Speidels Braumeister. Impressive Yes. Expensive Yes.

[beerbrewer76543]

$3k? That's a very expensive Urn!

If you're forking out that dough, why not aim higher ? When for twice that you can grab one of these babies:
SabcoBrewMagic for just a few dollars more

Sam Caligione (of Dogfish Head fame) pumped out many of his earlier brews on this one.

Hopper.

$6000 for a system using old kegs as brewing vessels? Tell him he's dreaming!

 

[HoppingMad]

Haha. Yeah, to be honest I think neither are the way to go (Braumeister or Sabco). Just thought I'd put it out there.
I think with shipping the weight on the Sabco would put you well and truly out of pocket unless you know someone with a shipping container doing regular rounds.

$3k for a Braumeister or $6k for a Sabco you can buy a lot of stainless steel and welding expertise and with that you can pretty much customise your own rig to suit your space. Plus I agree that you'd want something that can brew more than just 50L.

My vote would be save your hard earned and make something from scratch that works for you. But I can understand some folks want something that off the shelf 'just works' and don't have that sort of time to faff around. Sounds like the appeal for many with the Braumeister is the space saving factor too, which is interesting.

Good luck to those that want the 'urn', and each to their own, but I'm passing. My gravity fed 3 tier does me nicely for now.

Hopper.

 

[davewaldo]

Haha. Yeah, to be honest I think neither are the way to go (Braumeister or Sabco). Just thought I'd put it out there.
I think with shipping the weight on the Sabco would put you well and truly out of pocket unless you know someone with a shipping container doing regular rounds.

$3k for a Braumeister or $6k for a Sabco you can buy a lot of stainless steel and welding expertise and with that you can pretty much customise your own rig to suit your space. Plus I agree that you'd want something that can brew more than just 50L.

My vote would be save your hard earned and make something from scratch that works for you. But I can understand some folks want something that off the shelf 'just works' and don't have that sort of time to faff around. Sounds like the appeal for many with the Braumeister is the space saving factor too, which is interesting.

Good luck to those that want the 'urn', and each to their own, but I'm passing. My gravity fed 3 tier does me nicely for now.

Hopper.

If I wanted to design and make a system from scratch I would end up designing a braumeister-type system. It is honestly the best solution for me. And why would I waste heaps of time and money making something that may not perform as well and certainly wont be as well made. The 'urn' argument seems to be put forward by people that want to see lots of separate vessels of s/s for their money, even though this would introduce some downsides such as much more space, more cleaning, more pipes and valves to harbour nasties and more losses. And what do you gain, some more pots to look at to feel good and see where your money was spent? Looking at the sabco that includes very little engineering (all prefab parts bolted together and old kegs), the custom built braumeister seems like a bargain.

But we all want different things from brewing, and gear is half the fun I reckon. So whatever floats your boat. Some will like loads of valves and pipes and things to play with, others more simple setups.

 

[schooey]

My vote would be save your hard earned and make something from scratch that works for you.

Been there; did that....

 

[Ross]

I love the way people take cheap shots at other products to somehow justify their choice is the best, even without knowing the product they are knocking.
We all have diffenrent perspectives on what we want from our brewing rigs & whether it's a Crown Urn doing brew in a bag, a Braumeister, Sabco or whatever, if the rig is right for you, that's all that matters.
For the record, the Sabco (of which I own one), does full 50L batches & does not use any second hand parts. I love my rig & wouldn't change it in my present circumstances for any of the previously mentioned rigs, but I also see the benefits that the Braumeister has especially where you want a small footprint for your rig.

Research, then buy/build the unit that meets your requirements & budget.

Cheers Ross

 

[bum]

I love the way people take cheap shots at other products to somehow justify their choice is the best, even without knowing the product they are knocking.
We all have diffenrent perspectives on what we want from our brewing rigs & whether it's a Crown Urn doing brew in a bag, a Braumeister, Sabco or whatever, if the rig is right for you, that's all that matters.

So people shouldn't point out which is right for them (like you immediately go on to do yourself)?

Good one. Very reasonable. No knee-jerk reactions here.

 

[stephenkentucky]

Hey whats the point of arguing about the various merits of one brewery over another, each is different as they are designed to answer the same problem i.e. how to get the very best result from a soup of grain, water and hops. every engineer will have a different take on that quest, and lets face it those who succeed should be admired be they Sabco, Braumeister or your good self who by cutting down a discarded keg created the brewery of your dreams, there are many brewers who still do partials using a small stock pot on the stove, who dream of owning any of the above, and would see the merits of all three. As we progress through the brewing ranks we loose sight of our goal, it's about the brew, anything else is just a tool to get us there.

