20BBL Unitank Fermenter — Built for Real Brewery Workflows

A 20BBL unitank sits in a useful spot. It\’s large enough to carry a production batch through primary and secondary fermentation without tying up multiple vessels, yet compact enough that a 10–15 BBL brewhouse can fill it in one turn. Most craft breweries we work with order these as their workhorse tanks — the ones that stay in rotation year-round while smaller pilot tanks handle seasonals.

The vessel is built from SUS304 stainless steel, with 316L available for wetted parts when the beer program includes heavily hopped or high-acid styles. We keep the shell at 3mm and the dished heads at 3mm, which gives a safe working pressure of 15 PSI and a design pressure around 30 PSI. Every tank gets a pressure relief valve sized to the vessel volume, and we test each one hydrostatically before it leaves the shop.

Cooling, Cleaning, and Connections

The dimpled cooling jacket covers the cone and lower cylinder. On a 20BBL tank, that surface area matters — crash cooling from 68°F to 34°F overnight is realistic when the jacket is matched to a properly sized glycol chiller. We place the glycol inlet at the bottom and outlet at the top of each jacket zone, with separate zones for cone and cylinder so you can hold temperature without over-cooling the cone during dry hopping.

CIP is straightforward: a rotating spray ball in the dome, a 1.5\” TC port for the return, and a racking arm that rotates 360 degrees so you can pull clear beer without disturbing trub. All ports are tri-clamp. Butterfly valves and sample valves are optional, but most buyers order them pre-installed to avoid field welding.

Practical Considerations for Buyers

Small brewpubs often choose a 20BBL unitank with a single cooling zone to save cost; production breweries with tight fermentation schedules usually pay for dual-zone jackets. The cone angle — 60 degrees is standard — affects how well yeast drops and how much beer you recover. If your floor space is tight, measure the height with the CIP arm and pressure relief installed. That\’s a detail that causes more site headaches than any other.

We build these tanks with a 25% headspace, so a 20BBL batch leaves room for krausen and dry hopping. If you\’re planning high-gravity brewing or fruit additions, tell us — we\’ll adjust the volume and jacket coverage.

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.