Nancy Shang | Founder and CEO, Micet Craft | Updated: July 2026

Three tank types dominate the craft brewery cellar: the dedicated fermenter, the brite tank, and the unitank. Each does something the other two don’t do as well. The right cellar mix depends on your batch size, package format, and how often you cold-crash back-to-back, not on which one is “best.”

The Three Tank Types Defined

Dedicated fermenter (conical). A cylindrical-conical tank sized for primary and secondary fermentation. Usually operates at atmospheric or low pressure (0–0.5 bar). Beer transfers out to a brite tank or unitank for carbonation and packaging.

Brite tank (BBT). A pressure-rated tank (typically 1.0–1.5 bar working) sized to clarify, force-carbonate, and hold finished beer at counter-pressure until it feeds the packaging line. Not designed to ferment.

Unitank. A pressure-rated tank (typically 1.0–2.0 bar working) designed to ferment AND carbonate in the same vessel. Skips the transfer step between fermentation and packaging.

Quick reference:

Tank type	Primary function	Pressure rating	Best packaging fit
Fermenter	Fermentation only	0–0.5 bar (atmospheric/low)	Requires transfer to BBT
Brite Tank	Carbonation + hold	1.0–1.5 bar working	Direct feed to keg/can/bottle
Unitank	Ferment + carbonate	1.0–2.0 bar working	Direct feed to packaging

The core trade-off: unitanks save floor space and CapEx by combining functions, but they lock up the tank for the entire fermentation + carbonation window. Dedicated fermenter + BBT pairs decouple the two, at the cost of extra tank count and floor space.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Full comparison across the variables that matter for craft cellar decisions:

Factor	Fermenter	Brite Tank	Unitank
Primary role	Ferment wort → beer	Clarify + carbonate + hold	Both, sequentially, in one vessel
Pressure rating	0–0.5 bar	1.0–1.5 bar	1.0–2.0 bar
Jacket zones (typical)	2–3	1–2	2–3
Occupancy per batch	10–35 days (ale-lager range)	2–7 days	12–42 days (ferment + carb combined)
CapEx per BBL working	Baseline	Similar to fermenter	+15–25% vs fermenter
CIP cycles per BBL packaged	Higher (2 vessels)	—	Lower (1 vessel)
DO control at packaging	Manageable	Best	Marginal (headspace turnover)
Best for	High-SKU + wholesale	Distribution focus	Nano, mobile, space-constrained cellars
Yeast harvesting	Straightforward	N/A	Cone accessed under pressure
Extended dry-hopping	Straightforward	N/A	Awkward under pressure

Compared to what most craft-brewery-tank guides show — long descriptions of what each tank looks like — the table above gives you the decision inputs you need to spec a cellar against a real business plan.

Fermenter — When It’s the Right Buy

A dedicated fermenter earns its place in the cellar when packaging volume justifies handoff to a BBT.

Buy dedicated fermenters when:

• Your annual output target exceeds ~1,500 BBL
• You package more than one batch per week (draft + cans/bottles)
• Your product mix includes both ales and lagers (different occupancy times make dedicated fermenters + shared BBTs more efficient)
• You have floor space for 6+ tank positions

What a fermenter does better than a unitank:

• Turns over faster on the yeast side — empties into a BBT and can immediately clean and re-fill for the next batch
• Lower CapEx per liter (doesn’t need pressure rating for carbonation duty)
• Yeast harvesting is cleaner (no packaging pressure to manage during dumps)
• Extended dry-hop programs and barrel-transfer projects are easier without carbonation pressure interfering

Where fermenters fall short:

• Require a matching cellar of BBTs (extra CapEx, extra floor space)
• Two CIP cycles per batch (fermenter + BBT), not one
• Transfer step adds a DO risk point if the CO2 counterpressure protocol isn’t tight

For a 15 BBL brewhouse growing toward 3,000 BBL/year, six dedicated fermenters plus two BBTs is a typical starting cellar that pays back inside 18 months at reasonable craft distribution margins.

Brite Tank — When It’s the Right Buy

The BBT is where craft breweries lose the most annual output when they under-buy. Packaging days without a BBT lock up a fermenter, forcing brew days to slide.

