BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

A forum to discuss one pot automated brewing systems.
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FUBAR
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by FUBAR » Sun Sep 10, 2017 8:22 pm

Since getting my GF the frequency of my brewing has rocketed because it is so quick and easy .I still have my 80/60/80 litre 3V system that has not seen light of day since getting the GF,if circumstances changed and I had a dedicated brewing area where the 3V could be permanently situated it would get used occasionally but I would not go back to it 100%.
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by aamcle » Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:02 am

I've built a number of systems, a Countertop Brutus 20, a BM clone, a recirculating BIAB and lastly a GF/Breweasy Hybrid (Frankenmash) but now I have a GF.

It's the engineering that made the difference, the GF is easy to use well thought out and integrated but above all it's better put together than anything I can make in my garage.

I won't be going back to the earlier systems not even to Frankenmash even though it was very easy to use and offered a number of advantages but because it was backyard engineering it tended to spring inconvenient leaks and such :)

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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by vacant » Mon Sep 11, 2017 11:14 am

FUBAR wrote:
Sun Sep 10, 2017 8:22 pm
Since getting my GF the frequency of my brewing has rocketed because it is so quick and easy .I still have my 80/60/80 litre 3V system that has not seen light of day since getting the GF
I got a pack of five cornelius kegs a few years back and had a great time with my 33 ltr thermopot and 50 ltr shiny boiler; I could brew enough for two kegs. The trouble was I missed brewing once per month and after building up stocks for Christmas but simultaneously drinking a bit less beer I went five months without brewing - disaster!

So... I sold two kegs, built my grain basket and use no-chill for a 3 1/2 hour brew day each month. Bliss! I'm on the cusp of committing to my one-pot system but can't quite bring myself to sell the mash tun yet.
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by Secla » Mon Sep 11, 2017 11:38 am

I had a 50l 3v system and sold up for a gf as I just didn't have the time to brew on it
I did a brew this morning. Grainfather was up to temp when I got up, mashed in, sorted the kids and got them to school, transferred to fv by 10.30

Only down side is it's harder to do big beers, I'd like to do an imperial stout but I've avoided it so far due to needing to do a double mash

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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by another nice mess » Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:00 pm

I use a BM and I wouldn't go back. The one thing I do miss is the hypnotic effect of a rotating sparging arm...

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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by m_rawdin » Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:20 pm

I started out with a 100 litre 3v system, why I went that big I don't know, probably cuz it wasn't much more money than the 50 litre. I always found 3v systems a bit clunky and as a home brewer I wanted something easy to use and gave me consistency every time I brewed. I did a brew day with a fellow home brewer in his BM and was immediately hooked.

I now have a 20 litre BM and would never go back to 3v, I agree that learning in a 3v system is good experience and it's essentially a scaled down version of what the big boys use. However, brewing techniques move on and the GF, BM etc are evidence of that. One of my local commercial breweries uses 50 litre BMs. I wish I had bought a BM from the start, they are so easy to use. Although it's a lot smaller than my 3v system I keg all my beer in corny kegs so it's ideal for that.

If you want my advice buy a BM, your brew days will be so much easier.
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by MTW » Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:39 pm

When the BM was the main offering, it was never the next £1000+ I was ever going to spend;

When the GF came out, it was still never the next £600 I was ever going to spend, and I wasn't very impressed with the look of it in the shop.

Now we're down to what, £300-400 for some systems? The step mash facility and reduced transfers is very appealing, and may yet grip me enough to buy one, certainly if they fall in price any lower. I know it's daft, but I reckon I'd miss the feel of a simple sparge...
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by DaveGillespie » Mon Sep 11, 2017 1:39 pm

Slightly different perspective from me as I went straight from BIAB to a GF and have never owned a 3V brewery. In all honesty my extremely simple one pot BIAB setup was a shorter brewday because of cleanup. Cleanup on a BM/GF type setup may be significantly quicker than a 3V setup but once you introduce a pump and the Counterflow chiller you add on a good half hour in terms of cleanup. With my BIAB setup the pot got a wash in the sink, the bag got rinsed off and boiled and that was it.

