Equipment Purchase Help

[James B]

I'm a bit of a novice at brewing, and would appreciate some help and advice on my next equipment setup from those more in the know. I've brewed a few small batches (roughly 4 litres) at home with some basic introduction-type kits, controlling (trying!) the temperature in saucepans with a thermometer etc.

I've taken a great deal of enjoyment from this and would like to upgrade my setup. My budget is up to £200 roughly - key for me is something that regulates both the mashing and boiling temperatures. I’ll probably only be brewing batches of around 5 to 10 litres max each time.

From my research, I’ve narrowed it down to 2 options and would welcome any comments on these (or others I’ve not thought of):

1. Buy a temperature controlled water boiler (say 10 litres) for mashing and boiling, and utilise the BIAB method. I’d sparge through the bag also, and would buy a copper wort chiller. I could probably purchase this all for around £100-120 total (I think).


2. Buy a Klarstein Maischfest, which is around £200. I’m attracted to the all-in-one setup for ease, although given the size of this (25L) my main concern is if it could brew smaller batches of 5-10L ok. (https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...1500-3000W-25l-LCD-Touch-Stainless-Steel.html)

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly welcomed. Thanks!

 

[terrym]

I'm a bit of a novice at brewing, and would appreciate some help and advice on my next equipment setup from those more in the know. I've brewed a few small batches (roughly 4 litres) at home with some basic introduction-type kits, controlling (trying!) the temperature in saucepans with a thermometer etc.

I've taken a great deal of enjoyment from this and would like to upgrade my setup. My budget is up to £200 roughly - key for me is something that regulates both the mashing and boiling temperatures. I’ll probably only be brewing batches of around 5 to 10 litres max each time.

From my research, I’ve narrowed it down to 2 options and would welcome any comments on these (or others I’ve not thought of):

1. Buy a temperature controlled water boiler (say 10 litres) for mashing and boiling, and utilise the BIAB method. I’d sparge through the bag also, and would buy a copper wort chiller. I could probably purchase this all for around £100-120 total (I think).


2. Buy a Klarstein Maischfest, which is around £200. I’m attracted to the all-in-one setup for ease, although given the size of this (25L) my main concern is if it could brew smaller batches of 5-10L ok. (https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...1500-3000W-25l-LCD-Touch-Stainless-Steel.html)

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly welcomed. Thanks!

I looked at item 2 out of curiosity. However if you go to the German site there are two reviews which are not very complimentary about this item ( look up Maischfest Maischekessel and then do a Google Translate on the reviews). Seems the electrics are a bit suspect. And the customer service wasn't too good.
https://www.klarstein.de/Haushaltsg...ekessel-5-Teile-1500-3000W-25l-LCD-Touch.html

 

[Nicks90]

You can mash and boil 10l in a 25-30l boiler!
It won't do it any harm and you get the added benefit of brewing bigger batches of the need arises.

 

[James B]

I looked at item 2 out of curiosity. However if you go to the German site there are two reviews which are not very complimentary about this item ( look up Maischfest Maischekessel and then do a Google Translate on the reviews). Seems the electrics are a bit suspect. And the customer service wasn't too good.
https://www.klarstein.de/Haushaltsg...ekessel-5-Teile-1500-3000W-25l-LCD-Touch.html

Interesting reviews, thanks for your reply. There’s more positive ones on amazon and I’m sure I’ve seen some older (positive) ones on this forum, but useful to compare the negatives alongside it

 

[James B]

You can mash and boil 10l in a 25-30l boiler!
It won't do it any harm and you get the added benefit of brewing bigger batches of the need arises.

Good to know, thanks! The reason for asking was I’ve seen that the grainfather (the long term aim) has particular parts to use in it when brewing smaller batches.

 

[Clint]

Save another £100 and get a Robobrew...

 

[James B]

Save another £100 and get a Robobrew...

Is this a good reliable piece of kit? Any idea where sells this in the UK, as I can’t seem to find any available online. Thanks

 

[Clint]

Brew tap UK....I think...

 

[ITMA]

Reports seem to be good and from the reviews it looks like it's at least almost as good as Grainfather (actually looks better in places) and is therefore much better value at the price.

Problem is availability in the uk, as you've noticed. Brewkegtap have it for pre-order.

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/products/robobrew-v3-all-grain-brewing-system-with-pump-35l

 

[Petrolhead]

I use a Klarstein and love it. Yes it’s not a Grainfather but you’re not paying that sort of money. The temp controller is fine, it has a timer which I dont use and even comes with a grain basket and cooling coil. Good deal I think.

I was circulating wort with a jug but made up a recirculating system by buying a cheap pump, £17 and using some food grade pipe connected to the tap. I worked a treat even sparged by connecting the pipe to my separate sparge water boiler.

