BeerBorg

I've been drooling over some DIY automated recirculating RIMS and HERMS systems for quite some time, love the idea of being able to control the temperature exactly, step mash, mash out, etc.... To me, it's all about consistency and eliminating the variables. Automation is awesome.

Compare this new Blichman rig to the fully automated MoreBeer sculptures or the SABCO BrewMagic, or even the estimated DIY prices for a Brutus clone or something of that nature, and $2k is a pretty darn reasonable cost for what you're getting.

That said, its still way out of my price range when I can brew just fine with my cooler mash tun and a couple of kettles..... But it does get the "DIY copycat" juices flowing. Highly intrigued to read some genuine user feedback in the coming months.

I was probably hasty in calling a rig like this a cheat, but I do feel it takes a lot of the fun out of homebrewing. This looks more like a "set it and forget it" system, which doesn't really interest me.

But then, I still grind my grains by hand....

I have a recirculating rig. One of the main reason is repeatability. Once I have a recipe were I want it I want to be able get the same result every time I brew that recipe. The ease of the brewing allows me more time to experiment with new recipes & tweaking them. Splitting a batch into smaller ones to test out different yeasts or dry hopping schedules with the same wort is easier.

One of the biggest advantages I can see to this is it being a "time saver" on brew day. You can save time during the mash in process by checking the SG on the fly so maybe were you thought you needed 70-90 min might just take 60min. You could also start your boil sooner since you don't have to pull the grain bag out and sparge and then wait for it to drain. I don't know, when they get an electric unit out there I may just have to start SERIOUSLY dreaming

mashani wrote:If I was going to spend that much I'd buy one of these.

http://morebeer.com/products/braumeister-20l.html

The OG limitations do not affect 90% of what I brew, and I could give a crap if I have to add DME to make up some for bigger beers. Most of the bigger beers I'd be adding sugar to anyways, and would not even need to add DME.

Yeah, but it only has half of all that stainless steel shineyness !!!

DaYooper wrote:Yeah, but it only has half of all that stainless steel shineyness !!!