Unibrau V3

[dboggess]

Is anyone actually brewing with the new Unibrau V3 system. I have seen a lot of discussion and speculation about this system buy very few reviews from people who are actually brewing with it (and not associated with Unibrau). Let us know how the system is working for you?

 

[DevilsCups]

There was a guy over on /r/homebrewing that opted to receive his early (minus the retaining ring for the grain basket) and he wrote up a mini-review. Looked solid. Mines arriving this week.

Only gripes before getting the system : there is now an option for 240v, which would have been nice (as it also works 110v if you wanted), and the additional cost of the second element kit if needed. However, people are reporting that it isn't necessary, but nice to have.

 

[dboggess]

Do you have a link to his review? Also, a post first brew from you when you get it done would be great.

 

[DevilsCups]

Do you have a link to his review? Also, a post first brew from you when you get it done would be great.

For sure! Here you go : https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/7ot1tk/unibrau_first_impressions/

I'll hopefully be breaking in mine maybe Monday. If not, next weekend. I've been brewing on 240v induction so I'll be able to see how it compares.

 

[_BullDog_]

Looking at this unit.... have you had a chance to use yours yet?

 

[DevilsCups]

Looking at this unit.... have you had a chance to use yours yet?

Hey man! So yeah, I used it for the first time last week. As far as the quality goes, it's great. Everything went together perfectly, and I didn't need to buy anything outside of a few hose clamps.

Brewing went smoothly. Mash temp staying very consistent removes a variable and worry I have when mashing. I have a few things I'd like to work on with it a little better.

- The posts that hold the grain basket up (with the silicon covers) are juuuuust barely long enough to hold it on the retaining ring. You want to take care when the basket is resting on the ring and not jolt it too hard, or else you will have a heavy basket full of wet grain become unsettled. Not a huge deal.

- This is somewhat anecdotal, but the grain basket is a little challenging to clean for an indoor apartment brewer. Draining is no issue, but I had a hard time figuring out where to rinse. Wouldn't really fit in my sink upside-down, so I rinsed the interior and removed as many loose grains as I could. Then, a quick shower rinse.

- Boil came at a registered 206F on the controller, which I confirmed with my thermometer. Strange, as I'm like 200ft above sea level in NY. Also no biggie, as I could clearly see a visual boil. However, the controller is set to alarm for an upcoming boil at 206F, so with every slight temp fluctuation from 205-206F the alarm beeped. I can probably change a setting.

- My first recipe was only an ounce of hops, and the included hop-basket might be deep enough for something like and NEIPA. That's to-be-determined soon. I need to make sure 3-6oz of hops don't just clump up and not let wort circulate.

Outside of that, it was a breeze. The pump works amazingly well. The tri-clamp fittings are great. The plate chiller is BADASS. Cooled my wort with my sink water in like 5 minutes. Transferred directly into my fermentor. I've read horror stories about plate chillers accumulating gunk, but I flushed mine as-per the instructions. I'll try to keep an eye on it.

I'll also agree about what people are saying in reviews : the 1600w element takes a little time to reach mash and boil temps, but it's definitely reasonable and gets the job done. The additional element kit would be nice in the future, but only to speed up the time and not out of necessity.

 

[augiedoggy]

You can adjust the temp readout to be more accurate. if its boiling at 206 its off a few degrees. its not uncommon or difficult to have to do on these stc1000 type controllers.

 

[DevilsCups]

You can adjust the temp readout to be more accurate. if its boiling at 206 its off a few degrees. its not uncommon or difficult to have to do on these stc1000 type controllers.

I figured as much with the STC, but that's not really the strange part. The strange part is that my Thermoworks thermometer was reading 206F as well. Just a little odd at my altitude! I'd hate for the 206F to be accurate and adjust the readout, only to have it affect the accuracy of my mash temps as a consequence. I'll have to do a little more detailed temp testing when I brew on it next in a week or so.

 

[_BullDog_]

Thanks for the write up. Will likely purchase in the next few weeks.

 

[DevilsCups]

Thanks for the write up. Will likely purchase in the next few weeks.

