BIAB V All in one system for new All Grain brewer

[John Nicolac]

Hi All,
I am looking at moving to a All Grain journey after spending a year on Kit & kilo & Extract
brewing. I have seen and read many things and am confused.
Should i go a BIAB in a kettle or Look at a Brewzilla / Guten system ( I cant afford the grainfather at this stage).
I would like some info and advise from others with more experience and knowledge than me on options, id
like to go into this with as much info as possible beofre outlaying cash and starting my All Grain Journey

Many Thanks

 

[kadmium]

By the time you setup properly for BIAB with a pot, burner and lpg, you're probably looking at $100 or more.

Buying a guten or other single vessel is a "buy once cry once" type of purchase. If you're serious about brewing, but also want an easy system then in my opinion a 1v system is the way to go.

I've done 3 vessel, mash and lautering in coolers, BIAB and now a guten and you can pry it out of my hands before I give it up.

Its made brewing enjoyable and not a chore.

The wife loves it cause I'm not stinking the house out brewing inside, and I love how easy it made the process.

The GF is just an overpriced Guten/robobrew to be honest. In my opinion

 

[Malted Mick]

Hi J I have been All Grain BIAB for 12 months using a home made keggle & gas burner. My set up would have cost me at least $100 doing it on the cheap. I will stick it on Gumtree and should get $50 back to go towards a Guten or Robobrew for my next brew. The main disavantages of a gas fired BIAB keggle for me has been the safety issues of breathing carbon monoxide and poor control of mash temps. In hindsight I should have gone electric.

 

[Hangover68]

A cheap s/steel pot , 2200w element, tap and a biab bag can be done for around $100.
No need to mess around with gas.

 

[John Nicolac]

Cheers all for the Replies, much appreciated..

Now comes the Hard part, do i go for a Robobrew or a Guten system ?, with my limited research they seem failry similar with some benefits to one and other benefits of another... Has anyone used both and have a unbiased preference ?

 

[kadmium]

I don't think many people have used both, there was a very recent thread here and I believe he decided on the Guten in the end.

 

[adamsec]

A cheap s/steel pot , 2200w element, tap and a biab bag can be done for around $100.
No need to mess around with gas.

Agree with this.

The only stuff you miss is graduated markings for filling water or seeing when the boil is done, but fit the money it is hard to beat

 

[kadmium]

Yeah but exposed elements, no pump and then buying a power controller is around $50.

An all in one system, with digital temp control, pump, fittings, literally plug it in and brew are $399 with 3 year warranty. Maybe twice the price or a bit more but worth it in my opinion having done 3v, BIAB and now a Guten

 

[butisitart]

Hi All,
I am looking at moving to a All Grain journey after spending a year on Kit & kilo & Extract
brewing. I have seen and read many things and am confused.

Many Thanks

as a version 1.0 grainfather owner, you couldn't get better when i bought it. it was the working class man's rolls royce (braumeister being the RR). but if i was in the market today, sep2020, i'd have to have a good look at the guten and robobrew, purely on what they do for the price difference. trying to be a cheap-arse under that, and you'll get what you pay for.
imho, a 3v system would be great if you are in your own home, with brewing workshop space, and a permanent water and electricity supply, so it depends a little on real estate as much as on the brew systems, which ultimately do the same thing regardless. they make good beer.

 

[adamsec]

I am biased but I am pretty happy with my diy 50L setup

It is fast to get up to mash temp (20 mins), fast to boil (15m) and gives me 75/80% efficiency

I only need to clean one vessel at the end of the day and legit takes less than 15 minutes to scrub and put it all away.

Probably the only thing I would like to upgrade is to a basket over a bag but that can come down the track.

Was definitely fun to build it myself and I think part of the hobby for me is refining my processes along the way as I understand more of what I am actually doing.

If you got the money, $699 is a bargain for the 65L brewzilla

 

[akx]

I am biased but I am pretty happy with my diy 50L setup

It is fast to get up to mash temp (20 mins), fast to boil (15m) and gives me 75/80% efficiency

A little off topic question but: any details on your system + what size heating element did you go with?

 

[davemac]

As I now ferment in FKJs (18L wort) I use my grainfather as a glorified BIAB system using a full volume mash - slightly lower efficiency adds about 5% to the total cost of a brew but makes it a bit more convenient

 

[Hangover68]

Agree with this.

The only stuff you miss is graduated markings for filling water or seeing when the boil is done, but fit the money it is hard to beat

Nothing a dremel cant fix which is what i did to my kettle, no need for a pump or power controller but these can be added later.

 

[adamsec]

Nothing a dremel cant fix which is what i did to my kettle, no need for a pump or power controller but these can be added later.

I could prob engrave them in - that's a great idea

 

[adamsec]

A little off topic question but: any details on your system + what size heating element did you go with?

50L stainless kettle
Drilled holes for a ball valve, 2400w heating element to keep it on a 10A circuit (if I do upgrade I'll just add a second 2400w and put it on a second circuit), thermowell for the external inkbird wifi controller that allows me to turn it on and heat up the mash water in advance of me needing to be there.

External 25w magnetic pump that recirculates during mash and provides a whirlpool in the boil

External keg King chiller block mk3 to pull the wort down

Using a bag currently, would consider going to grain basket

Need to get a sprinkler for the lid so I can keep the lid shut during the mash and to get up to boil faster but it is not the worst setup now

Would consider putting a whirlpool arm in the kettle and not drilling the lid as it would make the lid easier to remove - this is one annoyance of the clawhammer setup but they've done it to try and redistribute the wort evenly

Getting like 75-83% efficiency so far and I think that's good enough for a diy setup

Most bits I've picked up second hand so the entire setup hasn't cost me much at all

It's been fun to build it - would recommend doing it this way unless you are super short on time and just want beer - then brewzilla all the way

 

[GrumpyPaul]

I could prob engrave them in - that's a great idea

Or you could etch the marking's

Really old but good thread here with a link to the BYO article on DIY etching

I've done it on mine and its not too hard.

 

[beergee]

Or you could etch the marking's

Really old but good thread here with a link to the BYO article on DIY etching

I've done it on mine and its not too hard.

That's great, I was wondering how to mark the stainless. Ended up using a dot punch at 5L increments, but this is heaps better!
Just need to find some stencils.

 

[adamsec]

That's great, I was wondering how to mark the stainless. Ended up using a dot punch at 5L increments, but this is heaps better!
Just need to find some stencils.

I like the dot punch too

Very simple

 

[Nick667]

Hi John, I brewed kit and kilo beers for decades way back but when I came back to brewing I wanted something much better than "not bad for homebrew" beer. I put together a BIAB setup for very little money. I am still using it 6 years later and get some very good results a lot of the time. I must have put 100 odd brews though the same bag and it is still going strongish. I think you really have to justify the cost (asset or liability) because brewing now and then is different to a lot. Also no machine or amount of money will guarantee success eg do you have temp controlled fermentation? I/we all still get disasters sometimes. But I really enjoy it and you wont regret it one way or another. In saying all that I would still buy a Robobrew tomorrow if some extra cash came my way. Hope this helps in some way. Good luck. Nick.

 

[John Nicolac]

Thanks all for the response,
I did get the brewzilla and it was delivgered yesterday ready for a 1st Brew in it...
Does anyone know, should be the Brewzilla be cleaned/ sanitized before use ?
and is there a dummy guide to use / best practise for the Brewzilla, it didnt come with instructions or guide, so i
want a quick walkthrough so i can TRY and get optimnal results from the system.

Once again, thanks all for the insight & help, much appreciated