it should be no problem and you can keep your system fairly closed. The biggest problem with this system and any closed system is the inability to dry hop. This system won’t be able to purge oxygen so if you plan on dry hopping you may as well use a glass or plastic carboy.
Disadvantages of Anvil Bucket
The conical shape does not seem very well defined. Also since there is no visibility there is no way to know where the trub is sitting in your fermenter. This makes it difficult to bottle or keg without getting a chunk of yeast.
This fermentation bucket is probably best used for beers that have a low likelihood of excess trub, that means that using a bunch of adjuncts will make this fermenter tougher to use. Cleaner and lighter beers are likely suggested.
Brew Demon Conical Fermenter
The brew demon conical fermenter is probably the best of the three for newcomers. Because of its small size its perfect for small batches of beer. You will most likely want to purchase this as part of its set since it will give you everything you need to brew your first batch of extract beer. But, you can buy it by itself too, and they even offer a larger size if you like the system.
While normally I think that brewing extract beers and utilizing extract kits would be a drawback when purchasing the system. There are some good alternatives for small batching all grain nowadays. One of those is Brooklyn Brew Shop.
You could also potentially subscribe to monthly kit options that are becoming more available.
Drawbacks to the Brew Demon
This is a simplistic starter fermenter and is only for small batching. This makes it almost certain that you will grow out of it in the future. So if you know for sure you will be brewing more in the future, I would opt for one of the above options.
However, since it is plastic it will likely wear out anyways so by that time you will be ready to grow out of it anyways. I think using the brew demon setup might also turn you off to carboys which do have their benefits as well.
Last Thoughts on Conical Fermenters
Whether or not you like conical fermenters, the pros use them so they must be worth it. Plastic conical fermenters are a great way to dip your feet in the world of conicals without spending a fortune.
Stainless still is where you will eventually end up when it comes to brewing beer and fermenting it. It also looks beautiful. But, those fermenters are insanely expensive so unless you are ready to dive into homebrewing for the long haul, it might be better picking up one of the above options.