What is Grainfather for?

[-Bezza-]

The hobby is often about the equipment too.

Take fishing as an example - you can get up and running and catching fish with a rod and reel that costs £50. Or you can spend many thousands on much the same purpose. Whilst there is clearly diminishing returns, I'm sure the expensive equipment is a little easier and more pleasurable to use.

Do I need a stainless steel fermentation vessel? No. Do I want one? Hell yes.

 

[Cwrw666]

Me, I can't imagine why anyone would shell out for a grainfather. I'll stick with my eighty quid boiler and BIAB bag.
There again I also reuse yeast and bottle caps...

 

[BarnBrian]

Me, I can't imagine why anyone would shell out for a grainfather. I'll stick with my eighty quid boiler and BIAB bag.
There again I also reuse yeast and bottle caps...

I agree with you, why would anyone shell out on a grainfather. I got the Braumeister instead and love it, Simple to operate and takes up no space. 40 Brews on so it's pretty well paid for itself.

 

[chthon]

I am an electronics and software engineer, and in the past I have also worked as maintenance engineer in a factory. I like my brewing materials extremely simple, without electronics and pumps, because the aspects of my job that I like the least is babysitting control systems and users computers. I like my stuff KISS.

Things that seem to go mostly bad with these systems are (not in order of severity or occurrence): couplings which break or are forgotten, thermostats which are placed wrong or are somehow inhibited from working, heating elements which are forgotten to turn off, pumps which stall or are blocked.

 

[Madhouse]

And there was me thinking a bigger pan was an investment!

It's the same with a lot of things eg I like mountain biking, I can do it on a £150 bike from Halfords or an £8k rig from a specialist, either way it's still the same sport and as long as fun is had it doesn't matter. (I ride neither btw).

Each to their own, I don't care how you made it as long as it tastes good

 

[simon12]

Its certainly a case of personal preference from posts on here theres a huge no of people who have and love the grainfather. For me having a pump in a small setup is an extra thing to go wrong and I prefer manually using switches, thermometers and clocks without a control box.

 

[strange-steve]

I used to feel the same as the OP, until I went to a brewday with my local HB club and someone brought their GF along. I was really impressed with the build quality, the simple step mashing, the temp control, the compactness of it, the easy cleaning etc.

Yes it's probably overpriced but I don't regret buying it, for me it makes for a more relaxing and enjoyable brewday.

 

[mishking]

I love my grainfather, mine has probably already paid for itself in beer savings.

For me it came down to space, i can pull this out the corner on a saturday or sunday and crack-on with a brew. Easy clean-up and i slide her back into her corner until the next time.

At the end of the day we all like making beer and the GF and countless other systems help us achieve that so to me it doesn't really matter. Pick what you like/can afford and get brewing

 

[Brew Dad]

...i slide her back into her corner until the next time...

Wouldn't that be a Grainmother?

 

[BarnBrian]

Wouldn't that be a Grainmother?

I'm sure my Grandad did the same thing, that's what weekends were for.

 

[mathorp]

I like the comparison with choosing a mountain bike. Another that works for me is bread making – do you prefer a bread maker or going back to basics with a sour dough culture? It doesn’t really matter, as long as you have fun – they both taste pretty good.

Everyone has their own priorities when home brewing. These change over the years as budget, space to brew and the time to do it evolve. New gadgets are available, new techniques and recipes circulate and one’s taste matures.

I have travelled from one extreme to the other, starting with basic equipment and kits about 10 years ago. It tasted “OK” – nothing special but much better than the Boots kits Mum used to brew in the 60’s.

My present kit turns whole grain into finished ale in about seven days:

• Milling the grain: Crankenstein 320D three roller mill driven by a Metabo SBE 1100 plus drill.
• Converting grain to wort: Speidels 20L Braumeister, plus a large electric water urn for sparge water.
• Fermenting and serving the beer: WilliamsWarn 23L BrewMaster.
• Also for serving the beer: Corny kegs in a two tap Kegerator.

This lot is at the expensive end of the spectrum. (The last car I bought cost about the same). I respect the fact that many people don’t want brewing automation – they enjoy the basics. Some folks cannot justify buying this level of equipment. Others enjoy building it themselves. Finally, as this forum makes clear, many people get a lot of satisfaction from making great beer at the lowest possible price. I respect all of these, but they are not me.

My drivers have been:

• Flexibility on everything from milling (size) through mashing/sparging/boiling (stage temperature, duration) to fermenting (temperature)
• No access to the kitchen.
• Several moves between contrasting climates: West Australia to Thailand to the Lake District. Each have their own challenges for temperature control.
• Minimise the time spent cleaning/sterilising.

The result is a system that, although not fully integrated, does automate some of the steps. I was never very successful in controlling temperatures during any of the steps when I did it manually (except boiling!) I have used it for a range of beer styles and have never had a spoilt brew. (I had several when using a plastic fermenter, secondary fermentation in carboys, etc). I have been able to give up cleaning bottles and priming them.

And the downside? Obviously, the price – which I accept. Less obvious is the fact that more complex equipment is trickier to troubleshoot and fix. @chthon’s KISS principle is violated big time. At various points I have replaced pumps, a non-return valve, a tap and a pressure gauge. So those who enjoy tinkering will not be entirely disappointed! Fortunately, I have found the vendors supportive when I needed them.

The weird thing is that when it comes to choosing a bike and making bread I prefer the low tech choice.

 

[BrewRubha]

Three years ago I thought to myself "wouldn't be nice to make my own beer again after a 35 year break"! So I started a journey of learning. Thank goodness the internet had been invented in the interim. I read all the info I could find, watched countless Youtube videos and immersed myself in the subject before jumping in.

Eight months into my obsession I inherited some, little, money I was not expecting. SWMBO suggested I invest some into furthering my ambitions to brew.

So then I was in a position to concentrate on what I wanted in a brew system and what system to go for and what type of brewing I wanted to go for. BIAB, Extract or AG? I decided on AG as I have a retirement plan to start a Nano/Pico Brewery as, perhaps, a paying retirement hobby. AG would give me the experience to achieve that.

So what system? A build? Had seen enough videos to realise that although I am OK at basic DIY, the metalwork, plumbing and electrical works were not my main interest. I wanted an off the shelf system that could control all the process steps and allow me to concentrate what interested me. Recipe formulation, an understanding of ingredients, effect of yeast strains, temperature of fermentation, protein rests, step mashing and water profile etc..... yep I am now a brew geek! Even before the GF arrived I built a Fermentation chamber realising that temp control was as important as wort production.

To allow me to take a lot of the work and guess work out of this I purchased a GF system...well a GF and sparge kettle. I do know I was fortunate to have the spare cash to buy an all in one, but I do not regret it, even having not done any other type of AG brewing on another system. It makes great beer....well it makes repeatable beer, great beer is up to you and your recipe and FV treatment.

I am in no way advocating an all in one system to all. This worked for me jumping straight to AG. It allows me to learn while reducing some variables. The beauty of this hobby is the diversity of production method and creativity. Just make good beer!

PS Only had one problem in two years using the GF and they replaced the controller in days!

 

[MyQul]

I am an electronics and software engineer, and in the past I have also worked as maintenance engineer in a factory. I like my brewing materials extremely simple, without electronics and pumps, because the aspects of my job that I like the least is babysitting control systems and users computers. I like my stuff KISS.

Things that seem to go mostly bad with these systems are (not in order of severity or occurrence): couplings which break or are forgotten, thermostats which are placed wrong or are somehow inhibited from working, heating elements which are forgotten to turn off, pumps which stall or are blocked.

I also am keen on KISS brewing for a couple of reasons. Firstly If your on a very limited brewing budget like me, the simpler the brew kit, the less likley for something to break and need replacing, which costs.

I aslo like KISS brewing for simplicity sake, and enjoy a minimalist approach to brewing. I've taken this approach to ingredients now too.

Im also a bit of a luddite at heart (I dont have a smart phone for example).

 

[Dutto]

I guess I've backed myself into a corner by brewing Kits and AG depending on time available, the weather and my mood.

Now, if I ever suggest spending any serious money on brewing gear, SWMBO points out that a tin of Golden Syrup from Lidl and a Kit from Wilko "Costs less than £14 ...

... and you must like it because you drink it!"

It's those last few words that are the killer!

 

[DrGMc]

An Ankoù - Damn good Question ...
I have one so don't get me wrong but I think the real answer is its for lazy people with less time than money. I'd love to create my own rig either by necesscity or through experience but its simply was never going to be the case as luckily I'm not forced down one path but regret I also lack the other.
I tend to do weekend brews and I want it to go right first time. Yes I have to use a hop bag to prevent the pump blocking, I need to scrape the element clean every time (although thats pretty easy) and you need to learn how to place the plates without poping the silicon seals all the time - else you'll pull all your hair out in frustration but hey
I get really good yields, I can mash just about anything and its reproducible - so for someone like me (lack of experience and short of lesuire time) its a bit of a no-brainer a bit like a short-cut but you still get to learn as you go.
Its a different path - I'm not sure it a better path than any other route to homebrew - just different.