Advice on getting a GF for a first time AG brewer

[greengrass]

I am actually looking into getting a GF myself, but from the posts on here there are a few issues with them, any advice. I thought, get a GF and away I go all grain brewing, but now I am not so sure. I have not done any all grain of any sort before, my other alternative is to use a 10 Gallon and a 5 Gallon Baby Burco boiler, with a mash tun and do it that way, what is the main advantage of the GF, does it reduce brew day time at all, is it easier to use, better quality brews, I want to get the right kit right from the start if I have to go shopping.
Thanks.
GG

[gobuchul]

I have never used a grainfather but I have been doing AG for about 18 months.

My first few brews were chaotic but the finished beer was very good. I guess starting with a GF it would be similar experience until you get the hang of the "process".

However, I would suggest that what ever option you choose, if you have the space and cash, build a fermentation fridge to ensure you ferment at the correct temperature. It's a lot easier to mess up a lot of hard work when fermenting than during the mash and the boil!

Also, go straight for corny or sankey kegs.

If I had the cash to buy a basic, good quality, AG set up and corny kegs or just a GF and have to bottle or use pressure barrels, I would go with the first option everytime.

Just my opinion, I'm sure others will think different!

[Hairybiker]

I have been brewing AG for over 20 years now, started out with BIAB. Moved to 3V plastic then ss. Now use a Grainfather.
Best bit of brewing kit I have ever bought. The ease of brewing makes it for me. I can put water on to heat at 9am, and by 4pm have it all cleaned up and in the FV. (Last brew was climbing out of the FV by 6pm! but that was on to a yeast cake from the previous brew).
Storage space is also a lot smaller.

I haven't had any issues with my GF, I am playing with the idea of adding a Brewmanic controller to it but that is just tinkering. As long as you follow the instructions and the many videos then you can make excellent beer.
I wrote a couple of small android apps to make my life easier, one for calculating the water needed for strike and sparge, and the other to do grain sizing (dropping from 23 to 19L brew sizes) as I previously using a calculator. You can also use the grainfather app or several others, but I wanted a quick and easy way to get the figures without having to input the whole recipe into the thing.

If you are making "normal" beers, (i.e. less than 1090) and brewing 5gal (23L) batches then the GF makes it easy. It is only if you want to do a really strong beer (@23L) that you have issues. People HAVE brewed with 10Kg of malt in it, but struggled. I normally brew to 1040-1060 and have no problems.

[Crastney]

lol I was thinking GF was 'girlfriend' - the thread reads completely differently

[bubblehead]

There are two sides to making beer. The hot side (brewing) and the cold side (fermenting). The GF has enabled me to get more technical with the hot side with ease. The cold side of making beer hasn't changed, but the results have.....for the better.
The "issues" are niggles and are probably similar to the niggles you would have setting up a conventional 3 vessel set up.
Get yourself a Grainfather . I don't think you'll regret it.

[Fil]

I echo what HairyBiker above says.. The GF is a well thought out brewing solution and the latest model has a better controller too i believe. but with a kitchen timer pen n paper you can do everything an all singing BM controller or 3rd party matho style troller like https://www.ecwid.com/store/openardbir/ can do well almost..
if you get an old style controller GF the stc1000+ OVBS hack is a good fit and is what i currently have installed in mine.. https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p/b ... /README.md

What you get for your money is a pretty concise and versatile brewery that also packs away into a good small package which is easy and a joy to use.

my only niggle is the silly bottle cap overflow protector, a small bung is a much better idea....

[BrannigansLove]

I bought one in March, having brewed AG for a year following the BIAB method. I like it, it's simple to use, and easy to clean, and my brew days are about 1 hour shorter (chiller is a lot faster to cool, and it heats a lot quicker than my previous system), despite now having to sparge (previously I squeezed my brew bag to extract the last of the wort).

I would recommend it, but you will still need something else to heat your sparge water (stockpot will suffice).

[Hairybiker]

As to sparging, I have moved to COLD water sparge, after a mash out rest.
Not noticed any problems other than it takes a little longer to get to the boil