Feature Article: Bluestone Yeast Co - Australian Brewing Liquid Yeast

There's an old saying that "brewers create wort, but yeast creates beer", which highlights the significance and importance of yeast in the beer creation process. Debate has long been raging amongst brewers, but particularly with homebrewers, on the topic of dried yeast vs liquid yeast in relation to which one gives better results for making beer. We've used dried yeast in all of the beers we've made, and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, dried yeast is significantly cheaper than the liquid version. It's more resilient, readily available, easier to store, and we've made some seriously good beers using it - some just as good as other craft beers we've had that have been made commercially.

Since we're in Australia - historically our only option for liquid yeast has been varieties imported from overseas, usually from the USA with brands like Whitelabs occasionally popping up in homebrew stores, but often in limited supply and varieties. Using imported liquid yeast from overseas is in our mind somewhat risky though. The sheer distance it needs to travel, and the logistics involved in transit, clearing customs, and making it's way through holding warehouses and distributors before finally landing in homebrew shop fridges means the risk of a reduction in quality is somewhat high. Given the relative volatility of yeast in liquid form, and the premium price tag, we just haven't seen a compelling reason to use it.

There's a new local player in town though, with Bluestone Yeast Co starting up and offering breweries and homebrewers alike, access to locally produced, high quality liquid yeast. Since it's made in Melbourne, Australia, all the risks we previously mentioned from imported liquid yeast don't apply, since it can be shipped to nearly all major cities within Australia overnight. We're all for supporting Australian business, so we're going down the proverbial rabbit hole on liquid yeast to see what we can find. 

First things first. Who are Bluestone Yeast Co? Bluestone was founded by the Lacey brothers - Derek and Damien. Derek has a science background and is an avid homebrewer himself. Damien is a mechanical engineer and together they started Bluestone Yeast Co back in 2018 after identifying a large gap in the local Australia brewing market - that there were no decent local yeast manufacturers. Due to the explosion of the craft beer scene in Australia in recent years, there's finally a large enough local industry, and therefore demand from local breweries to support local yeast production.

In an episode of Between Two Urns, Daniel from Keg King interviewed Derek from Bluestone yeast. They discussed a number of different topics, from Derek's background in medical research, to the founding of Bluestone yeast as well as trends in the industry and some tips on how to get the most out of your homebrew (like oxygenating your wort and having good temperature control). Derek mentions a number of prominent craft breweries in Australia who are already customers of theirs (currently around 80 in total) and are using their yeast products. Such breweries include Mountain Culture Beer Co, Deeds Brewing. Kaiju, and Ocean Reach.

Bluestone cite enhanced esters, higher flocculation, and higher viability after fermentation - ie. better yeast harvesting and re-use when comparing their liquid yeast varieties to dry yeast. They've got a pretty decent range of yeasts too, as you can see from the image below (click the image to enlarge);

Bluestone Yeast Co - Yeast Varieties
Image Copyright of Bluestone Yeast Co

Let's break down some of the yeast varieties to take a look at what they are, and what commercially available yeast strains we believe they are similar to.

Lager Yeasts

Pilsen - BSY-L005

"This strain combines good flocculation characteristics with low sulfur and low diacetyl. Clean fermentations produce amazing bock, helles, pilsner, dunkles, and just about any other lager style you throw its way."

We'd liken this one to Mangrove Jacks M84 Bohemian Lager Yeast or Lallemand's Diamond Lager Yeast, for creating classic, clean, neutral flavoured lager styles.

Stuttgart - BSY-006

"This strain is for fermenting your "Crisp Lager" beer. Stuttgart can produce clean pseudo lagers at ale termperatures but is also willing to work as a traditional lager strain down to the low teens."

This variety sounds like Mangrove Jacks M54 Californian Lager Yeast, or Fermentis W-34/70 given the ability to ferment warmer than traditional lager yeasts typically do without the associated off flavours. Perfect for creating styles like Cold IPA's or India Pale Lagers.

American Ale Strains

San Diego - BSY-A010

"Clean character performs well at standard ale temps but for exceptionally crisp ales you can brew between 14-16C. However for crystal clear beers filtration or fining is required."

Since San Diego is on the West Coast of the USA, we're taking this to be a West Coast style ale yeast. The neutral flavour properties sound similar to Fermentis SafAle US-05, Morgan's American Ale Yeast,  Lallemand's Lalbrew BRY-97 or Mangrove Jack's M44 US West Coast Yeast. Ideal for those clean and balanced pale ales.

New England - BSY-A011

"Juicy. Fruity. New England is an amazing strain for East Coast IPAs. The ester profile of New England brings out the aromas and flavours of the modern hop varieties and creates a beer that is greater than the sum of its parts. This dynamic strain likes to move to the top of the fermentation and will climb out the fermenter if too full."

The description pretty well gave this one away, being an East Coast style ale yeast. It's medium flocculation properties and the New England style suggest it will make for hazy, heavily hopped beer styles which are all the rage at the moment. Similar varieties or substitutes would include Mangrove Jack's M66 Hophead Ale Yeast, Lallemand's New England American East Coast Ale Yeast or even Lallemand's Verdant IPA strain.

Michigan - BSY-A012

"Michigan will shape a strong IPA, producing stone fruit esters that work great when paired with citrus hops. Michigan will give you what you need for an exceptionally balanced IPA."

Perhaps similar to Mangrove Jack's M36 Liberty Bell Yeast, but not entirely sure what other current yeasts may be similar. The packaging colours are also a subtle nod to the Michigan Wolverines football team too.

Detroit - BSY-A013

"This strain is a fast mover and can be used at the low end of the ale fermentation spectrum to keep it clean. Detroit is a great choice for big, high alcohol, malty beers but has no issues motoring through a hoppy double IPA."

The description of this one sounds similar to Mangrove Jack's M42 New World Strong Ale Yeast. Supposing the "Detroit" name to be a reference to the American "Motor City" - perhaps closely related to the above Michigan strain (since Detroit city is in Michigan State).

Boston - BSY-A015

"Very clean, crisp flavour characteristics with low fruitness and mild ester production. A  very versatile yeast for styles that desire dominant malt and hop character. Use this strain to build a wonderful "House" ale. Mild citrus notes develop with cooler 15-19C fermentations. Normally requires filtration for bright beers."

Another neutral sounding yeast style, it's properties sound similar to SafAle US-05, but nothing that seems to set this one apart from some of the other American strains.

Portland - BSY-A037

"A solid all-around ale strain that is perfect for hop-forward beers. It is the go-to yeast for Brut IPAs. It ferments clean with an emphasis on hop flavour and aroma. Well-balanced, this yeast strain can be used to construct a wide range of ales."

The promotion of  hop flavours sounds similar to Fermentis SafeAle S-33.

Belgian Ale Strains

Wallonia - BSY-A002

"Wallonia is named after the French speaking part of Belgium where the saison style first originated. Wallonia is a great yeast for saison, farmhouse ale and Belgian styles giving high ester levels and juicy aromas that complement complex malts."

Obviously a saison yeast strain, similar yeasts include Mangrove Jack's M29 French Saison yeast, or Lallemand Belle Saison, or Fermentis SafAle BE-134.

Ghent - BSY-A004

"Want a Belgian in a hurry? Get on the Ghent yeast train. This yeast produces good phenolic character that matches well with hops and caramel/toffee flavours. Extremely floculent producing clear beer quickly."

A classic Belgian yeast variety, it sounds similar to Mangrove Jack's M41 Belgian Ale Yeast or Fermentis SafAle T-58.

Brussels - BSY-A005

"This is a phenomenal wort attenuator producing a very dry, crisp beer with nice citrus aromas. Requires filtration for bright beers."

Perhaps similar to Lallemand's Lalbrew Abbaye dry yeast or Mangrove Jack's M47 Belgian Abbey Yeast or Fermentis SafAle BE-256.

English Ale Strains

Shoreditch - BSY-A014

"Shoreditch is a rich mineral profile that is bold and crisp with some fruitiness. Often used for higher gravity ales and when a high level of attenuation is desired."

