As we browse the homebrew magazine ads and mail order sites, many of us wonder if a conical fermenter or unitank should part of our home brewery. There are several advantages to unitanks. Near the end of the primary fermentation cycle, the trub can be dumped without the need to rack the beer into another vessel (carboy for most of us). As active fermentation slows down, the yeast can be harvested for the next batch of beer and at the end of fermentation, the finished beer can be drained right into bottles or kegs without additional siphoning.

However, while there are several advantages to unitanks, the price of a unitank, even small ones can be more that many of us can afford without being sure this is the best way for us to brew beer. Even the low-end high-grade plastic unitanks are close to $150 CAD/$100 US with stainless steel starting at five times as much.

So what can one do to try out a unitank without breaking the grain bank? Fortunately, for about the price of a kit, the Fermentap valve kit will let you convert a standard 5 or 6.5 US gallon carboy into a "poor person's" unitank. While not as effective as even a small plastic unitank, it's a good introduction to fermenting beer like the commercial brewers.

The Fermentap valve kit consists of a valve assembly that fits on the end of a carboy with the addition of a racking cane to serve as a vent tube. After the wort is pitched with yeast, and the valve assembly is fitted, the carboy is flipped upside down and placed in a stand. Tubing is run from the racking cane vent tube into a bucket as a blow-off/airlock.

Once fermentation starts, every couple of days, one dumps trub that settles into the neck of the carboy. Even though I haven't tried it, the manufacturer claims one can harvest yeast in the same process.

After fermentation, the green beer is drained through the valve into a priming bucket or right into a keg for those who do forced carbonation. With the use of Primetabs (priming sugar in tablet form), one can even skip the priming bucket and run the beer right into the bottle.

While this sounds like a great setup, there are some challenges to using Fermentap. For one, a unitank has a 60 degree angle that allows the trub and yeast to settle down to the bottom. However, most carboy necks have a much shallower angle. With the shallow angle, yeast tends to stick on the sides and requires one to "swirl" the carboy around. Not the most easy and safe task.

Dumping trub on a regular every other day basis is also critical. I got trapped out of town for an extra couple of days and it was a challenge to get the plug out of the valve to have trub flowing again. It's not a "pitch" and leave alone setup like a standard carboy fermentation setup

I also found one needs to adjust a recipe batch to be ½ to 1 gallon less than the typical recipe for a 5-gallon batch. There needs to be a good 2 inches of headspace when the carboy is flipped upside down to avoid clogging the vent tube. For a 5 US gallon carboy, it really means 4 ½ US gallon batch. To make a full 5 US gallon batch requires a 6-6.5 US gallon carboy. Fortunately, there are several tools available for quickly adjusting batch sizes including ProMash and the Beer Tools web site (http://www.beertools.com).

Finally, setting up the assembly can be a challenge. It's not easy to flip upside down into the stand, a full 5 US gallon carboy at about 8 lbs per gallon. It really takes two people to safely setup a full 6/6.5 US gallon carboy.

It's also best to set up on a sturdy table or bench and not move it, so it's definitely an effort to lift a full carboy.

While not perfect, I've had some fun with the Fermentap valve kit. As I live in a small apartment, the kit allowed me to try out a unitank setup with existing equipment and not lose space storing even a small plastic unitank. My next project is to setup the valve kit with an 11-liter carboy (the taller 8.5 inch diameter one, not the 10 inch diameter 2.5 US gallon half height) for doing "half batches" of 2 to 2.5 gallons.

The Fermentap valve kit sells for about $23 US including a stand that can serve as a carboy drying stand. Unfortunately, Fermentap does not have direct sales and by their web site, no Canadian distributors. Several US mail order homebrew suppliers sell the kit and ship to Canada. Beer, Beer, More Beer (http://www.morebeer.com) is located just down the street from the manufacturer in Concord,CA just outside of San Francisco.