For sure man. Some people lament the cost, especially in regards to the relatively simple controller. However, I didn't have to "build" a thing, the quality of everything is definitely there, and it all worked perfectly without any issues. Worth it IMO! Sure I could've learned about building an electric setup and saved a few hundred bucks, but as an apartment brewer with little to no tools or time to DIY this worked out very well for me.

 

[dboggess]

I am ready to pull the trigger on this system, but I just can't do it knowing that SSBrewtech is announcing and electric system soon. I wish they would hurry up and announce!

 

[DevilsCups]

I am ready to pull the trigger on this system, but I just can't do it knowing that SSBrewtech is announcing and electric system soon. I wish they would hurry up and announce!

Yeah, wait it out I suppose! I backed the kickstarter on the Unibrau back in January so it was essentially between this and the Grainfather (worked out to be similar in cost).

 

[dboggess]

As I'm sure you know, "waiting it out" is very difficult in this wonderful hobby.

 

[DevilsCups]

As I'm sure you know, "waiting it out" is very difficult in this wonderful hobby.

You're absolutely right. I bit on the Unibrau based on a residence move in November that still hasn't happened

 

[_BullDog_]

Haven’t heard about the ss brew tech announcement.... I’m pulling the trigger on this purchase soon so the if they announce it in the next few days I may change my mind.

 

[augiedoggy]

For sure man. Some people lament the cost, especially in regards to the relatively simple controller. However, I didn't have to "build" a thing, the quality of everything is definitely there, and it all worked perfectly without any issues. Worth it IMO! Sure I could've learned about building an electric setup and saved a few hundred bucks, but as an apartment brewer with little to no tools or time to DIY this worked out very well for me.

Since you brought it up, I'll be the devils advocate (or not in this case ) and lament here if not for anything else, to inform people who may not know this going in.

In truth its not just a few hundred bucks more a person would be paying for this very simple BIAB (basket, bag whatever)..

Its more like $7-800 over the cost of building it. A lot of people cant help but notice this controller is extremely inferior to the older generation of EZboil based brau controllers because its nothing more than a $9 stc hysteresis temp controller with a thermister temp probe and $5 ssr.. Instead of bringing the costs down or improving the product they cheapened it in this regard and raised the cost. Add the retail costs of the components, $79 mkII pump, $50 in valves and non sanitary threaded tc fittings (camlock would be much easier to actually use for this job here), $20 element, wiring costs($40),$20 silicone hose, $6 for the aluminum enclosure, 99 cents for the pump switch and in the end you are paying like $1000 for the kettle and assy. every single component in this build is avaliable on aliexpress or ebay from china but the custom made modified steamer kettle itself. None of this stuff says top shelf quality to me BTW but is rather the most economical options to choose for max profits.

A person should consider they also now have the option of a real pid system made from the prewired inkbird pid controller with a real rtd temp probe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WD6X17V/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for about $100. This would make easy work of assembling something comparable with minimal effort and skill in an hr or two for like $400-500 depending on how fancy one wants to get with the components. (and at $500 you could have things like a real lwd element that pulls out with TC bases for easy cleaning, camlocks which would be superior to TC fitting threaded on in a non sanitary fashion which offers all the headaches of using them with no advantages here except bling and the option to use either a basket or bag since a brewboss style basket can be custom made to fit just about any kettle for around $100.. Plus the best part is you can easily maintain it yourself!

 

[cheesebach]

Add the retail costs of the components, $79 mkII pump, $50 in valves and non sanitary threaded tc fittings (camlock would be much easier to actually use for this job here), $20 element, wiring costs($40),$20 silicone hose, $6 for the aluminum enclosure, 99 cents for the pump switch and in the end you are paying like $1000 for the kettle and assy. every single component in this build is avaliable on aliexpress or ebay from china but the custom made modified steamer kettle itself.

Completely agree, but I do really like the way they designed that custom basket though...

 

[DevilsCups]

It costs more than it probably should. Not arguing that.

I could build a PC that wipes the floors with a Mac. But I just like to click, buy, and receive a well-made, pretty "luxury item" sometimes. I just can't be bothered to DIY something like this at this point in my life.

 

[highland_brewer]

Since you brought it up, I'll be the devils advocate (or not in this case ) and lament here if not for anything else, to inform people who may not know this going in.

