6BBL Conical Fermentation Tank with Side Cooling Jacket

A 6BBL conical fermenter sits in a practical middle ground. It is large enough to support a steady production schedule for a small craft brewery, yet compact enough to fit into a modest brewhouse footprint. Most inquiries we receive for this size come from brewers who have outgrown pilot batches and need repeatable fermentation control without jumping to a 15BBL system.

Why Temperature Control Matters at This Scale

At 6BBL, fermentation generates enough exothermic heat that ambient cooling alone will not hold ale or lager profiles. A side cooling jacket welded to the tank body gives you a dedicated surface for glycol circulation, independent of the cone. This matters when you are crashing, diacetyl resting, or holding a lager at 34°F. The jacket area is sized to the tank volume, not a generic dimple pattern, so the cooling capacity matches the batch.

Material and Fabrication Details

We build these tanks in SUS304 stainless steel with a 2B mill finish on the interior and a brushed exterior. For brewers working with highly acidic or high-chloride water, 316L is available on request, though most craft applications do not require it. Welds are TIG, fully penetrated, and passivated. Interior welds are ground flush and polished to a 320 grit finish to reduce crevice sites. The cone is a 60-degree included angle, which supports yeast flocculation and trub removal better than shallower cones.

Practical Specifications

Common Questions from Buyers

Can I use this tank for both ale and lager? Yes, provided your glycol system can hold 34°F. The side jacket is the primary cooling surface, and the cone can be fitted with an optional jacket if you plan aggressive crashing.

How do I clean it? A CIP spray ball is mounted in the dish. You will need a pump rated for at least 20 GPM at 30 psi to rotate the spray pattern effectively. We recommend caustic at 140°F followed by an acid rinse.

What about pressure relief? Every tank ships with an adjustable pressure relief valve set to 15 psi. Do not operate without it.

Selecting the Right Configuration

Batch size is the first number to confirm, but it is not the only one. Tell us your beer type, whether you need a dry hop port, and how many tanks you plan to run in parallel. If your brewhouse is in a basement or a container, we need the door dimensions before we finalize the tank height. Small breweries often order two or three 6BBL tanks rather than one larger vessel for flexibility, and that changes the cooling load on your chiller.

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.