The Blichmann Top Tier Burner commands a premium price, which may put a lot of people off. When you can get a burner for $29.99 that does an adequate job of heating wort, why pay five times that amount for equipment that does essentially the same thing? I too was skeptical at first, and started off with a basic Bayou Burner. I had to burn the paint off of it before I used it to brew. No biggie, but I didn't want the paint residue landing in my wort.
Then my adult kids bought me the Blichmann for Father's Day back in 2012. I would not have bought this for myself because I'm cheap (see first paragraph), but I was really pleased when I saw it. After all, it is a big, beefy piece of stainless steel art in my opinion. Let me say that if mine was destroyed, stolen, or lost, I would not hesitate to buy another one to replace it.
Quiet, Powerful And Built To Last
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I can get 2-3 times the brewing time per propane tank with the Blichmann Top Tier. With my old burner brewing extract recipes, I could safely get about 3 brews out of a 20 lb tank of propane, with only a little gas to spare. Using the Blichmann burner, my last tank of propane lasted me 5 all-grain brew cycles, as well as several meals cooked on my gas grill. That's heating the mash water, the sparge, and then full-boiling the wort. Blichmann Engineering's claim that it "sips" fuel is NOT marketing hype. This thing will pay for itself soon at $3.99 a pound for propane here.
The Bayou Burner should have been named the "Jet Burner," or something like that. I hated the sound of it. I could not listen to the radio while it was running, and holding a conversation with a fellow brewer is out of the question unless you are at least 20 feet away. The Blichmann on the other hand is whisper-quiet, even at "full throttle". You may think this is a minor thing (as did I, once), until that burner is shrieking in your ears for a solid hour and half.
Quality Construction And Energy Efficient Design
You can argue about cost and value all day, and these points may be valid, but you cannot argue about the quality of the Top Tier Burner. It's a heavy duty, stainless steel piece of steampunk-style industrial bling that works, and it works well. I had one boil-over, and the dang thing never even missed a beat. No flame out or plugged holes when I was all done.
I lent mine out to friend whose turkey fryer cast-iron burner had cracked over the winter in his garage. That's where I store my burner too, but no problems in that department with the Blichmann. After he used it, he asked if he could keep it for another 2 weeks to brew with another friend. When he returned it to me, he said that his friend had decided to buy one on just the quietness factor alone. As my friend reluctantly handed it over, he admitted that he had thought the hype over Blichmann stuff was way overblown, but now was not so sure after using the Top Tier Burner.
It's More Than A Purchase, It's An Investment
So, if you are on the fence, if you think Blichmann is all hype, try and find one to borrow, or go to brew club and ask questions. I think you'll find the only complaint is the price, but guess what: you get what you pay for. Other than the upfront cost, everyone LOVES the burner. I gave away my Bayou burner to a novice homebrewer, who was glad to get it; for me it was just a waste of money. You can't go wrong with the Top Tier Burner, and if you lose interest in homebrewing down the road, your Blichmann is still going to sell easily, even if well-used. You won't be giving this unit away. I can't recommend it enough.
Then my adult kids bought me the Blichmann for Father's Day back in 2012. I would not have bought this for myself because I'm cheap (see first paragraph), but I was really pleased when I saw it. After all, it is a big, beefy piece of stainless steel art in my opinion. Let me say that if mine was destroyed, stolen, or lost, I would not hesitate to buy another one to replace it.
Quiet, Powerful And Built To Last
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I can get 2-3 times the brewing time per propane tank with the Blichmann Top Tier. With my old burner brewing extract recipes, I could safely get about 3 brews out of a 20 lb tank of propane, with only a little gas to spare. Using the Blichmann burner, my last tank of propane lasted me 5 all-grain brew cycles, as well as several meals cooked on my gas grill. That's heating the mash water, the sparge, and then full-boiling the wort. Blichmann Engineering's claim that it "sips" fuel is NOT marketing hype. This thing will pay for itself soon at $3.99 a pound for propane here.
The Bayou Burner should have been named the "Jet Burner," or something like that. I hated the sound of it. I could not listen to the radio while it was running, and holding a conversation with a fellow brewer is out of the question unless you are at least 20 feet away. The Blichmann on the other hand is whisper-quiet, even at "full throttle". You may think this is a minor thing (as did I, once), until that burner is shrieking in your ears for a solid hour and half.
Quality Construction And Energy Efficient Design
You can argue about cost and value all day, and these points may be valid, but you cannot argue about the quality of the Top Tier Burner. It's a heavy duty, stainless steel piece of steampunk-style industrial bling that works, and it works well. I had one boil-over, and the dang thing never even missed a beat. No flame out or plugged holes when I was all done.
I lent mine out to friend whose turkey fryer cast-iron burner had cracked over the winter in his garage. That's where I store my burner too, but no problems in that department with the Blichmann. After he used it, he asked if he could keep it for another 2 weeks to brew with another friend. When he returned it to me, he said that his friend had decided to buy one on just the quietness factor alone. As my friend reluctantly handed it over, he admitted that he had thought the hype over Blichmann stuff was way overblown, but now was not so sure after using the Top Tier Burner.
It's More Than A Purchase, It's An Investment
So, if you are on the fence, if you think Blichmann is all hype, try and find one to borrow, or go to brew club and ask questions. I think you'll find the only complaint is the price, but guess what: you get what you pay for. Other than the upfront cost, everyone LOVES the burner. I gave away my Bayou burner to a novice homebrewer, who was glad to get it; for me it was just a waste of money. You can't go wrong with the Top Tier Burner, and if you lose interest in homebrewing down the road, your Blichmann is still going to sell easily, even if well-used. You won't be giving this unit away. I can't recommend it enough.
