Does anyone use...

[mitch]

Think Ive seen the 30L Klarstein MF as low as £179. There is a thread on here somewhere I did ages ago where I wrote up my process - in lieu of recirculation I would just jug a few litres through at the start to stabilise temperature and then at the end by way of vorlaeuf. The wort I get from the GF is no clearer.

So heres a daft one... once mashed, sparged, removed grain, added your hops to the GF, at the end of the boil and after cooling does the GF filter out the hops from the liquid on its way to your FV? Or do you take it our manually in some way?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

How ab

I am sorry. There is no better use of your time than brewing beer.

How about drinking it?

 

[mitch]

I am sorry. There is no better use of your time than brewing beer.

Agreed...but not at 1130pm

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

How ab

How about drinking it?

I bow down to your wisdom sir.

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

Agreed...but not at 1130pm

Ouch. Agreed. I tend to get up @ 6am and get stuck in early

 

[Horners]

So heres a daft one... once mashed, sparged, removed grain, added your hops to the GF, at the end of the boil and after cooling does the GF filter out the hops from the liquid on its way to your FV? Or do you take it our manually in some way?

In an ideal world no need for manual intervention. There is a filter on the pump outlet. Problem is I use leaf hops and the filter is bascially too small so it gets clogged up which then makes the pump flow very slowly. A couple of times have knocked filter off and pump has got blocked which is frankly a disaster as you then have 25L of boiling hot wort to filter some other way. Have recently bought a false bottom (more extra expense) which has improved things and last order also included pellet hops albeit not got round to an all pellet brew yet.

 

[colm89]

here’s a clip of mine in action with h2o, auto tuning pid and leak testing

 

[trueblue]

In an ideal world no need for manual intervention. There is a filter on the pump outlet. Problem is I use leaf hops and the filter is bascially too small so it gets clogged up which then makes the pump flow very slowly. A couple of times have knocked filter off and pump has got blocked which is frankly a disaster as you then have 25L of boiling hot wort to filter some other way. Have recently bought a false bottom (more extra expense) which has improved things and last order also included pellet hops albeit not got round to an all pellet brew yet.

I have now done 40 brews on my grainfather and never had any problem with the filler or the pump, I use either leaf hops of both leaf and pellets combined.
The counter flow chiller is the dogs dangles alone, last weeks wort was cooled in around 19 mins.

 

[mitch]

In an ideal world no need for manual intervention. There is a filter on the pump outlet. Problem is I use leaf hops and the filter is bascially too small so it gets clogged up which then makes the pump flow very slowly. A couple of times have knocked filter off and pump has got blocked which is frankly a disaster as you then have 25L of boiling hot wort to filter some other way. Have recently bought a false bottom (more extra expense) which has improved things and last order also included pellet hops albeit not got round to an all pellet brew yet.

Consider putting the leaf hops in a net bag/sock?

 

[mitch]

here’s a clip of mine in action with h2o, auto tuning pid and leak testing

No RAMS documentation then trailiing leccy and 4way ext on the floor near liquids. lol

 

[colm89]

No RAMS documentation then trailiing leccy and 4way ext on the floor near liquids. lol

Health and safety didn’t sign off on beta testing setup but I can assure you it won’t be like this on brew day

 

[mrhardware]

Just a reminder regarding Klarstein, the company themselves are no longer shipping to the UK as their couriers will longer ship here, so buying direct, and possibly sourcing parts down the line, is not going to happen for now. I have a Klarstein Brauheld Pro myself, bought direct, and believe me this is a concern to me. Any you see now are likely been sold by 3rd parties from held stock. You can see this for yourself if you visit the Klarstein uk website, a banner comes up.

As to the Grainfather, yeah looked into these when I was getting a machine, it was cheaper to get all the bits for a plate chiller, hop spider etc along with my machine, than it would have been to get a Grainfather. You can also buy counterflow chillers, but they're even more expensive, and seem to sell out fast.

I also tried the DIY route in the past, it cost more than my Brauheld Pro in the end, with more grief along the way.... Not worth it IMHO.

I was in touch with Klarstein last week and they are now shipping to the UK from Germany or you can order direct from hifitower.co.uk

 

[Galena]

Also found this which might suit my needs/budget better.

