A conical jacketed fermenter is a pressure vessel with a temperature-control problem attached. Wort goes in, yeast generates heat, and the jacket has to pull that heat out fast enough to keep the strain working where you want it. Undersize the cooling area and you get stuck fermentation, diacetyl that will not clean up, or a tank that takes two days to crash cool. That is the part worth solving before price enters the conversation.

We build these from 100 L pilot vessels up to 20,000 L production tanks. Most breweries take 304; 316L makes sense when the process involves chlorides, sour beer, aggressive acid CIP, or a coastal plant environment.

Where the money actually goes

Inner shell thickness runs 3 mm on small tanks and 4-5 mm on a 20,000 L vessel. Jackets are dimple or pillow plate, covering the cone plus the lower cylinder, since that is where fermentation heat concentrates. We weld, grind, pickle and passivate every product-contact weld and hold internal surface finish at Ra 0.8 micron or better. A tank with unpassivated weld heat tint will pit within a few years. That is not a cosmetic issue.

Standard working pressure is 1.5-2 bar, with 3 bar available for spunding and carbonation. Each vessel ships with a relief valve sized to the tank. If a supplier quotes a fermenter without asking about your spunding practice, ask why.

Fittings are DIN or Tri-Clamp: CIP spray ball on a removable arm, racking arm, sample valve, dry hop port, carbonation stone port, and a dial thermometer or RTD. Glycol in and out are typically 1.5-inch Tri-Clamp with a baffle plate inside the jacket so flow distribution stays even.

Typical specifications

Questions we get before the PO

What size do I need? Size to working volume, not nominal. A 20 HL batch belongs in a 25-30 HL tank. Leave headspace for krausen, especially with wheat and high-gravity ales.

Do I need a conical? If you crop yeast, drop trub, or dry hop, yes. Horizontal tanks suit bright beer and lagering, not yeast harvesting.

How does CIP connect? One port feeds the spray ball through a pump; the tank drains through the cone to a separate CIP return. Keep those circuits apart or you are rinsing the tank with dirty solution.

A brewpub usually wants a few 5-10 HL tanks on one glycol loop. A production plant needs manifolded cooling, individual temperature control, and enough floor spacing for a person to actually work the fittings.

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.