A 500L or 1000L fermenter is usually the point where a brewery stops brewing pilot batches and starts filling orders. The brew house can already produce a repeatable batch, and what is missing is a vessel that holds temperature, takes pressure, and cleans out without being opened every time.

How we build these tanks

Vertical cylinder, conical bottom, dimple or pillow-plate jacket on the cone and lower cylinder, 80–100 mm polyurethane insulation under stainless cladding. Product contact is SUS304 as standard. We switch to SUS316L when the customer runs sour programs, fruit additions at low pH, or brewing water with elevated chloride.

Internal welds are TIG, ground flush, and passivated. Product-contact surfaces are polished to Ra ≤ 0.8 µm. Exterior finish is normally 2B or brushed; mirror polish is available but on a 1000L tank it mostly adds cost and shows every scratch. Each vessel gets a hydrostatic test and a pressure-holding check before it leaves the shop.

Cooling, pressure, and cleaning

Jacket surface area matters more than jacket volume. On a 1000L tank we size the jacket so an active fermentation can be pulled from 20°C to 4°C in roughly 24 hours with 30% glycol at -5°C. Undersized jackets are the most common mistake we see in imported tanks.

A 60° cone drains yeast cleanly and suits most ales and lagers. Breweries doing heavy dry hopping or fruit often prefer 70°, which costs a little more but keeps solids moving. Vessels are rated 3 bar working pressure with a relief valve set below that; the valve should be checked at the start of each season, not once at installation.

CIP is handled by a rotating spray ball in the top manway fed from a pump and caustic tank. No need to open the tank between batches. Glycol, CIP, and product ports are positioned on the same side unless the room layout says otherwise.

Specifications

FAQ

Why a conical bottom instead of a flat one? Yeast and trub collect in the cone and drop out through the bottom port. On a flat-bottom tank you lose beer every time you crop yeast.

Do I need 316L? Only if your process or water demands it. For standard ale and lager production, 304 with proper passivation performs fine.

Can I carbonate in the tank? Yes, at the 3 bar rating. Set the relief valve accordingly and use a spunding valve if you are capturing CO2.

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.