I know it is a bit after-the-fact, but I wanted to hit on a few points about the benefit of conical fermenters that a lot of people don't know about. First, it makes harvesting and re-pitching yeast a lot easier and more sanitary. Also, since a good yeast culture should remain in suspension throughout the fermentation, only dead cells and protein should settle while the fermentation is going well, so it can be beneficial to purge those from the fermenter. It is fairly common practice in professional brewing to purge dormant cells from about days 5 to 7 for a standard 4-6% alcohol fermentation, too.
In a large enough fermenter (I don't know how big, but the bigger it is, the more efficient it is), there is a pressure differential between the liquid at the bottom of the cone and the top of the cone. As the CO2 rises, it causes the center to rise with more force creating a convection current that flows from the bottom of the cone up to the top of the fermenter and out to the sides and back down, giving not only natural mixing of the beer but more efficient heat transfer to the outside.
If you talk to some professional brewers, they claim that the angle of the cone has an impact on flavor profile of the beer and, as such, have all of their fermenters manufactured to have identical pitches.
I hope that helps explain some of the benefits.
2011-2012
And a few recipes
