All Grain Brewing System reviews.

[Linalmeemow]

Congrats... hope you enjoy both the brewing and the system,, the vids i watched look like its all straight forward, tho initially i would fill with a couple of litres and set it up on the counter befor dropping to ground level for filling and brewing.. the lil amount of liquid in the thing will be to ensure the elements dont burn dry between setting and sitting in the brew spot..

I will look forward to reading about your experiences with it ( lots of pics too please..)

Videos? I haven't seen any yet - where did you see them?

 

[marlon]

Well, I've decided to step into the dark side of all-grain brewing and will be ordering a Bulldog Brewer today. Intro price of �£360 from home brew hop shop in Plymouth has swayed me - more than �£200 less than a Grainfather...

Yep! I'm curious too..! I like the sensible price and it LOOKS pretty much the same as a G/F. Lots of pictures and stuff please.:smile:

 

[Fil]

Videos? I haven't seen any yet - where did you see them?

Ha ive had a quick look but cant find the post link now, it was a few months back the machine has been for sale in europe under a different brand and its a euro vid..

its a less engineered and simpler solution than the g/f the accessibility of the control panel is a bit dodgy if sat on the floor to brew, but that could be a fun project to revamp/upgrade.

 

[Linalmeemow]

Ha ive had a quick look but cant find the post link now, it was a few months back the machine has been for sale in europe under a different brand and its a euro vid..

its a less engineered and simpler solution than the g/f the accessibility of the control panel is a bit dodgy if sat on the floor to brew, but that could be a fun project to revamp/upgrade.

Ah, the Brewmaster 25 (or something like that). Yeah, I've seen those videos. Is it the same unit? It looks very similar but I'm not sure it's exactly the same.

 

[Linalmeemow]

Comparisons done and it is indeed an identical unit. Just paid for it, should have it next week!

 

[Linalmeemow]

Well, after a long-ish delay having ordered just after it went out of stock, my Bulldog Brewer has arrived. I've used it to do my final extract brew (a double Galaxy pale ale) and will be doing simple oatmeal stouts and saisons for my first couple of AG brews as they seem reasonably simple.

Pros (so far):The unit seems really well made and the controller is very simple to use. It took far less time to get the wort to the boil than using the stovetop, even using the very big wok burner in my hob. It was easy to clean afterwards, and it seems that an AG batch should be very straightforward.

Cons (so far): Very few, to be honest. Really the only issue has been a distinct lack of good quality instructions. There ARE instructions but they are very, very brief and appeared to be for an earlier version of the unit with no explanation for how some of the apparently upgraded parts worked (the upgrades are piping from the case of the grain basket over which a sparge plate sits, much like the Grainfather) . That said though I emailed Hambleton Bard and they responded quickly confirming what I thought each upgraded part did, so I can't gripe too much about that.

If people are interested I'll give a more detailed description of my first full brewday...

 

[Fil]

Well, after a long-ish delay having ordered just after it went out of stock, my Bulldog Brewer has arrived. I've used it to do my final extract brew (a double Galaxy pale ale) and will be doing simple oatmeal stouts and saisons for my first couple of AG brews as they seem reasonably simple.

Pros (so far):The unit seems really well made and the controller is very simple to use. It took far less time to get the wort to the boil than using the stovetop, even using the very big wok burner in my hob. It was easy to clean afterwards, and it seems that an AG batch should be very straightforward.

Cons (so far): Very few, to be honest. Really the only issue has been a distinct lack of good quality instructions. There ARE instructions but they are very, very brief and appeared to be for an earlier version of the unit with no explanation for how some of the apparently upgraded parts worked (the upgrades are piping from the case of the grain basket over which a sparge plate sits, much like the Grainfather) . That said though I emailed Hambleton Bard and they responded quickly confirming what I thought each upgraded part did, so I can't gripe too much about that.

If people are interested I'll give a more detailed description of my first full brewday...

YES PLEASE!! start a new thread and get taking photos of every detail

 

[MagnusTS]

Sorry to hijack....

What do folks think about buying a basic all grain starter set (mash tun, electric boiler, immersion chiller, etc) for about £300 compared to spending £600 for a GrainFather or Brewmaster or similar integrated system?

I am thinking about trying All Grain; should I start with the cheaper starter kit, or should I save up and just jump in with a lovely shiney GrainFather?

Cheers,
Magnus

 

[sven945]

What I'd do is get the kit for a very cheap BIAB setup and do a few brews with that. Then see how you get on with all grain before spending the big money. That way if you enjoy it then you can get the £600 piece of kit if you fancy it/can afford it. Unless you're made of money it'd be awful to spend £300 on some mid range kit to then love it but realise you wish you'd waited before buying the box with all the bells and whistles.