Lallemand's Nottingham yeast is a similar, being a highly attenuating dry yeast variety.

London - BSY-029

"Originating from a traditional London brewery, this yeast has a wonderful malt and hop profile. It is a true top cropping strain with a fruity, very light and softly balanced palate. This strain will finish slightly sweet."

Lallemand's Windsor yeast has similar properties or Fermentis SafAle S-04. Classic british ale strains to provide that nice, soft, rounded balance, with perhaps a little bit of residual sweetness from not attenuating as high as other strains.

German Ale Strains

Munich - BSY-A007

"Munich is the traditional German strain used to build world class weizen beers where big banana aroma is required. Balanced with mild clove, this strain will produce amazing beers. Munich will create a slightly higher level of acidity to give your beer a very crisp finish. Slightly underpitching will help increase the banana character."

Lallemand's Munich Classic to create those classic German styles

Cologne - BSY-A008

"Cologne is a clean, crisp, traditional German Kolsch strain. A very low ester profile makes this strain perfect for Kolsch, and other light coloured delicate beers. Cologne has better flocculation characteristics than most Kolsch strains which allows brewers to produce clean, bright beers in a shorter amount of time."

Other popular Kolsch yeast varieties include Lallemand's Koln or Fermentis SafAle K-97.

Norwegian Ale Strains

Bergen - BSY-A038

"Named after the region in Norway where Lars Marius Garshol isolated a number of  traditional yeast strains. Bergen is traditionally used in the production of Norwegian Farmhouse Ale, this strain is a fast fermenter with good attenuation, a light earthy spiciness, marked tartness and unique ester profile of orange peel. This strain is prone to forming incredibly large flocs unlikely any other yeast we've seen before, yet still remains highly attenuative. Bergen also exhibits the ability to ferment wort over a large temperature range, 21-37C. At the cooler end of the range Bergen is clean; producing little to no esters and phenols. But builds a huge fruit ester profile as the temperature increases."

Well, there's certainly quite alot to unpack with this one, as it's by far the largest and most detailed description for yeast that Bluestone have on their website. It's essentially Bluestone's version of Kveik yeast - similar to Lallemand's Voss Kveik or Mangrove Jack's M12.

All Inn Brewing Co - Alfajor Biscuit Ale Fresh Wort Kit (FWK) - Review

Review Date: 15/9/22
Brewery Name: All Inn Brewing Co (Banyo, Queensland, Australia)
Beer Name: Alfajor Biscuit Ale

"This Fresh Wort Kit showcases one of our new experimental beers, something engaging & fun to keep us (and you!) playing on the front lines of beer styles. Bend the rules, then break them."

We brewed this one a couple of months ago, as a nice winter warmer to get us through the colder months

All Inn Brewing Co - Alfajor Biscuit Ale Fresh Wort Kit Box

We fermented this one at around 20c using Lallemand's Windsor dry yeast. As per the recommendation on the box, we opted to forego dry hopping.

General

Alcohol By Volume (ABV): Unmeasured. Estimated at approximately 4%

Label/Design: 7/10

Serving Style: Draft/Tap

Region of Origin: Pacific (Australia, New Zealand)

Style Family: Brown Ale

Malts/Adjuncts: Munich, Biscuit, Toffee, Supernova, Lactose, Dulce De Leche, Coconut, Cacao Nibs, Vanilla

Hops: Fuggle

IBU's: 20

Appearance

Colour: Ruby Brown

Clarity

Brilliant

Clear

Slight Haze

Hazy

Collar of Foam & Head Retention

None

Poor (Up to 15 secs)

Moderate (15 - 60 secs)

Good (more than 60 secs)

Foam Texture

N/A

Thin

Fluffy

Mousse-Like

Carbonation (Visible)

None

Slow

Medium

Fast-Rising Bubbles

Alcohol Aroma

Not Detectable

Mild

Noticeable

Strong

Harsh

Aroma & Flavour

Esters Aroma: None
Phenols: None

Alcohol Taste:

