LexRides

[jakubtoborek]

I can honestly say that you will get variation on everything at any size, no microbrew ever really tastes the same from batch to batch. You can get close, but you're dealing with a living organism that is finicky as hell. I've seen this in beer and other yeast fermentations of all sizes(from 3 L up to 140,000 L batches) come out different from the next, and here I'm talking industrialized equipment even. You simply will have greater variability between batches with more fermentors, though on the bright side you might have a lot more variety of beers .

[brokebike]

I think what you just said is especially true with Ky Ale... I honestly can't recall it ever really tasting consistent, unless it was in one sitting from the same batch.
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[jkizzle]

Thats the best part with microbrews! Sure it sucks when you get one that is a little off, but sometimes you get one that is better than ever. I guess i would just worry about excessive sediment and trub in the last fermentor or two causing more off tastes.

I think I solved the problem with welding by avoiding it completely though. I found some food grade plastic containers used for biodiesel and agriculture that are available in pretty big sizes and would work perfectly for conical fermentors. http://www.watertanks.com/category/82/ Polyethylene, so it shouldnt mess up the flavor of the beer or affect fermentation.

Jakub, do you work for Kentucky ale? or are you working in a different department at Alltech? I remember you telling me about it at Carolines over the summer, but i was pretty hammered.

[politicalhero]

Go to homebrew.com and search plastic conical on the forum. There is a lot of information out there about these and some specifics about various companies.

[jakubtoborek]

I work for another department at Alltech, though I will be getting trained at the brewery at some point.