Buy dedicated BBTs when:

• You have (or plan to have) 4+ fermenters in the cellar
• You package into cans or bottles (isobaric fillers need BBT counterpressure)
• You want tighter DO control than a unitank can provide
• Your product mix includes flagships that stay on the packaging line for extended runs

What a BBT does better than a unitank:

• Pre-purged CO2 environment reduces total package oxygen — typically 30–50 ppb TPO on a well-run BBT vs 50–80 ppb from a unitank direct-fill
• Enables inline force-carbonation with fine-porosity stones without disturbing the fermenter yeast cake
• Buffers packaging schedule from fermentation schedule
• Finished beer can sit under CO2 blanket for weeks without quality drift

Where BBTs fall short:

• Doubles the tank count required to hit the same output (fermenter + BBT vs unitank)
• Adds transfer step and CIP cycle per batch
• Requires cellar footprint the smallest breweries don’t have

The BBT-to-fermenter ratio that holds across most craft cellars: 1 BBT per 3–4 fermenters for ale-focused programs, 1 BBT per 2 fermenters for lager-heavy programs.

Unitank — When It’s the Right Buy

Unitanks reward space-constrained breweries and startups optimizing for lowest cellar CapEx.

Buy unitanks when:

• Cellar floor space is under 100 m² and can’t accommodate a two-vessel-per-batch pattern
• Annual output target is under 1,500 BBL
• Product mix is ale-heavy (unitank occupancy math works better on 12–18 day cycles than 30–40 day lager cycles)
• You’re a brewpub or taproom-focused operation without significant packaging volume

What a unitank does better than a fermenter+BBT pair:

• Single vessel = single CIP cycle per batch
• Beer never leaves the tank between fermentation and carbonation (fewer DO risk points, in theory)
• Lower total CapEx for smaller cellars
• Faster cellar setup (fewer connections, valves, transfers)

Where unitanks fall short:

• Lock up the tank for the entire fermentation + carbonation + hold window
• Higher pressure rating means higher per-tank CapEx (typically 15–25% more than a matching fermenter)
• DO control during packaging is harder — the same tank that fermented has headspace air ingress risk during racking
• Extended dry-hopping or barrel-transfer programs are messier from a unitank than a dedicated fermenter

For a nano to 7 BBL brewhouse, 4–6 unitanks with no separate BBTs is a common starting configuration. Above 15 BBL, most breweries shift to fermenter + BBT pairs as packaging volume grows.

The Real-World Cellar Mix — What Craft Breweries Actually Buy

Very few commercial cellars run all one tank type. The typical progression:

Nano / brewpub (2–5 BBL brewhouse): 4–6 unitanks. No dedicated BBT. Serve directly from unitank pressure to taproom lines.

Small commercial (7–10 BBL brewhouse): 4–5 unitanks + 1 dedicated BBT for packaging days. Or 5–6 dedicated fermenters + 2 BBTs.

Growing craft (15–20 BBL brewhouse): 6–8 dedicated fermenters + 2–3 BBTs. Unitanks retained for experimental or small-batch releases.

Established distributor (30 BBL+ brewhouse): 8–12 dedicated fermenters + 3–4 BBTs. Unitanks used only for pilot runs and special releases (e.g., dry-hopped hazy IPA where extended contact time helps).

The pattern: unitanks dominate at nano and pilot scale where space and CapEx matter most; dedicated fermenter + BBT pairs dominate at commercial scale where output efficiency matters most. Most breweries move through the transition somewhere in the 7–15 BBL brewhouse range.

Micet Craft’s product line covers all three tank types — dedicated fermenters (500L–60 BBL), brite tanks (1 BBL–300 BBL), and unitank configurations across the same capacity ranges — so cellar mix decisions don’t require multiple vendors or mismatched documentation.

Cost Comparison — CapEx and TCO Per Tank Type

CapEx per tank varies with volume, pressure rating, jacket configuration, and fittings. Rough relative pricing on comparable specs:

Tank type	Relative CapEx per BBL working volume	Utility CapEx additions
Fermenter (0.5 bar)	Baseline	Glycol chiller sized to jacket load
Brite tank (1.5 bar)	+5–10% vs fermenter	Higher-precision temperature control
Unitank (2.0 bar)	+15–25% vs fermenter	Same as fermenter + carb stone port + higher-rated PRV

TCO factors over 20-year service life:

• Fermenter + BBT pair: 2 CIP cycles per batch, 2 tanks to inspect and maintain
• Unitank: 1 CIP cycle per batch, 1 tank to inspect (fewer valves, fewer gaskets)
• Unitank CapEx premium is usually recovered by CIP labor savings within 5–7 years for smaller cellars

A useful rule for founders doing the math the first time: the unitank saves money at nano scale; the fermenter+BBT pair saves money at commercial scale. The transition point sits between 1,500–3,000 BBL/year annual output.