Klarstein Fullhorn mash kettle £150

I use the Fullhorn and its a good option especially with BIAB, though obviously not to your original all in one question. 27litres is right on the full line and I can't quite get 30l of water in without risk of spill on the boil.
My method is to bring total water to 90C and decant the sparge water into an insulated vessel.
Chill down to mash temperature which only takes about 30 seconds with an immersion chiller.
Dough in and stir well then recirculate with a jug and I have an additional very accurate thermometer in the top and circulate until temperature stabilises throughout.

I keep stirring and circulating occasionally until the mash is complete and then drop the wort into a bucket and then batch sparge with the hot water, then boil as normal.
It works well for me, I may buy a pump at some point, or if I ever upgrade it will make a great HLT.

 

[mitch]

I use the Fullhorn and its a good option especially with BIAB, though obviously not to your original all in one question. 27litres is right on the full line and I can't quite get 30l of water in without risk of spill on the boil.
My method is to bring total water to 90C and decant the sparge water into an insulated vessel.
Chill down to mash temperature which only takes about 30 seconds with an immersion chiller.
Dough in and stir well then recirculate with a jug and I have an additional very accurate thermometer in the top and circulate until temperature stabilises throughout.

I keep stirring and circulating occasionally until the mash is complete and then drop the wort into a bucket and then batch sparge with the hot water, then boil as normal.
It works well for me, I may buy a pump at some point, or if I ever upgrade it will make a great HLT.

HLT & BIAB?

The method sounds good to me. I don't mind having to recirculate with a jug. Paying another 2hundred quid for a pump and tube stuck on the side isn't justifiable for me. Im only doing small tiny brews like 10ltrs 15ltrs a go. Maybe smaller I just don't want the aggro of standing over a stove for 3 hours at a time.

Good to know my idea for a fullhorn seems to be ok...ive exhausted youtube and my german isn't that good.

 

[AdeDunn]

I was in touch with Klarstein last week and they are now shipping to the UK from Germany or you can order direct from hifitower.co.uk

That's a relief, as I got mine direct, so was a bit worried about warranty support etc as it's not that old... lol It's mostly a really nice machine, just wish it had the malt basket plate design of the Brewmonk/Brewdevil/Robobrew and the camlock on the recirc pipe that they have. The sparge plate you have to open up with a screw driver as the slots are too narrow and clog really quickly, the bottom one is too open (fixed so you can't remove it) so crushing your own malt is pretty much a requirement unless you want a pump fall of grain. As to why I'd like a camlock on my recirc pipe, it'd make transferring wort easier and would allow me to backflush my pump. Apart from that though, having the controls in a removable controller box (think Bulldog Master Brewer) is a huge plus with the Brauheld Pro, as is the external pump which allows you to use it to sparge (if you fit a tap with a male QD fitting to your sparge water heater) with and also makes it super simple to strip down after a brew to clean.

Keep in mind, with the single vessel machines you're NOT paying just for a pump and a recirc pipe. You're also getting a programmable computer that controls temperature, power to the element, has an alarm for timings etc.... They're actually pretty good value for what you get. If I ever figure out how to get the hop timer to work on mine....

 

[Braufather]

The GF is way over priced nowadays compared to the competition go for the Brewzilla Brewmonk Angelbrew etc as they are better value. Don't forget its a brewing machine not a hi tech piece of equipment it heats water, mashes, boils and re-circulates and that is generally all you need.
It will not make you a better brewer by buying non essential tech it is the person that is the brewer

If the GF is overpriced, not sure where that leaves the breumeister

 

[jeg3]

If the GF is overpriced, not sure where that leaves the breumeister

It's like the conversations about cars. There are loads of BMWs, Mercedes and Range Rovers about (albeit leased probably), all of which perform their primary function just as well as a Dacia or Hyundai (which aren't that cheap any more).

I guess the point is the Range Rover owner will easily justify that his purchase its worth it for reason X, which another person will never be willing to justify.

All part of life's rich tapestry

 

[LeeH]

I've got a 50L BM plus, no regrets selling up a 3V system to purchase.

 

[Braufather]

Another thing going for the BM is that although it’s expensive there is a strong demand for second hand ones so you’ll get most of your money back quickly if you, god orbid, give up brewing at some stage.

 

[AXW123]

I have recently switched from BIAB to a Brewmonk and have found my beer to be very much clearer due to the recirculating pump. My beers are clear within a couple of days of bottling which was never the case with BIAB for me.