A good honest look at your first brew. RUclips needs more honest videos like this. Good to see that the US unit works better in the PID algorithm area. Its a shame that the area of potential extra value with the bluetooth smart app is in such a bad state still. In reading your description I see this failed in other areas also. Seems crazy that the G70 was released in this state, especially considering the price tag along with the build quality on offer.
Thanks Brian. Always difficult to have the hard conversations but in the end it helps grainfather if they listen. I assume that’s why they sent it to you. Way to keep it real.
Wow I am with you on the strike water vs sparge water ratio. You could do a total grain weight and do a standard grain to water ratio to get the mash viscosity where you would want it. then sparge the additional water that you left out of the strike. that would be a quick way to adjust on the fly. Once again a great video and demo, honest and real world review! Cheers!
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers well we already have the big Digiboil system - I was wanting to try this one too to see what else we can do - I only have one 220V drop (so far) in the brewhouse though so the next thing we test will prolly be the Brewbuilt electric kettle.
Brian, you are spot on with the pricing issue! When you can buy a similar system from a competitor for half the price that does the same thing it's a tough sell!
Hey the consumer doesn't lie.. I'm probably the #1 channel. In the USA for all in one systems. When mass amounts of people tell me it's too expensive.. That's not a fluke! Cheers Adam! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers nice thanks for the speedy reply. I’m getting tired of my cumbersome bootstrap system and I’m interested in something to help simplify a little bit and still kick out quality. I make a ton of hazy IPAS. Can Anvil whirlpool with the pump if i do a huge hop dump into it after boil? Really looking to get good circulation and max those good aroma hop qualities
If you want to clean a counterflow chiller use powered lye with and hot water. It’s caustic and use appropriate protection, however it really does a great job if you recirculate it. Make sure you do it both directions to back flush.
Nice video on the brew day.. My comment on the previous video on the G70 stands. For me I am leaning toward the Anvil that you used on your brew off video with 3 different systems.. When I add electric brewing as an option I think the Anvil will work the best for me..
Neat vid/channel! Question: Do you have a vid on your pully system that you used @5:10 ? I have an original grainfather and was thinking of setting something up like that and was curious how you went about it. Thanks and keep up the good content! I'll be subscribing in t minus ten seconds : )
Thanks man!! All it is, is a eyelet screwed into the floor joist overhead and the the pulley system attaches to it. The most resent video on the channel shows a little more of it. Thanks for the sub!!
I'm realizing that different electric home brew systems can vary widely in how much strike water vs sparge water they say to use. For example- our last 2.5 gallon batch called for 6.75 lbs of malt. Following the Anvil Foundry instructions, we used 3.1 gallons of strike water and 1 gallon of sparge water. That puts out mash at 1.84 quarts of strike water per lb of grain, which was quite loose. For comparison, I looked at the instructions for the Brewer's Edge Mash and Boil system. Following their instructions, our 6.75 lb grain bill would call for 2.025 gallons of strike water and 1.52 gallons of sparge water. That's just 1.2 quarts of strike water per lb of grain. From your experience, do you think the Anvil Foundry or the Mash and Boil's water volumes seems more reasonable? (We brew with the Anvil Foundry; just worried our mash is too loose using their instructions.) Thanks!
You can adjust the water as you see necessary. The guide that comes with the Foundry is a basic guide. If you feel like the mash is too thin, you can reduce the amount of strike water and add the amount reduced to the sparge volume. There is no hard rule to the amount of strike water. Only "rule" Is that the grain needs to be saturated for conversion . Make an adjustment and see how it goes. The nice thing is that you can always add some water if you think it's to thick after reducing the amount. I would say heat up your normal amount of strike water then transfer the amount reduced to an insulated container so it will hold some heat. Mash in and then if you need some more water then you'll have it on hand already warm. Let me know how it goes. Just be sure to document what you do so you can adjust going forward. 👍🍻
Hi Short Circuited Brewers, We in Australia have much the same issues would love to own a G70 but it's just out of my price range just under $2000 Aust they will struggle to sell at that price point. But my biggest hate is for the new and updated app they have it's just not user-friendly at all. I don't want to hate Grainfather I have the 35lt version and I love it but been looking for a bigger system and will give me cash to Robobrew with the BREWZILLA 65L.
Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully they can fix or improve the app.. As for the price I'm sure lots of work sent into developing it. But as I stated the general consensus say it's priced to high. Cheers mate! 👍🍻
I made the upgrade from the 30L GrainFather to the 65L Brewzilla. The only "negatives" about the brewzilla is the location of the screen/buttons and the lack of PID control. I don't really miss the bluetooth app. It brews just fine :)
Awesome video Brian 👍 For whatever reason the footage of the hose flopping around in the mash had me laughing. That clip has got to live on! The pump and filter seem to be on point that's nice to see. I can excuse brewfather not being accurate as it's third party. However the grainfatger app itself being out of whack is unacceptable. I lost all faith of them last summer personally! As for the price I couldn't agree more💯. Why 🤷🏻♂️ would anyone buy that thing given the current landscape of the single vessel system market ? Thank you for not being afraid to share your opinion 🍻
Portly Gentleman Yes, last summer really did the brand damage sadly. The G70 was a great opportunity to claw back some faith that sadly is way off target again. This could have been so much more for less money also.
Great vid as always! I echo the same thoughts as the portly gentleman. At that price point, those small glitches to the brew day become not acceptable. I shouldn't have to work around buggy 1st party software, I should just be working with it. I'm a programmer by profession, and that type of thing would drive me nuts! But, I'm glad it exists as more options are better than no options.
Hey Brian! Appreciate your honesty and feedback. All solvable problems right? The app needs to be tweaked sure, but the overprice issue? Depends how much gross margin they have, and their burden cost of the parts. Are these made state side or overseas?
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers ahh okay, burden cost now becomes "landed cost" which includes duties, taxes, tariffs, shipping (by ocean container by vessel most commonly) that is all passed to the customer. Yea...they are already at a disadvantage. They be better off paying a USA manufacturer to make their systems and license the name "Grainfather." Sidesteps the need for all that international logistics infrastructure that costs big $$$ and levels the playfield to compete with other similar brew systems in the USA.
Lol ok I thought it. Was an odd question. No you cannot ferment under pressure with the GF conical. You can pressure transfer at about 3 psi but that's it. 👍🍻
Man, one of the biggest advantages of electric is how easy the clean up is when you’re using a typical element for heating. Because you aren’t hitting the bottom of the kettle with direct heat, beer scale doesn’t ever have a chance to build up. Seeing that scale build up from one brew is ANOTHER huge turn off in a long line of turn offs for this system.
Wait you did 5.5 gallons? I thought the minimum was 10 gallons? Thats one big reason I wasn't buying was because of a 10 gallon min batch size. But you did 5.5 gallons?
@@johnathanhibbard3502 no the regular piping that came with it. You don't have to overflow down the center pipe if you have a good flowing grain bed. 👍🍻
My filter came clogged the very first brew. Nothing comes through. A full brew day down the toilet because of bad design and bad construction. Gonna send the G70 back, I expected more than this.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers How is your filter mounted? There was a large gap between my filter and the bottom of the cooler. The second filter that goes into the hole is so tight I could not even remove it again after the initial rinse of the machine. Using just water and light detergent I also had big problems getting the pump to provide water to the cooler as well. Wife was looking at me and wondering if I had thrown our money out the window as I was trying to pump just clean water last night. Weird machine.
I really wanted to show more of the issues with the app, but there were more problems as well check the description for details.
A good honest look at your first brew.
RUclips needs more honest videos like this. Good to see that the US unit works better in the PID algorithm area. Its a shame that the area of potential extra value with the bluetooth smart app is in such a bad state still. In reading your description I see this failed in other areas also. Seems crazy that the G70 was released in this state, especially considering the price tag along with the build quality on offer.
I know it could be so much better.. Hard to understand why it has so many problems!? Thanks for your comments David! Cheers! 👍🍻
Thanks Brian. Always difficult to have the hard conversations but in the end it helps grainfather if they listen. I assume that’s why they sent it to you. Way to keep it real.
Thanks! We have discussed the issues and they asked me to do another brew day with the software updates that have been made as well as app updates 👍🍻
Thanks for being transparent Brian. This is a great honest review of this product. Cheers!
Thanks Matt! 👍🍻
Wow I am with you on the strike water vs sparge water ratio. You could do a total grain weight and do a standard grain to water ratio to get the mash viscosity where you would want it. then sparge the additional water that you left out of the strike. that would be a quick way to adjust on the fly. Once again a great video and demo, honest and real world review!
Cheers!
Yep.. You definitely could do your own calculations. I probably should have! Lol
Honesty is always the best policy. Cheers Gary! 👍🍻
Thanks Brian. It's great to see these systems in action before making any kind of purchase.
That's why I do this. So the viewers can make a decision based the facts shown in the video. Thank you for the feedback! 👍🍻
Good honest video Brian, for the price it has too many issues, Regards from down under !
