After years of hobby cider making, around 1999 we decided to start a cidery. There wasn’t a lot of information available at the time so we took a trip through England, France and Northern Spain to learn more about it. The trip through the “old world” convinced us that producing traditional styles of cider was what we wanted to do. Because we were certified organic, we knew that ease of cleaning and sanitation would be critical to our success and searched for tanks that would fit the bill, and that were also affordable. We found information about Flextanks and in 2008 we bought our first set!
While we had planned to buy more barrels and stainless tanks, the Flextanks were so convenient and fit our needs so well that we continued to buy them over the years. Flextanks allowed us to expand our operation and stay within our limited budget.
We find the 300 gallon size to be perfect for us, they are easy to stack them away when not it use. They work equally well for small batch fermentation and for cider storage. We appreciate the micro-oxygenation that happens with the heavy wall polyethylene and the fact that they can be cleaned just like our stainless tanks and barrels with hot water and sanitizers. We also love now easy it is to treat tanks with oak staves, chip or cubes, and the built in sample taps make it easy to monitor the cider.
We have been using some of these tanks for 12 years and have never had a problem, the folks at Flextank have always been helpful and great to deal with. The fact they are manufactured so centrally in Vancouver, WA also makes pick up or delivery super convenient.