 

[chewie]

If you intend to end up with either of them then go with something like a peco boiler for BIAB to start with, this allows you to preheat your sparge water in the peco to use with the GrainBrewFaster.

 

[DoctorMick]

Or as another option, try a couple of stove top brews before spending anthing on kit, all you need is a big pan.

 

[drakey182]

I def agree with either sort some stove top brews, or try score some cheap set up first! Also I'd wait keg kingdoms new brew machine! Two versions a 30L & 50L the 30L is almost half the price of the GF too when out poss around Xmas!

 

[IainM]

What @chewie said: going BIAB is cheaper and will leave you with less redundant kit if you do decide to go GF in the future.

 

[dweb]

I stopped kit brews and tried a few stove top BIABs and was impressed with the quality of AG beer.I then bought a cheap BIAB starter kit for around £70 and things got better as I was able to make larger brews.After half a dozen brew days I took the leap and Santy Claus got me Grainfather and I haven`t looked back.
Definitely get a cheap BIAB kit 1st.
There also seems to be a good few GF alternatives around now as well which will save you a few quid.

 

[JapanBrew]

I was so dying to get the GF but now all the parts and technique I use, it would seem like going backwards. I will admit it would reduce the hoses I have.

 

[marlon]

About a year ago, I tried someone else's AG stout and then their bitter. I only used kits and the step change in quality made me jealous. So, back in September I bought a Bulldog. The all-in-one brew system....not the barking type)... It looked OK but the timer/programmer didn't work. Home Brew Online offered a straight swop or an end of line Brewster for no extra charge. I opted for the Brewster. One of my better decisions I'd say. Easy to use, easy to store, the whole kit n caboodle fits in the one box it came in. As for the Bulldog, it looked OK in a 'cheap version of a Grainfather' sort of way. The programmer was impossible to use if the bulldog was on the floor and the tap had to be fitted at an angle of 45degs with the recirculation pump fitted. With it on a worktop, you had to stand on a chair to lift out the grain basket. The Brewster has it's design problems too, but on balance it's a bit less tricky (IMO). But if money were no object, I'd have a Braumeister..... (of course - wouldn't we all..?)

 

[griffin22]

I love that we have more choices now then ever before. I went with the grainfather vs braumeister for one simple reason, the grain bill max. I have no doubt the BM is better quality but I have used the GF with zero issues and made some great beers. Here is how I made my decision. I like to make big IPAs. I would like to have the ability to have large grain bill. I also the the williamswarn machine that can handle 6 gallons of wort no problem. The BM 20 only makes about 20 and can only handle 6kg of grain. I don't feel like it's fair to compare the price of the BM 20 to the GF since it does not have the same output. The GF can handle almost 9kg (although they say 8, I have used more and was ok). So now you step up to the BM 50 the handle up to 13kg but at what cost? I hate to say money is no object because that's ridiculous in most cases. You have to be smart. That being said, I am one who will pay a lot for something I feel brings value. For my setup, and anyone that wants to make 6 gallons of high gravity wort, you real comparison is the BM 50.


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[griffin22]

Sorry, send early. BM 50 is like 2500 usd. Plus you have to wire a 220 plug. GF much less and does the job. Yes the BM looks much nicer, more polished engineering and does step mashing. BUT at what cost? The GF is updating the the control box to have the ability to step mash. I also like how the GF chills and uses the pump to fill the fermenter. Like I said, there are so many great options now, i would hate people to just assume more money means better machine. It really depends on what you are trying to brew. Now, the BM vs the Brewie is something I would like to see when they start shipping brewies!!!!!


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[Poochops]

Went to lovebrewing yesterday to pick up some malt extract and yeast, was going to the in laws afterwards so the lampshade of my life was with me. Whilst browsing I dropped the hint that I'd love to get one of those shiny grainfather things on the top shelf right there and bugger me if she didn't say 'you go for it babe you deserve to treat yourself' Result!!
Just need to save a few more quid and brew the rest of my kit stock and I'll be all over it :thumb:

 

[Razor]

Went to lovebrewing yesterday to pick up some malt extract and yeast, was going to the in laws afterwards so the lampshade of my life was with me. Whilst browsing I dropped the hint that I'd love to get one of those shiny grainfather things on the top shelf right there and bugger me if she didn't say 'you go for it babe you deserve to treat yourself' Result!!
Just need to save a few more quid and brew the rest of my kit stock and I'll be all over it :thumb:

Lucky bugger.


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