Sabco Brew-Magic

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eon

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I apologize if this is not the right place for this topic. Has anyone ever used the Sabco brew magic system? Is it worth the $5,000?

I have no problem spending the money as long as it's worth it.

Here's the link if you want to have a look:

http://www.brew-magic.com/bmindex.html

Thanks in advance for any info!
 
never used one, or used anything like it. could you make it cheaper yourself.....of course!! but if you have more money than time..more power to ya. im sure youd love it and make tons of great beer with it!
 
Well, My goal is to start a micro-brewery someday. But I could use it in my home too if things didn't work out.

When I first saw a video on this thing i was thinking it had to be like $15,000-$30,000. To me 5 grand is a reachable financial goal. It might take me a couple years to save up for it but i can do it!

I'm just curious what makes Brew-magic so special. What makes it worth $5,000?

Thanks again!
 
you wont make much money on a system this size if thats your goal. this would make a good test batch brew system for your micro.
 
Well, My goal is to start a micro-brewery someday. But I could use it in my home too if things didn't work out.

When I first saw a video on this thing i was thinking it had to be like $15,000-$30,000. To me 5 grand is a reachable financial goal. It might take me a couple years to save up for it but i can do it!

I'm just curious what makes Brew-magic so special. What makes it worth $5,000?

Thanks again!

Nothing makes it extremely special per say, but it's about the norm for a pre-built brewing system.

If you have any fabricating skills at all you could build one quite a bit cheaper, you can also find used systems on places like craigslist.
 
I have not used it, but I bought one several weeks ago.

Try the forum at sabcobrewmagic.com and also if Gilaminumbeer doesn't find this thread, shoot him a PM as he owns a newer model Brew-Magic.

Personally I wanted a nice system and had no interest in building one. Basically you are choosing between B3 and Sabco at that point.
 
Well, My goal is to start a micro-brewery someday. But I could use it in my home too if things didn't work out.

When I first saw a video on this thing i was thinking it had to be like $15,000-$30,000. To me 5 grand is a reachable financial goal. It might take me a couple years to save up for it but i can do it!

I'm just curious what makes Brew-magic so special. What makes it worth $5,000?

Thanks again!

The biggest factors are the plumbing hardware, and all the electronics. If your goal is to start a microbrewery, I'd actually start with as simple of a system as you can stand to use, just so that you really, really understand the process. You're not going to have a nice computer console to punch buttons on if you step up to a 5bbl or bigger system, unless you want to drop a LOT of coin.

Personally I'd build my own system if I had that much money to use for it. It'll take more time, but you can get what you want out of it... and upgrade parts as you need to grow.
 
You could build a similar system for less than half that, so it may come down to what your time is worth...or your DIY ability. If you want a turnkey system, and you have the cash to throw down, it's probably hard to beat a Sabco.
 
The MoreBeer brew sculptures appeal more to me than the Sabco. They just look nicer/better built and the price is similar (I think). I'm not in the market, so I haven't really looked at them carefully.
 
I apologize if this is not the right place for this topic. Has anyone ever used the Sabco brew magic system? Is it worth the $5,000?

I have no problem spending the money as long as it's worth it.

Here's the link if you want to have a look:

http://www.brew-magic.com/bmindex.html

Thanks in advance for any info!

The $7k "I" spent on my Brew-Magic was definitely "worth it" in that I was tired of building systems with leaky weldless fittings and wanted something out of the box that was proven to work.

Less than a year from gettiung it off the crate Sabco released a slurry of improvements that were not available to me at a reduced cost. new software, new heating element design, graduated sight tubes, & tri-clamp thermometers.

My system still exceeds expectations but, damn Sabco, throw a dog a bone.

I bought the BM, the chill wizrad and all the acoutremonts.
 
The MoreBeer brew sculptures appeal more to me than the Sabco. They just look nicer/better built and the price is similar (I think). I'm not in the market, so I haven't really looked at them carefully.