In truth its not just a few hundred bucks more a person would be paying for this very simple BIAB (basket, bag whatever)..

Its more like $7-800 over the cost of building it. A lot of people cant help but notice this controller is extremely inferior to the older generation of EZboil based brau controllers because its nothing more than a $9 stc hysteresis temp controller with a thermister temp probe and $5 ssr.. Instead of bringing the costs down or improving the product they cheapened it in this regard and raised the cost. Add the retail costs of the components, $79 mkII pump, $50 in valves and non sanitary threaded tc fittings (camlock would be much easier to actually use for this job here), $20 element, wiring costs($40),$20 silicone hose, $6 for the aluminum enclosure, 99 cents for the pump switch and in the end you are paying like $1000 for the kettle and assy. every single component in this build is avaliable on aliexpress or ebay from china but the custom made modified steamer kettle itself. None of this stuff says top shelf quality to me BTW but is rather the most economical options to choose for max profits.

A person should consider they also now have the option of a real pid system made from the prewired inkbird pid controller with a real rtd temp probe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WD6X17V/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for about $100. This would make easy work of assembling something comparable with minimal effort and skill in an hr or two for like $400-500 depending on how fancy one wants to get with the components. (and at $500 you could have things like a real lwd element that pulls out with TC bases for easy cleaning, camlocks which would be superior to TC fitting threaded on in a non sanitary fashion which offers all the headaches of using them with no advantages here except bling and the option to use either a basket or bag since a brewboss style basket can be custom made to fit just about any kettle for around $100.. Plus the best part is you can easily maintain it yourself!

I am currently working on a system that is about 1/2 the cost, granted the basket is not as "nice" but I think it will work. I am basing it around the inkbird controller. Mine has a TC element and weldless fitting for the element.

 

[_BullDog_]

All depends on how much time you want to spend playing around to build something... 10-15 years ago I would have but not high enough on my list right now.

 

[augiedoggy]

It costs more than it probably should. Not arguing that.

I could build a PC that wipes the floors with a Mac. But I just like to click, buy, and receive a well-made, pretty "luxury item" sometimes. I just can't be bothered to DIY something like this at this point in my life.

That's a perfectly understandable and valid point of view to have. But I think so was mine. The main reason I commented was based upon the comment that it was only a few hundred dollars more. The Baseline that I see for most brewing equipment is about a 200% markup for people to assemble something and resell it and in this case it's much higher despite the fact that this version uses a much cheaper controller it costs more than the previous version.. like others said it was one step forward and 2 steps back so to speak.

 

[augiedoggy]

We are talking about comparing it to spending an HR or two building it by just mounting the element and plugging it into an inkbird prebuildPID based controller.. this is just electric biab it doesn't get much simplier than that except a propane burner.
If spending an hour or two to save $7-800 and have a superior temp control system is too much work for you congrats because your much better off than most people.

 

[cheesebach]

All depends on how much time you want to spend playing around to build something... 10-15 years ago I would have but not high enough on my list right now.

Hi BullDog - I totally get the "how much is your time worth?" question in debating something like this or a DIY solution. I've been putting off going the DIY route myself for the past 6 months because I have so many other house-related things to get done, and I'm hoping someone will eventually announce a pre-built system that has most or all of the features that I'm looking for.

However, aside from the price, the main things keeping me from pulling the trigger on the new unibrau are the single 1600w heating element and the simple controller. This past summer, the 2x1600w Unibrau V2 system with EZboil controller was less than the price of this new system. In my mind, it was the same price of the Grainfather but with twice the power and more modularity. With the new system, it's not as clear to me what I'm gaining for the extra money I'm putting in compared with the GF.

Do you mind sharing what led you to go with the unibrau over something like the GF or the high gravity eBIAB systems? Please don't take this as me being critical of your purchase - I'm just looking at all my options and want to know/understand what the best selling points are to this system vs. the competition that led you to ultimately choose the unibrau v3?

 

[_BullDog_]

Haven’t purchased anything yet but looking at the unibrau over the gf due to the replaceability of the parts if something breaks.

May wait to see if SSB announces something soon.

Really just want something that works, is compact and has some room to upgrade/replace items as needed.

