So, which one; BM or GF?

[fego]

Fego asked his question back in July, I wonder which road he went down??

I went with the BM. Have only used it twice but currently enjoying the first brew which is bang on.

It's amazing how quickly you become comfortable with letting it do it's thing knowing it beeps when it needs you to interfere. That said, it didn't alert me that I was about to have a boil over which made the first brew a bit messy. I used the domed lid for the heat up to boil on the second brew rather than the flat lid so that didn't happen again and now I've sorted the hop filter, I'm looking forward to even smoother brews now (the tap kept blocking without a filter in place).

[Technotrucker]

Well done..

I love the way a BM works....I've done 3 brews now all brilliant....I can't fault it.

[MPP]

BM is solid German engineering. GF is 'Made in China'. You get what you pay for. Having said that, I haven't seen a bad report about either.

[sladeywadey]

BM is solid German engineering. GF is 'Made in China'. You get what you pay for. Having said that, I haven't seen a bad report about either.

Wow some comment for a first post..

[Dave S]

I've recently bought a GF, first brew Friday last and I can tell you there is nothing inferior about the quality of engineering. The only criticism I could make is that it could do with side handles for carrying, but apart from that I think they are of excellent and give excellent performance.

[Rhodesy]

I too went with a BM20 (2015 model) after seriously considering both. Summarised the pro's and cons that led to my decision and also observations after 2 quick fire brews:

Pro's

[*]The engineering is quality, this system really looks the part and has been finished superbly.
[*]The UI is very easy to navigate on the control panel and simple to program a recipe
[*]The pump works very well and is almost silent when running.
[*]The PID never overshoots and maintains the mash temps etc flawlessly.
[*]Beautiful clear wort (not saying it makes better beer but is lovely to look at)
[*]Cleaning is straightforward and takes little time for both the malt pipe and the kettle itself. Also easy to get in at the pump to clean.
[*]The optional SS hood really helps obtain a nice rolling boil.
[*]The optional thermal jacket allows 1c per minute rises approximately which is fine.


Cons

[*]The unit itself is twice as expensive as the GF without the additional bits n bobs
[*] The accessories are expensive and add greatly to the overall cost.
[*]Like many other users the Speidel hop filter is not the greatest if you want to use pellets as it will clog. It worked ok on the first brew but had issues on the 2nd.
[*]If you like to FWH it is best to do it after 88c when the pump switches off or do the boil on manual mode with no pump.
[*]Not a major issue but only 3 hop additions allowed per recipe.
[*]The markings up to 25L are ok on the rod but would also be nice to have laser etched markings or similar to record post boil volumes etc.

Overall I love it and it a system which will last me a lifetime, it is very well made and looks great also. The user functions are easy to pick up. Whilst I have listed cons above these are not deal breakers by any means or made me regret my purchase. It is a pricey system but it works so well and is quite true of 'you get what you pay for'. The way I see it is if I had stuck with a 3 V system I would have at some point upgraded more pots, controllers etc which whilst maybe not reaching the cost of a BM still be £xxx. This system saves me doing DIY or buying parts all the time to upgrade etc.

As to the question of BM vs GF, I would advise people to do their homework and read up on both, watch youtube videos etc. From there you need to obviously factor in cost but also what you can live with and can't live without. Both machines I believe will help a brewer make great beer by any means.

[FUBAR]

Had my GF for just about a month and have brewed 5 times with it and brewing again in the morning , a brilliant piece of kit and I cant see me using my 80 litre 3V set up again anytime soon . The GF makes brewing so much quicker , easier and consistent , I've never brewed so often before . Have to agree with Dave about the lack of any carrying handles though

[f00b4r]

Had my GF for just about a month and have brewed 5 times with it and brewing again in the morning , a brilliant piece of kit and I cant see me using my 80 litre 3V set up again anytime soon . The GF makes brewing so much quicker , easier and consistent , I've never brewed so often before . Have to agree with Dave about the lack of any carrying handles though

And the ridiculously short power lead?

[tourer]

Are these new one's with handles?
http://www.speidels-braumeister.de/en/b ... ister.html
I think i'll start saving my pennies.

[Rhodesy]

Just to add to this, I decided last minute for an impromptu brew day today whilst I work from home. I set up the mash last night and left it overnight, woke up this morning to a full volume mash. It is now nicely on the boil, I also kegged a batch this morning. I was able to do this in the time I usually commute to work. I'll leave the cleaning until after work hours so only need to worry about calling and pitching which I can do no problem.


This for me is a major benefit and also helps at the weekend when trying to balance family life.

[Normski]

Are these new one's with handles?
http://www.speidels-braumeister.de/en/b ... ister.html
I think i'll start saving my pennies.

BM's have always had handles.
It is the Gf that does not.

[aamcle]

BM over GF its more controlled, you know all the sweet liquor goes through the grain. You can never be that sure with the GF as you don't know how much whent down the overflow.

Aamcle

[modelmakerblue]

aamcle wrote:
> BM over GF its more controlled, you know all the sweet liquor goes through the grain.
> You can never be that sure with the GF as you don't know how much whent down the
> overflow.
>
> Aamcle
Hope to buy a GF soon but have watched all the videos, it looks to me that you control the wort flowing over the grain so nothing or very little goes down the overflow?
Tony

[sladeywadey]

aamcle wrote:
> BM over GF its more controlled, you know all the sweet liquor goes through the grain.
> You can never be that sure with the GF as you don't know how much whent down the
> overflow.
>
> Aamcle
Hope to buy a GF soon but have watched all the videos, it looks to me that you control the wort flowing over the grain so nothing or very little goes down the overflow?
Tony

correct in that you reduce the flow using the GF's tap to minimise this. Sometimes I don't always get it right but with 11 brews so far with the GF i've not suffered any issues or loss of efficiency.

I've said this before I'm sure but if you have the extra money burning a hole in your pocket and you want a solid bit of kit then buy the BM.

I am perfectly happy with my GF it has served me very well and I will never go back to using my self-built herms set up

[aamcle]

I didn't say the GF wasn't better value!


Aamcle