However, like a few others in here, I have a young family and the GF wins out flexibility wise. If I am on top of things I can fill the GF up with my strike water the previous night, setup the delay timer and I walk in the door from work ready to mash in straight away. Sparge while cleaning up after dinner and have the wort sitting at near boiling when I come back from putting the kids to bed then start the boil. I think the idea that these systems are either "push button" or fully unattended is a complete fallacy but they do increase your flexibility a lot which is a must in some home situations.

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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by BackO'Th'Shed » Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:27 pm

I still have my ss 3 tier/3v setup (and use my hlt as my sparge water heater) with the hope that I'll use it again one day. Truth is the gf is much easier (especially with a young family) and produces great beer every time. Everything from hitting the right mash temperature and not having to faff about with boiling/cold water to adjust the temp to the clear wort you get out from the recirculating mash and the improvement in efficiency and repeatability make it a far superior system to my old 3v. I like the traditional aspect and romance of my 3v system but practically it's a no brainier which to use on a brew day. The 3 tier system does look great in the corner of the garage though and is certainly an attraction when we have guests.

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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by Fil » Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:08 pm

I too still have the 3v large volume brewery, but i keep threatening to sell a kettle and keep it as a 2 vessel system for space saving

cant beat the g/f for a 11-23l brew with a normal abv tho..
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by DethApostle » Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:26 pm

I have a GF after selling my last 3V setup and the sensible part of my brain knows that the only reason I can still brew once a month (or 6 weeks as it usually turns out) because of the sheer conveinience and automation of the process that the GF gives me.

However... the other half of my brain continues to play with the idea of somehow creating the extra time and money to build a new 50l 3V system again! It's also talking about it being a super shiny high end setup too with SS Brewtech kettles, Control Panel, HERMS, the whole shebang basically!


No doubt I will return to 3V at some point, but it's not on the immediate cards! Now a 50l Braumeister on the other hand...


DA
Demon Valley Brewing
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Total Brewed: 2560 pints
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by aamcle » Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:42 pm

It's also talking about it being a super shiny high end setup too with SS Brewtech kettles
I get tempted by the idea of rebuilding Frankenmash in quality SS but.............. I never will :(


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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by jaroporter » Wed Sep 13, 2017 1:45 pm

i think this question massively depends on what you want out of brewing. if it's just lots of beer as easy as possible then a BM or GF is excellent and well worth the investment. i essentially exclusively use a 10L BM, but only because it's the only way for me to brew even close to as regularly as i want and with minimal space and no dedicated brewing area. still doesn't even keep me close to all the different ales i wanna brew though!

some like building projects just as much as the rest, and especially with a dedicated brewing area are able to produce setups far superior to the BM/GF.

then there's a third thing, which is the love of the craft of brewing itself. i don't get that from the BM. it bores me. it takes the fun out. sure i can do other stuff at the same time which is handy, but it hasn't taught me anything about the process or science of brewing. i miss my old rigs and much prefer brewing at a mate's place with a BIAB pot and gas burner. but then those days are free days and all about the chillin and drinking, not trying to manouever a brew in when you should be doing something else, just 'cause you ran outta beer.
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by DaveGillespie » Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:13 pm

then there's a third thing, which is the love of the craft of brewing itself. i don't get that from the BM. it bores me. it takes the fun out. sure i can do other stuff at the same time which is handy, but it hasn't taught me anything about the process or science of brewing. i miss my old rigs and much prefer brewing at a mate's place with a BIAB pot and gas burner. but then those days are free days and all about the chillin and drinking, not trying to manouever a brew in when you should be doing something else, just 'cause you ran outta beer.
I don't get this - how would a GF/BM/Other teach you any less about the process or science of brewing than a BIAB or even 3V setup? At the end of the day it's a temperature controllable boiler with a pump on the side of it.

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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by DethApostle » Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:56 pm

As good as the 1 pot brewing machines are for actually getting people brewing when life takes big chunks of their time away I think ultimately my lure back to 3V systems is because it looks a bit more like a 'proper' brewery...

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Demon Valley Brewing
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Total Brewed: 2560 pints
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