Hi everyone. I would like to progress from kits with or without partial mashing and begin all grain brewing. I have pretty much decided on the single vessel type mash/boiler type. So my dilemma is Hopcat,Brew Devil, Klarstein or has anyone imported the new mk3 Robobrew. Grainfather is out the question and I don't fancy the Pico/Electrim/Brupaks ones. I wish to make 5 gallons to the fermentor so I assume the 30l versions are ok for this volume. Looking forward to your advice.
Going all grain
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IainM
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The cheapest option for moving on to AG from kits is going BIAB, as you can buy an 'upgrade kit' with a boiler, grain bag, chiller and bazooker/false bottom. Otherwise, if your heart is set on an all-in-one, these threads might help you out:
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/all-grain-brewing-system-reviews.54878/
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/home-brew-system-questions.71872/
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/grainfather-v-other-systems.76458/
tl;dr: ACE, hopcat, brewdevil and klarstein are the same thing. The original bulldog brewer, which I have, is a bit more expensive but comes with a chiller and a bit more flexibility. The bulldog master brewer nobody has really tested because the price point isn't right, the grainfather is quite a bit more expensive but it is a quality piece of kit with a good community, and the braumeister is very expensive.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/all-grain-brewing-system-reviews.54878/
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/home-brew-system-questions.71872/
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/grainfather-v-other-systems.76458/
tl;dr: ACE, hopcat, brewdevil and klarstein are the same thing. The original bulldog brewer, which I have, is a bit more expensive but comes with a chiller and a bit more flexibility. The bulldog master brewer nobody has really tested because the price point isn't right, the grainfather is quite a bit more expensive but it is a quality piece of kit with a good community, and the braumeister is very expensive.
If you want to test the theory first, you can convert a Youngs fermentation bucket to a boiler with the addition of a couple of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-AC-2...eating-Tube-for-Electric-Kettle-/262595307357 and a bag to put your grain/hops https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HOME-BRE...X-38cm-FITS-25ltr-FERMENTING-TUB/371552355782.
I added a tap and hop filter to mine but there's no reason why you can't syphon out to the fermenting vessel once the wort has cooled (overnight with the lid on - no chiller required). This will give you a taste of the end product ( a definite step forward ) and the duration/complexities of the process compared to kit brewing.
The compromise is that it's difficult to get a large enough volume boiling to end up with 40 pints in your barrel/bottles, but as a first step I think it makes sense. I'll be upgrading my 'boiler' to something bigger to get 5 gallon batches and adding better temperature control for the mash but at the moment don't see the need to go to 3 vessels.
I added a tap and hop filter to mine but there's no reason why you can't syphon out to the fermenting vessel once the wort has cooled (overnight with the lid on - no chiller required). This will give you a taste of the end product ( a definite step forward ) and the duration/complexities of the process compared to kit brewing.
The compromise is that it's difficult to get a large enough volume boiling to end up with 40 pints in your barrel/bottles, but as a first step I think it makes sense. I'll be upgrading my 'boiler' to something bigger to get 5 gallon batches and adding better temperature control for the mash but at the moment don't see the need to go to 3 vessels.
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