Stout Tanks and Kettles – Conical Fermenters

For home brewers and professional brewers alike, conical fermenters can take a lot of work out of brewing.  Here is how I use my conical fermenter:

1. Siphon or pour about 2 to 3 gallons of your cooled wort into the fermenter (I brew a 6 gallon batch, so maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the batch).
2. Stir vigorously with a sanitized spoon for several minutes to aerate the wort.  Oxygen is critical at the beginning stages of fermentation for healthy yeast growth.
3. Add the rest of your wort.  Stir vigorously for several more minutes to aerate more.
4. I will let the wort settle for 15 to 30 minutes, then drain the trub out of the bottom outlet.  If your transfer protocol keeps trub from getting into the fermenter, you can skip this step.
5. NOTE:  Always remember to remove your airlock before opening an outlet valve to prevent airlock water from being sucked into your fermenter!  (However, I have made this  mistake more than once and the results were not disastrous).
6. Add yeast.  Let the fermentation begin.
7. When fermentation is near an end (or no later than 2 weeks), connect the hose barb to the bottom outlet and drain out yeast for re-use or discard it.  If you want to re-use the yeast, discard the first bit that comes out – it is either mostly dead yeast or trub.  Remove the hose barb and clean it when you are done.  Use a spray bottle of sanitizer (no bleach!) and spray out the valve outlet until the sanitizer drains out clean.
8. Drain the yeast out of the bottom outlet again in a day or three.
9. If you want to age your beer for an extended time, you can leave it in the conical.  You should be sure that most of the yeast and trub has been drained from the fermenter.
10. When your beer is ready to be kegged or bottled, spray sanitizer into the side outlet valve.  Sanitize your hose barb and attach it to the valve.  Spray some more.
11. Attach your sanitized hose, remove your airlock, and drain the beer ouf of your fermenter.