Not Detectable

Mild

Noticeable

Strong

Harsh

Hop Pungency:

Mild

Moderate

Strong

Extreme

Hop Bitterness:

Restrained

Moderate

Aggressive

Harsh

Malt Sweetness:

Low

Medium

High

Cloying (Excessive)

Astringency: 

Low

Medium

High

Palate/Mouthfeel: 

Light Bodied (Thin/Watery)

Medium Bodied (Light + Full)

Full Bodied (Round, Rich & Creamy)

Palate Carbonation: 

Low

Medium

High

Length/Finish:

Short (Up to 15 seconds)

Medium (15 to 60 seconds)

Long (More than 60 seconds)

Oxidative/Aged Qualities: None

Overall

All Inn Brewing Co - Alfajor Biscuit Ale in the Craftd Alpha glass

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall Impression: 7/10

Notes

A nice winter warmer. This one is all about the malt, with some lactose behind the scenes to help with the residual sweetness. Not a lot of hop character as you'd expect in a beer like this. Super thick mousse like head that sticks around for ages. Mouth feel is rich and full, no doubt helped by the lactose, with a nice complex array of sweet, chocolate and slight roasty flavours from the mixture of malts, and the inclusion of cacao nibs and vanilla. ABV came in quite low so is totally crushable. Windsor yeast was absolutely perfect for this, enhancing the malty flavours and giving a really nice, soft balance to it overall.

We even commemorated this beer with it's own 3D printed tab label for our kegerator.

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What is a Fresh Wort Kit (FWK)?

Keg King - Spundy Spunding Valve - Hands on Review

When it comes to pressure fermenting, a critical piece of equipment required by brewers is a spunding valve. Since one of the byproducts of active fermenting yeast is carbon dioxide gas (CO2), when using a pressurised fermenter this CO2 gas builds up in the headspace of the fermenter. A spunding valve is used to regulate this pressure by setting/adjusting the valve so that when a certain pressure threshold is reached, the valve opens and vents the excess gas until it falls back below the set threshold. 

Keg King's Spundy Spunding Valve Box

Spunding valves are typically used in conjunction with Pressure Relief Valves (PRV's). PRV's work in a similar way, but are essentially a safety net to ensure that if there's a problem with your spunding valve, the maximum rated pressure for your fermentation vessel isn't exceeded which could potentially be catastropic for the fermenter (and lead to quite the messy cleanup).

The Spundy from Keg King, is a compact, plastic spunding valve with a couple of unique features that distinguish it from other spunding valves currently available on the market.

Spundy in it's box

Spundy is fully functional and ready to go straight out of the box with next to no assembly required. Unlike most other spunding valves that need to be attached to a separate gas ball lock disconnect, the Spundy has the gas disconnect integrated into it's plastic body, meaning it's easier to setup/install and has one less place for a troublesome leak to come from. 

We did have some difficulty with fitting our Spundy to the gas post of our new Apollo Titan fermenter with the locking collar not securing correctly. We worked around this quite easily though with a little lubricant on the ball lock post and by manually pressing the collar on the Spundy down to lock it onto the post after which we had trouble free operation.

Spundy fitted to our Apollo Titan fermenter

The size and profile of the Spundy is low - coming in at only 4.5cm tall, and when fitted to a gas ball lock post it will only add 2.5cm to the total height/clearance above the top of the post. This makes it an ideal option for those with limited space or height limited fermentation chambers/fridges.

Spundy's integrated gauge is surprisingly accurate

There is an integrated pressure gauge - reading up to 30 psi or 2 bar of pressure. When testing it's accuracy against our CO2 regulator gauge the spundy was reasonably accurate, consistently reading 1-2 psi lower when tested at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 psi. Small format gauges such as this one are generally less accurate than larger ones and in an application like a spunding valve it's a worthwhile compromise, since pinpoint accuracy is not really required. Having the gauge integrated is a real bonus though, negating the need for T-pieces and other joiners to be fitted, once again reducing the likelihood of gas leak sources being introduced.