 

[highland_brewer]

The Clawhammer Supply system is on it's 2.0 stage now and will be using a rebranded/recovered IBP-16 for really cheap. I am not sure how the are making much money on the system they are producing at a price point of $649.00 Basically the exact same system as the Unibrau.

 

[DevilsCups]

Do you mind sharing what led you to go with the unibrau over something like the GF or the high gravity eBIAB systems? Please don't take this as me being critical of your purchase - I'm just looking at all my options and want to know/understand what the best selling points are to this system vs. the competition that led you to ultimately choose the unibrau v3?

Of course!

At the time, I was actually pretty close to biting on a Grainfather. I was brewing on 3500w, 240v induction, but may be moving soon to a place that doesn't have 240v capability.

I wasn't aware at all of the High Gravity system at the time, however I'm not certain if they would work for me or not anyways. I might be moving to somewhere in the Westchester, NY area, and most buildings are old with old electric. Good chance I''ll have 15A power, and the Blichmann Boil Coil would require 18A or better for full power. The Unibrau is 15A capable and if I ever need more power I'll pick up a second element.

I got in on the Unibrau at $900 and change all said and done, so the pricing between all the systems (at the time for me) was very similar. I just liked the aesthetic of the Unibrau, the power of the pump is fantastic, and little things like the tri-clamp style connections made it look sturdy.

After using it, I do have a few gripes I would like to look into improving on myself, but brew-day went well.

 

[augiedoggy]

Of course!

At the time, I was actually pretty close to biting on a Grainfather. I was brewing on 3500w, 240v induction, but may be moving soon to a place that doesn't have 240v capability.

I wasn't aware at all of the High Gravity system at the time, however I'm not certain if they would work for me or not anyways. I might be moving to somewhere in the Westchester, NY area, and most buildings are old with old electric. Good chance I''ll have 15A power, and the Blichmann Boil Coil would require 18A or better. The Unibrau is 15A capable and if I ever need more power I'll pick up a second element.

I got in on the Unibrau at $900 and change all said and done, so the pricing between all the systems (at the time for me) was very similar. I just liked the aesthetic of the Unibrau, the power of the pump is fantastic, and little things like the tri-clamp style connections made it look sturdy.

After using it, I do have a few gripes I would like to look into improving on myself, but brew-day went well.

The older plastic pump that used to come with the Uni brau system is not food grade. I found the manufacturer and ask them on Alibaba where they sell those pumps for $15 a piece they responded that it is not food grade and that they are mainly designed to be used as utility pond pumps. I mentioned this in a thread and a couple weeks later those pumps were no longer being sold by Brau.. you can still buy them on eBay though for $15-20 you would think a company like that wouldn't sell something that obviously might not be safe considering the plastic that they were made out of was never designed to be used 4 food grade applications at that temperature.

 

[DevilsCups]

That plastic pump that used to come with the Uni brau system is not food grade by the way I found the manufacturer and ask them on Alibaba where they sell those pumps for $15 a piece they responded that it is not food grade and that they are mainly designed to be used as utility pond pumps. I I mentioned this in a thread and a couple weeks later those pumps were no longer being sold by Brau.. you can still buy them on eBay though for $15-20

I don't have the old Unibrau system, or the old pump. I understand and appreciate your willingness to guide people towards DIY, and I wholeheartedly support it as well, but in many threads it seems like you have an axe to grind against Brau Supply in general.

 

[augiedoggy]

I don't have the old Unibrau system, or the old pump. I understand and appreciate your willingness to guide people towards DIY, and I wholeheartedly support it as well, but in many threads it seems like you have an axe to grind against Brau Supply in general.

I just don't like it when people get taken advantage of. I edited my post above and explained my reasons for bringing it up. I feel it's a valid thing to mention.

 

[DevilsCups]

I just don't like it when people get taken advantage of. I edited my post above and explained my reasons for bringing it up.

I can get behind that. I just think this is a case of "Apple Computers" like I stated before. I knew going into what I was buying that DIY would be cheaper and probably "better", but that's not why I made my purchase. I most certainly don't feel like I've been taken advantage of as well.

But I can see your viewpoint. And again, to clear up any confusion, my Bayou kettle is not comparable to the Unibraus in any way. I've seen that claimed in a few threads.