High Gravity Beers from All in One Systems

[Asherweef]

Hi all,

I’m looking at getting a robobrew or grainfather But do enjoy drinking Belgian ales (etc). I understand that all in one systems are quite limiting for this kind of brew. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience on whether it’s (easily) possible to use either of those two systems for that kind of beer? What are the problems in layman terms?

I reckon that I’ll go for the robobrew because of the price but would want it to be quite versatile and don’t want to regret ‘going cheap’

 

[strange-steve]

I brew a lot of Belgian beers (and high abv brews in general) on a Grainfather without too much trouble. I've done a couple of quads, one at 9.2% and one at 10.8%, a doppelbock at 9.5%, and a RIS at 16%.

The Belgians are simple enough because they usually have a sugar addition which helps bump up the gravity. The bock was a bit trickier because the GF was filled to the brim, but it was ok. The RIS required a bit more effort, but a reiterated mash works well for anything crazy high.

 

[Asherweef]

Thanks Steve, so I guess brewzilla would work just as well? (I know those comparison threads come up all the time!). I would get a GF if there was a major benefit for higher brews Just for the flexibility.

i would like to do a RIS eventually, don’t suppose you know if there has been much discussion on doing them in an all in one on here?

 

[strange-steve]

The limiting factor will be the amount of grain you can fit in the basket. The GF is supposedly 9kg maximum (although I got a bit more than that in it) but I don't know anything about the Brewzilla I'm afraid. But as you'd expect, as the grain bill gets bigger the efficiency drops which is why a reiterated mash can be worthwhile.

I documented my 16% RIS brew start to finish here if you want a look, including a reiterated mash: The Mad Russian - Imperial Stout

 

[trueblue]

Like Steve I have brewed a couple of high gravity beers on my GF.