One draw back of the integrated gauge design however, is that the gauge display can't be tilted/adjusted so your eyes need to be in line with the gauge in order to read it accurately - for us this required us crouching down in order to read the current pressure on the gauge when fitted to our Apollo Titan in the fermentation fridge.

Where the Spundy really separates itself from other spunding valves is with it's ability to 'preset' the working pressure by fitting a PRV into it. Out of the box it comes fitted with a spring and poppet, with the working pressure being adjusted by tightening or loosening the black knob/cap which tightens/increases the tension on the spring and poppet. This allows really precise adjustment of the set pressure which is nice, but arguably not entirely necessary when fermenting under pressure.

Spundy - disassembled in preparation for PRV install

Now brewers have the option to simply unscrew this black knob/cap, remove the spring and poppet and screw in either a blue (10 psi) or purple (15 psi) PRV in it's place. These are the same PRV's that are compatible with Keg King's range of pressure capable fermenters (Apollo, Fermenter King Jr, Chubby), and the colour coded pressure ratings make them easy to identify. The process of swapping over takes less than a minute, and means you have an accurate and predefined set pressure that the Spundy will work at. No more messing around with finicky adjustments and wasting precious CO2 gas to get your required set pressure, which for us was a really ingenious idea.

Be careful not to misplace the small spring and poppet if you do decide to fit a PRV though. There are some cases where the finite adjustment of a spunding valve may be required or preferred, such as to slowly bleed out pressure to avoid a 'krausen volcano' before opening your pressure fermenter, or for regulating pressure during a pressure transfer to a keg - more on that later. We found Spundy's box to be a good storage option for any parts that aren't currently fitted and in use (so don't throw it away!)

Spundy with the blue (10psi) PRV installed

The gauge can be unscrewed as well, meaning the Spundy can be fully disassembled for cleaning in the event of a particularly enthusiastic krausen breaching the headspace of your fermenter and seeking freedom via the gas lock post the Spundy is connected to.

As with any pressure fermenting and spunding valve setup, brewers have the ability to use the CO2 gas created by fermentation to purge the headspace of an empty keg with this CO2 gas by fitting a disconnect and beer/gas line from the gas post of their fermenter to the liquid post of their keg. The Spundy can then be fitted to the gas post of the keg to steadily release excess pressure from the keg. The same principle applies with pressure transfers from fermenters to kegs, and we found the ability to manually adjust the venting pressure (by fitting the original poppet, spring and black adjustment cap) worked really well during our trial pressure transfer.

Keg King have the Spundy available in a number of kits.

The first kit, named the Spundy Supreme has the Spundy, blue and purple PRV's and the required disconnects and beer/gas line for CO2 keg purging for AU$29.00.

There is also the Spundy Plus which has the Spundy and the blue and purple PRV's included for AU$20.95.

Finally, you can just buy the Spundy on it's own for AU$15.95.

If you're in the market for a new or replacement spunding valve, the Spundy from Keg King is well worth considering. We'd recommend the Spundy Plus kit as we found simply screwing in one of the included PRV's to automatically preset the working pressure to be a great inclusion.

With the integration of a pressure gauge and gas disconnect mechanism into the low profile body, it's ready to go straight out of the box with no additional hardware required. It performed well in our tests, reliably controlling the internal pressure of our fermenter during active fermentation.

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Stone & Wood - Pacific Ale - All Grain Clone Recipe

We've had a couple of attempts at making this beer. You can read on below to follow our journey and look at the previous recipes, or alternatively, click the link below to jump to our latest recipe version which is (unofficially) from an ex Stone & Wood brewer which is by far our best version and in our opinion, as close as you're going to get to cloning the original.

How to connect RAPT Pill to RAPT Temperature Controller using Bluetooth

The RAPT Pill can be "bonded" to the RAPT Temperature Controller to allow the temperature controller to act as a bluetooth beacon/gateway to relay the data received from the RAPT Pill to the RAPT cloud via the temperature controllers Wi-Fi internet connection.

This is particularly useful in certain situations where the Pill may not be able to connect to Wi-Fi - for example, if your Pill is in a stainless fermenter in a fermentation fridge, which can severely hamper the Wi-Fi signal quality/strength and prevent the Pill from reliably connecting to Wi-Fi in order to submit it's telemetry data to the cloud. 

There are a few steps involved in getting this working together as outlined below. In order to perform the steps below it is assumed that your RAPT Pill and RAPT Temperature Controller are both registered against your account in the RAPT Portal.

1. From the temperature controller, bring up the on screen menu then select Bluetooth and press the Select button. You should be prompted with a screen like the one below. Press the Select button again to enable bluetooth.
   
   
   
   
   
2. You will now see a screen showing Bonded devices and Unbonded Devices (with nothing listed underneath them at this point) which is normal.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Next, connect your RAPT Pill to a power source via USB to enable the captive portal mode. From your phone or other Wi-Fi enabled device, connect to the Pill's Wi-Fi network which should load the captive portal automatically once connected.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Select the Diagnostics menu then click the button to Check for new firmware. Depending on when you last updated the firmware on your Pill, you may need an update in order to access the Bluetooth functionality.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Once the firmware has been updated, connect to the captive portal again and access the Settings menu. Change the Telemetry Method option from Wifi to Bluetooth.
   
   
   
   
   
6. You can also adjust the telemetry method for Bluetooth connectivity as well. Note that the Bluetooth mode uses less power than Wi-Fi so you can increase the frequency without a significantly detrimental impact on battery health.
   
   As a reference, on our Pill we set a Bluetooth telemetry interval of 10 minutes, and after 12 days of fermentation the battery was still at 100% capacity in the RAPT Portal.
   
   
7. Login to the RAPT Portal and access the dashboard. Click the Edit button to edit the settings for your RAPT Pill.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Under the Details section, click the Paired Device drop down menu (should currently say [Unpaired] and select your RAPT Temperature Controller from the list then click the blue Save button at the bottom of the screen.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Go back to your temperature controller and access the Bluetooth menu again (as we did in Step 1 above). You should see your RAPT Pill appear in the Unbonded devices list.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Press the Enter/Select button on the unbonded device. A prompt should now appear confirming you want to bond the device. Press the Enter/Select button on the controller again to confirm you wish to bond this device.
    
    
    
    
    
11. The RAPT Pill should now appear under the bonded devices list
    
    
    
    
    
12. Your Pill is now bonded/connected to your RAPT Temperature Controller. You can now set your Temperature controller to use the Pill for temperature readings instead of the built-in/attached probe. This is done from the menu of the Temperature Controller as well.
    
    The graphs on the RAPT Portal for the Temperature Controller will now also overlay data (gravity and temperature) from the Pill.
    
    In the example below, the green line is the Pill temperature, blue line is the Temperature Controller probe temperature, the yellow line is the gravity reading from the Pill, and the red line is the set/target temperature of the RAPT Temperature Controller.
    
    
    
    
    
    

If you haven't done so already, it's well worth investing the time in performing a calibration of your RAPT Temperature Controller. We discovered ours was out by 3°C in it's default calibration out of the box!

PS: we hope you enjoyed the above article and thank you for reading this far! If you found this article useful, please consider subscribing using the in-page sign up window. It really helps us grow the site, and you'll get a single email from us weekly with links to our latest and greatest content, that's all! Thanks again for checking out our blog.

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Keg King - Apollo Titan - 30L Stainless Conical Pressure Fermenter - Hands on Review

When it comes to brewing equipment - stainless steel is undoubtedly the gold standard. It's hard wearing, robust, and if maintained and looked after it can last a life time. Take a look in any professional brewery and you'll notice the majority of their equipment - but particularly their tanks, are all made of stainless steel.

For the average homebrewer though, the significant cost of stainless steel equipment - in particular fermenters, has made it difficult for brewers to justify upgrading their equipment, especially given the popularity of PET plastic fermenters in recent years, which are cheaper than their stainless counterparts and are capable of achieving excellent results but do still have some limitations and restrictions on their use.

