Cost: Chronical £430 Morebeer £770 (best case). Chronical wins.
Capacity: Chronical 64 Liters, Morebeer 42 liters. Much more flexibility in the Chronical, it wins, by miles.
Features: Chronical has a temp port ,volume markings on the inside, handles and a cheap way of adding castors. Morebeer has a 3 inch top Triclamp (can buy CIP balls to fit nicely), sample valve, racking arm position indicator. Chronical wins but not much in it.
Materials: Chronical finished in highly polished stainless steel with ground smooth welds. SS on chronical is thin, knock it over and it may get damaged. It feels like the Chinese vessels you buy on ebay etc. Morebeer is made from very thick SS, 50% plus thicker than Chronical (my guess). Its bomb proof – hit this with a hammer and it wont dent. Knock it over and it wont get damaged. It doesn’t flex in the same way a Chronical does. It just feels completely solid. Morebeer lid alone must weigh 5 times the Chronicals. Morebeer wins, by a million miles.
Finnish: Because the Chronical has welded handles and legs, with thinner SS, it looks a little untidy on the inside as you see the weld dents. Outside its beautiful but inside its not quite as nice. My example was returned due to weld issues (a subjective and emotive subject). Morebeer is built to last forever and finished beautifully (if a little more rustic as its not polished), attention to detail is stunning. It’s a world class piece of kit. Morebeer wins, by miles and miles.
Ports: Chronical uses standard 3 piece SS ball valves with threads on the outside ports. Morebeer is in a different league. Super gorgeous butterfly dump valve made to the very highest standards. Butterfly on the dump is very desirable and this has to be the best butterfly valve money can buy. 100% SS even the handle and it weighs 1.5Kg on its own. Side racking port has a very nice sanitary sampling valve, again very high quality. Morebeer wins by miles and miles.
Stand: Chronical has fixed and welded legs. Morebeer has detachable cone which will aid in cleaning. Stand is built from girders lol. The result is it’s a tie on this one as you have to ensure you level the morebeer cone before filling. Never an issue with the Chronical.
Manufacture: Chronical China, Morebeer USA. Morebeer wins
Supplier: Chronical Malt Miller UK, Morebeer USA. Chronical wins, however replacepmnt part longevity may be an issue.
Resale value: No idea on this really but I suspect the Morebeer will hold its value better. I don’t think youd lose much on either.
Beer fermenting quality: It’s a tie
So which one wins? That’s a difficult question. The Chronical is a good value bit of kit built in China and marketed by a clever Amercian company. They have brought the Chinese conical to the masses at good price points. The worry is they are shipped using Chinese quality control. The good news is they are supplied by Malt Miller who are excellent and so if your concerned they are only a phone call away. It would be nice to see Tri clamps on the port outputs and a butterly on the dump valve. But that would probably put the price up and limit the market. However cost is subjective, as someone said their mates spend a small fortune on fishing gear. Some of my mates spend £1K on a track day (tires alone). Spending nearly £800 on a piece of brewing equipment is mad, but at least it produces something and if looked after will hold its value.
So which one would I buy? Well I bought the Chronical and was a bit disappointed. I decided to dig deep and spend a lot more on the Morebeer. Was it worth it ? From a first impression point of view absolutely yes. The Chronical is a really good value conical fermenter and people are raving about them and they are selling like hot cakes, and thats brilliant. But the Morebeer, well, that is in a different league entirely. Its an industrial grade high tech piece of engineering that will give years and years of operation and Im delighted to own one. It is the ‘one’. Problem is one just isn’t enough….