National Homebrew Club Ireland

So I haven't brewed in a couple of years but am really looking forward to getting back into it.

I used to brew on a 50L BIAB Keggle.

I'm looking at all the single pot systems (Robobrew/Klarstein/Brewzilla/Brewmonk etc.)

The Grainfather looks like the best bet to me. The chiller and the Bluetooth controller are something the others don't have and the app looks stupidly handy.

Is it a case of you get what you pay for, or is the GF overpriced?

Anybody used The GF as well as one of the other systems?

Should I be looking at something else? (no not a braumeister thanks :o)

So close to ordering one but want to hear other opinions. I Know there's a new 70L version coming soon, should I wait for a pricedrop on the 30L? Is that likely to even happen?

Cheers

I've done about 150 brews on mine and treated it pretty rough and it's held up really well. Worth it.

I have a Grainfather and a Grain brother (don't sell those anymore). No issues with mine and its well worth the money

Had mine a few years now, a great piece of kit. I've even got the chiller and temperature controlled fermenters.

I have a GF after a 60-60-80 3 pot system
I bought an extra controller and modded a thermopot with pump and element and it's great for hands off brewdays.
If you are doing a lot of big beers or volume look elsewhere tho.

I went from Keggle to GF & was definitely the best investment I've made in terms of ease of use & convenience. The fact that it packs up into itself for storage is a huge plus. Smaller size than big keggle makes it a lot easier (on the back) to clean too.

Brew days seem to be shorter too by about an hour.

Defo worth every cent.

Temp controlled fridge & GF will allow you to brew with very consistent & predictable results.

/5

So I went for the grainfather in the end. Very happy with it.

I bought the robobrew brewzilla false bottom to act as a hop filter after seeing it on youtube and a wortometer too.

I knocked the false bottom with my paddle and fecked that up but these things are bound to happen on the first brewday, there is a lot of play though I was expecting it to be a tighter fit.
I didn't get to use the wortometer as no hose came with, bit stingy when it costs €18. If anyone knows where to get some decent 8mm / 5/16" I.D. silicone hose let me know, everywhere is out of stock.

The app is absolute caic and needs some work. Set my boil temp to 120c and it crashed a couple of times

Other than that all good, really enjoyable to brew again. HBC citra pale ale in the fermenter ready for a dryhop tomorrow   :)

QuoteTemp controlled fridge & GF will allow you to brew with very consistent & predictable results.

Ha now that you mention it my fridge actually died. Turns on but just wont cool at all. I was VERY lucky to find one locally. A bit snugger than the last one but will do the job.

Quote from: Brudude on September 15, 2019, 09:24:03 PM
So I went for the grainfather in the end. Very happy with it.

I bought the robobrew brewzilla false bottom to act as a hop filter after seeing it on youtube and a wortometer too.

I knocked the false bottom with my paddle and fecked that up but these things are bound to happen on the first brewday, there is a lot of play though I was expecting it to be a tighter fit.
I didn't get to use the wortometer as no hose came with, bit stingy when it costs €18. If anyone knows where to get some decent 8mm / 5/16" I.D. silicone hose let me know, everywhere is out of stock.

The app is absolute caic and needs some work. Set my boil temp to 120c and it crashed a couple of times

Other than that all good, really enjoyable to brew again. HBC citra pale ale in the fermenter ready for a dryhop tomorrow   :)

Hey, where did you pick up that false bottom? I am definitely in the market for one.

Don't bother with that false bottom, I have one, you get a localised heat build up and it results in poor distribution of the boil and too much heat in liquid at the base effectively turning off heater as thermostat thinks it's at temp.
Best solution for hops is to use a weighted hop sock or chuck straight in as I do, stir like feck for 15 secs and let it sit for 10-15 mins before putting into fv.  Never had an problem even with 600g loads.
The wortometer is worth investing in though

Quote from: CH on September 16, 2019, 09:21:46 AM
Don't bother with that false bottom, I have one, you get a localised heat build up and it results in poor distribution of the boil and too much heat in liquid at the base effectively turning off heater as thermostat thinks it's at temp.
Best solution for hops is to stir like feck for 15 secs and let it sit for 10-15 mins before putting into fv.  Never had an problem even with 600g loads.
The wortometer is worth investing in though

Good to know, thanks CH. Saying that I have had issues with large hop charges in the kettle. As for the wortometer, I have my brewpi temp probe plugged into the thermal well of my fermenter so I keep and eye on the temp that way so no need for a wortometer.

