Ace Microbrewery or Bulldog Brewer?

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PeterH

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Hello all,

I'm looking to get my first all in one brewer soon and for my price range it looks as though my two best options are either the Ace or the Bulldog brewer.

At this stage I see myself leaning towards the Bulldog as it comes with absolutely everything needed (whereas the Ace I believe needs a wort chiller) and there seems to be more info/YouTube videos on the Bulldog. The Ace seems a little obscure and I'm not sure about it.

There's not a great deal of info comparing the two, ultimately they both do the same thing yes - but is one better than the other and if so, why?

What would people recommend?

Thanks in advance!
 
I've got the Bulldog, I'm very happy with it and there's another thread on which I've given a fairly detailed review so have a sniff around and you'll find it. I can't comment on the Ace as I don't really know much about it but the others on here who've got one appear to be happy with it too. You're right about the wort chiller though, the Ace doesn't (or certainly didn't, not sure about now) come with one so if you're not into making one from scratch that's going to set you back an additional £40 or so, and it's not something you can do without unless you do no-chill brewing.

Look into both systems and if you have any questions on the Bulldog let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.
 
difficult one to answer that,
i have neither btw,
im looking at the ace, i like the glass lid, i like to see whats going on...
i like the hidden pump, some like the external pump for ease of access and cleaning,
the Bulldog comes with a chiller ,the ace doesnt ,
ultimately they both do the same thing, so its down to personal preference,
i will go for the ace, i all ready have a chiller,but my last brew was no chill. and i liked it, made the day easier for me,
allso the reasons above swing it for me and at £85 cheaper,, its win win.
ive seen a few vids on the ace and the Bd. cant really say that one is better than the other,
HTH .:oops:
 
Looking at it there's not much in it since the bulldog is about £90 more than the ace but comes with a chiller, which you could buy for around £60.00
I would buy the ace, because the chiller that comes with the bulldog looks a bit sh!t, so you could buy the ace and a really good chiller and not end up spending too much more
 
I've also been trying to make a decision between the 2. I've seen the Bulldog for �£378 delivered (the earlier version for �£320ish), so when you consider the cost of a chiller it makes the price difference less marked. Given that we are not talking about significant sums of money I would prefer to buy from somewhere I have confidence that i can easily go back to if there is a problem. I've settled on the Bulldog, particularly since they appear to have made improvements to the latest version.
 
you could always make you own chiller which I did for about £25
the copper pipe from wicks or b&q
 
Looking at it there's not much in it since the bulldog is about �£90 more than the ace but comes with a chiller, which you could buy for around �£60.00
I would buy the ace, because the chiller that comes with the bulldog looks a bit sh!t, so you could buy the ace and a really good chiller and not end up spending too much more

The Bulldog chillier is stainless steel so at least better than a copper one?

If it were me buying a chiller I would pay a bit more and get a plate chiller.
 
Thanks Ian :hat:. I've been reading the threads about the klarstein/Ace all in one systems but havent been delving into it too deaply as I have no intention (for the foreseeable future anyway) of getting one. So wasnt 100% sure I'd linked the right thing
 
The only thing I can add is that the timer on the ace will go up to at least 90 mins. Only a small thing but might be important.
The big thing for me is the fact the ace has a 5 step programmable controller thing. Each step can be set for time, temp, and power. Not sure if the bulldog has the same feature or not

Cheers. Tom
 
Thanks for all the replies, it's a close fought thing! As said they are both similar. The chiller isn't so much of a problem - I can get one made up for me easily enough.

I'll have a look at how the electronics work. A 90 minute timer is about right, anything less is a little disappointing.

I think the Klarstein is out of stock atm.
 
I have the klarstein unit which I am very happy with
I looked at a lot of the youtube stuff on mine the ace unit and the Bulldog
they all look the same and do the same thing but just a different name
so it will depend on how deep your pocket are
what you go with
 
The Bulldog chillier is stainless steel so at least better than a copper one?

If it were me buying a chiller I would pay a bit more and get a plate chiller.

Indeed, I think with the money saving you could get a better chilller than what comes wit the Bulldog
 
Not yet ventured into AG brewing. But just looked at the Bulldog YouTube demo - how simple does that make things !!
Serious pondering to be down [emoji848]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well, I've just spent a very relaxing morning doing an oatmeal stout in my Bulldog. Took a bit longer than usual because I don't have any other plans today and took my time. No hitches, no issues, came out 4 points higher than target OG but I'm sure I can deal with the extra alcohol when it comes to drinking time.

No matter which of the systems you go for I can guarantee you won't regret it when you taste the improvement over doing kits.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I've decided to go for the Bulldog brewer, it just looks a bit more sturdy to me. I'll purchase one next week after payday! I'll be doing the Irish Red Ale from the DK Home Brew Beer book.
 

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