I need Help in spending some Money$$

[BlackDuck]

I bought mine directly from SS BrewTech. I got the Brewmaster Bucket. $225 out the door, free shipping.

[mashani]

Yes but only have to lift the grains in the amount you have in the recipy..

That wouldn't be any different with either of them, they both have a basket you just pull up and set on top to sparge right? What am I missing?

What I have a problem with is lifting my brew pot with 5 or 6 gal from the burner to the sink to cool down with my chiller and then dumping it in to the fermenter. The pump could be my friend on this..

Sure, I have that problem too, but you don't have a brew pot with either of these, they just sit on your counter or wherever, and have spigots.

So with the cheap one you just stick your chiller right into it when your finishing the boil, run the chiller, and then fill your fermenter from the spigot.

No lifting involved there?

So what am I missing?

(I'm not arguing to argue, I'm just trying to figure out what I am missing since I'm considering one too).

[berryman]

I bought mine directly from SS BrewTech. I got the Brewmaster Bucket. $225 out the door, free shipping.

Good....

[berryman]

Yes but only have to lift the grains in the amount you have in the recipy..

That wouldn't be any different with either of them, they both have a basket you just pull up and set on top to sparge right? What am I missing?

Sure, I have that problem too, but you don't have a brew pot with either of these, they just sit on your counter or wherever, and have spigots.

So with the cheap one you just stick your chiller right into it when your finishing the boil, run the chiller, and then fill your fermenter from the spigot.

No lifting involved there?

So what am I missing?

(I'm not arguing to, I'm just trying to figure out what I am missing since I'm considering one too).

I am thinking a pump, yes would not be that hard to incorporate a pump in the BREWER'S EDGE® MASH & BOIL system but all there and ready in the Grainfather and Me not knowing a lot on a good mash could be easier for me to deal with it and can recirculate too............I don't really like the controls on the BREWER'S EDGE® MASH & BOIL as good as on the other one and looks eaiser to use and looks like you can do a step mash on the grainfather if wanted. I am 100% open for ideas, no argument here, looking for input and advice before I pull the trigger...............

[berryman]

ok

[berryman]

I bought mine directly from SS BrewTech. I got the Brewmaster Bucket. $225 out the door, free shipping.

Nice , where I will go....................

[mashani]

Yeah, the Grainfather has fancier controls for sure. But you can still step mash on the Brewers Edge, you just have to go tweak the temperature controls yourself at whatever timings you want per step (IE after 30 minutes walk over and turn up the thermostat, repeat per step). As far as I can tell, that's exactly what you have to do on the Grainfather too, so I'm not sure there is a huge difference there really.

Maybe you can use the Bluetooth to do it from your phone on the grainfather, I don't know. But at least for me, 3x the $$$ isn't worth not having to push a button on the thing.

At the price point of the Grainfather, you might want to check these out too:

https://brausupply.com/collections/biab-systems

You can get one with a 30 plate chiller, a better pump (which is easily replaceable), and 3000 watts of total heating capacity (also easily replaceable) for about the same price as the grainfather. If it is chilly where you are brewing that extra heating might come in very handy.

In any case, if money were no object I'd choose a 20L Braumeister with the new version control panel / wifi capabilities over any of them I think. It has an optional insert for doing 2.5 gallon batches, and other nifty accessories you can add on if you have $$$ to burn. It's pump is better then what comes with the Grainfather. It's basket is solid walled, so that means the wort actually HAS to recirculate through the mash... open sided baskets, the wort is going to flow out and around the grains if it can (path of least resistance). Circulation still helps temperate stability but it's not quite the same as far as increasing efficiency. It does need 220 circuit and someone to rewire the plug, but that's not a big deal really.

Or I might even consider a Brewie (brewie.org) which is an even more advanced piece of kit. (it's like a bigger badder Zymatic, and yes you can use your own ingredients in it).

But money is an object... and anyways, I already have a chiller that would work with the Brewers Edge, so chiller isn't an issue for me. I don't think the Grainfather is going heat or boil significantly better then the brewers edge. I've been eyeing a braumeister for about forever, but it's way to much $$$$ for me. I can "justify" $300, but more then that it's gotta be something really special for me to want to go there. With a good quality pump and some tubing still only $450 or so...

[mashani]

Meanwhile in Australia... (they have US distributors listed on their web site, MoreBeer.com is listed as one of them so they can probably get one of these if you ask nice).

http://kegking.com.au/35l-robobrew-with-pump.html

That works out to about $460 USD.

So even with shipping if you had to go that route, that's still a big discount over grainfather for basically the same thing.

Just tossing it out as another option I just discovered...

[MadBrewer]

The Grain Father is a nice complete package, but I kind of agree about whether or not those features make it 3X the money. I like the idea of adding to the Brew and Boil to give you what you want. An external pump would make things easier to clean, maintain and mush easier to use the pump for other things than just being stuck to the Grain Father for mash recirculation. One big thing with a a pump is flow control, I don't see that with a built in pump such as the Grain Father. With an external pump you can add a ball valve for flow control as you recirculate.

