All-in-ones - the future of homebrewing?

[AnOldUR]

I like the building vs. buying a computer comparison.

Not even close. If your hobby is building computers, buying a Dell won't do it for you. If your hobby is homebrewing, how far do you remove yourself from the process and still consider yourself a brewer? Do you brew so that you can tell your friends you brew, or do you brew for the love of brewing?

 

[Roadliner]

I dont know.. Have a buddy the just went straight to an all in one because of the footprint. They seem less intimidating when you are looking at them, as opposed to building a full multi vessel system with hoses and switches and pumps and everything all over the place. I think it might actually draw more new comers than old vets.

 

[MindenMan]

An all-in-one system sounds great to free up time while brewing, but the cost up front is too severe for me. I have the classic ghetto system using a home brew starter kit, a turkey fryer setup, a Zapap tun, and a couple of 5 gallon paint strainers. Well below $200 in all.

 

[DromJohn]

I might be the type to whom the all-in-ones are marketing.
I'm a 20 qt stock pot (previously owned and still used for soups and stocks) with two plastic buckets brewer. I'm a cook who will tinker with recipes, not a tinkerer of equipment. A panini press is two cast iron skillets with a sandwich sandwiched between. And If our one-cup Starbucks brand coffee maker (received as a gift) dies, then we will go back to one cup plastic Melitta pour overs.
I'll spend for ingredients (Bush de Noël in the primary) but I haven't seen many upgrades of interest. Hmm, bucket lid opener, funnel with screen, longer handle spoon, autosiphon, bottle tree. I think that covers my upgrades with nothing on my wishlist.
Retirement is close enough to consider, and if we go to a location without a natural gas stove, or my back regresses, then these systems are attractive.
What I dislike about the systems are cost, seemingly harder to clean than my current setup, and not enough track record about repairs/replacement. What I'd miss the most is the smells of the brewing.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I like being able to take a day to brew. It's like therapy.

 

[ArcLight]

When I win the lottery it would be fun to have a turnkey system, that would not just brew but chill the wort and transfer it to fermentors, so all I'd need to do is pitch the yeast. Until then BIAB offers the biggest bang for the buck. Get a turkey fryer (and a second pot for dunk sparging), and a couple of plastic buckets and you have all you need.

In all seriousness - it would be neat to have a totally automated small system, that would let me test out variations in hops and grain without having to spend a lot of time to make a 1 gallon batch. If I'm going to spend hours brewing, I'm making 5-10 gallons. No way I spend hours for a couple of 1 gallon batches.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

I look at them and think that they'd be cool to own, but don't think I could ever justify it. Unless I get more friends to drink my beer.

The only thing I could really think of that I'd use it for is, like, if I want to make some basic pale ale or hefeweizen. Simple recipes that I've gotten down perfect on my manual system. Then I could brew two batches at the same time, basic low gravity pale ale in the automatic system, on my manual system do some recipe I havent tried or some experiment (technique/ingredient).

 

[Paradigm]

Yeah, it's the future of homebrewing if you have a lot of money and no DIY spirit!

No offense to those who have automated breweries or all-in-ones, obviously. I just prefer the hands on do-it-yourself style. I get upgrades here and there, and it's like Christmas, but only after I've used a DIY version dozens of times first.

 

[MattyIce]

BIAB is the system for the masses when it comes to all-grain! I started with three vessel and have stepped back to BIAB very happily.

 

[Teromous]

I like being able to take a day to brew. It's like therapy.

I'm the same way. I wouldn't mind having a "more automated" system, but if the machine did all the work it wouldn't be fun for me. It's like staring at a microwave heating up some food versus cooking on a grill. Having something to do is relaxing.

 

[Turkeyshot]

To me it is like using a CNC machine for woodworking. It does all the work of carving and such you would have to do by hand or with other tools, but the hands on personal part is lost. And just like the CNC machine the price of the brew machines are ridiculous. I could buy way more equipment and ingredients and still be ahead of the game.
Plus in the long run if it breaks, can it be repaired or is that the end of it. There is not much I can do to a brew pot unless I put a hole in it.

 

[rlmiller10]

I see it more like a bread machine. I have had one and it was nice as I could put in the ingredients and get up to fresh bread in the morning. But I missed the "made by me" part. After a year or two I went back to making my bread by hand so I could feel the dough and watch it rise.

 

[Clonefan94]

I just don't see it, especially for the cost, taking over the homebrew world at all. I do see a good market for them though, if they can find a way to hit it. Seems to me that for the most part, Homebrewing is a DIYers paradise and I believe, for the most part, that's a lot of what draws people to this hobby. It's definitely a big part of it for me. The satisfaction of creating something you can enjoy later.

I'd imagine there are people out there who would like to brew, but don't feel they have the skills or room to really get into it. These all in one rigs seems like a good place for those people to jump into the hobby. It also might be a good spot for your aging brewers who brew like me, constantly lugging 5 gallons of water from here to there. It's a way to brew and be part of the hobby without some of the labor factors that may not be as easy to contend with once you get reach the elderly stage of your life.

 

[BrotherBock]

Those things seem to take the fun out. At that point I'll just go buy beer.

 

[electrolight]

The problem is, you can't buy parts these days for the price of a finished computer. 10 - 15 years ago you could, but not now.
I've been building my computers since high school, but these last couple times, after shopping out parts, factoring in software, it just doesn't pay anymore. Yes, you can choose exactly the brand and model of, say, video card you want if you build, but for similar performance, you can almost always find and off-the-shelf machine.

I don't know. In my experience this has never been the case or I'd spare myself the hassle (even if it is slight). Though that could be the case on the mid to low end of the spectrum, but I only build myself a gaming rig every few years. And no off the shelf computers could keep up when I price check. On the processing side they always did/could but for some reason it's like they think no one cares about graphics.

 

[lazarwolf]

And this thread illustrates the beauty of our hobby. Every one has different ways they get enjoyment from our hobby. I've gotten a chance to use some all in one systems, it was fun for me. The outstanding control and precision was cool for me. But I'll admit it, I missed vorlauffing, and batch sparging, etc... still think they're pretty cool.

 

[juniorsav]

This is just my perspective but... I have been brewing for almost 10 years now. I have moved from extract, to BIAB, to a completely self built (manual) brewtus type system using three keggles. Now that time is a bit shorter I have sold my brewtus system in anticipation of purchasing the Grainfather when it's released in the US. Over the years I spent a bit of money on my equipment, but I was lucky enough to get some of that back on the sale. Now I feel like I'm just moving to the next level with some automation to help with my consistency.

 

[MaxStout]

If I want beer with "little fuss," I'll just go to the liquor store and buy it.

Much the fun of homebrewing is going through all the steps, learning the science, building up skills, experimenting with recipes. All-in-one systems are for the person who wants to brew, but has more $$$ than patience, and who wants to go directly from point A to point Z. There certainly is a niche market for that.

 

[stuntman2625]

I'm not sure I buy all the arguments on here about these all-in-one systems taking out all the fun of brewing. I've been considering moving from my 3-tier system to a Grainfather recently and it seems like a very attractive alternative. With the Grainfather I would still crush the grains, mash, sparge, boil, etc. The way I see it, the only thing I'm really losing is the process of transferring liquid from one vessel to another and fiddling around with temperatures. To be honest, those two things are what I enjoy the least anyway. I'm getting very tired of having to thaw my pumps and lines with a hair dryer in the middle of the winter Other than the obvious high price tag, I don't see many downsides to it.

 

[pdxal]

I'm not sure I buy all the arguments on here about these all-in-one systems taking out all the fun of brewing. I've been considering moving from my 3-tier system to a Grainfather recently and it seems like a very attractive alternative. With the Grainfather I would still crush the grains, mash, sparge, boil, etc. The way I see it, the only thing I'm really losing is the process of transferring liquid from one vessel to another and fiddling around with temperatures. To be honest, those two things are what I enjoy the least anyway. I'm getting very tired of having to thaw my pumps and lines with a hair dryer in the middle of the winter Other than the obvious high price tag, I don't see many downsides to it.