Keg King's Apollo Titan - Front View

Thankfully though, Keg King (from Melbourne, Australia), have designed and released a stainless steel, conical, pressure capable fermenter which ticks all the boxes and is available at a seriously sharp price point - the Keg King Apollo Titan.

We got our order in early and were one of the first to take delivery and couldn't wait to break it out and put it through it's paces. 

The main body and three supporting legs are manufactured with 1mm thick 304 grade stainless steel. There are two stainless handles located on each side of the main body for lifting/maneuvering - rated strong enough for use when the fermenter is full. 

Keg King Apollo Titan Handles

On the rear of the main body, we have some printed markings indicating the volume levels (in gallons and litres), as well as the maximum pressure rating of 30psi.

Keg King Apollo Titan - Rear View

Also attached to the fermenter body are 3 x 1.5" tri clover ports. One at the very base of the cone, another part way down the cone on the front, and another located just above where the conical formation starts, also facing the front of the fermenter.

The 2 tri clover ports on the main fermenter body are an important and key differentiating factor when comparing the Apollo Titan to pressure rated PET plastic fermenters - since these PET based fermenters are not able to have these ports, the nature of the relatively thin plastic they're made of means they just aren't strong enough to do so.

With standardised 1.5" tri clover ports, any number of attachments can be fitted to the Apollo Titan. The very bottom port would typically be fitted with an elbow and dump valve for quick and easy yeast/trub removal, allowing the fermenter to be used as a true unitank. The other ports could be fitted with other accessories like sight glasses, ball valve/sample taps, or carbonation stones.

Keg King Apollo Titan - Front 1.5" tri clover port

Leg extensions are also included to raise the height of the Apollo Titan to allow things like the aforementioned dump valve to be fitted to the most lower 1.5" tri clover opening. Extending the legs will raise the total height (to the top of the gas/liquid posts) from 574mm to 754mm.

Apollo Titan Legs (extensions are included)

The kit comes complete with end caps, clamps and seals for all the tri clover openings so you're fermenter is ready for business straight out of the box - you can purchase and add attachments later on if you please, though you certainly don't have to. This type of modular system is a big benefit as it means brewers can add bits and pieces - like the previously mentioned valves and taps later on in their brewing journey and know that they'll fit and work since tri clover connections come in standard sizes (in this case, all are 1.5").

Apollo Titan - 3 x 1.5" tri clover clamps, end caps & seals

Moving back to the top of the Titan and we have the same plastic based lid and collar that is used on the PET plastic based Apollo snub nose fermenter. An interesting design decision but it does make sense in a number of ways. Firstly, the design and manufacturing of this lid is already established which likely helps keep costs at a minimum by not having to design and manufacture a new one. Making a new one out of stainless steel would be more expensive, and therefore increase the total cost. Considering the lid doesn't typically come or remain in contact with the beer inside, does it really need to be made of stainless steel? We'd argue it doesn't.

Apollo Titan lid with gas/liquid posts and PRV attached

The relatively small opening where this lid fits is key to the design. Having a smaller opening compared to other stainless fermenters that have a full diameter sized lid/opening means it's easier to seal and less likely to leak. Good news for anyone like us who has battled a leaking pressure fermenter in the past. It can also hold more pressure than many other stainless fermenters, rated with a maximum working pressure of 30psi. The size of the opening is good though, with sufficient space for a full size adult male hand and arm to reach in for thorough cleaning.

Speaking of cleaning - and this is one of the other big benefits of stainless steel - it's ability to be cleaned with hot, caustic cleaning solutions. Using these is definitely a big no-no on PET plastic based fermenters, but not with the Apollo Titan. Good news for homebrewers who prefer using hot water and more aggressive cleaning agents in their home brewery. Alternatively, you could clean it with Keg King's Keg Cleaner & Washer Kit by situating the cleaning arm through the lowest tri clover opening and letting the water pressure from the included water pump do all the work for you.

Back to the lid, and this is where the gas and liquid ball lock disconnect posts are located, along with the pressure release valve (PRV) which can be unscrewed and act as a port for dry hopping as well. The lid also houses the thermowell which is a great inclusion, since on other fermenters the thermowell would typically be fitted to one of the tri clover ports on the body of the fermenter. Having the thermowell attached to the lid essentially frees up one of these ports meaning it can be used for something else instead.

