Best all-in-one brewing system

[Mash Monster]

How do you keep your feet dry

So what is the issue using with a calibrated device that does not compensate for altitude? You had an issue with a this.

Also you cannot zero and span these devices so you only have 1 calibration point. It makes sense to calibrate your mash temp, calibrating your boiling point is

How do you keep your feet dry

Wellies

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I'd wait until the tide is out to brew.

 

[MashBag]

The fear is the tide coming in

 

[Metalmckie]

My next installment will hopefully be between Christmas and New Year.

I have a Klarstein Maischfest Mash Kettle. It's an all in one at a good price. I've brewed regularly with it for a couple of years now and it's still going strong. It doesn't have a recirculation pump so you just recirculate a jug of wort manually every 10 mins or so throughout the mash. Or as I eventually did, buy a recirculation pump from ebay and connect it to the tap and lit with some food grade silicon tubing.
If you want to see it on action then go to youtube and search for Ginger Brewers these guys have loads of videos brewing beer with Klarstein and good to watch.

 

[MashBag]

I am beginning to think you should ask yourself what level of programming you want to do. This will affect the decisions and the cost.
It seems to me that many peeps use a AIO as a stainless biab rather than a brewing robot.

 

[Rodcx500z]

there is no such thing as the best AIO they are all flawed

 

[jambop]

I am beginning to think you should ask yourself what level of programming you want to do. This will affect the decisions and the cost.
It seems to me that many peeps use a AIO as a stainless biab rather than a brewing robot.

Not exactly but I see where you are coming from. Some like BIAB personally I think it is slighlty to an AIO . The AIO comes at a price but I think it is more user friendly but each to their own.

 

[MashBag]

Not exactly but I see where you are coming from.

What do you mean?

I am not saying biab is not a perfectly valid option.
People seem to buy an AIO but don't use it's program function.
For me that is stainless biab. Those people could have bought a digital boiler and spent the rest on grain.

At the other end of the scale you have people using at AIO to its fullest potential, to do some (most) of the work for them.

There is no one way.

 

[jambop]

What do you mean?

I am not saying biab is not a perfectly valid option.
People seem to buy an AIO but don't use it's program function.
For me that is stainless biab. Those people could have bought a digital boiler and spent the rest on grain.

At the other end of the scale you have people using at AIO to its fullest potential, to do some (most) of the work for them.

There is no one way.

Sorry I disagree. Nobody says that AIO systems are automatic but you can program the system to indicate when steps need to be taken. However to suggest that an AIO one it a stainless BIAB is false in my opinion. You need to add a lot more than a boiler to make a nylon sack into an AIO system... but you already know that.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Before i got my BZ Gen 3 i did biab in my klarstein 30L fullhorn which i still have, the reason i got the bz was to eliminate the bag which i hated with a passion, when i first looked at the bz i thought it's a fancy fullhorn with added bits the most important of those bits to me were the basket and pump, i never had any intention of using it for any other reason just biab which it does very well

 

[Twostage]

Sorry I disagree. Nobody says that AIO systems are automatic but you can program the system to indicate when steps need to be taken. However to suggest that an AIO one it a stainless BIAB is false in my opinion. You need to add a lot more than a boiler to make a nylon sack into an AIO system... but you already know that.

I'm sure MB could answer for himself but I don't think he is saying that an AIO is just a stainless BIAB, just that some people use it that way. You programme it, I programme it and we are tapping into its full potential but not everyone does or want to.

As Rod says above he wanted the grain pipe and pump as he hated the bag. Must say I'm enjoying not having to manipulate a bag of hot wet grain whilst trying to pour water over it and not scald myself at the same time and that is probably worth the entrance fee alone .

 

[Moe]

Before i got my BZ Gen 3 i did biab in my klarstein 30L fullhorn which i still have, the reason i got the bz was to eliminate the bag which i hated with a passion, when i first looked at the bz i thought it's a fancy fullhorn with added bits the most important of those bits to me were the basket and pump, i never had any intention of using it for any other reason just biab which it does very well

I did the same. I used to BIAB with a peco boiler and wasn’t a fan of the bag either, so now brew in a malt pipe

Draining the bag was a pain and I needed another FV to let it drain into, it made a mess. Batch sparging was more effort than it is now.

I got a BZ 3.1 as B Stock from BKT for £280 a few years ago.

I don’t use any of the automatic functions, I just manually set the temps I want and change them when I need. I use a WiFi plug to switch it on to pre heat mash water using my phone whenever I need to do that as it’s easier.

I even purchased the upgraded control board and display (3.1.1?) but I’ve not fitted it as the older one does what I need, so it’s kept as spare.

I pretty much do the same process as my last set up, but being able to lift the malt pipe out and rest on top to sparge is way easier than sparging with the peco, and being able to set temps on the heater without messing around with hot and cold water and blankets makes for a much smoother brewday.

Cleanup is about the same amount of effort.

Advantage of the peco over the BZ is that I could do higher gravity brews in the peco, where my efficiency drops with anything more than 5kg of malt in the BZ, and absolutely tanks with 6kg or more.

I did look at a digital boiler, but by the time you add pipes, a pump and a malt tube or basket it would have been more than £280, so I’m well chuffed.

If I ever do another upgrade it will be for more volume, rather than disliking the BZ. Although that’s unlikely as it would mean purchasing a new fermentor and bigger fridge

 

[MashBag]

I'm sure MB could answer for himself but I don't think he is saying that an AIO is just a stainless BIAB, just that some people use it that way

 

[Mash Monster]

Yep we all have our own way of doing things I’ve just watched this might generate a few comments

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Yep we all have our own way of doing things I’ve just watched this might generate a few comments

Yes just watched myself.
Expensive use of a bz4 as a boiler. Many much cheaper alternatives available to boil wort.
Much too much yeast nutrient used especially as wine nutrient.

 

[MashBag]

Yes just watched myself.
Expensive use of a bz4 as a boiler. Many much cheaper alternatives available to boil wort.
Much too much yeast nutrient used especially as wine nutrient.

"Expensive use of a bz4 as a boiler" ....indeed. This was my point earlier.

Each to there own of course, but I don't think everyone gets the full potential out of an AIO

 

[borischarlton]

Another viewpoint

 

[Sadfield]

They still have the option to use the BZ4 to it's full potential, though.

A side point, a sign of our throwaway society, that the BZ4 is wasted money. When in reality it retains a value.

All the best beer comes from a bright orange mash tun though.

 

[The Baron]

Does anybody use most things to it's full potential.
Who uses a smart tv, mobile phone etc to it's full I have a car with cruise control do I use it no maybe I'm a Luddite

 

[Twostage]

I was thinking (dangerous) about a couple of things yesterday.

Cleaning - you need to clean it . Not too bad with the BZ - rinse the malt pipe and top/bottom with a hosepipe. Nearly all the crud comes off. Rinse the BZ with a hose pipe, again nearly everything washes off. Then wash with chemsan (the scorch marks on the bottom of the boiler come off with a soft spongy cloth). Then re-circulate the chemsan through the re-circulation arm while heating it to around 80c. Then drain. Yesterday I was remembering my last (short) BIAB brew where I fermented in the stockpot. Cleaning was rinsing off the bag then dunking it in chemsan. That's it. I'm wondering if there is a market for small malt pipes that would fit in a big stockpot ? Cleaning it would be easier as it would be smaller and easier than a bag as bits of grist get stuck in the material.

The other thing I was thinking (wondering if this is the right thread) is that some people might be put off programming BZ profiles as it is a bit technical. So if anyone would like a 'this is how to programme a BZ profile' or a copy of my very simple strike, mash, boil profiles then just ask.