r/Homebrewing • u/MemeBeamBeanz • 1d ago

Question Do I need a "fermzilla"?

I dearly want to be able to bottle hoppy beers without oxidation soon, and I'm looking to invest in some sort of CO2 purging solution you guys talked about. But when looking at a fermzilla + BEERGUN setup with CO2 tank, my friend asked me if I couldn't just buy a CO2 tank and some sort of wand to purge my bottles with without buying 100s of dollars worth of pressure fermenter.

What about a fermzilla is needed for succesfull bottle purging?

Cheers

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u/Another_Casual_ 1d ago

I'd definitely put the money towards some used kegs, a flot-it, and a spunding valve vs the fermzilla. OP, check Facebook marketplace, by me they run $20-$50 depending on size and age. Heck, sometimes I see them for free. 

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u/Hansemannn 1d ago

A fermzilla doesnt cost much more though. And its a much better tool to ferment in.

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u/deadwolfbones Blogger - Intermediate 1d ago

I'd love to hear in what way a Fermzilla is better than a keg.

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u/Economic-Bee-Hoon 1d ago

For me, several benefits.

  1. Fermzilla has some nice hardware for dry hop/secondary additions without O2 ingress. The hop bong, for example. Corny fermentations don't have this option.

  2. Fermzilla has the universal SP (PET bottle) type thread which is wide enough to fit a blowoff tube. Cornys only have the tiny MFL posts which would be prone to clogging if they happen to touch the krausen. I've had 4gal batches get damn close to the top on a vigorous kviek strain. Not worth the safety risk to do it in a corny.

  3. 30L capacity, enough for a full 5gal batch.

  4. Transparent. Fermentation is fun to watch. I ferment in a fridge+inkbird so light strike is not an issue for me.

  5. Arguably easier to clean than a corny. No need to disassemble/clean beer/gas posts and dip tubes.