The false bottom, as well as the problem CH described, moves around too much to make it a good filter. If you try to get any sort of a whirlpool going it rises up and each time I've used it now it just knocks the GFs filter out of place. Better off just using a good wide spider if you have clogging issues.

Yeah I'm kinda sorry I bought the false bottom now. I didn't realise David Heath on youtube had a connection to grainfather :rolleyes: In one video he brags about how thousands of these false bottoms were sold after he released his video. I know it not a grainfather product but it keeps people using their grainfather.

I dunno, might go for a hopspider or just build a cheap one with a strainer bag and a bit of pipe.

If anyones still interested I got it from www.home-brew-online.com along with a refractometer for about €46 and €4 for parcelmotel so €50 all in.

I think brewkegtap.co.uk do them aswell along with the camlock upgrades which I will do in the future but all out of stock when I checked. I have no connection to these sites just might save people a bit of searching.

Why would you whirlpool when you have the false bottom?

Heath claims he has no affiliation with gf.

Also where do you guys install your wortmeter? Pre or post chiller?

I put a DIY Wortometer together with some S/steel fittings ( 1/2" T junction, 2 x 1/2" barb fittings, 1/2" thermoprobe & a cable gland), less than €10 from AliExpress, if you don't mind the wait. I then use the probe from the GF Connect to read the temp, I have it post chiller.

Also got the conversion kit, https://brewkegtap.co.uk/products/grainfather-sparge-arm-camlock-conversion-kit-type-2 (mine is version 1; had to cut the GF pipe) Vs2 means you don't need to - really handy & worthwhile update to the GF. So much easier to change between pipe & CFC chiller (nearly one handed)

Has anyone created a ventilation system for the GF? Thinking in line duct fan. Shouldn't be too hard but it'd need a lid that could be attached to a duct too...

I've been thinking of doing the same thing. I was thinking of getting a large stainless mixing bowl to use for the hood. Was also wondering if a large plastic bowl would work as it'd be pretty cheap and easy to cut out.

I think plastic wouldn't work with boiling wort. Yeh, forgot about a metal bowl....

Good aul AliExpress

~€ 20 | Distillation Lid for Turbo Boiler or Robobrew (47mm Hole) (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32950213834.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.570d137cOiy6KM&algo_pvid=4b7219f6-62f2-4cd8-82d8-f4da8803b625&algo_expid=4b7219f6-62f2-4cd8-82d8-f4da8803b625-14&btsid=6091dc6e-eb01-4dac-b2df-7a3338296371&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_52)   

Need quite a strong fan, I tried a new bathroom type fan, wasn't enough on a keggle, not enough draw & a bit of condensation forming too. Might be handier to build/buy cheap shelter/gazebo contraption. I have the GF just outside shed door now.

Will also have to account for different boil off values if you're increasing air being drawn off.

Also, make sure fan is specced to handle both high temp & waterproofing from wort steam.

_{(Edited: Updated url link)}

Above Ali link fixed

Hi all, sorry to drag this up, but I'm curious to know if the grainfather is still the daddy in terms of all in one brewing systems?

I've been quietly doing my homework on the various options (brew monk, robobrew, GF, etc.) and I'm still none the wiser admittedly, aside from the fact that the GF name consistently comes up.

I'm quite hands on and investigated making my own (tea urn, pump, arduino), but when all is said and done, it would probably exceed the cost of just buying the brew monk, and be plagued with the quirks of a homemade system.

Has anyone had experience with all of the options (excluding the braumeister on a cost basis) and can definitively say which one is the best buy?

I've been brewing in a bag on an induction hob until now with reasonable results but would like to liberate the kitchen from brew days. The GF is appealing because of the small batch pipe work. I'd like to keep initial brew volume to about 10L til I get comfortable with a few recipes.

Hey Colm,

I've been brewing on the GF for a few years now and can't fault it. The extras that you can buy for it plus the amount of people that use it means that almost any issue or question you have for the unit will almost certainly be answered somewhere online.

I've the older version and there are a few small things that annoy me, I could change them up but just haven't for whatever reason. I know that there are a few others on the market now that can do similar to the grainfather but they probably don't have all the tech that comes along with the GF (bluetooth/WiFi controller etc)

Maybe someone else that has moved from a different AIO to the GF can give you their experience but I can't really complain about it at all.