A 1000L conical fermenter lands in a practical middle ground. It is too large for a pilot kit and too small to anchor a 20-barrel brewhouse, but it is the size most taproom breweries settle on once 5–7 BBL batches stop keeping up with demand. Ours is built as a single vessel with glycol jackets on the cone and lower cylinder, sized so a crash from an 18°C diacetyl rest down to 3°C finishes overnight instead of dragging out over three days.

Materials and Fabrication

Shell material is 304 stainless, 3 mm on the cylinder and 4 mm on the cone for anything above 800L. Thinner plate drums visibly when the cone carries a full hydrostatic load. Breweries running kettle sours or salted styles usually specify 316L for the cone and bottom outlet, because chlorides in wort pit 304 welds over a few seasons. Interior welds are TIG, ground flush, and passivated. Product contact surfaces finish at Ra ≤ 0.8 µm; the exterior stays at a 320-grit brushed finish so tank markings remain legible after years of caustic splashes.

Cooling and Pressure

Cooling area runs 1.5–2 m² in a dimpled jacket, split into two zones so the cone and cylinder can be valved independently — useful during active fermentation when you want the cone cold and the cylinder slightly warmer. Working pressure is 1.5 bar with a 3 bar safety valve on the CIP arm. If you intend to carbonate in the tank rather than in a brite, say so before fabrication. That changes shell thickness, valve rating, and the racking arm seal.

Typical Specifications

Smaller brewpubs often run two 1000L tanks side by side and skip a dedicated brite tank, packaging straight from the fermenter. Commercial producers with a canning line usually pair each fermenter with a brite and add a hop cannon and a three-zone digital controller with a solenoid bank. CIP is normally done through the spray ball with a 1.5-inch return to a pump, and the racking arm should be rotated during cleaning — a detail people forget until they find yeast residue in the cone.

Common Questions

Can I dry hop without opening the top? Yes, the 2-inch port on the upper cylinder takes a hop cannon or a dry-hop doser.

What refrigerant does the jacket need? Propylene glycol at 28–30% concentration, supplied at -4°C to -2°C from your chiller.

How often should gaskets be replaced? EPDM and silicone seals typically last 12–18 months in daily CIP rotation.

Tell us your batch size, beer type, number of fermentation tanks and available space. We can recommend the tank volume, cooling area and configuration for your brewery.