THE BEST-VALUE HOMEBREW CAN SEAMER on the US Market | Oktober Design BENCHMK | How to Can Homebrew
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- čas přidán 24. 06. 2024
- The Oktober Design BenchMK Can Seamer is literally the cheapest homebrew can seamer on the market right now. Find out why I think it has outstanding value for money and lowers the price of admission for getting into canning.
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0:00 Intro and welcome
0:24 Disclosures and relationships
1:25 Why can?
2:07 What the market was like before the BenchMK
3:49 BenchMK can seamer overview
5:14 How to can homebrew
8:14 How to seam a can using the BenchMK
10:26 Tips and things to be aware of
11:54 How to calibrate seam widths
12:44 Positives
13:37 Negatives
14:54 Final thoughts
Full disclosure, most of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you buy through them I make a small percentage from the sale at no additional cost to you. All money earned through the channel goes back into the videos and brews you see on my channel. As always, don't just take my word for it, do your research before you decide to buy.
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#oktober #benchmk #seamer #homebrew #can #seamer #beer #brewing #kegging #draft - Jak na to + styl
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Hey everyone, seems like a lot of people have some questions as to whether canning is better than bottling. I'll be doing a cans vs bottles video in the coming weeks to give some more data points on the debate, but the important thing to keep in mind is your own situation. Truth is, more people are going to find that bottling makes way more sense than canning right now, but everyone also has a different situation with their homebrewing setup and different factors that are going to be more or less important to them. As always, make sure you do as much research as you can before making any purchase and decide what is best for you.
I finally just pulled the trigger and ordered this same seamer. Did hours of research before deciding what one to use. Ultimately I really liked its size, cost and the fact its made here in the US and the support is very quick to get back to you when you have any questions.
You are a lucky man getting support to have so many niche tools! Thanks for testing out for us. Seems a lot of effort to enjoy.
Thanks for the review Steve! Keep it up!
Glad you enjoyed it, cheers!
Very nice review. Thank you. This is going to the top of my wish list. We have a big family reunion coming up in June and I hope to get one of these before then.
Awesome! Its a solid piece of equipment, and once you get the hang of it canning is about as quick as bottling!
Awesome overview of the Benchmk. If only it was released before I picked up my Cannular. Cheers!
Cheers James!
I love my Oktober Can Seamer. I have the SL1 personally. This one I'm sure is just as well in quality. Very solid canning machine and easy to use. I know of a few Brewtubers that now have an Oktober Can Seamer and all absolutely love it. You can't go wrong with Oktober. Cheers!
Its a fantastic machine and I'm very happy with mine! Cheers!
NICE!!!! Very cool man!
👍🏻👍🏻🍺
Cheers Tom! Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice Shirt!!! Thanks for the shout out!!! I’ve been researching this canner for a while. I’ve got the 19oz cans from Canular. You think it’ll fit those cans as well?
Its a great shirt!! I can't say for sure the seamer will take those cans, but they may make an adapter for them. Cheers Brian!
Dude! Heck yea! I like that they include the splash guard on this one. Have you thought about what you’re gonna do for labels?
Love it! Right now I've just been using Avery shipping labels, but I'm curious to know where people get some of the templates and designs they've been using. I know Avery does a few more beer can specific ones
I downloaded canva to design my can label. In the app search for beer label, the app already has templates creates which you modify to make it your own.
To customize the print size you will need to pay for the app though.
Great review of this product. Where did you get your beer gun? By the way your videos are awesome they got me into brewing. Thanks for the inspiration 👍🏾.
I got the Northern Brewer last straw bottle filler. Glad you enjoy everything!
Man I can tell you are excited about this one, happy for you and now maybe you can send me some beer??
Lets plan on it!
This is very cool. I love the idea that it doesnt have a motor or cord so it can be easily stored away in a closet of shelf until needed. Yeah $500 isnt cheap but being able to share beer with friends and family and not have to worry about the glass is very cool also. Or if I want to take some brew to the beach cans are allowed here but not glass. Thanks for the video as always.
Its a solid design choice. A year in and still love mine.
@@TheApartmentBrewer That was going to be my next question. Glad to know it stands the test of time. Thanks for the info.
This product is on my wishlist along with the Stasis glycol chiller. The price point is a lot better than the other can seamers. There more pros than cons to this product for sure. It is definitely a nice gateway up your homebrewing game. Thanks for the candid product review. Your reviews are a valuable source of information when I make a purchase. Cheers! 🍻
Glad you found it useful! This is still the best entry point for canning (assuming you have a drill already) and I think its going to make some waves
@@patrickglaser1560 thinking my next purchase is glycol chiller and new fermenters
I don't think that Stasis Glycol Chiller is coming back in stock anytime soon. I ended up making my own with a cheap electric cooler and a submersible pump. Happy with it, especially because I can use my existing Inkbird to both control the submersible pump for cooling and my conical heat wrap for heating.