That's cool. I understand your points.
You are, though, about 7 months late on this discussion.

 

[BrewinSoldier]

I have been brewing for a while now. I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford and mess around with different setups. I started with a cheap bayou kettle and extract, worked my way up to BIAB, and then went to a Braumeister. I now have a HLT/MLT/brew kettle setup. As much as I like it, its a pain having to clean up all that stuff.

For now, I think I'm going to switch back to BIAB with the kettle. I have a Brewie on order which if it pans out to be what they say, it will be the best AIO on the market. The thing I like most about the AIO's is the ability to be precise with temps and everything, which enables you to easily duplicate a beer. The cleaning is another huge plus for me.

Everyone will have their own likes, and I like that this hobby allows us all to make and drink great beer.

 

[brewsao14]

I'm getting back into brewing after a 10 year hiatus. I know this is an older thread, but I get a ton of knowledge by reading the old and new posts in various threads...there's a lot of new equipment/methodology to consider. I like what I've been learning about the new tech (like AIO)/brew methods (like BIAB) for simplifying and shortening the brew day, but I also like DIY projects and am interested in the HERMS KAL clone setups. If I could swing it, I would like to have both AIO and HERMS KAL clone setups...as always, boils down to $$$.

 

[TheBigLebrewsk1]

I own a Braumeister, and love it! Can't fathom going back to igloo coolers, kettles and propane. I would probably stop brewing if my Braumeister broke, until I got another one.

 

[TheBigLebrewsk1]

And it fits nicely in the kitchen.

 

[seabrew8]

I have a grainfather, its the 2nd best purchase i've ever made. The 3 tier systems and possibly gas brewing will be more of a niche market like all new single vessel electric systems are now - on a small homebrew scale for new brewers over time IMO. Using a cooler and boil pot might hang in there but even with BIAB and a pulley system you don't need a mash tun.

I've been reading about homebrew for a lot time but i never got into all grain because it was too much work and money frankly - in the context of 3 vessel systems. I think single vessel electric systems and BIAB might spark a huge interest in craft brewing.

Of course i'm VERY bias.

 

[TX_Brewing]

Not sure if it is THE future, but certainly a part of the future of homebrewing. Really I think it boils down to different strokes for different folks. I will admit they look cool, but I don't really think they are for me.

 

[brewsao14]

Good points made by all. I've thought about working in a micro brewery to increase my brewing knowledge/skills, and did some reading about typical duties of a brew master in a micro brewery... Ha, huge percent of the work is cleaning and sanitizing (but they do get paid better than we do, and don't get the grief from the spouse for "stinking" up the place, spending money, taking up a bunch of room, etc. ). That's where I see the appeal of AIO potentially bringing in the masses to homebrewing (if the prices come down anyway).

Guess I better contemplate the future while enjoying the aroma of brew day!

 

[Bassman2003]

I know I have my eye on the Brewie. It looks like a very well designed machine. I have been tinkering for 13 years and while it has been fun and full of accomplishment, I am ready for simple.

I do not need to prove anything and would enjoy a much less involved brew day. But, I am coming to this point after trying everything under the sun. If one started with the Brewie it would be sort of a shame in a way. You can't replace firsthand knowledge. But to each his own.

 

[TheBigLebrewsk1]

I know I have my eye on the Brewie. It looks like a very well designed machine. I have been tinkering for 13 years and while it has been fun and full of accomplishment, I am ready for simple.

I do not need to prove anything and would enjoy a much less involved brew day. But, I am coming to this point after trying everything under the sun. If one started with the Brewie it would be sort of a shame in a way. You can't replace firsthand knowledge. But to each his own.

Go for it, no one who goes automatic thinks back and feels they miss working their but off on brew day, because they are already thinking of their next brew session. I've brewed a staggering amount of beer since getting the Braumeister, plenty of double brew sessions and I haven't felt worn out once.

It is the evolution of brewing.

 

[gspot]

Go for it, no one who goes automatic thinks back and feels they miss working their but off on brew day

Yep. Can't say I've had one iota of regret since getting a Grainfather. Still have my 10gal propane system. Can't think of a good reason to drag it out.