Looking at the Mash and Boil, you can add the Sparge Water heater, a pump (fittings & hoses too) as well as a new wort chiller of you choice and still be just over half the cost of a Grain Father. Obviously the choice is your Berry man and certain features will do if for one person over the other. I do not have any experience with counterflow chillers, but I'm quite partial to an immersion chiller. They work well and leave the cold break in the fermenter, to then transfer cleaner wort to the fermenter.

I have to admit these all in one systems are quite cool and if I was in your shoes this is would be a nice easy way to brew on the countertop or basement. The only moving around of anything heavy would be water to get you started and the fermenter once you transfer. And if you are looking to make life easier, it's much easier and safer to pump water around than it is to carry or lift heavy pots of it. An external pump to do the sparging for you would be icing on the cake for a system like this, pumping from a Sparge Water Heater would just be an extra bonus. Seems like it's not complete in my eyes without those components, with either base system.

[berryman]

Hey, point me at whatever videos you were watching. Lifting is a concern for me as well due to my hands.

I've watched a few but this one show a good step by step on the Grainfather https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUONP5YNq0s
I wish I could find one like that on the Mash & Boil, I think it hasn't been out long enough yet. I did go back and read everything over again on the Mash & Boil including the reviews, Q & A and the PDF Instruction manual.
I was thinking it wouldn't be that hard to build a short stand on lockable casters to move around if needed when full and could be a good place to mount a pump....

[berryman]

The Grain Father is a nice complete package, but I kind of agree about whether or not those features make it 3X the money. I like the idea of adding to the Brew and Boil to give you what you want. An external pump would make things easier to clean, maintain and mush easier to use the pump for other things than just being stuck to the Grain Father for mash recirculation.

Looking at the Mash and Boil, you can add the Sparge Water heater, a pump (fittings & hoses too) as well as a new wort chiller of you choice and still be just over half the cost of a Grain Father. Obviously the choice is your Berry man and certain features will do if for one person over the other. I do not have any experience with counterflow chillers, but I'm quite partial to an immersion chiller. They work well and leave the cold break in the fermenter, to then transfer cleaner wort to the fermenter.

I have to admit these all in one systems are quite cool and if I was in your shoes this is would be a nice easy way to brew on the countertop or basement. The only moving around of anything heavy would be water to get you started and the fermenter once you transfer. And if you are looking to make life easier, it's much easier and safer to pump water around than it is to carry or lift heavy pots of it. An external pump to do the sparging for you would be icing on the cake for a system like this, pumping from a Sparge Water Heater would just be an extra bonus. Seems like it's not complete in my eyes without those components, with either base system.

MB I like all these ideas and have been working on my thoughts on all of this. I would like to see the controls up higher on the Mash & Brew and after re-reading the user manual they don't look that hard to set and I can like that. A pump would be the answer. I like the idea of recirculating because I don't think a steady temp. could be held from top to bottom and if I could figure out how to do it on the Mash & boil that would be my total selling point, but would use it as is to start if I buy this unit. And yes the Grainfather has a valve that you can slow down the flow and can also use the pump to transfer to the fermenter but I don't think Sparge water. As far as the slower heat times on either of these units, that's really not much different then it takes me now with my turkey burner on a cold day. I have a good immersion chiller already that would work fine on the Mash & Brew. Yes I want this to be my last major brewing purchase (highly doubt that ) but dam 3x the money is hard to deal with even though I can if I want..........

[berryman]

Don't know anything bout either one but if I were getting a new set-up, I'm thinking the Grain Father EBIAB system. The one you can get the distillers top for... not that I would ever use that... the heck I wouldn't.... LOL

John, I was on the BREWER'S EDGE® MASH & BOIL Q & A today and somebody asked if the "still" hood from the Grainfather would fit and they said no, but it looks like it got them thinking on by their reply. I'm not much of a HD alcohol person but have had my share of real shine. Looks like something that could be in the works...... A good option...............

[mashani]

With the Mash and Brew as far as I can tell:

A pump like this:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/chugg ... -head.html

And a couple pieces of 1/2" silicon tubing like this:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/silic ... ?site_id=7

And your set if you already have a wort chiller.

[berryman]

With the Mash and Brew as far as I can tell:

A pump like this:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/chugg ... -head.html

And a couple pieces of 1/2" silicon tubing like this:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/silic ... ?site_id=7

And your set if you already have a wort chiller.

That looks like the direction I am heading..........I don't know if that is a special price on the M&B or if it will go up. I've already made my mind up what I am going to get for a new fermenter, this one http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/f ... collection.

[mashani]

Just as a point of reference, this is one of the reasons why I would really prefer a braumeister over either of these if I could afford it:

Height of both devices in sparge position on a countertop:

Untitled.png (226.53 KiB) Viewed 695 times

That is from this review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJokmBauur4