New 3V HERMS or Braumeister setup feasibility ...

[MaltyHops]

... and ask .. what should I do ??? Braumeister or 3V .....

I hate making these decisions.... Plus I would need to turn to someone to help with the build if I went down that direction ..

Thanks

Grainer

One way to look at this is to ask yourself what kind of brewer you are
(or think you are) in terms of how hands-on do you want to be when
brewing.

If you like to be involved in every stage of the whole brewing process
(and this will be for every brew you make so ti can wear a bit thin after
a while), then 3V (or non-BM) would be the way to go.

OTOH, if you like things to run themselves and a much lower amount
of things you have to do each time, then the BM is the go.

This is true whether you buy off the shelf (like the BM, or even a 3V)
or if you can tinker and build it yourself (including building a BM style
design like those already done on this forum) then you can fix things
if they go wrong.

 

[Grainer]

So I have decided to build a 3V.. looks like fun .. just got to see if any of those cut up CUB kegs are laying around ... if not get new pots

 

[bum]

f you like to be involved in every stage of the whole brewing process

(and this will be for every brew you make so ti can wear a bit thin after
a while), then 3V (or non-BM) would be the way to go.

OTOH, if you like things to run themselves and a much lower amount
of things you have to do each time, then the BM is the go.

I dunno. Is
brewing wi
th a BM re
ally any les
s "hands-o
n" than wit
h a 3v syst
em? Only d
ifference is
not having
to bang so
me hot wat
er in if you
want to ste
p mash, ye
ah?

 

[manticle]

Re
ad
h
is
post
mu
ch easier
than you
rs bum

 

[bum]

N
o
t

a
s

f
u
n
n
y
,

b
u
t
.

 

[manticle]

ar
s






...........................................e

 

[MaltyHops]

I dunno. Is
brewing wi
th a BM re
ally any les
s "hands-o
n" than wit
h a 3v syst
em? Only d
ifference is
not having
to bang so
me hot wat
er in if you
want to ste
p mash, ye
ah?

Yes, I think so. I had the pleasure of having a rye golden ale brewed
on Malted's BM last Dec and while there are obviously some manual
handling (all done by Malted) we were able to sit back, sip on red wine,
have some nibbles
and chat while the
BM happily carried
on with its dialed in
program.

 

[Edak]

Build your own BM clone, between $500 - $1000 depending on how fancy you want to go with pump and controller.

Luke

+1 that way you get to go through the heart ache odd sourcing bits, building it and still get a braumeister type system.

 

[bum]

Yes, I think so. I had the pleasure of having a rye golden ale brewed
on Malted's BM last Dec and while there are obviously some manual
handling (all done by Malted) we were able to sit back, sip on red wine,
have some nibbles
and chat while the
BM happily carried
on with its dialed in
program.

Excluding the red wine and Malted's exalted company, this sounds a lot like my brewdays. Really only get in to a rush if I work out I've used wrong ingredient amounts or something and need to recalculate my hop additions in a hurry - which is something that doesn't happen much and a BM wouldn't protect me from. I really don't see it as being much of an effort saver. One less vessel to clean, I guess. Probably harder to clean than any of mine though.

 

[lael]

I've just finished building my BM clone and it has been pretty rewarding. It's nice to clean. Not sure what the difference is between 3v. For mine - fill with water, put at 60C, throw in some sod perc, recirculate, rinse. Tip malt pipe into a bag, rinse it out. It's pretty easy. The biggest advantage is being able to leave it to do it's thing during mashing / boiling. How different that is to any other system.... idk.

 

[Yob]

photos

 

[lael]

of my system?

 

[TidalPete]

:icon_offtopic: Daddy - can we talk about the Porsche now?
BBB

Would never contemplate spending $2500 when another $1000 could get me a 50-litre Braumeister with all the extra benefits.
Having said that I must admit to have probably spent well over $2000 on my HERMS (So far & slowly but surely over a long time).
I would like to think that any sort of all-grain brewing setup is more enjoyable & satisfying than a set-and-forget system but each to his own. :beer:
Never tired of showing off my rig. :lol:

 

[sillyboybrybry]

Braumeister is not quite a set and forget. Until it removes the malt pipe, self sparges, puts its lid on then removes it when it reaches boil and puts its own hops in it will still be something that needs attention during the brew.

 

[Kranky]

A Braumeister will make good beer straight off the shelf and you can get great consistency out of it. The wort is very clear and it's set and forget programming make the brewing process pretty easy. If you just want to drink AG beer with as little effort as possible it's the way to go.

If you want to learn all about the brewing process and don't mind putting in a full days labor to make your beer then a 3v system is it. Your brew days will be longer than with a Braumeister and you will have to pay a lot more attention as to what is going on. It will take some time to learn how to brew and get familiar with your equipment and many things will go wrong. You will make more bad beers than you would with a Braumeister but when you get on top of it you will have learnt a lot.

The added advantage of a 3v system is that you can do high gravity beers (the Braumeister isn't really cut out for although there are some ways to do it).

If you're going to go with a 3v system and you've got a decent budget I'd recommend the Blichmann mash tun with a their false bottom, they are ******* superb. The 20 gallon is good for double batches. You can save money on the HLT and the BK shopping around.

 

[Yob]

of my system?

Indeed.. while Im a dedicated HERMS man, I always like to see other peoples single vessel creations..

I think it's well documented that Id rather build than buy so these things are of natural interest to me. Big Nath's single vessel build was pretty schmick.

 

[Yob]

You will make more bad beers than you would with a Braumeister but when you get on top of it you will have learnt a lot.

The added advantage of a 3v system is that you can do high gravity beers (the Braumeister isn't really cut out for although there are some ways to do it).

bollox.. utter bollox

I can agree with some of your points.

 

[tanukibrewer]

I have built up a 3V system,looking to go to a HERMs system soon,would like to be able to afford 15K for a big 200L Braumeister system if I won lotto.But really what I want is to be able to do 80L batches with increased clarity of the wort,step temp mashes and reduce the brew time and I think/hope a HERMS system will do that for me more cheaply.
Also if my system breaks on brew day no biggy I know how to unbreak it.
I cant weld to save my life and electrical diagrams make my eyes swim but can cut and grind so the 3V system was easy to put together.However Im still brewing off the back of my trailer till I build a stand,get weird looks from people walking by.

saw these on gumtree(not connected in any way),not sure what they are like,might be good if you only want to do small brews
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/chirnside-park/other-home-garden/bielmeier-beer-brewing-kit-bhg-400-made-in-germany-/1019861198

 

[Kranky]

bollox.. utter bollox

I can agree with some of your points.

I made plenty of mistakes learning how to use my 3v system and made some shitty beers because of those mistakes. I'm guessing you didn't, half your luck.

 

[Yob]

will admit that throwing PBW into the mash wasnt my greatest moment... but it wouldnt have mattered what sort of system it was on :lol: