GrainFather v other systems.

[Bigd2657]

Wow

we are getting some good reviews for the Grainfather and the bulldog brewer.

 

[smithsj1]

Bought a Bulldog Brewer a few days ago for £399. Just getting myself sorted with connections to chiller etc and then hope to use next week as have grain and hops ready to go. Before that, though I have a lot of DME to get in a fermenter. lol

Anyway will let you know how it goes when I start. Everything I read says Grainfather is better but I couldn't justify a price 75% higher at this point given that I will be a noob to all grain so maybe next time I may consider although that new Bulldog does look good. :)

 

[Slid]

Bought a Bulldog Brewer a few days ago for £399. Just getting myself sorted with connections to chiller etc and then hope to use next week as have grain and hops ready to go. Before that, though I have a lot of DME to get in a fermenter. lol

Anyway will let you know how it goes when I start. Everything I read says Grainfather is better but I couldn't justify a price 75% higher at this point given that I will be a noob to all grain so maybe next time I may consider although that new Bulldog does look good. :)

You will make magic beer with this kit. Just concentrate on doing that, and good luck with the first brew with it.

Just give us a shout if you need any help on Brew Day!

 

[Ghillie]

I picked up a 2nd hand (used once for a demo video) Robobrew V3 for £290. Cracking unit and worth every penny - highly recommended!

 

[krispn]

I was a stove top home brewer but after selling off some brewdog shares bought a Grainfather with the money. Luckily mine came with the free water heater/urn which is a total bonus. I am getting great results with mine as I'm sure many Bulldog et al users are too. I chose the GF as it had an established community - FB groups, you tube pages and a host of recipes via the website and app. It does make a brew day much less hassle although I'm glad I started with the kit I had to get the basic under my belt.

I bought the small pipe work as I tend to do smaller batches which means I get to brew more frequently. This means I can try more styles etc. The one thing that I found as useful as the GF was having a 'brew fridge' to control fermentaiton (second hand fridge found on gumtree, an inkbird controller and a heat mat bought from a pet store designed for heating terariums!) This small additonal outlay (£70 all in I think it cost me) will see the all important stable fermentation. My view was that I was getting this great quality wort but if I couldn't ferment it correctly then it was a waste of money. It's probably made as big an impact to my beer's quality as the GF has to be honest.

The beer in my profile pic is the Totally Tallawah Pale Ale (Totally Tropical Pale Ale from the James Morton book) which was super tasty!

 

[marlon]

I came across something called a Brewster, costing about £460.

Again it has the controller built in at the base, but it does have a counter flow chiller.
It's still a lot of money to risk on something you know so little about.

I have one of these. (Think l'm the only one on the forum that has). It does everything the G/F does, but is a bit more clunky. The external re-circ pipework looks a bit naff but it works and is easy the take to pieces for cleaning. The counterflow chiller works on gravity and will chill from boiling to 25°C as it runs through the coil straight into the F/V. I was attracted to it by the price being £200 cheaper than the G/F at the time. But if l'd had an extra £200 to burn l would have had a G/F - just because it looks nicer.☺

 

[Oneflewover]

I was a stove top home brewer but after selling off some brewdog shares bought a Grainfather with the money. Luckily mine came with the free water heater/urn which is a total bonus. I am getting great results with mine as I'm sure many Bulldog et al users are too. I chose the GF as it had an established community - FB groups, you tube pages and a host of recipes via the website and app. It does make a brew day much less hassle although I'm glad I started with the kit I had to get the basic under my belt.

I bought the small pipe work as I tend to do smaller batches which means I get to brew more frequently. This means I can try more styles etc. The one thing that I found as useful as the GF was having a 'brew fridge' to control fermentaiton (second hand fridge found on gumtree, an inkbird controller and a heat mat bought from a pet store designed for heating terariums!) This small additonal outlay (£70 all in I think it cost me) will see the all important stable fermentation. My view was that I was getting this great quality wort but if I couldn't ferment it correctly then it was a waste of money. It's probably made as big an impact to my beer's quality as the GF has to be honest.

The beer in my profile pic is the Totally Tallawah Pale Ale (Totally Tropical Pale Ale from the James Morton book) which was super tasty!

Great post, stove top brewing really helps you to understand the process before you move on to an all in one system. Also totally agree with the observation about the brew fridge, wouldn't be without mine.

