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

A forum to discuss one pot automated brewing systems.
HLA91
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by HLA91 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:52 am

I jumped straight from BIAB to the BM. I do feel slightly guilty that I didn't wait a bit longer as I could have picked up the GF for 1/2 the price. I also don't brew as much as I wish due to my consumption being so low. Would I do it again, probably not a BM, but a GF or other system is more likely.

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

Post by DethApostle » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:21 am

DaveGillespie wrote:
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.
I do get what he's saying here, and perhaps that's part of the reason I keep looking at a return to 3V.
3V systems are just a bit more 'involved' during the brewday and because of the automation with the GF you can just walk away and leave it going in your absence so it can feel like you are a bit more detached from the process.
I disagree about the lack of learning/teaching however... As clever as the GF is the brewer still needs to understand what's going on in the mash/boil etc to use it effectively. If anything I've had to re-learn a lot when moving from the 3V to the GF.

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

Post by Rhodesy » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:27 pm

Today is another great example of why my BM suits so much. I am working from home last minute, well as of last night which allowed me to promptly mash overnight and finish up this morning, most of which was done before I logged in and the rest over what would be lunch (don't really take a 'lunch break when in the office anyway). Anyway, I now have 23L in the brew fridge, I am also brewing tomorrow as well as I always planned as I have the house to myself during the day. So now I have managed 2 brews to build stocks in as many days.

If I still had my 3V set up then yes I could still brew 2 days in a row but not when trying to juggle work and family life such was the process, the cleaning up etc.

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

Post by orlando » Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:47 pm

Rhodesy wrote:
Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:27 pm

If I still had my 3V set up then yes I could still brew 2 days in a row but not when trying to juggle work and family life such was the process, the cleaning up etc.
I brewed with my 3V kit yesterday, pitched the yeast at 11:45am and walked out of the "brewery" at 12:18pm fully cleaned up. By cleaning as I go it's not much more onerous. It may still be quicker to clean a 1 pot system than the 1/2 hour from pitching I took but it can only be 15 minutes or so. The main advantages over 3V I can see is the space and automation. The difference between baking bread by hand and using a bread maker has similar attractions. The latter I use every other day, although last night I made the Pizza dough by hand. :D
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by Rhodesy » Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:55 pm

orlando wrote:
Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:47 pm
Rhodesy wrote:
Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:27 pm

If I still had my 3V set up then yes I could still brew 2 days in a row but not when trying to juggle work and family life such was the process, the cleaning up etc.
I brewed with my 3V kit yesterday, pitched the yeast at 11:45am and walked out of the "brewery" at 12:18pm fully cleaned up. By cleaning as I go it's not much more onerous. It may still be quicker to clean a 1 pot system than the 1/2 hour from pitching I took but it can only be 15 minutes or so. The main advantages over 3V I can see is the space and automation. The difference between baking bread by hand and using a bread maker has similar attractions. The latter I use every other day, although last night I made the Pizza dough by hand. :D
Oh yes, the 3V set up for the most part is more flexible in terms of volumes, ABV ranges etc. My old set up was RIMS for the mash however the boiler was Gas which meant I couldn't really leave the boil unattended, more so the RIMS tube needs to be monitored to otherwise it can turn into a bomb.

Where this comes into its own for me is how I can stagger it overnight or during the day and fit it into my 'work' :lol: schedule. For me it is more flexible in this manner. I can brew more often when I desire. It is also very consistent which I love. I am not the type who enjoys the DIY side of building a system and drilling lots of holes and fixing leaks. I don't miss buying random parts from eBay constantly as I did with my old set up, though I do still partake in random purchases.

As for dough, I usually use a mixer when making 65% hydration pizza dough for my Roccbox pizza oven with no complaints :D

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

Post by aamcle » Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:54 pm

mmm.. I've just started some dough for tomorrow.


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

Post by Hodda » Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:12 pm

Some really interesting responses once again - as for me I'm still undecided!! I'm still in the building stage of our new brewhouse/summerhouse - this won't be finished fora while as it's back to doing at weekends again.

I think there are pluses and minuses for both but at the moment:

1) I really want to start brewing RIS - so -1 for BM, yes doable but more faff +1 Separates

2) I'd like to maybe do 38l brewlength on occasions -1 if 20l BM but nearly for 50l BM but -1 for additional cost - +1 Separates

3) a possible thing is that in the back of our minds - i.e. Me who still has some sort of grand pipe dream of stepping up to a commercial basis - I can't be only one!! Then I think I'd be more practised if I started from separate and could make the leap with more familiarity +1 separate but I could know more experimental brews out on BM +1 BM

4) Separates have more faff in terms of cleaning -1 and storage -1

Verdict? Draw so far!!

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

Post by Mattpc » Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:55 pm

I wouldn't go back. I'm only do all grain because I got a Braumeister. Before that I did extract outside with a gas burner and pot. The process was managable as I could send the dirty boiling pot through the dishwasher and I didn't want to get in to multiple large dirty vessels to clean out and store. I disagree about lack of learning with a Braumeister. The Braumeister doesn't do anything much that you wouldn't do with your homemade mashtun, it just automates the temperature control etc. The detachment from the brewing process frees you up to get on with other jobs (or brewing cleaning) while the mash and boil are going. I use the wifi module to monitor what's going on remotely and even start/stop/change what's going on with the brew on my computer from elsewhere in the house. It's great!

However, if you were intending to upscale to commercial brewing, I would be very tempted to start making my own brewing equipment as a homebrewer or at least plumbing other peoples stuff together. Nice as the Braumeister is, you probably don't want to be moving to a commercial sized Braumeister when you start your own brewary. Far too expensive surely? A 500L Braumeister has a list price of around £33000.The skills you would learn making your own homebrew equipment would give you a real boost when starting your own brewary.
Last edited by Mattpc on Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

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

Post by m_rawdin » Fri Oct 20, 2017 7:59 am

One of the local commercial breweries near me uses 50 litre braumeisters so it definitely do able. The really big BM kits look impressive with a hoist to lift the malt tube out!
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by Mattpc » Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:27 am

It's certainly doable to use a Braumeister for commercial brewing, I just rather suspect you would get better value for money by not using a Braumeister for commercial brewing.

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

Post by lord.president » Sun Oct 22, 2017 11:31 am

I started off with the cool box mash tun, a 32 litre gas boiler, which doubled as a HLT (Wort was collected into FV and poured back into the boiler), immersion chiller.

I got a GF 18 months ago and wouldn’t go back. The mash temperature consistency was the key factor, however the footprint of it is also great,once I’ve finished with it,it sits in the corner of the kitchen,almost unnoticed.
The design of it is superb,it does all you need,from 1 3 pin plug. The only downside is you need a HLT,which I used to have on the gas hob,l managed to get the GF one ‘free’ as part of an offer.

Would l go back? No.
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Re: BM owners (and GF / aio owners) would you go back?

Post by Mashman » Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:36 pm

I never did kits. I read Grahams book and spent many years with a three vessel system, constantly upgrading and experimenting, loved it all. When I retired the faf of assembling the tower for the gravity system lost it's appeal. It had to be assembled outside because of the height. Bought a BM and never looked back, 49 brews to date, all good ( well except the one when the temp probe was left outside of the fridge and the brew fermented at 35 degrees :shock: )

Would I go back, NO great beer brewed easily with the BM. But, maybe a compact pump 3 vessel may appear one day, I do miss the hands on approach a bit.

YMMV

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

Post by FistersApart » Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:48 pm

I wouldnt go back to 2 or 3v all in one bm all the way!

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