 

[Ross]

So people shouldn't point out which is right for them (like you immediately go on to do yourself)?

Good one. Very reasonable. No knee-jerk reactions here.

Think you totally missed the point :unsure: .... I didn't knock anyone for pointing out what's right for them, if you read my post properly you'll see that.
What I objected to were people making false claims against products they obviously have little or no knowledge of, whether it be aimed at a Crown Urn, Braumeister or Sabco.

Cheers Ross

 

[jtsteel]

Yup! It's about the beer!
Started with K & k progressed to partials and now have a 3V, gravity AG setup. About to add a pump and loose a level or two but have my eyes set firmly on the big German Urn ( one day! ).

 

[brett mccluskey]

an interesting German alternative http://www.brumas.de/ebildstrecke.html still pricey though,the UK price for a 20l version is about $2800

 

[bum]

What I objected to were people making false claims against products they obviously have little or no knowledge of, whether it be aimed at a Crown Urn, Braumeister or Sabco.

Or secondhand parts? You know, the type that clearly make inferior beer or there'd be no point mentioning them? Do you see my point now? You disparaged an entire category of brew gear (and therefore brewer) in your suggestion that people shouldn't make broadsiding statements about things they "don't understand".

 

[winkle]

Or secondhand parts? You know, the type that clearly make inferior beer or there'd be no point mentioning them? Do you see my point now? You disparaged an entire category of brew gear (and therefore brewer) in your suggestion that people shouldn't make broadsiding statements about things they "don't understand".

I think he was referring to the kegs on the Sabco Bum.

$6000 for a system using old kegs as brewing vessels? Tell him he's dreaming!

Edit: added the quote

 

[MHB]

an interesting German alternative http://www.brumas.de/ebildstrecke.html still pricey though,the UK price for a 20l version is about $2800

I had a long hard look at the Brew Owl when I was choosing a system for myself (+ more beer, Sabco and others), it looks like they have prettied it up, it was fairly basic at the time. What put me off was its programming, a little too inflexible for my tastes; very Teutonic in its operation - we will make beer like this - alles klar. Its footprint was twice that of the Braumeister, (they might have improved the operational side too, I havent looked) the self cleaning feature was tempting.
As far as I can tell they offer 1, (up to?) 40L version that costs 2280EU or about $3250, after freight, duty and GST you would get very little change out of $4200
Braumeister is one of many very good systems available; it suited my needs but wont be the perfect fit for everybody. A high-end semi/automated system is a large investment, I strongly urge anyone considering one to think long and hard. Analyse what you want the system to do, where you are going to put it and all that, if at all possible do a brew on one if you can when you brew on the right system you will know its the one for you.
With the strong $AU and we have been working on a better freight deal, it looks like we will be able to shave $500 off Braumeister, got a test delivery in the works, if all goes to plan $2500 for a 20L and $3500 for a 50L Braumeister is going to be very tempting for a lot of people.
MHB

 

[davewaldo]

With the added value when buying from you (better engineered filters and an included brew etc) and these new prices, you should blow the competition out of the water

Thanks for passing on the savings

 

[razz]

+1 for davewaldo's comment, well done MHB..................I'm one step closer.

 

[bum]

I think he was referring to the kegs on the Sabco Bum.

Ah, I had not read the particular post you quoted, only Ross' generalisation based on it. Thanks for pointing that out.

And my sincere apologies to you, Ross. I hope you understand where my mistake was made now.

 

[stephenkentucky]

I am wildly tired after about 12 hours on the road, but managed to pick up the Braumeister today, I must say i am too tired to do much else except stare at the stainless steel goodness of it. Thanks to Mark at MHB for making me welcome again and helping me get the new brewery into my vastly overstuffed car. I am so looking forward to brewing but unfortunately it looks like I will be picking Pinot grapes on monday so we will be head down ass up making wine for a while ...BUGGER.... oh well it could be worse , for a while I thought we might not even get any grape after all the rain this year. I must say that bed is looking very enticing after a fairly hectic night in the restaurant....so ...night night possums.

 

[stephenkentucky]

Rain today so grape Baume is dropping so will brew Monday, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale here I come, 50 litres of malty, hoppy, happiness.

 

[davewaldo]

Sounds Great Stephen! Let see some photos!

...so if yours is here..... does that mean mine is too Mark????

 

[stephenkentucky]

Sounds Great Stephen! Let see some photos!

...so if yours is here..... does that mean mine is too Mark????

Ill take some during Mondays brew session, and post Monday arvo.