Some assembly was required for the lid, with the gas and liquid posts needing to be put together (poppet and spring inserted into the post) and then screwed onto the lid, along with the PRV housing and PRV itself. When dealing with plastic threads like these it's important not to overtighten anything so tools shouldn't be required. It's also a good idea to put some food grade lubricant on the threads to help with sealing and the prevention of gas leaks when working under pressure. The thermowell was already attached to the underside of the lid which uses a standard BSP threaded connection.

Thermowell comes pre-attached to the lid

There is also capacity for a cooling coil to be fitted to the lid for use with glycol chilling systems - though some drilling of the plastic lid is required to accomplish this.

After assembling our Apollo Titan fermenter, we gave it a clean with PBW followed by a good rinse with water. We weren't sure whether or not the interior surface was passivated or not, so we opted for a quick/simple passivation using the citric acid based Bar Keepers friend before adding our first wort to the fermenter. Passivation may or may not have been necessary, but we opted for it anyway just in case.

Passivating our Apollo Titan with Bar Keepers Friend

The last piece of assembly was putting together the floating dip tube, along with ball float and mesh filter. We ended up removing one of the extra rings and attached it as per the picture below. The centre ring can be fed onto the thermowell to keep the float centered in the fermenter. 

Now that everything has been cleaned and assembled, we went ahead and added our wort to the fermenter and decided to fit our 1.5" tri clover sight glass so we can have some visibility of what is happening inside the fermenter. A good example of the type of attachments that can be added to the Apollo Titan.

Keg King Apollo Titan with 1.5" tri clover sight glass fitted

As the Apollo Titan shares the same general profile/body as it's PET plastic counterpart, the Apollo insulating jackets are also compatible which can help with maintaining/stabilising the temperature within the fermenter, particularly if you'll be using it in a cooler climate.

What improvements could be made for a future revision? Firstly, the inclusion of a 1.5" tri clover opening on the top near the lid opening - purely for the purpose of dry hopping would be well received. The PRV housing on the lid can be unscrewed and used as a dry hopping port which would work well for modest amounts of dry hopping, but we expect that trying to get a few hundred grams of hops through the relatively small hole for a heavily hopped IPA might be a bit more challenging and time consuming, though some kind of funnel would probably help with this too. Having an additional tri clover fitting for the purpose of dry hopping could also allow for pressurised dry hopping contraptions to be devised and fitted to allow dry hopping doses to be purged of oxygen, and released into the fermenter without having to release the pressure within the fermenter itself. Such contraptions can essentially eliminate any risk of oxidation occurring from dry hopping.

An option for wheels/castors could also be a good (optional) extra for those who want it. With a 30L capacity, even when full a relatively fit/healthy adult can lift and maneuver the fermenter using the attached handles, however the option for wheels would no doubt help others who are perhaps unable to lift such weight, or simply for those who just want an easier and less strenuous way of moving the fermenter around when full.

Will a larger format Apollo Titan be coming in the future? We expect it's more than likely, since the PET plastic Apollo range come in 30L and 60L versions. A larger version would likely also come in a 60L format, but will also likely depend on demand and relative success of this 30L version.

The Apollo Titan is currently available on the Keg King website for AU$399.95 which represents incredible value for money. There isn't currently another pressure capable stainless steel fermenter on the market anywhere near this price point. It's a no brainer for any homebrewer looking to upgrade their equipment to stainless steel, and with the inclusion of industry standard tri clover fittings, brewers are able to purchase additional add-ons and accessories later on to help reduce the initial financial outlay as the cost of stainless steel accessories can add up quite quickly. The Apollo Titan kit comes with everything you need to get fermenting right out of the box, and the low/short profile when the extendable legs retracted (as we have it) means it should comfortably fit in just about any fermentation fridge or chamber.

Also check out our Guest Review of Keg King's Apollo Titan 30L stainless conical fermenter!

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