Grainfather shock

[Slayer]

No, not an electric shock off a Grainfather system!!!

But after reading about people using GF on this forum, I googled Grainfather. I was amazed at the price. Nearly fell off my chair at work. £600!!:shock::shock:

 

[itbrvilla]

Look up breumeister

 

[Slayer]

Look up breumeister

Flippin 'eck!!!

Puts me off AG! Roll on boot fair season where I can go hunting for pots and stuff!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

While £600 seems a lot this puts it into perspective -

So I was bored on a conference call and the other grainfather thread got me thinking about relative costs. So to see where a GF pays for itself vs buying beer in the pub or shop I put together a chart.

Now I'm **** with Excel and couldn't fathom how to label the axis but the vertical axis is total spend in £.

The horizontal axis shows total no. of pints.

I've assumed:
£3.50 a pint in the pub
£1.50 a bottle in the shop. (I'm ignoring the size difference between a 500ml bottle and a pint.)
£600 for GF£15 per brew on ingredients (haven't factored in utilities, give me a break)

What it shows is the GF pays for itself after roughly:
180 pints vs pub (so 5 full length brews)
520 pints vs shop (so 13 full length brews)

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63155

 

[Clint]

Hmmmm how does it compare against buying decent steel pots,mash tun and all the extras. ..from ,say,malt miller?
..I would look and cost it but I don't really know what's needed...

 

[IainM]

Hmmmm how does it compare against buying decent steel pots,mash tun and all the extras. ..from ,say,malt miller?
..I would look and cost it but I don't really know what's needed...

You can get a decent boiler, chiller and mash tun for under £200, and its even cheaper if you go down the BIAB route. Still, with the Grainfather you get what you pay for - recirculating wort for clarity and an efficiency boost, fine mash temperature control for stepped mash or getting the exact fermentability you want and, of course, shiny shiny.

 

[BeerCat]

You can get a decent boiler, chiller and mash tun for under �£200, and its even cheaper if you go down the BIAB route. Still, with the Grainfather you get what you pay for - recirculating wort for clarity and an efficiency boost, fine mash temperature control for stepped mash or getting the exact fermentability you want and, of course, shiny shiny.

Well said mate. I started out with an old baby burco(until it blew) that was used to boil nappies in nearly 50 years ago. Have upgraded slowly but would of course loved a GF if i had had the money.

 

[marlon]

No, not an electric shock off a Grainfather system!!!

But after reading about people using GF on this forum, I googled Grainfather. I was amazed at the price. Nearly fell off my chair at work. �£600!!:shock::shock:

There are others available that do the same job for less...Brewster £475-500, Bulldog £360-395, and another similar to the Bulldog (can't remember the name) around £300. Check 'em out:thumb:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

There are others available that do the same job for less...Brewster �£475-500, Bulldog �£360-395, and another similar to the Bulldog (can't remember the name) around �£300. Check 'em out:thumb:

Reviews here starts with Grainfather vs Braumeister then brewster post 30 + brewcrafter post 85 + bulldog brewer post 125 - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=54878

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
The latest from ACE is still pricey, and it doesn't come with a wort chiller, but closer to many pockets than other systems.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACE-Micro...eer-with-pump-DELIVERY-12th-dec-/271687277467

 

[Gerryjo]

I think you all missing an important point and that is the grainfather takes out all the fun.I mind my mother having a twintub washing machine,my granny having a mangle and we have an automatic washing machine which we load clothes,powder,conditioner then push a button.
Using a grainfather at which I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at takes all the fundamental processes out of the equation.
No more second guessing,sweating,panicking etc as again load it up and push a button.There is not much to learn about that so you're up and running and hadn't even walked..🍺

Sent from my ALE-L21

 

[Clint]

Sounds good to me! Suppose it's just a scaled down micro brewery...
On the cost subject...what about gas/burners etc?

Cheers

Clint

 

[wfr42]

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63155

Check out post 8 in the first link chippy shared (the one above).

£115 plus a thermometer.

My spending to date (equipment and ingredients for just under 18 months) is around £750 total (not including electricity /gas).

A 23 litre ag brew can typically be
5kg of malt £5-7 depending on how much specialty grain.
Hops 100g can be about £6-7 for the more expensive varieties.
Yeast around £3 for dried options.

Works out around 70p per litre, and can be cheaper through bulk buying/substituting cheaper hops.

Some people compare a gf/braumeister to a bread maker - I'm sure there's more to them than that and they also offer smaller footprints than a 3 vessel system. But they are not essential for ag brewing, would be interested in trying one to see if it is easier/faster/more efficient.

 

[drakey182]

Keg kingdom enter the race in around Jan/Feb with the brew Butler too!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Those that have been here a while will remember a HBS offered members a GF to try, a few members took up the offer, i cannot remember one negative comment. (apart form the odd glitch)

 

[Linalmeemow]

I've done 4 brews in the Bulldog Brewer now and every one of them has been a pleasure. I've tried the first two in the past week after two weeks in the bottle and, while still young and in need of further conditioning, are the by far the best beers I've brewed in the 20 months since I started.

Sure, it's more convenient than having separate boil pots, mash tuns etc. but to compare this to a breadmaker is patently false, all the steps are still there and they all have to be done manually - these systems just make everything more compact and controllable. I was happy to pay an extra £100 above the cost of buying separate vessels for the time and space savings.

 

[IainM]

Boilers take all the fun out of brewing. Nothing beats an open wood fire and large earthenware pot. Gas burners and electric boilers have turned brewing into nothing more than switching on a kettle.

 

[Leon103]

The new grainfathera are over £700 now

 

[Linalmeemow]

They'll price themselves out of the market...

 

[wfr42]

With all the new bells and whistles - control from your phone etc they maybe are trying to be the bread makers of the hb world (i was repeating others and didn't mean any offence) :-)

Pricing hasn't hurt the braumiester