It’s not a bad way to start cheapily.

 

[James B]

I use a Klarstein and love it. Yes it’s not a Grainfather but you’re not paying that sort of money. The temp controller is fine, it has a timer which I dont use and even comes with a grain basket and cooling coil. Good deal I think.

I was circulating wort with a jug but made up a recirculating system by buying a cheap pump, £17 and using some food grade pipe connected to the tap. I worked a treat even sparged by connecting the pipe to my separate sparge water boiler.

It’s not a bad way to start cheapily.

Thanks, good to know! Any issues with brewing smaller batches in the Klarstein (5/10L), and do you need any separate parts to brew these like with the GF?

 

[Madhouse]

I’m in a similar place as you.

I’ve just bought the Klarstein as it seems a good deal and worth it for the complete kit and the benefits it gives over stovetop brewing. There’s an owners thread on here which I looked at too.

Can’t say what it’s like to use as it’s still in the post!

 

[James B]

I’m in a similar place as you.

I’ve just bought the Klarstein as it seems a good deal and worth it for the complete kit and the benefits it gives over stovetop brewing. There’s an owners thread on here which I looked at too.

Can’t say what it’s like to use as it’s still in the post!

I'd be really interested to hear how you get on!

 

[Horners]

@James B I am a novice and have had this kit for a year and having paid around (£180 - which I think is about the current price if you apply the 15% discount voucher) am very happy with it. I reckon I have used it for around 4 extract boils and 10 AG mash and boils. I now have my process pretty much dialled in and brew days are pretty smooth.

I note from your original post that you are looking for something that regulates mash temperature. I would say that it is not that great for that in that temperature on display does not really reflect that of mash. What I do is I turn the heating off once strike temperature is reached, mash in, surround the vessel in a jacket made from the shiny bubble foil stuff with holes cut out to accommodate handles etc and then manually recirculate for 5 mins to get an even temperature, stick a thermometer probe in the middle of the mash, put the lid on tightly and leave for an hour. Doesnt drop more than 1C over an hour even in low ambient temperature - ie no need to apply a heat source. There is a bit of trial and error on strike temperature as clearly whilst you are recirculating etc you are losing a bit of heat.

Another gripe I have seen other folks have is with cut-outs during the boil. I have experienced that but not at all since I meticulously clean any residue of the bottom of the boiler from the previous brew (for which I normally use spirit vinegar).

When it comes to the performance of the boiler itself - easily capable of getting to and maintaining a rolling boil outside in winter!

 

[Brewed_Force]

You could save money on the copper wort chiller by using a no-chill cube and leaving it to cool naturally overnight.

 

[Keruso]

I'm a bit of a novice at brewing, and would appreciate some help and advice on my next equipment setup from those more in the know. I've brewed a few small batches (roughly 4 litres) at home with some basic introduction-type kits, controlling (trying!) the temperature in saucepans with a thermometer etc.

I've taken a great deal of enjoyment from this and would like to upgrade my setup. My budget is up to £200 roughly - key for me is something that regulates both the mashing and boiling temperatures. I’ll probably only be brewing batches of around 5 to 10 litres max each time.

From my research, I’ve narrowed it down to 2 options and would welcome any comments on these (or others I’ve not thought of):

1. Buy a temperature controlled water boiler (say 10 litres) for mashing and boiling, and utilise the BIAB method. I’d sparge through the bag also, and would buy a copper wort chiller. I could probably purchase this all for around £100-120 total (I think).


2. Buy a Klarstein Maischfest, which is around £200. I’m attracted to the all-in-one setup for ease, although given the size of this (25L) my main concern is if it could brew smaller batches of 5-10L ok. (https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...1500-3000W-25l-LCD-Touch-Stainless-Steel.html)

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly welcomed. Thanks!

Hi I have the same Klarstein, but I have since bought a grainfather so I use it for sparge water heating only. It has been reliable and i've only had the power cut-off once when I burnt some liquid malt extract on the bottom by pouring it in too fast. You just have to keep it clean and descaled. You can certainly brew 5-10L or larger easily, there's no special pipework or parts needed. The main drawback when compared to a robobrew or grainfather is the lack of a recirculation pump so nothing to regulate the mash temp or vorlauf (wort filtration). This may affect the quality and efficiency if your doing all-grain brews. You may be able to add a pump but I think when you start to spend more money on it you're getting real close to what a Robobrew costs, less than a £100 more. With hindsight I wish I had saved longer and bought Robobrew rather than the Klarstien first.

 

[Peter Scandlyn]

Could I suggest that before you jump, you have a look on YouTube for a channel called TubeDinoz.
This fellow developed his own Grainfather style set up, for relatively little outlay, which seems to work well. I don't believe he has it all in one video, so you'll probably have to look at several to get the gist of how he progressed his set up.