I was set on a B3 tippy dump until I got intiment with one. Lots of things I didn;t like about it but, that is just me. It is still a solid system.
 
The MoreBeer brew sculptures appeal more to me than the Sabco. They just look nicer/better built and the price is similar (I think). I'm not in the market, so I haven't really looked at them carefully.

They are both very well built. I do think that with stainless and kettles vs kegs the B3 systems look nicer but then the tri-clamps and touchscreen on the Sabco have a large bling factor.

At the end of the day I think they are both well built and the decision probably gets made on a different issue.

I think some things to think about:

Do you really need all the bells and whistles? The Brew-Magic comes in one flavor, decked the hell out. You can get a B3 system at substantially lower cost by not upgrading it all the way. A fully upgraded B3 system is close enough in price to the Brew-Magic that I think the decision is probably not going to be made primarily on price.

Stainless stand vs powder coated. Both have their ups and downs, both are good and durable and require some maintenance to keep them looking good.

HERSM vs RIMS, lots of threads on this. Specifically which is a greater evil, a heating element or ASCO valves?

Hard plumbing vs tubing. This is the clearest issue to me, since the B3 systems have 25 feet of hard tubing for the heat exchanger anyway. If you like hard plumbing more than tubing, you lean towards Sabco. If you like tubing more than hard plumbing its a wash since they both have a significant amount of hard plumbing.

How much are sanitary fittings worth to you? I think B3 will put them on your system as a custom thing, but that probably drives the price up by several hundred dollars.

How much is the controller and software on the Brew-Magic worth to you vs the Rancos on the B3?

Do you live close enough to either manufacturer to pick up and avoid shipping? This could materially lower the price vs the competition.

How much is tippy dump worth to you? Once I read the Brew-Magic forum and saw the suggestion to use a shop vac on the mash tun, the value of tippy dump plummeted in my eyes. YMMV. To me it is an overly complicated solution to the problem vs the shop vac, which admittedly I did not think of on my own.

Kegs vs kettles, I think there are upsides and downsides to both. The keg more or less requires siphoning from the center, so you are limited to probably a false bottom (requiring mostly leaf hops) or a hop stopper (a bit more flexible) or a hop back to get clear wort out. You can use any of these approaches with a kettle but also could whirlpool and draw of the side, this doesn't work well with a keg. On the other hand, kegs are more durable and I prefer the dimensions of a keg (height/width) vs the B3 kettles.
 
The biggest deciding factor I would contemplate today is this, Ranco vs Unitronics controllers.

The Unitronics PLC is awesome to no end but, source code of the shipped programming is not made available and you'd have to be familiar with ladder logic programming to make your own program IF you ever wanted to step it up to higher automation with valves. Another consideration is longevity.

The V350 is a high end PLC controller with limited purpose outside of Industriual applications. Therefore, if it ever fries SABCO does have the right to a full charge replacement although this has not been the experience with several owners. the controller itself runs around a grand.

Rancos, however, can be found easily and require no software programs to function.

the reality of many BM owners is that they rarely use the logging/automation functions of the V350 controller anyways. It is great if you brew a house recipe tho'.
 
Does anyone know where I might be able to try and buy a used one of these systems. I am also thinking about trying to fabricate my own but don't know too much about hooking up the tubes to keep it circulating and the cooling of the wort before you ferment, etc. I think it would be a lot cheaper but fairly involved.
 
To the OP I am in the process of building a Brutus 10 style system for me and another for a friend... If you would like, I can build one for you as well for cost + a little for my time. PM me and we can go over details and such if you are interested. As I am in the south Milwaukee area pickup is possible and would save a ton off shipping. Would be FAR less then 5k and you can ave it made the way you want.
 
Mine's a sabco ripoff but I downsized it a bit. Pat
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I know this is many years later to your post but if you are planning on opening a micro brewery go bigger than the SABCO Brew Magic. If you plan to open your on place I would say that the minimum brewing system you should start off with is 15bbl. you are looking at $206,000 but if you brew good beer and have great marketing skills it is well worth it!
 
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