 

[Manxnorton]

Wow

we are getting some good reviews for the Grainfather and the bulldog brewer.

hallow pal,
had my GF version 2 for a good time.
after weeks of looking at the reviews the gf was the clear winner.
I don't regret.....its the dogs conkers tbh..
a lot of owners say the same as I thought, they actually from the first version listened to homebrewers...ans slowly improved the system.
I sold my GF after visit in hospital n now cant wait to buy the gf connect now I'm fit again...
also I'm looking at the new bulldog...hmmmm good reviews.
lata
bri

 

[The Baron]

question to all you GF owners is the element a bonded unit and if it goes can you get a replacement for it?

 

[Saisonator]

question to all you GF owners is the element a bonded unit and if it goes can you get a replacement for it?

Yes it’s bonded as are all of them with the exception of the Braumeister, so if the element goes it’s basically scrap.
Going by the GF forum, they appear to be lasting longer than I expected.
Some members are into 200 brews, in my case that’s about 20 years worth of one a month brew days.

 

[Poochops]

I'm only 10 brews in on my gf but I'm made up with it. To be fair there's a bit of teqnique fettling required, but I'm sure that's the same with any one pot system. The bonus with the gf is the brilliant cfc, the Bluetooth control and the first class customer service. I've never seen a complaint about the aftercare and seen plenty of commendations about the support often 2 years after purchase. Plus it's just a great little unit, the ergonomics are unique as far as I know and personally I doubt anyone has regretted ever buying one TBH.

 

[Popatopher]

It took me 45 years to upgrade from my Bruheat Boiler (as in Dave Lines books).i was going for the RobBrew. Like others here, half the price. However they have had a supply issue and then my local brew shop had the Grainfather on a special price and threw in the storage / carry bag and cleaner. I added the graincoat. I already had a sparge heater as it makes sparging so easy.

I too had to get a new paddle.

I’ve cut 1 1/2 hrs from my brew day. I’ve worked thoroughly the temps and ph and everything in the first brews. I’m now confident in the connect controller. The connect feature gives me time to do others things. I love this bit especially the phone app.

Just added the wortometer realeased last week. That will give me another 20 minutes back, I’ll find out next week on brew 5 in da Grainfather.

I decided the extra investment was worth it, the quality will give me another 45 years, if I can live that long.

There are only two improvements I would make.
Add handles to make it easier to carry.
Extend the height of the wort arm for when the grain tube is out for sparging and add an optional inlet before the pump to connect to the sparge heater.

 

[Manxnorton]

hi again,
I've been looking at certain probs I had with my version 2 GF..(a one handed operation)
I dropped the wort chiller twice..doooooo!!.and the sides of the cracked and bits broke off, wish this could be say rubber instead of harded plastic or what ever it is lol.
with I few operations near the union of the red silicone hoses, a small leak...but old black nasty is a temp fix.
the seal on the recirculation arm disintegrated...but it works fine with not one on tbh.
been a long time since a problem with removing the whole arm after recurc. (had use mole grips and one handed turn it due to heat...if you know what I mean lol)
other that that, mentioned before the pump filter (staying on!) is a PITA...also the end cap...tbh as much use as a fart in a thunder starm.
thers is fixes on the net for it, a jubilee clip, and fine mesh over the end cap.
Tbh, once you've tinkered with the calculations and sorted the operation it a breeze, even for the likes of me, with limited mobility.
but I adapted all the stages and I found trimming time of a brew day, so much I enjoy it, not a chore anymore.
without the connect I used the gf HLT on a timer, heating the mash water before I got. I had the 16l hlt, see its 18l get in.

I was fascinated that's a new Bulldog out, but after watching this Bulldog master brewer got more cofused, lol and I went back to GF connect camp...where I remain til I safe up for another gf.

FYI if you cant understand what the hell I'm waffling see my signature..sorry.
Bri

 

[Popatopher]

It took me 45 years to upgrade from my Bruheat Boiler (as in Dave Lines books).i was going for the RobBrew. Like others here, half the price. However they have had a supply issue and then my local brew shop had the Grainfather on a special price and threw in the storage / carry bag and cleaner. I added the graincoat. I already had a sparge heater as it makes sparging so easy.

I too had to get a new paddle.

I’ve cut 1 1/2 hrs from my brew day. I’ve worked thoroughly the temps and ph and everything in the first brews. I’m now confident in the connect controller. The connect feature gives me time to do others things. I love this bit especially the phone app.

Just added the wortometer realeased last week. That will give me another 20 minutes back, I’ll find out next week on brew 5 in da Grainfather.

I decided the extra investment was worth it, the quality will give me another 45 years, if I can live that long.

There are only two improvements I would make.
Add handles to make it easier to carry.
Extend the height of the wort arm for when the grain tube is out for sparging and add an optional inlet before the pump to connect to the sparge heater.

