Blichmann vs MoreBeer Systems

I ordered a Blichmann 30 gallon TopTier system about 2 months ago and still dont have my gear (http://blichmannengineering.com/brew_stand/brewstand_modular.html). Further, I have no visibility into when it will arrive (evidently everything is backordered).

As you can imagine, I am pretty frustrated and am considering cancelling my order in favor of something else (like a MoreBeer Sculpture - http://morebeer.com/search/103473).

Any thoughts out there on comparing the 2 set ups? Should I just wait? Any other suggestions? I want to BREW!!!

Isn't the Blichmann like half the price of the Morebeer?

No, about the same based on my research (unless you go nuts and get the fully automated system).

Isn't there a 6 week wait on B3 systems?

Nwalesmith said:

No, about the same based on my research (unless you go nuts and get the fully automated system).

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The Blichmann is ~$920 no? The more beer stuff you posted was $3k+

jvcjbl said:

The Blichmann is ~$920 no? The more beer stuff you posted was $3k+

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That's the price for the Blichmann stand and burners which you are comparing to the complete B3 system...

remilard said:

That's the price for the Blichmann stand and burners which you are comparing to the complete B3 system...

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Ok I'll shut up. I just know the top tier is SEXY!!

I just don't see the point if you have a cooler set up. If you saw my deck top rail to deck to ground gravity system you'd laugh. None the less just as effective as a high end system. If I were spending money like this for brewing equipment it would be for a pico system.

Sorry didn't see the more beer link. Yeah! Go with the more beer system!

Is the top tier built to order?
That's not good if they have not given you any info on delivery though

Go to your local Vo-Tech and get some high school kids to weld the angle iron needed into whatever design you like, That way have complete control of the design. Save a couple grand and give our young welders in training a good project and possibly a better unit than what you would have purchased....that's what I'm doing anyway??????

genes said:

http://www.pico-brewing.com/

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I wonder if they'd trade me one of their systems for bringing their website design out of the 80s...

jvcjbl said:

Ok I'll shut up. I just know the top tier is SEXY!!

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I like them, and they are definitely more portable than B3 systems, but I do believe that if you are comparing apples to oranges (stand, burners, pots, chiller, fittings) for a basic gravity system, the price is probably within a couple hundred. The B3 system will cost a bit to ship though, and you can get all the Blichmann stuff for flat shipping at a number of retailers.

I like the portability of the top tier. I have a Brew-Magic and have thought about putting together a top tier system so I can brew at big brew day and stuff. And brew like 5 batches a day running up to NHC next year (insert evil laugh).

I just heard that all the gear is shipping this week! Thanks for all the feedback, looks like I will not need to cancel afterall!

My hoprocket showed up yesterday, after a month of waiting....it's..beefy.

I have been drooling over that top tier system for awhile, but I have heard nothing but bad things about Blichman's customer service and delivery times. I think that many of their products are over priced and that should come with very good customer service. No matter how much I like a product, I just have a hard time giving my money to a company that has poor service.

And as far as this stainless steel shortage crap that I keep hearing when it come to their stuff, I call BS on that one. I sell to the stainless steel industry, and kitchen equipment manufacturers that I call on are getting materials without any problem.

I couldn't dissagree with you any more, their customer service is the best out there. I have emailed them several times and I always get a response within a day.

Do you own any Blichmann gear?

I brew with a friend on a 2 tier MoreBeer sculpture and I own a Top Tier. We both agree the Top Tier is much more versatile, we end up using my setup most of the time. I have some B3 kettles and some Blichmann kettles, I prefer Blichmann all the way, gonna sell my 15G B3 on craigslist.

Details about your experience would be helpful, it would be ashame if you hadn't had any experience with them and were just trash-talking.

Brandonovich said:

I have been drooling over that top tier system for awhile, but I have heard nothing but bad things about Blichman's customer service and delivery times. I think that many of their products are over priced and that should come with very good customer service. No matter how much I like a product, I just have a hard time giving my money to a company that has poor service.

And as far as this stainless steel shortage crap that I keep hearing when it come to their stuff, I call BS on that one. I sell to the stainless steel industry, and kitchen equipment manufacturers that I call on are getting materials without any problem.

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I own a couple small Blichman items, but no kettles or brew stands, but my comments are far from "just trash-talking". For one, being in the stainless steel industry, I can tell you that this story about not being able to deliver products because of some crippling stainless steel shortage just does not hold water. You know what happens when there is a shortage of a raw material? It get expensive. It does not become unattainable. I am in stainless fabrication shops on a regular basis, and they are getting all the material they need. That combines with the fact that you can look through these message boards and find numerous stories of people trying to deal with an unresponsive - and in my professional opinion, dishonest - Blichmann that is slow to or completely fails to respond to emails and phone calls requesting customer service.

I think they make a great product. I also think that they run their company poorly and I am hesitant to spend $1000 of my hard earned money on a company that, by many accounts, does not have very good service, and shows signs that they may n ot be around in the future.

To be fair though, if I am wrong and there are a bunch of people on the boards who have had good customer service experiences with Blichmann, I would really like to hear about it, because the other side is pretty well represented. I would hate for them to be unfairly trashed if the bad experiences are just a vocal minority.

A lot of people that ***** about Blichmann's customer service are dealing with delays in their orders, which is absurd.

Why? Because they ordered from a LHBS. Blichmann is a manufacturer/distributor, they're not equipped to deal with retail concerns.

If you order, say, a DeWalt drill from Amazon, which happens to be on backorder, do you start emailing DeWalt about your order? Hell no... and yet for some reason, everybody seems to think Blichmann is fair game for that stuff.

When I order Blichmann stuff through my LHBS and I have concerns about my order... I talk to my LHBS. And it's been clear that they have been VERY good about keeping the store in the loop. Then my LHBS is able to update customers and respond adequately to concerns people might have about their orders - which only makes sense, because that's precisely their role as a retailer.

I am on day 35 of waiting on my three burner Top Tier, but IMHO they could at least take down "Don't wait weeks or months for your gear!" from the front page of the website. I did communicate through my retailer but they said 1-3 weeks not 5.

I'm sure I'll be happy with it when it does arrive, but that quote just eats at me everyday that goes past the three week estimate.

This makes me nervous about purchasing mine in the near future. I might say screw it and save up the extra money and get the B3 tippy system

My experience with Blichmann has been incredible. I ordered a 20 gal kettle from Rebelbrewer and I had that kettle in 10 days from B-mann's shop.

Free shipping too

I will absolutely use both Rebel and Blichmann again.

I too got a 20 gal Blichmann in less than two weeks from the time of my order.

And on the other hand, I'm approaching 2 weeks on an in stock water filter from morebeer. Doubtful I would ever order anything from them again ( and this is certainly a very small potatoes order ).

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I think that it was a fluke that my order took so long. I could not be Happier now that she is here.