Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This year's big investment was a pair of Catalyst Fermenters. I really liked what the product promised. The general concept of conical fermentation was very motivating, because the thing I hate most is the time and labor wasted with the constant racking. This type of system seemed to eliminate that concern, because you remove the sediment from the product, instead of taking the product away from the sediment. No more siphoning after the primary or secondary steps. No more siphoning into a bottling container. Just add your ingredients, one time and carry out your process. When it is time, remove the bad stuff out the bottom, and at the end, you bottle right out the bottom. You have one mess to clean up at the end, and that is it. Such an exciting concept. In addition, I really liked the appearance of this product. Part of the fun of home vinting is being able to see your product undergoing the process. Yes, we keep it in a dark, climate controlled area. But every once in a while, you like to take a peak. This also is valuable when you are showing off the product and process on social media. And for these reasons, I went with this option over other similar setups that are available on the web. To be fair, this system does deliver on most of the process promises. You will not need to primary or secondary rack; this works as the concepts suggests it should. And it is a sturdy, attractive setup. These are all real positives. But the negatives are many. You quite simply will NOT be able to bottle directly out the bottom of this container. The sediment that gathers near the bottom opening will be carried out with the flow of the good product. Instead, you will continue to use a bottling bucket or similar container, or rack from the top. This can and has been corrected by the optional addition of a racking arm, or at least so I have read. The problem here is that this option is that it is an additional $25+ product, over and above the rather steep initial investment. Moreover, it has not been in stock for months, and no one seems to have an answer on when that will change. In a similar manner, you will find that the gasket included with this lid works well, but always comes off. And it is a hell of a booger to get back on, unless you know "the trick." End of the world? No. But plenty annoying. And this too can be corrected by an upgrade, but only after you cough up some more money. The end result is that I can not recommend this system. The practical fact is that you will spend $200+ for a system that does not really save you any labor. It just creates a different set of challenges. You will be disappointed. The plain fact is that there are other products that do a better job, and at a more affordable price. My recommendation would be a new version with the new gasket, and a steeper angle of attack and/or an included racking arm. And some sort of process to help the owners of the current, flawed system come up to speed without having to invest an additional 20% over their original, already steep cost.