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Fermenter vs. Fermentor

I just got Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation in the mail this week and I have been reading it on the train to and from work.  Within the first the few pages, I learned something new.

The difference between the word “fermentor” and “fermenter”.

Although it seems they can be used interchangeably, the two words have two different meanings.

Fermentor is the vessel where fermentation happens.

Fermenter is the creature that does the fermentation.

I think I have a few spelling errors to change on the blog.

Now that you know the difference between fermentor and fermenter, check out these posts:

Everything you wanted to know about primary fermentation.

Become an expert on secondary fermentation

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14 Comments

  1. I’m quite sure I’ve screwed this up hundreds of times, but I’m definitely too lazy to go back and fix them.

    But it begs the question: why don’t diners eat at a dinor? 🙂

  2. Jack

    And neither of them show up in the default library of any app’s spell checkor.

  3. Home Brew Neil

    Oh dear! I have got some work to do on my site now.

  4. Jorge - Brew Beer And Drink It

    I thought the same thing when I read it… I even thought of my wort as the fermentee…

  5. I think i’d better get checking through my site then too!

  6. Rob

    Don’t worry about the spelling errors too much…though try. Kill the justify format. That’s for columns, mags, and newspapers. It makes for horrible reading on blogs.

  7. Ah, Jamie: in northeast Pennsylvania, they DO call them “dinors,” and you can still see that on a number of signs in the area. I love little quirks like that…

  8. mjsthree

    where in northeast pa? and i think everyones got some spelling mistakes to fix as everyone spells it with an ‘e’

  9. Robert K.

    Au contraire mes amis. Fermenter is the correct spelling. As defined by McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, third edition, “fermenter [food eng] A vessel used for fermenting, such as a vat for fermenting mash in brewing.” Case closed.

  10. spellinggeek

    fermetOr is the vessel…fermentEr is the organism…case now closed

  11. Ward Watson

    thanks for clarifying the fermenter/fermentor difference. I will check with Sandor Katz to see if he agrees. As far as diner and dinor ….We flush their byproducts, although according to Gwar, they are a delicacy in outerspace

  12. thats a great job because many people cannot differentiat this.

  13. Thanks much. I’ve seen it debated in many places but right is right. Consult a dictionary I say!!! Cheers.

  14. syeda huma hashim

    thanks

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