Here goes. I kept a log as I was brewing and have used this for the feedback with a few photos added
Grainfather Trial
23rd October 2015
Using HBC all grain Apollo mash kit.
Grainfather assembled as per instruction with no issues, pretty straightforward.
Start 08:30
Not using the HBC instructions but using GF ones so needed to weigh out grain and use the water volume calculator on the GF website. Grain 6140g, final volume 23litres, mash water 20 litres, sparge water 12.8 litres.
First off a bit of a clean using PBW (as recommended by GF).
ââ¬Â¢ Minor Point 1 ��" the power lead is quite short so you will probably need an extension lead.
Power on, filled with cleaner solution, chiller connected and pump to run. Impressed how quite the pump is. Clean completed including water flush of chiller (not mentioned in the instructions)
No problem with the screw fitting for the re-circ arm (moaned about in vids on YouTube)
09:30
Start brewing
ââ¬Â¢ Minor Point 2 ��" check the acceptable load for your extension lead cut out (if fitted). Had to change over to my longer lead with a higher rating..
10:26
Grain added and mash started. No problems. Temp went up to 69c for a minute or so before dropping to 65c. Possibly switched to the low power a bit early as had to revert to full power to get it back to 67c but this only took 30s.
Sparge water heating up in HLT
11:50
Mash finished and sparge under way. Really easy this bit. Now wait for the grain bed to drain out.
ââ¬Â¢ Minor Point 3 ��" The lid is not that easy to get off when it is hot
12:30
Grain bed fully drained and removed. 28.5lts in boiler. Set to boil mode. Note to self ��" make a note of the intermediate level marking increments before they are covered with wort. EDIT - Bigger note to self - you can see them on the outside doh
Seems to have stuck at 88c on temp gauge. Have scraped the bottom, see what happens. Donââ¬â¢t want to go too mad in case I dislodge the filter. First bit of concern.
Panic over now up to 94c
13:10
Reached rolling boil (temp showing 99c). Just need a bit of stirring at the beginning to stop it frothing up. Nice rolling boil, not too fierce. First hops added. Second hops added as per kit instructions
14:10
Boil finished. O min hops added and chiller coil set up. Left to stand for 15mins. Then hot wort circulated through chiller for 5 mins. Volume is about 25litres.
Re-circ on ��" fingers crossed as few comments on the Grainfather forum about the chiller blocking.
14:35
cooling started. Cooler is very efficient and water flow was knocked right back to get wort to 19c. water flow turned off for about a minute to allow FV temp to come up to 21c.
15:00
transfer complete. Went without a hitch although some break material transferred into FV.
Volume in FV ��" 25 ltres ish (Note to self - must mark levels on FV) at OG of 1060. So 2 litres extra at pretty much same OG as 23 litre. So very good efficiency.
16:20
Finished but need to have another go at cleaning the bottom of the boiler.
So what did I think?
I followed the Grainfather instructions, both written and the video on their website, and the day went without a hitch. I found them easy to follow.
Cleaning was also easy although I do have to have another go at the bottom of the vessel above the element as you do get a bit of crud stick to it.
Would I recommend it?
A definite yes to this one. It worked a treat and made brew day easier but still allowing a good degree hands on input. Just add a HLT and you are ready to go. It is also compact so does not take up too much space.
Value for money?
I think so. You get everything except a HLT and FV. The HLT can be easily made from a FV, tap and element.
Will I be buying one?
This is a distinct possibility although I have to decide between this or a larger posh SS mash tun.
All in all a great bit of kit that does what it says on the tin.
Big thanks to MM and Grainfather for giving us the chance to try it out :thumb: