I’m looking for my next step in brewing. I have been homebrewing for a few years now, but I have done very little all-grain brewing. The all-grain I have done has been brew in a bag, which is a pain. I’m highly interested in the science behind brewing and looking for a system that requires me to be closely involved in the brewing process.
I was wondering about getting something like the Grainfather, BrewZilla, or anything like that, as recommended by a friend who also brews. For the longest time I was set on converting a cooler into a mash-tun, but these all mashing systems seem great. I want something that has me involved in the brewing process and that is highly efficient. Please let me know the pros and cons of the systems you guys have any recommendations.
I’m still in the newbie class, and like you, I was thinking of converting a Igloo cooler to a mash tun. What little I have looked at, the Anvil Foundry seems like a great setup. If I was ready to drop dime on a system, that would be the one I would be interested in.
I was thinking of trying brew in a bag, what is wrong with that way of brewing? I have read it is a great way to go to start the all grain process without really dumping a bunch of money into it. I have to buy one pot, and a bag. LOL.
i dont have an all-in-one system, but i wish i had tried one, for the features and compactness you get it has a DIY setup beat IMHO. im sure people here or online reviews would point you towards the best one
absolutely nothing wrong with it. however you need to either stand there and hold a fairly hot bag up high while it drains for ~15-20 minutes or rig some thing to hold it up. i did that for several batches and it definitely works.
There are other solutions. I have used a large colander that fits into the top of the kettle. Lift the bag, slip the colander under it and set the bag back down. Eventually the handles on the colander broke. Now I have two nested buckets, with the bottom of the inner one drilled full of holes. I lift the bag out of the kettle and into the buckets. The bag drains through the holes in the inner bucket and I can pour from the outer bucket back into the kettle.
I believe the all in one systems are great. However, I prefer having individual components that can be replaced as required.
As you investigate systems ensure there is access to spare parts. Heater elements, pumps, etc should all be available in case they fail. Mfr remove and install technical information is a plus.
I also recommend stand alone control vs internet requirements. Bad things happen when connectivity is unavailable.
+1. Necessity is the mother of invention. I made a cube out of pvc pipe with a crossbar on top. It sits very stable on the kettle handles. The crossbar, which is removable, has horns that the bag loops hook on. I roll it up, lock it in with a chain mechanism and let it drain. I can also squeeze. Lift off when done. Less effort, less mess, less cleaning. Very easy.
I have brewed on a number of systems, from old fashioned 3 vessel to high tech all in ones. The Grainfather G40 is dead and shoulders above anything else I’ve ever used. The build quality and functionality is superb, and cleanup is dead easy. If you don’t need connectivity, the S40 is the same great design for 1/3 the price of the G40.
Good to hear on the G40. I think that is where I will be headed, if ever (when, I suppose) my current Anvil Foundry gives out. A neighbor had the first generation Grainfather and his only gripe (and it was slight) was the slow-ish timing from mash to achieve a boil. With the new 220V/3300 watt element on the G-40, it looks like it has the best of all worlds. The S-40 would probably be my choice, but only because I generally want fully hands on brewing (which, of course, is available on the G-40, but then why pay the higher price for the automation aspects…) The point is the improvements made over the last few years really make these new systems quite dependable and fun to brew with! If I was starting out new right now, I would not hesitate to jump into any one of the major makers’ products.
I have and Anvil Foundry 10.5 and love it. What attracted me to it was price and the units ability to use both 110v and 240v. Anvil just recently released their new Foundry 18 gallon unit if you wish to brew more than 5 gallon batches.
If you’re looking to get into the nitty-gritty, nothing makes you do that like a 3v HERMS system. I had a Grainfather, and while it is easy to use, getting into the science of it confused me, as it’s a BIAB style system… which I never realized until later.
I built my system around this design… https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/
Yeah, it’s expensive. But, as a result, I now have had to study conversion efficiency, lauter efficiency, brewhouse efficiency, boil-off rates and so on, to truly understand what the H*LL I’m doing.
Yeah, that’s why I just use a simple pot and a brew bag. I don’t need to understand any of that. I just randomly throw in some grain and it magically turns into yummy beer!
/sarcasm /joking /wink face…
I was thinking of trying brew in a bag, what is wrong with that way of brewing? I have read it is a great way to go to start the all grain process without really dumping a bunch of money into it. I have to buy one pot, and a bag. LOL.
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absolutely nothing wrong with it. however you need to either stand there and hold a fairly hot bag up high while it drains for ~15-20 minutes or rig some thing to hold it up. i did that for several batches and it definitely works.
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Sounds to me like another DIY project in the works. LOL. I have seen where guys use BBQ racks and put them over the kettle and push down with the lid of the kettle to drain the bag, that was kinda where I was going to go with it But hey, a weekend DIY with a few beers could be fun. Thanks for the input though, I appreciate it.
You mentioned BrewZilla so I will chime in here. I own one and I think it is a very good system. I usually brew about 5.5-6 gallon batches on it. If you like lower medium high gravity ales it works perfectly with very clear vorlauf and lauter. For higher gravity beers about 1.080 is about as high as you can go on that system without adding extract, sugar or going for a lower final volume yield. I have done 4 gallon barley wines so high gravity beers are doable but at a lower final volume of beer.
I haven’t brewed on an Anvil or GrainFather so not promoting this system over those … just saying I really like mine. That said, I brewed 12 gallon batches on a rigged homemade batch sparge system (ala denny conn special) for very many years. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on an “all-in-one” system to make great beers.
Spending money on equipment may make your brewing easier or more convenient, but it won’t necessarily improve your beers. Spending more money on ingredients is a better way to improve the quality of your beers.
Same here. The Foundry brought the entry level price point for small All-in-ones down to my budget, and I really love the simplicity it added to my brew day, but my beers from my old cooler mash tun were just as good as what I’m making in the Foundry.
I have a very simple system. I have 5.5 gallon induction capable kettle (I do 3 gallon batches). I mash in a BIAB bag in that kettle. I heat my water with a stand alone 1800W induction burner that cost $38 on Amazon in 2018. I wrap the kettle with a beach towel and walk away during the mash. About 30 minutes into the mash I start heating my sparge water in a second kettle. When the mash is complete, I pull the bag and hang it with a pulley for a few minutes. I don’t sweat getting every drop of wort out at this point. Just drain until it’s moveable without making a mess. I then place the bag with grains still in it into the kettle with heated sparge water (a dunk sparge). I stir a bit and then leave it for 5 minutes. Meanwhile the main batch is heating to boil. After the 5 minute sparge rest, I hang the bag on a pulley to drain over the sparge kettle. When it’s ready, I pour the sparge batch into the boil kettle manually. Next, I clean my bag and sparge kettle and it’s off to the boil. I use the same induction burner to boil. I get 83% mash efficiency.
My system was cheap to assemble. I like the brewing and cleaning simplicity. There two other things I think are advantages. One, I intentionally don’t have a pump because they take a bit of extra time to rinse and clean (I know it’s only a few minutes). Two, I think the dunk sparge is much easier than the pouring cups of water over a grain basket as is the case for the all-in-ones (I used to have a Grainfather).