Thanks for the warning about the Kegland one, I had no idea they have to be used with certain cans, Canning is great specially if you are going camping or to the beach, no worrying about bottles breaking plus Sunlight can't get to the beer to, it's mid summer down here and a lot of people take pre bought cans to parties, the beach, camping etc, but as for home, kegging and the odd bottles which I can reuse is the way to go for me, but camping, the beach etc, cans are better, there seems to be a lot of craft brewing manufacturers putting their beer into cans now I have found, when you buy pre packaged beer here, specially the craft beer they are joined together at the top with a plastic thing with 6 holes which fit over the top of the cans, you probably have the same in the US, this is where cans are much better for transporting.
One correction on the Cannular - it is possible to use it on other standardized cans, but it needs adjustments and calibration. It appears yhats a US vs rest of world thing. See masteringhomebrew's comments below. I agree with your reasoning on canning!
Great video!
Canners are very cool but still so pricey. Especially when plastic bottles are essentially free; though way less cool obviously. Who knows, maybe one day in the future I'll be in position where I change my mind. 🍻
I'm REALLY hoping the price comes down with time and competition. Cheers!
I love my BenchMK. For some, like me, not having a permanent motor is a huge advantage. My last canning run, at the end I just but it in my sink and sprayed it down. My first reaction when I saw the drill on it was it looks pretty goofy, but it works great and I really like it. Great video!
I agree, it takes up about half the space of the SL1 without the chunky motor on the back. Cheers!
What are you using as a sanitizer? Awesome video
Starsan
I was able to make a base which clamps to the my drill press frame and then i put a foot pedal switch on the power supply for the drill press which ive kept in place becasue it makes it easier on me.
That's a really awesome setup!
The canual, you also have to buy the power supply separately, which puts the cost just under the sl-1
The Cannular? Yeah that is unfortunate
That's a pretty cool setup! Your process looks dead on with the CO2 purge and capping on foam. If you want to check your fill level, at work we weigh our filled cans and shoot for about 370 grams.
Thanks for the confirmation!! I like the idea of weighing for consistent fill level, I'll have to try that out!
Big up the Elementary Merch!
The canner looks really cool and I do quite like drinking from cans, but how do you find it in regards to cost per lid, and the general use of this? I feel like canning is just bottling taken up a step but somewhat without the reusability?
Cans per unit are significantly cheaper than bottles, but they can't be re-used. Canning vs bottling is very subjective, but I'll be putting out a video sometime in the next few weeks with more data points on the debate.
@@TheApartmentBrewer Excellent look forward to it! Was mainly curious since I source bottles from friends in return for beer so don’t end up having to purchase them in the first place
It might take some adjustments, but the Canular seamer can seam standard 202 cans. Also the 330ml cans that Canular sells are not proprietary, that is the standard can size in Europe.
It does, several comments below have pointed this out, but this can seamer is primarily focused on US customers.
Have you considered can conditioning? I'm curious how often people ferment in a can as opposed to bottles
Harrybrew69 - small brewery vlog in the uk can conditions.
Yeah, it actually works exactly the same as with bottles! They hold pressure basically to the same standards as glass bottles.
How long did it take for Oktober to ship your seamer?
Made in the usa love it!
Love the name!
Im just happy to find home brewing items not made in china!!
I just picked up this canner very excited!
Thanks. How long would it take to do 10 cans? If you decided to can a whole batch how long would it take do 40 plus cans?
It takes a bit longer than bottling due to the seaming procedure being a few seconds longer than capping, but I imagine once you get your process down it wouldn't be significantly longer.
Quick question, does it only do that size of can? Will it do a 20 oz. can?
Not sure if it can do a 20 oz can. I know it absolutely can do a 16 oz can, but you may need to switch out the chuck for 20 oz.
I would think that another advantage to canning would be if you are planning to sell your beers? You would have better profit margins. Bottles are way more expensive.
Depending on your supplier, yes. I think breweries tend to use them more because they can be distributed much easier and because they are lighter
What sort of carbonation level are you using and how long does it stay carbonated in the can ?
Normally I keep my beers around 2.5 volumes CO2 but occasionally I forget to shut off the distributor valve to a keg and they get over carbonated. As long as you seam properly and and don't leave a ridiculous amount of headspace you wont lose any carbonation. I haven't had the seamer long enough to really test out how long it will last.
