A conical fermenter is a pressure vessel first and a tank second. The cone angle, jacket layout, and fitting schedule all follow from that. We build 300 L, 500 L, and 1000 L units for breweries that need repeatable fermentation, not just a container that holds beer.

What the tank has to do

Yeast drops into the cone, clear beer comes off the racking arm, and dry hops stay in contact without plugging the outlet. A 60° cone suits most ales; loosely flocculating lager strains often run better with a steeper cone and a wider bottom outlet.

Capacity is where most inquiries go wrong. Brewing 500 L into a 500 L fermenter leaves nothing for krausen. That batch belongs in a 600–650 L vessel. Size on usable volume, then check ceiling height and door width before ordering.

Material and fabrication

Standard beer service gets 304 stainless. Where chloride exposure or mixed beverage production is involved, we switch to 316L. Product contact surfaces start at 2B mill finish, then the welds are pickled and passivated. Interior welds can be ground flush and polished to Ra ≤ 0.8 µm. A sound, fully penetrated weld matters more than a mirror finish, and we say so.

Dimple or channel jackets on both cylinder and cone carry glycol at 2–3 bar. Working pressure is typically 1.5–2 bar, protected by a pressure relief valve and a separate CIP spray ball port. Insulation is 80–100 mm PU with a stainless outer shell for outdoor installations.

Connections and cleaning

Typical fittings: racking arm, sample valve, dry hop port, CO2 blow-off, thermowell with RTD, and a dedicated CIP inlet. Spray ball coverage depends on pump flow, so we size the CIP loop to hit 1.5–2 m/s across the wetted surface. A matched glycol solenoid and control panel holds 10–12 °C during active fermentation and drops to 0–2 °C for cold crash.

Specifications

FAQ

Can one tank handle ales and lagers? Yes, with the right jacket area and a chiller sized for the crash cooling rate, not just the hold load.

Do I need 316L? Only if you clean with chlorinated caustic, brew sours, or share the tank with non-beer products.

How many tanks for a brewpub? Match fermentation capacity to your brew house turns per week, then add one tank of headroom for seasonality.

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.