Thanks Kevin!! Cheers mate! 👍🍻
I been wanting to try this - we've been using the bigger systems a lot in our brew house to supplement batches.
You looking at this unit specifically? Or just a larger system than the smaller all in ones?
👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers well we already have the big Digiboil system - I was wanting to try this one too to see what else we can do - I only have one 220V drop (so far) in the brewhouse though so the next thing we test will prolly be the Brewbuilt electric kettle.
Brian, you are spot on with the pricing issue! When you can buy a similar system from a competitor for half the price that does the same thing it's a tough sell!
Hey the consumer doesn't lie.. I'm probably the #1 channel. In the USA for all in one systems. When mass amounts of people tell me it's too expensive.. That's not a fluke! Cheers Adam! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers whats the go to recommendation for all in one? And are they just as problematic?
@@motoman5208 I like the Anvil Foundry. Simple and easy to use. With a dual voltage option you can't beat it. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers nice thanks for the speedy reply. I’m getting tired of my cumbersome bootstrap system and I’m interested in something to help simplify a little bit and still kick out quality.
I make a ton of hazy IPAS. Can Anvil whirlpool with the pump if i do a huge hop dump into it after boil? Really looking to get good circulation and max those good aroma hop qualities
If you want to clean a counterflow chiller use powered lye with and hot water. It’s caustic and use appropriate protection, however it really does a great job if you recirculate it. Make sure you do it both directions to back flush.
Yep I did back flush. 👍🍻
Cheers Brian. Brewing a full batch on Thursday. Should be interesting!
Good luck!!! I'll see if I can get those measurements to you. 🍻👍
Nice video on the brew day.. My comment on the previous video on the G70 stands. For me I am leaning toward the Anvil that you used on your brew off video with 3 different systems.. When I add electric brewing as an option I think the Anvil will work the best for me..
Completely understand!! Thanks for the feedback! 👍🍻
Neat vid/channel! Question: Do you have a vid on your pully system that you used @5:10 ? I have an original grainfather and was thinking of setting something up like that and was curious how you went about it. Thanks and keep up the good content! I'll be subscribing in t minus ten seconds : )
Thanks man!! All it is, is a eyelet screwed into the floor joist overhead and the the pulley system attaches to it. The most resent video on the channel shows a little more of it. Thanks for the sub!!
I'm realizing that different electric home brew systems can vary widely in how much strike water vs sparge water they say to use.
For example- our last 2.5 gallon batch called for 6.75 lbs of malt. Following the Anvil Foundry instructions, we used 3.1 gallons of strike water and 1 gallon of sparge water. That puts out mash at 1.84 quarts of strike water per lb of grain, which was quite loose. For comparison, I looked at the instructions for the Brewer's Edge Mash and Boil system. Following their instructions, our 6.75 lb grain bill would call for 2.025 gallons of strike water and 1.52 gallons of sparge water. That's just 1.2 quarts of strike water per lb of grain.
From your experience, do you think the Anvil Foundry or the Mash and Boil's water volumes seems more reasonable? (We brew with the Anvil Foundry; just worried our mash is too loose using their instructions.) Thanks!
You can adjust the water as you see necessary. The guide that comes with the Foundry is a basic guide. If you feel like the mash is too thin, you can reduce the amount of strike water and add the amount reduced to the sparge volume. There is no hard rule to the amount of strike water. Only "rule" Is that the grain needs to be saturated for conversion . Make an adjustment and see how it goes. The nice thing is that you can always add some water if you think it's to thick after reducing the amount. I would say heat up your normal amount of strike water then transfer the amount reduced to an insulated container so it will hold some heat. Mash in and then if you need some more water then you'll have it on hand already warm. Let me know how it goes. Just be sure to document what you do so you can adjust going forward. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Excellent advice. We'll definitely try this with our next batch. Thanks!
Hi Short Circuited Brewers, We in Australia have much the same issues would love to own a G70 but it's just out of my price range just under $2000 Aust they will struggle to sell at that price point. But my biggest hate is for the new and updated app they have it's just not user-friendly at all. I don't want to hate Grainfather I have the 35lt version and I love it but been looking for a bigger system and will give me cash to Robobrew with the BREWZILLA 65L.
Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully they can fix or improve the app.. As for the price I'm sure lots of work sent into developing it. But as I stated the general consensus say it's priced to high. Cheers mate! 👍🍻
I made the upgrade from the 30L GrainFather to the 65L Brewzilla. The only "negatives" about the brewzilla is the location of the screen/buttons and the lack of PID control. I don't really miss the bluetooth app. It brews just fine :)
Awesome video Brian 👍
For whatever reason the footage of the hose flopping around in the mash had me laughing. That clip has got to live on! The pump and filter seem to be on point that's nice to see. I can excuse brewfather not being accurate as it's third party. However the grainfatger app itself being out of whack is unacceptable. I lost all faith of them last summer personally! As for the price I couldn't agree more💯. Why 🤷🏻♂️ would anyone buy that thing given the current landscape of the single vessel system market ? Thank you for not being afraid to share your opinion 🍻
Portly Gentleman Yes, last summer really did the brand damage sadly. The G70 was a great opportunity to claw back some faith that sadly is way off target again. This could have been so much more for less money also.
Great vid. Are you going to do a comparison between this and the Brewtools B80?
Sure enough 👍🍻 and the BZ 65L
Short Circuited Brewers dare you to do a triple brewday!!!!!!!!!! 😂
Why not use a hop spider or bag?? I used a half pound of hops ounce for 5 gallons and i much prefer half of that with better results for me
I wanted to demonstrate the hop filter in the kettle. 👍🍻
Great vid as always! I echo the same thoughts as the portly gentleman. At that price point, those small glitches to the brew day become not acceptable. I shouldn't have to work around buggy 1st party software, I should just be working with it. I'm a programmer by profession, and that type of thing would drive me nuts! But, I'm glad it exists as more options are better than no options.
Thanks! Yeah I feel like it's in beta.. Not ready for release.. Thanx for the comments! 👍🍻
Hey Brian! Appreciate your honesty and feedback. All solvable problems right? The app needs to be tweaked sure, but the overprice issue? Depends how much gross margin they have, and their burden cost of the parts. Are these made state side or overseas?
Australia...
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers ahh okay, burden cost now becomes "landed cost" which includes duties, taxes, tariffs, shipping (by ocean container by vessel most commonly) that is all passed to the customer.
Yea...they are already at a disadvantage. They be better off paying a USA manufacturer to make their systems and license the name "Grainfather." Sidesteps the need for all that international logistics infrastructure that costs big $$$ and levels the playfield to compete with other similar brew systems in the USA.
Yea I've been watching reviews and dont see enough for it to be better than anvil. Still goin with their chiller & conical
Those are nice for sure.. I really like the chiller and conical. 👍🍻
Can you ferment under pressure with the grain father conical fermenter. I picked the wrong unit
Lol ok I thought it. Was an odd question. No you cannot ferment under pressure with the GF conical. You can pressure transfer at about 3 psi but that's it. 👍🍻
please could you tell me if you used pellets or cones in this brew? thanks! :)
Pellets
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers great thanks! :)
Thanks for sharing!
For sure!! Thanks for watching!
can you ferment under pressure on the g30
Nope
Man, one of the biggest advantages of electric is how easy the clean up is when you’re using a typical element for heating. Because you aren’t hitting the bottom of the kettle with direct heat, beer scale doesn’t ever have a chance to build up. Seeing that scale build up from one brew is ANOTHER huge turn off in a long line of turn offs for this system.
Another good point. Although about 45 seconds with bar keepers friend and it looked like new.
Wait you did 5.5 gallons? I thought the minimum was 10 gallons? Thats one big reason I wasn't buying was because of a 10 gallon min batch size. But you did 5.5 gallons?
yep
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers did you use the micro piping ?
@@johnathanhibbard3502 no the regular piping that came with it. You don't have to overflow down the center pipe if you have a good flowing grain bed. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers that’s good to know. We was discussing it last night on the G70 Facebook group.
@@johnathanhibbard3502 you can do it. 👍🍻
My filter came clogged the very first brew. Nothing comes through. A full brew day down the toilet because of bad design and bad construction. Gonna send the G70 back, I expected more than this.
That's frustrating for sure.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers How is your filter mounted? There was a large gap between my filter and the bottom of the cooler. The second filter that goes into the hole is so tight I could not even remove it again after the initial rinse of the machine. Using just water and light detergent I also had big problems getting the pump to provide water to the cooler as well. Wife was looking at me and wondering if I had thrown our money out the window as I was trying to pump just clean water last night. Weird machine.
The cooler? You mean the kettle?
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers The circular thing, black tube.
@@retroMartin the chiller ok. Did you have the bottom screen(s) in place? I did not have any chiller clogging issues.
May as well use a robobrew seeing the app is shit
AND save lots of money.. lol