What This Tank Is Built For

A 2000L conical fermenter sits in a practical range. It works for a brewpub running 15–20 bbl batches, a production brewery stepping up from pilot volumes, or a beverage plant handling cider, kombucha, or non-alcoholic ferments. We build this as a controlled FV—not a simple open tank—because fermentation temperature is not a set-and-forget variable. The cooling jackets, sealed top, and conical geometry all exist to keep yeast behavior predictable across a 7–14 day cycle.

Material and Fabrication

We use SUS304 as standard for the vessel body and SUS316L for wetted surfaces on request. The inner shell is typically 3mm, outer shell 2mm, with dimple or channel cooling jackets welded to the cone and lower cylinder. Welds are full-penetration, ground flush, and pickled/passivated on the product contact side. Interior surface finishes run 0.4–0.8µm Ra. Exterior can be brushed or mirror-polished depending on your housekeeping standards.

The top head carries a 400mm manway, dry-hop port, CIP spray ball, pressure/vacuum relief valve, and sample valve. The cone ends in a 2\” or 3\” bottom outlet with a racking arm above it. All ports are Tri-Clamp for obvious reasons—sanitation, quick changeover, and no threaded crevices.

Cooling and Pressure

The cooling area is sized to pull a 2000L batch from 68°F to 50°F in a reasonable crash-cool window, usually 12–18 hours depending on your chiller supply temperature. Glycol flows through 1.5\” or 2\” jacket inlets. Each jacket zone gets its own solenoid and RTD. Working pressure on the tank is typically rated to 15 psi (1 bar) for top pressure fermentation or carbonation, with a relief valve set accordingly. Do not confuse working pressure with the pressure rating on the jacket—they are separate circuits.

Cleaning and Connections

CIP is straightforward: spray ball at the top, drain at the cone, recirculate caustic at 140–160°F, then rinse, then sanitizer. We position the racking arm so CIP solution doesn\’t pool. For brewery integration, you need to plan the glycol supply/return headers, CO2 blow-off manifold, and beer transfer lines before the tank arrives. Retrofitting pipework around a fixed skid is expensive.

Selection Guidance

Volume is not the only spec that matters. A 20 bbl tank with 10 bbl of headspace will handle high-krausen ales; a tank filled to 90% will foam over. Tell us your batch size, style, expected diacetyl rest time, and available ceiling height. If you are running a small taproom system, single-zone cooling may be adequate. For a commercial brewery, dual-zone with independent control pays back in consistency.

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.