What these tanks are built for

We manufacture 2000 L, 2500 L, 20 BBL and 25 BBL conical fermenters for breweries moving out of pilot-scale production. At this size the tank stops being a learning tool and becomes a scheduling constraint: one vessel down for cleaning can idle a whole brewhouse. So the design brief is usually less about capacity and more about how reliably the tank holds temperature through a 7–10 day primary fermentation and a diacetyl rest.

Material and fabrication

Standard shells are SUS304, 3 mm on the body and 3 mm on the cone; we go to SUS316L on request where chloride exposure from water or cleaning chemistry is a real concern, not a theoretical one. Interior welds are ground, argon-purged and pickled and passivated. Interior finish is 0.4 µm Ra or better — rough enough to hold a passivation layer, smooth enough that yeast doesn\’t lodge in the grain. Exterior is 2B or brushed. The manway is a 400 mm hinged or clamp door with a food-grade EPDM or silicone gasket, and every jacket port gets a pressure-tested seal.

Temperature control and pressure

Dished or dimple cooling jackets on the cone and lower cylinder handle crash cooling to 2 °C; a separate upper jacket helps when you run high-gravity worts or ambient room temperatures above 25 °C. Working pressure is typically 2 bar with a 3 bar test, and the tank ships with a pressure relief valve sized to the jacket volume. Never treat the relief valve as decoration — it is the only thing standing between a blocked blow-off and a distorted cone.

Practical configuration notes

• Cone depth at 60° on 20–25 BBL tanks gives good trub and yeast drop without excessive height.
• Rotating CIP spray ball with separate CIP and CO₂ ports keeps cleaning and carbonation paths independent.
• Dry-hop port, sample valve, racking arm and thermowell are standard; we\’ll reposition any of them to suit your piping layout.

Specifications

FAQ

Can one tank serve as unitank and bright tank? Yes, with a proper pressure rating, a carbonation stone and a racking arm. Many 20 BBL customers run a single-vessel approach to save floor space, accepting longer tank occupancy.

SUS304 or 316L? 304 handles most brewhouse duty. Move to 316L if your water carries elevated chlorides, if you dose acidic cleaners aggressively, or if you store product in-tank for extended periods.

How many jackets do I need? Two is the standard compromise. A third upper jacket costs more but pays back in crash-cooling speed and stability during heat waves.

Choosing the right size

Match the fermenter to your brewhouse output per brew, then add 20 % headspace for krausen. Two tanks of 2000 L often beat one 2500 L tank — you keep production running while one vessel is cleaned. 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.