OneDerBrew size Comparison with standard fermenter
Some of us here at CBG are homebrewers, including myself (CBG Dan). We recently heard about a new homebrew kit on the market called the OneDerBrew, and it intrigued us. So we decided to check it out.
OneDerBrew creator Steve
It turns out that OneDerBrew is made right in the Chicago suburb of Antioch. So we headed to Antioch to meet with Steve Pearson who created the system. A homebrewer himself, he came up with the idea while trying to figure out a way to homebrew in less steps. As a homebrewer myself, bottling is a tedious process that I myself do not enjoy. (I haven’t moved to kegging).
The name OneDerBrew refers to the one step process of putting your wort into the fermenter and then being able to serve carbonated beer directly from it. How does this system accomplish this? Well, it ferments under pressure, and thus once fermentation is complete the pressure force carbonates your 5 gallons of beer at the same time. The system is made up of a conical fermenter, a pressure release valve to prevent too much pressure, and a pour spout to server your beer once ready.
At the Antioch location they are in the process of setting up a small homebrew shop to sell the kits along with beginner recipe kits, and working on creating some on site brewing classes using the system. You can also pick up the kit at your local brew and grow, amazon, or the onederbrew website.
Pressure Gauge an Relief Valve
Tightening down the seal
So, onto my experience with the system. I picked up some brewing ingredients for an IPA from my local home brew shop Grow Masters in Gurnee IL and scheduled a brew night. The actual brewing process is no different. You can do extract or all grain, its up to you. It’s all in the fermentation where this system comes into play. Following the instructions provided I added my wort to the fermenter and attached the cone with the supplied seals. I suggest you watch the final assembly video on the OneDerBrew youtube channel. It is very detailed and will guide you through step by step final assembly of the system. With the pressure release valve set as shown in the video you will reach 10 psi of pressure which I found to be fine.
One Week After Brew Day
After 3 days of fermenting I poured some out and checked my gravity to see if fermentation had completed and it had, I then put the entire fermenter into my fridge to let it cool and settle. I tasted the beer every day to see the progress. Very yeasty at first as expected since yeast was still settling. This lessened every day. As of the writing of this article it has been 1 week from brew day and the beer is 100% drinkable and the yeast aroma and flavor has subsided. As with most homebrew it will only get better with time. This batch could use more time to clarify and settle; however, it is 100% drinkable and carbonated after just 1 week. There is a yeast extraction release port at the bottom of the cone, so at this time I could get the yeast out to reuse if I was going to start a second brew, thus cutting down on yeast costs. I did connect a tube to the port and extract most of the yeast myself just to get it out of the fermenter, but this is not necessary.
Overall I am happy with the system. It can be used in other ways as well. You do not have to ferment under pressure, you can leave the pressure relief valve completely open, just attach a blow off tube as you normally would to prevent oxygen from getting in. Then once fermented you can bottle it, or using co2 you can force carbonate through the same port you attached your blow off tube. If you plan to bottle I’d recommend using the spare shut off valve in place of the pour spout during assembly, it would make it a little easier to attach your standard siphon tube to transfer to a bottling bucket.
OneDerBrew Assembly
There are only a couple disadvantages to this system that I could think of. You can’t dry hop easily. You could pop off the safety bung at the top and add hops to do so, but then you won’t get the advantages of the pressure and will have to bottle normally, or force carbonate with co2. Also if you would normally add adjuncts at bottling such as for fruit beers you will have to bottle normally as well. The ring that holds the cone and bucket together is easy enough to put on, but takes a little time wrenching it down. They are working on possibly making this easier but for now this was the most consistent way to ensure a good seal. Also it takes up a good amount of space in your fridge, so the addition of a mini fridge or dedicated fridge would be ideal if your serving from it.
Who do I feel would benefit from a OneDerBrew system? Well there are a few use cases so many homebrewers can. The casual homebrewer who wants to be able to have beer served in a week or so. Someone who wants an in between to bottling and kegging, or any homebrewer who would like an inexpensive conical fermenter. I’m sure many homebrewers can think of additional ways to utilize this fermenter as well. So pick up one today and make up your own mind.
Hey Dan, I was looking around at conical fermentors and was led to your review. Very informative! I would rather hunt for a review such as yours as waste time reading reviews from the manufacturer. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since your review but would you buy this product again?
Hi Darrel,
I do think it is a decent system for the money. Keep in mind it is all plastic vs the more expensive systems being stainless steel. The plastic valves are a little tight but work fine, they are a standard size, so it might be something you can change out if you wanted to invest more into it and do some changes. As a pressurized fermentor it is a new concept to me and many, so that experience was a little different than what I am used to. After using it once in that method I do see the ways it can be used without pressure in a more conventional fashion and I think going forward I may use it in those ways (like I mentioned in the article). The yeast does settle nicely to the bottom of the cone, and where the pour spigot is swapping with a valve and then using gravity to go to the bottling bucket would be a bit easier than the standard siphon.
If your going to compare it to a $600 stainless fermentor that will be more professional grade; however, for $160 if your looking to see if a conical is for you its good for the value. Obviously its not going to be as rugged as a stainless steel one since it is plastic but that’s how they offer it at a much lower cost.
If your using it as a pressurized system, if your doing some basic brews I think its good, but takes up fridge space and not as easy to share with friends as bottles are, so I am probably going to not be doing pressurized myself in the future, but will be trying the system as a basic fermentor for my next batch. Hope this helps.
Dan,
Great review, i just ran across one of these systems today and jumped on to do some research, found your site and got some great insight to the system.
I do have a question however. It was my intention to do a batch to try and force carbonate in a keg, then transfer to bottles (I have not tried this as of yet but am eager to do so) I am wondering in you opinion if this can be accomplished easily with OneDerBrew?
Thanks
Mike
Mike, the system is not a kegging system, so you can’t do that. If you have a kegging system you can use this system to ferment your beer and then transfer to your keg that you want to use to force carbonate. Otherwise you can force carbonate in the system as intended and then transfer to bottles. If you did that I would recommend using the additional yeast extraction valve in place of the standard spigot and it would be easier to bottle while its carbonated. I have not tried this myself so not 100% sure how it would work out.
Thanks. Again. Great review.