Lbarouf, I agree with you. For my needs, I would never consider extract brewing. I have been doing all-grain for many years. I own a Braumeister BM20 Plus, which is a professional grade unit from Germany and love it for my 5 gallon batches and its programability and ease of manually controlling the process. I also own a Pico Pro used for small test batches (1.3 gallon). What I was looking as an addition (not a replacement), was a fully automated machine that I could set up in the morning and walk away till finish to make smaller batches (2.5 gallon). Specifically I was looking for a Z, but it would not be available until late in the year. The Brewie also seemed to fit the bill, and had some additional features, such as automated cooling/chilling, auto water intake and draining, auto cleaning, etc. But for those features you pay a price, especially if the company does not provide adequate support. My experience with it (like with many other owners) was bad. First unit had power on problems and had to be exchanged. Second unit worked once and the second brew had boiling temperature issues and water leaks from the valves. In addition due to the undersized heating element (or software programming) , it mad for a very long brewing day (about 3 hours longer than with my Braumeister). Luckily, I purchased from MoreBeer, that has 60 day return and a year warranty, and after two defective units, I decided to call the quits. At that point I went back to the original plan and ordered a Zymatic since I could not get a Z. I knew of some of the complaints with the stepper arm and step filter, but their excellent support and reputation convinced me. I have not yet received it, so the jury still out. Sorry for the long response.