After read the posts again, the comment about knocking off the Pump Filter reminded me I had missed an addition i bought to the Grainfather. I bought a Mango Jacks Hop Spider (also sold as a Grainfather Hop Spider (they're the same, a 300 mesh stainless steel basket that hooks on the side of the Grainfather during the boil).

The first time I used the Hop Spider I had forgotten to fit the Pump Filter, and got through the mash without a hiccup. Using the Hop Spider in the Boil contained the Hops (pellet) and the brew went through without a hitch. So the Grain Tube does a great job of containing the grist without letting large particles through.

So I'd recommend getting a Hop Spider - didn't affect the hop extraction, as its large enough to allow a thorough mixing of the boiling wort.

 

[stevey]

I've just ordered a Grainfather, which should be delivered tomorrow. The way I see it is that while all the all in one systems do what they are supposed to, the grainfather is like the VHS to everything else's betamax. It seems to be by far the most popular system, which helps to keep the price at a competetive level. I've not heard of anyone that has one and doesn't like using it.

 

[Manxnorton]

I've just ordered a Grainfather, which should be delivered tomorrow. The way I see it is that while all the all in one systems do what they are supposed to, the grainfather is like the VHS to everything else's betamax. It seems to be by far the most popular system, which helps to keep the price at a competetive level. I've not heard of anyone that has one and doesn't like using it.

stevey,
couldn't say it any better myself...
youll get better n better my m8.
ive not heard any owner moan about the gf...only mention they where hoping with the price ittl be worth it.
bri

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I've just ordered a Grainfather, which should be delivered tomorrow. The way I see it is that while all the all in one systems do what they are supposed to, the grainfather is like the VHS to everything else's betamax. It seems to be by far the most popular system, which helps to keep the price at a competetive level. I've not heard of anyone that has one and doesn't like using it.

We did a poll here a while ago asking owners if money was no object would members choose a Braumeister at over £1000 or a GF at just over £500 the Braumeister won convincingly therefore many members bought the GF not because it is the best system but it was the best system for the price at the time since then many new all in one systems have appeared and if all of them had been for sale when the GF came to market I wonder if the GF would be as popular as it is.

 

[Manxnorton]

We did a poll here a while ago asking owners if money was no object would members choose a Braumeister at over £1000 or a GF at just over £500 the Braumeister won convincingly therefore many members bought the GF not because it is the best system but it was the best system for the price at the time since then many new all in one systems have appeared and if all of them had been for sale when the GF came to market I wonder if the GF would be as popular as it is.

aye chippy,
think I was in the middle of this thread...
the braumeister got me hot in the collar lol...bit at the time only the 20l version I looked and the you tube one made my mind up.
bri

 

[Hoddy]

We did a poll here a while ago asking owners if money was no object would members choose a Braumeister at over £1000 or a GF at just over £500 the Braumeister won convincingly therefore many members bought the GF not because it is the best system but it was the best system for the price at the time since then many new all in one systems have appeared and if all of them had been for sale when the GF came to market I wonder if the GF would be as popular as it is.

I was lucky enough to get in on the Braumeister early doors, plus I managed to get in on the cash discount Brewuk used to do for collections. Nearly saved me £200.

I agree with chippy, I am lucky enough to be able to have the spare cash to buy a BM. And I’m overjoyed with mine, it’s does everything you want and more. Efficiency’s are great, build quality is A1 and cleaning is pretty straight forward.

There is also a huge BM online community like the GF. I think they are both good, and both in different ways. But I think here at the HBF fills the gap.

I totally see the GF as a good piece of kit. And maybe if it had been around and for sale in the UK when I got an all in one brewing system I might have got a GF instead of my BM.

But I cannot query the quality of my BM and I love mine and I would recommend to anyone.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[The Baron]

Agree with that Chippy I have got a Ace and so many GF owners bash it but it is great for me never had any probs done loads of brews and because it is not as automated as the GF it makes you hone your skills better so there is a up side. Got fed up of the Knockers saying it will be scrap if the heater goes but from what I understand when I did my homework was that they have very similar if not identical pumps and the heater system is of the same bonded type so if a GF heater goes you've got a more expensive piece of stainless scrap. But horses for courses and I do agree the GF is better build quality and has more bells and whistles. I watched a youtube vid of one of the major GF posters the other day and he has got his head up his arse re the GF and said " I would rather buy a boiler and mash bag rather than have one of these meaning a Ace, Robobrew etc" I thought we were supposed to be a community and the Ace can't be that bad as their are so many other manufacturers rebranding it which will also hopefully bring further improvements for the automated bunch but me I like it as it is and prefer to improve my skills not letting a machine do it with settings
There rant over
Ps I only paid £290 for mine so less than half the GF