purchase decision - grainfather vs other

[THEQMAN]

Returning to the fold after 20 years, at which time I was a partial mash guy with some pretty basic equipment. Further, back 20 years ago, I wanted to get into all grain brewing and cumulative advise at that time was-- sure you can do that if you want to dedicate half you garage to the process, and by the way break out your checkbook as it is not a cheap date.

Fast forward to today. money not an issue, and while not preferable, if necessary I am ok with dedicating half my garage to the process, if that is what is required to be able to meet the goal of producing the best beer that is possible from a home brewing perspective.

So far I am liking the Grainfather on a "buy" basis. However, kind of figuring the best way to judge quality of output is by how many competitions are won. On this basis, feedback I have been receiving is that people not aware of many if any competitions have been won by users of a Grainfather. Ok, so this begs the question I want to ask -- why is that. Is it because other setups are needed to produce better quality "wort" for fermentation, or is it more that those who have reached the level of expert or master, necessary to win these competitions, tend to be dedicated "purists", who have gotten there over time using other systems and prefer to be more "hands on" at each step of process, and view automation or semi-automation assistance to get them to the same quality output, as somehow being immoral? Kind of tittering on this as being a possible assessment and interested in feedback. thanks

 

[shortyz]

i love my grainfather as do many others. its an all in 1 unit thats easy to clean, takes up no space and makes great beer!

 

[day_trippr]

Um...wow.

 

[Sadu]

It's a fair question but I don't think there's anything sinister going on.
I have the bulky DIY system which produces great beer, but would love a grain father if I could afford one simply to make brewday less work. And taking less space is a nice bonus too. I think if you van afford it, go for it. I can't see how it would produce inferior beer to any other AG system.

 

[D-Max]

Returning to the fold after 20 years, at which time I was a partial mash guy with some pretty basic equipment. Further, back 20 years ago, I wanted to get into all grain brewing and cumulative advise at that time was-- sure you can do that if you want to dedicate half you garage to the process, and by the way break out your checkbook as it is not a cheap date.

Fast forward to today. money not an issue, and while not preferable, if necessary I am ok with dedicating half my garage to the process, if that is what is required to be able to meet the goal of producing the best beer that is possible from a home brewing perspective.

So far I am liking the Grainfather on a "buy" basis. However, kind of figuring the best way to judge quality of output is by how many competitions are won. On this basis, feedback I have been receiving is that people not aware of many if any competitions have been won by users of a Grainfather. Ok, so this begs the question I want to ask -- why is that. Is it because other setups are needed to produce better quality "wort" for fermentation, or is it more that those who have reached the level of expert or master, necessary to win these competitions, tend to be dedicated "purists", who have gotten there over time using other systems and prefer to be more "hands on" at each step of process, and view automation or semi-automation assistance to get them to the same quality output, as somehow being immoral? Kind of tittering on this as being a possible assessment and interested in feedback. thanks

Hi Im a newbie with about 10 all grain brews under my belt. I strongly recommend the Grain Father for producing great wort. I find it easy to use and very forgiving with the odd stuff up. my only recommendation is to use a hop spider to stop the pump clogging when pumping to my conical fermenter.

 

[bajaedition]

I think part of this is how much you enjoy the process of brewing beer. Many of those who have larger systems just love brewing beer. They like all the steps of it, others want to brew but like the simplicity and automatic nature of the grainfather.
I would brew up a few batches with the different styles before choosing, BIAB has developed since you been away and worth looking at its simplicity

 

[RM-MN]

I'm a skeptic. I don't see that it saves time or cleanup over my BIAB system but it does cost a bit more. Almost $700 more. It addresses the clear wort but clear wort isn't a requirement for clear beer.

When you aren't brewing beer, what else can you do with it? Low country boil? Make pasta sauce? Water bath can vegetables? My pot that I use for BIAB can do all these and more.