Homebrewing - Beer, Mead, Wine, Cider

Big brewers use stainless tanks almost exclusively, so there shouldn’t be any issue taste wise for fermentation. If you’re brewing something with very subtle flavors (like a mead or something similar) I’d be leery about bulk aging 5Gal in steel, but I don’t think it would impact it too much.

Cleaning wise-echoing the other comment, anything really acidic or really basic can etch it, but assuming you’re diluting to the right strength and all that, you should be fine. If there are any valves or false bottoms, etc. you will have to remove those occasionally to properly clean them.

Had a small stainless steel fermenter. No issues with flavor and cleaning is at least as easy as plastic. Bonus points, you can use hot water without wondering what that does to it. Cleaning tip: don't use anything that'll scrub that pretty shiny steel surface. Many cleaning sponges say they scratch-free. I found that to be a lie. If it has a rough side, keep it away from the steel.

If it's brand new, I strongly recommend passivating first with citric acid. Soaking in citric acid removes free iron at the surface, then the chromium will react with oxygen in the air to form a protective shiny barrier. I didn't passivate my kettle first and got a small buildup of iron in the trub and some slight staining. It's not a big deal and the beer is totally fine, but I still would do it if I bought another one. I just let it soak in acid, then wipe it clean with a paper towel (while wearing gloves) and let it air dry. Citric acid also removes beer stone from kettles and is pretty cheap.

It's a bummer that fermenter doesn't have tri-clamp ports so you could utilize quick disconnects. It looks like you can upgrade the lid to one which will make cleaning easier if you buy a rotary spray ball.

There shouldn't be a difference.

For cleaning some chemicals can etch stainless steel - HCl, NaOH, some more aggressive disinfectant.

As others have said, there should be no flavours imparted by the stainless.

Make sure to passivate before use with citric acid.

For cleaning, sodium percarbonate, PBW or even a caustic cleaner will work. At my brewery I use PBW, which works perfectly.

If you can gwt your hands on a CIP (clean in place) attachment, hook it up to your cleaning solution through a pump and it makes cleaning almost effortless.