I have used a V-Vessel for two fermentations so far and thought it would be a good time to write a small review of it.  I have found many of the comments about it in the internet to be based on speculation by people who have only seen pictures of the product. So I will try to add some details about the V-Vessel based on my experience with it.  Please consider in reading this review, that I am new to brewing, and this is my first fermenter (With the exception of one batch that I brewed about 15 years ago and fermented in a glass carboy).

When I took it out of the box, it included one collection bulb, one rubber stopper, and one fermentation lock.  It also included a large funnel for filling it, an attachment to go on the bottom for draining it, a length of tube for racking through that attachment, and a small plastic crimp for pinching off the tube during racking.  Also included were a bracket for mounting it on the wall and lag screws.

At first I was impressed with what was included in the box.  It seemed to be a reasonably complete basic kit for fermentation and racking.

When I started cooking my wort for my first batch, I started prepping the V-Vessel for primary fermentation.  At that point, I was already committed to brewing, and had only that fermentation vessel.  I was appalled to notice that there was something stuck into the inside wall of the v-vessel.  It looks like a short length of monofilament line that was molded into the wall during production.  There were a few other imperfections in the interior wall of the vessel.  I was unable to remove or closely observe just what is stuck to the inside of the vessel because the hole in the top is too small to fit a hand into the vessel.  With that said, if I ever buy another one of these, I will inspect it very closely before leaving the store with it.  I do not know if what I found was an anomaly or common in the V-Vessel.  But with as much as I have read about people’s concerns about spoiling a batch of beer in a scratched fermenter, I think this would be a concern to many brewers.

I went ahead anyway, and my first batches seemed to turn out OK.  The first was a Trappist Ale.  The bulb worked nicely for draining the yeast out of the bottom of the V-Vessel.  Each time you drain it, you lose about one imperial pint of volume from your batch, which cannot be helped anyway.  The yeast needs to settle.  But it seems that a smaller collection bulb for later in the process would help conserve your homebrew while draining the gunk off the bottom.

My second batch was a cider, which so far has seemed to turn out well.  I drained them both to secondary fermenters after about two weeks.  The first time was because I lacked faith in the process, and I had to get it into a clear container for peace of mind.  I decided to rack the second batch, the cider, to the secondary fermenter mainly because I noted that the headspace in the vessel seemed to be quite large, and I was concerned about spoilage during a long secondary fermentation.

It cleans easily by soaking with the typical homebrew cleaning solutions.  So far, it has no stains or discoloration.  It is currently empty because the room where it is mounted is about 75 degrees, and I need to find something that will behave nicely at that temperature.

So far, I have found the V-Vessel to perform nicely as a primary fermenter.  Racking to secondary is easy from it.  The stopper on top does not seal, and you need to jerry-rig something if you want to get a relatively air tight seal at the top.  You cannot see the activity in the fermenter, and the head space may be too much for long secondary fermentations of 5 gallon batches.  The hole in the top is too small to get a hand inside it, and there is another plastic conical that has a larger hole in the top of it for cleaning and inspection.

I will add to this post later after I get another batch into it.  At which point, I will be able to include some pictures.

SailorBrew

For the price they want for that cute little device, it would have to walk down the stairs and get me a cold beer everytime I snapped my fingers !   

I came into this life with nothing and I have most of it left.

Bottled: Amarillo PA,  Altbier, Copper Ale, Citrus Wheat Beer

Primary: MT

Secondary: TRI-CENTENNIAL IPA 

Next Brew : E.F. Porter  

That is my primary beef with the V-Vessel.  I can buy five or more glass carboys and have 25 gallons fermenting if I wanted to for the same price and I know they are time tested.  Also, I find that you feel the need to rack to a secondary unfortunate and somewhat misses the point of the V-vessel.  Please take what I'm saying with a huge grain of salt seeing that I'm only two batches into brewing!!!!  But if you remove the trub via the bulb why rack, other than to see the beer?  Also, have you saved the yeast at all or just discarded it?

By the way, thank you for the review!

+1 one on the price.

I would love to have several of those.  I harvest yeast but I don't like racking the beer.  I also bottle and, again, don't like rack the beer.  They seem like a great system for me but they're far too proud of them for my pocket book.  Maybe if the price drops to about a 1/4 of what it is now.  Maybe?

I could see myself dropping $50-60 for one but not the $170-190 that I've seen it for.  I could almost buy a kegging system for that price, or trick out my extract brewing equipment, or go AG which would be even better.  I think the biggest problem for me would be temp control.  But to be able to harvest the yeast with such ease is a big plus for the unit.
jbelokur


Primary: Empty
Secondary: Empty
Bottled: MW Oatmeal Stout, Modified MWS Vanilla Porte, Boundary Water Wheat
Keg: Maybe someday!
On Deck: Mild Brown Ale- Partial Mash Kit

FBDU Homebrew Bomb Disposal Unit

After actually using it, I must admit that I am not sure I would make the purchase again.  Though I think I had to go through that myself to figure it out.  V-Vessel is not bad, but I also wanted to evaluate the idea of using a conical without the expense of a stainless conical fermenter.  Next to that it seems like a good value, because I got something useful and did not spend 600.00 on a stainless steel fermenter to learn some of the same lessons.