Micet Craft does not publish list pricing across the full tank range because configurations vary too widely. Typical quote turnaround is 48 hours from a specification sheet submission.

Common Mistakes When Choosing Between the Three

Four patterns show up repeatedly when craft breweries buy the wrong cellar mix:

Buying all unitanks, then wanting BBTs a year later. The unitank pressure and DO limitations show up when the brewery starts canning. Retrofitting BBTs then means finding floor space you didn’t plan for and re-piping CO2. Cheaper to plan for 1–2 BBTs from day one if any canning or bottling is on the roadmap.

Buying too many fermenters, too few BBTs. A cellar with 6 fermenters and 1 BBT hits the BBT bottleneck within weeks. Packaging days back up, fermenters fill, brew days slide. The correct ratio (1 BBT per 3–4 fermenters for ales) matters more than adding a 7th fermenter.

Under-spec’d pressure rating on “unitanks.” Some vendors sell “unitanks” rated at 0.5 bar working, which means they can’t reliably carbonate. Confirm working pressure at 1.0 bar minimum for any tank labeled unitank; 1.5–2.0 bar for hazy IPA or hard seltzer duty.

Skipping cone jacket coverage on lager fermenters. A fermenter running 30-day lager cycles needs cone jacket coverage to hold yeast at target temperature during extended maturation. Cone-jacket-free fermenters are cheaper on purchase and cost you consistency on lager batches.

FAQ

Q: Can I convert a fermenter to a unitank later? 

A: In practice, no. The pressure rating is designed into the shell thickness and weld construction. Retrofitting a 0.5 bar fermenter to unitank duty would require re-welding and re-certification, which usually costs more than a new unitank.

Q: If I could only buy one tank type to start, which should it be? 

A: Unitank for anything under a 7 BBL brewhouse targeting under 1,500 BBL/year. Fermenter + BBT pair for anything larger or planning canning/bottling.

Q: What’s the sizing ratio between fermenter and brite tank in a mixed cellar? 

A: BBT working volume should equal 1.0–1.2× a single brewhouse turn. So a 15 BBL brewhouse pairs with 15–18 BBL BBTs. Count 1 BBT per 3–4 fermenters for ale-focused programs.

Q: Are unitanks less sanitary than dedicated fermenters? 

A: No. Same materials (304 or 316L stainless), same interior finish standards (Ra ≤ 0.6 μm), same TIG welding. The difference is operational: unitanks have more headspace turnover during carbonation, which increases DO risk if the CO2 purge protocol isn’t tight.

Q: How long does a tank shipment typically take? 

A: Standard configurations from Micet Craft: 45–75 days ex-works, plus ocean freight time to destination.

Q: Can I run cider or kombucha in the same tanks as beer?

 A: Yes, if the tanks are 316L stainless. Standard 304 works for beer but starts pitting on extended low-pH cider or kombucha service. Spec 316L if you plan to co-produce.

Q: What’s the working pressure spec I should require for a unitank? 

A: 1.0 bar minimum (approximately 15 psi) for standard beer carbonation. 2.0 bar (30 psi) for hazy IPA, hard seltzer, or kombucha duty. Anything below 1.0 bar working shouldn’t be sold as a “unitank.”

Q: Do I need cone jacket coverage on all three tank types? 

A: Fermenters running lagers or extended maturation: yes. BBTs: cone jacket helps with clarity settling but isn’t strictly required. Unitanks: yes if any lager production is on the roadmap.

Q: What’s the shift from a 500L semi-auto system to a fully-configured cellar look like? 

A: Typical upgrades from an entry-level 500L or similar semi-auto setup involve moving to a properly matched brewhouse-fermenter-BBT sizing (usually 1000L–2000L brewhouse tier) plus glycol chiller and CIP sizing to match. Production efficiency gains in the 20–30% range are documented across breweries that make this jump when the utility infrastructure is spec’d correctly.