Cans stay carbonated much much longer than bottles. If purged of O2 by canning on foam your can would last longer than you will drink it in almost all cases.
Can get a cannular for cheaper than that, but yes can price puts me off for home brew
I primarily keg, sometimes ill bottle from time to time. Canning is super cool but man the price point is hard to get behind. I suppose I would have to try it for myself but I guess I just dont understand what you are paying for. $500 for a tool that lifts a can and compresses a lid on it, no motor, you have to move the beer in manually. I just dont understand why that costs $500 - Maybe there is something im just not understanding. Great video regardless!
I wish they would be more transparent about where the cost comes from too, and yeah the price isn't winning any awards! My best guess as to where the dollars come in are two things: materials and precision. The rollers are some special material, they aren't just plain old steel. Probably has some anti friction or anti wear coatings, and secondly the precision is really really tight. The seams are on the order of 0.0001 inches and that has to be done all the way around. Hopefully with more competition in the market though the price can come down over time though
It’s worth mentioning that the cannular can seamer does seam any 202 can. I’m not really sure where the myth came from that it only seams kegland cans. Im in europe and dont have access to cannular cans. I use Ball branded cans in my cannular. Great video though. I personally think the 50 bucks extra is worth it for a built-in motor but to each their own.
From their own website, it is specifically designed to work with their line of 16.9 oz and 11.2 oz cans, but they do mention having success with 202 ends "with proper adjustments". If you could let us know what adjustments or adaptations you had to make for those cans that would be good for everyone here. This video is not intended to bash the Cannular at all, but it is designed to work with Kegland cans first and foremost per their own product listing.
@@TheApartmentBrewer i’m not really sure about the ones that they sell in Australia vs USA vs Europe but I know that the one I got was one of the first ones off of the containers coming to Europe. I did read that they do calibrate them to seam one can before they leave the factory in the keg land group. I haven’t made a single adjustment since it came out of the box 2ish years ago. It seamed perfect after i got my seaming pressures down without the need for any adjustment. I have an early version without an adjustable base so I had to 3-D print a few different bases for the 250ml, 330ml and 440ml can sizes. It also came with a B64 lid chuck installed. Ive always used either Ball branded 202 cans or some other generic 202 cans of various colors and sizes my local homebrew shops sell. I also use 360 B64 lids as well as your standard lid. Ive run a few thousand cans atleast. I just can conditioned my Christmas beer and I didn’t get any pops so my seams are still good it…seems
@@TheApartmentBrewer ahhhh yes I see now. The cannular‘s come intended for us because pretty much everywhere but the USA uses standard sized cans. 250,330,440,500ml would be the global standard. In America you guys use 12 ounce and 16 ounce cans as your standard. Kind of explains why the can shortage in America is a bit worse than here. MoreBeer does indicate that they are factory calibrated though. Ive been happy with mine but i do want an oktober.
It’s also worth mentioning that the cannular is a full $200 cheaper on this side of the pond than the oktober. Made in america advantage there.
@@MasteringHomebrew Ah the pesky old metric system! I should have been more specific in the video when referring to "Standard" cans, as usual America is doing something different than the rest of the world lol. Thanks for the details and for that extra bit of knowledge, cheers!
The problem with canning at home is the economy of the cans themselves. You can get 200 cans for ~$150. That’s insanely expense for empty cans. Bottles cost the same, but can be cleaned and reused. The only way I would get into canning is by contacting a container supplier and buying ~10,000 for $1000. That’s still expense relative to what a brewery pays, but gets it down to 10 cents a can. Of course, i would probably want to split that between 10 brewers for storage purposes.
For what its worth you can get 240 cans direct from oktober for about 75 dollars (116 including shipping). I wouldn't recommend buying massive quantities of cans unless you split them among multiple people like you said
These things are really expensive. In China, you can buy an automatic can seamer for the same price, and it is very durable.
It appears this is a US focused product
Better than the cannular?
I have no experience with the Cannular so I can't fairly say that. It is however cheaper, requires no adjustment, takes up less space, and works with any standard can out of the box.
@@TheApartmentBrewer Thanks for taking the time to review - I wasn't aware the cannular had that bespoke can type restriction, so thats a big negative. Appreciate you highlighting that.