I do not want to open up the old plastic verses glass can of worms here, that is not the purpose of this post, and everyone and their dog has an opinion on that matter.  With that said, I have to say that a much more economical way to explore this hobby is with a plastic bucket primary and a glass secondary.  And there are even cheaper ways to go than that.  But people do not get into brewing to save money.  I have a sixth keg of 1554 on tap in my bar right now.  It cost 70 dollars.  I suppose I could duplicate that (assuming I could approximate the recipe, which is another matter altogether) for somewhere between 40 and 60 dollars when all is said and done with ingredients and supplies and equipment (Just a SWAG).  Then there is all the work and the clean up and the waiting.  1554 is great beer, but if I try to copy it because I want to get it cheaper, I would be crazy.  But if I just want to copy it because I want to know that I can, or because I like it but just want to put my own tweak on it, that is another matter altogether.

I brew for the satisfaction and the variety, my only concern is that I will have to increase my level of physical activity to offset all the extra calories from these new beers I will be trying.

Back to the V-Vessel.  It did not even occur to me that, between the first batch, which was a Trappist Ale, and the second batch, which is a cider, I should disassemble the lower valve assembly and soak it to clean and sanitize it.  I just filled the V-Vessel with B-Bright solution and soaked, then did the same with the sanitizer.  Well it seems no harm no foul--this time.  Now that it is empty and I am looking for another brew, I will take it apart and give it a more proper cleaning.  Another problem that I see with the V-Vessel, which I may not have foreseen without using it, is that of temperature control.  You can fit a carboy or a bucket into a small refrigerator or a chest freezer, but a V-Vessel will not fit into such an arrangement.  If you have a climate controlled room where it is hung on the wall, or if you want to take up all that space in a large upright refrigerator, that is great.  Otherwise, you are stuck with the ambient temperature of wherever your mounting brackets are hung.

For filling and cleaning, an old barstool with the seat removed from it makes a nice stand for the V-Vessel.

More on the V-Vessel when I brew another batch.

SailorBrew

Again, Sailor, just my two cents.  I'm glad you have it and I'm glad for your review.  You are right, cost is not always the determining factor in things sometimes you just want what you want and that's all the reason you need!

Oh and before anyone else tells you...I think your V-Vessel sounds broken, feel free to send it to me for proper disposal!

I am just about to start another brew and am recleaning the V-Vessel.  The first thing I noticed after it sat empty for a while was that it still has a lingering smell of the cider that was in it until about a month ago.  I remember soaking it in B-Brite for at least a day.  Also, I removed the ball valve to soak that and sanitize it.  The threaded attachment at the bottom of the assembly is frayed at the very end.  It appears that it was cut with a rough tool but not de-burred during the manufacturing process.  I would expect that the manufacturers could at least smooth off the bottom assembly to reduce the number of places for small impurities to hide out until they can ruin one of your brews.

This next batch, I think I will just leave it in the V-Vessel the entire time.  I will give the batch a week in the primary stage then drain the yeast and trub.  Then I will give it two more weeks in secondary fermentation in the same vessel.  After that, I plan to condition it in a keg for a few weeks.  I am brewing Midwest’s Irish Red Ale this time.  I plan to add a pound of gold DME and another half a gallon of water to account for the liquid losses in the collection bulb.

My Noble Trappist Ale turned out fantastic.  I used the White Labs Trappist yeast, I think it may have fermented on the warm side of what would be ideal, but it tastes great and seems perfectly clear to me.  I now have the cider in a keg, when a spot clears up in my kegerator (sometime between now and the end of August) I will get it cooled down and carbonated.  It seems to taste OK, but I think it needs more time, and refrigeration.  This I simply made on a lark with 5 gallons of Whole Foods apple juice and a half a gallon of WF Tart Cherry Juice with the Wyeast Cider Yeast Smack Pack.

All in all, and for now, I would have to say that I think I will convert to buckets and carboys in the future.  Buckets seem like they would move around much easier and cost less money.  They also fit into a refrigerator or chest freezer for better temperature control.  And there appears to be some satisfaction in the simple economy of the bucket.  If they get scratched or harbor smells from a previous batch, they are even cheap enough to put to some lesser use without much remorse.  Even if you suspect that the bucket is not suitable for further use as a primary fermenter for your fine brews, you can replace it without much financial drain on the brewing budget.  Hurray for the Ale Pale!

As for yeast harvest, I cannot comment on that.  It seems an obvious advantage of the V-Vessel.  But for me, I do not know when I will get around to trying that out.  Well, I better get back to the brew kitchen!  Cheers!

SailorBrew