It is really difficult to understand why a can seamer is expensive 🤔
There is not enough materials to justify the prices. And I'm not talking just about this one but all of them. Kegland just launched one for 18k, that's mad 😬
I think it mostly has to do with the level of precision and calibration involved. I mean, were talking .0001 inch precision levels and adjustments for getting that seam perfectly uniform all the way around. Not to mention there's some kind of special coating on the rollers to keep them from deforming over time. But I hear you, I'm hoping the price of these continues to fall
I’d rather use a canning machine that is electric and can maintain a constant speed. Not a fan of using a drill, seems like juggling drill speed while sealing isn’t worth it. Just my 0.02
All good, but I will mention if you use the right setting on your drill you can maintain a constant speed regardless
I love your channel. But, question... why would you waste 5s of CO2 if you are sealing on foam anyway? The act of pushing foam up and over the top would eliminate O2 anyway. Seems like a waste of CO2. I do want to add that I am psyched that you are doing canning. Though, dollar for dollar with the manual process involved here I would need it to be more than 50 bucks cheaper than the Canular to make it worth the extra work. Semi-auto vs manual.
The reason for purging the can is to minimize mixing the beer with oxygen as it fills. Regardless of bottling, canning, or kegging its always a good idea to purge the container to keep your beer from staling so it is definitely not a waste of CO2!
Looks as though it works as intended. Not to knock the process, but canning seems like it would be better applied coming out of primary, to allow can conditioning. It would definitely be easier to contain. Seems to be little advantage over bottling, other than the reality that glass breaks with less impact than aluminum cans. Great review, very thorough demonstration and presentation.
Whether to can or bottle is a very subjective thing and it all comes down to what makes the most sense for people. I'll be doing a cans vs bottles compared video sometime in the next few weeks to give some more data points for people.
500 bucks... home brewer.. crazy. Cost of cans....crazier
I'm hoping competition will bring the price of these down. You are right, they are still a lot of money!!
I don’t understand canning for homebrewers, it seems so wasteful and expensive. I’d much rather a reusable bottle, the prices are almost the same and when you consider that bottles are reusable and bottling equipment is far cheaper there are few advantages to cans. For people that complain that they hate cleaning bottles the price difference between cans and bottles is small enough (and cans costs are only likely to increase with metal shortages) that it still doesn’t really give an advantage when you consider the equipment costs. The best argument I can see for cans is worry about breakage with bottles when shipping or taking on outings, but if that’s a concern one can easily use pet bottles instead of glass.
Bottles vs cans is a whole debate on its own. There are a lot of arguments for each method, but it ultimately comes down to what makes the most sense for people. Bottles can be reused indefinitely but cans are a whole lot safer, more durable and ultimately a huge space saver. But at the end of the day I've found neither system really has a massive advantage over the other.
@@TheApartmentBrewer I’ll definitely give you the space saver argument, but pet bottles match cans in durability, but for some reason I feel that people overlook plastic when they are discussing bottling. I’d actually argue they are superior for durability. I see a lot of cans arriving already damaged and having to be thrown out without ever being filled. When they are empty they are far more prone to damage than either glass or pet bottles.
$500 for something that has no impact on the kegging vs. bottling equation? The two typical progressions we see in home brewing are extract-to-all grain, and bottling-to-kegging. Being able to can as opposed to bottle makes little difference and kegging remains the best choice for most. I would rather take that $500 and make 15-20 batches of beer. Things like this strike me as something that appeals to the latest-gadget addicts among us as opposed to those that just want to craft killer brews.
It’s understandable you’d think that way. For me I’ve just found it’s a lot easier and more practical to can when sharing beer with friends. I also hate keeping and cleaning tons of bottles for this purpose.
It does depend on your own subjective experiences. Some people it makes sense for, some it doesn't, and there is absolutely a bit of a gadget craze at play I agree. From what I have found, people are far more willing to drink your beer or take it with them when they don't feel obligated to return the bottles, and thats really where the advantage lies in my circumstance (among others that will be covered in a future video). Is that going to apply to more than 5% of homebrewers? Probably not but thats why I say it's all subjective.
Canning is objectively a superior form of transportation for beer. I would NEVER recommend canning for having people over to your house. But, canning is by far the better product (dollar for dollar) for transporting and distributing beer beyond the location of the kegerator. No light entry, and superior pressurization vs bottles. If cost is a factor than yes, it is not the best choice and you should continue to do what you are doing.
100% agree with Lars. I like to share my beer with friends and coworkers. Cleaning bottles is a major drag, and cans are the rage right now. Also they ship better / block all light / infinitely recyclable etc. It's expensive but worth it IMO - it's why I got the SL1.
Nope
I'm sorry I just don't understand WHY anyone would go thru all the work and waiting for that lovely nector of the gods..!!! Just to turn it into f#@king moose piss by putting it into a can.