Grainfather or Bulldog Brewer

[shepp]

I am seriously considering going out and buying one of the above tomorrow.
Grainfather £595
Bulldog £390
Do you think it's worth the extra £200 for the Grainfather?
I will probably do a brew once every 4 to 6 weeks.

[Normski]

No.

[crofter]

I have a grainfather and I brew quite often, from what I've seen from the bulldog it doesn't look bad and probably produces just as good a product at the end. £200 is a big saving .


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[shepp]

I suppose the Grainfather has been around longer so a bit more tried and tested.

[Fil]

as a grainfather owner i watched the vids of the eu version of the bulldog with critical interest.

My observations,
The controllers position on the base of the bulldog will require kneeling and bending down even if you brew off the floor unless you sit it at waist height which will make lifting the malt tube tricky. And Its not as easy to upgrade to an stc1000+ OVBS reflash (ver 1 controller, the new g/f controller is superior to the stc1000 option afaik)

the cost savings in the build are obviouse, with the Grainfather there is only one well considered and engineered user changeable plumbing point where the sparge arm or chiller are connected.

In operation and use the grainfather is simply more 'joined up' and more of a brewing machine and is supported by a producer that listens to feedback hence the hop filter and chiller and controller upgrades/mods in current models.. The bulldog may have similar support from its producer? but even in the promo vids appears less smooth in operation tho that may be a symptom of my bias

If the bulldog had been available when i opted for the G/f, tbh i dont know which way i would have swung, as is i dont regret the g/f purchase at all,

the one feature of the bulldog that wins out over of the G/F is that since the pump is a separate element and not built in it can be easily employed to pump the sparge liquor upto the tilted malt tube in its sparge/drain position.

I dont like the tilt n wedge positioning of the malt tube in its sparge drain position, its a way less elegant solution than that employed in the g/f and in tilting may run the risk of disturbing the filtered flour in the grain bed letting some wash back into the brew with the sparge, tho thats a guess not an observation..

And it shares the same achilles heel in so far as your best served with a 2ndary hlt to heat up the sparge liquor..


£200 buys a lot of hops n grain tho

If you go G/F you wont be dissapointed.. it works and works well..
just wish it would automatically add the protoflock for me

[spanspoon]

I've just received a bulldog after consideration of both. Picked it up for 375. The grandfather looks better but I couldn't justify the extra 200 notes. I will let you know how I get on with it....hoping to brew on Monday.

[Hairybiker]

My only real problem with the Bulldog has already been mentioned, the fact the controller is at the base. If you are happy lying on the floor to change the temp then go for it.
IF you try to have it on the counter top make sure you can lift the malt tube all they way up, BEFORE you mash otherwise you will have a heavy item to lift up.

But £200 is several years worth of beer

[Fil]

look forward to reading your findings, enjoy and have fun with the bulldog..

[shepp]

Thank's for your opinions guys.
I went out and bought a Grainfather this afternoon and my first all grain brew will be a Brupaks London Bitter kit, on Monday.

[Dave S]

Thank's for your opinions guys.
I went out and bought a Grainfather this afternoon and my first all grain brew will be a Brupaks London Bitter kit, on Monday.

Did you get it for £595? I ask because since the release of the new controller the price has increased to £700 - that is with the new controller fitted though. As fil said, you won't be disappointed.

[shepp]

Thank's for your opinions guys.
I went out and bought a Grainfather this afternoon and my first all grain brew will be a Brupaks London Bitter kit, on Monday.

Did you get it for £595? I ask because since the release of the new controller the price has increased to £700 - that is with the new controller fitted though. As fil said, you won't be disappointed.

Yes £595, they did have a new controller, it looked a more polished bit of kit than the one fitted to my GF.

I am not particularly techy, but I do like the new GF app. Even if it's just used for storing past brews.

[Dave S]

Thank's for your opinions guys.
I went out and bought a Grainfather this afternoon and my first all grain brew will be a Brupaks London Bitter kit, on Monday.

Did you get it for £595? I ask because since the release of the new controller the price has increased to £700 - that is with the new controller fitted though. As fil said, you won't be disappointed.

Yes £595, they did have a new controller, it looked a more polished bit of kit than the one fitted to my GF.

I am not particularly techy, but I do like the new GF app. Even if it's just used for storing past brews.

Several of us have just bought and received the new controller so early days yet, but it looks like it's going to be a significant improvement on the original system, (which is also excellent BTW). If it's as good as it promises to be it'll worth your while upgrading later. Also, the new Bluetooth App will do a lot more than just store recipes. You will be able to control the GF and also program in hop addition alarms during the boil - something manual operation doesn't allow.

[shepp]

Yes £595, they did have a new controller, it looked a more polished bit of kit than the one fitted to my GF.

I am not particularly techy, but I do like the new GF app. Even if it's just used for storing past brews.[/quote]

Several of us have just bought and received the new controller so early days yet, but it looks like it's going to be a significant improvement on the original system, (which is also excellent BTW). If it's as good as it promises to be it'll worth your while upgrading later. Also, the new Bluetooth App will do a lot more than just store recipes. You will be able to control the GF and also program in hop addition alarms during the boil - something manual operation doesn't allow.[/quote]

That sounds like a possible birthday present in July
One benefit with buying the kit now and updating later is that if one packs up then you always have a spare to keep you going.

[Dave S]

Yes £595, they did have a new controller, it looked a more polished bit of kit than the one fitted to my GF.

I am not particularly techy, but I do like the new GF app. Even if it's just used for storing past brews.

Several of us have just bought and received the new controller so early days yet, but it looks like it's going to be a significant improvement on the original system, (which is also excellent BTW). If it's as good as it promises to be it'll worth your while upgrading later. Also, the new Bluetooth App will do a lot more than just store recipes. You will be able to control the GF and also program in hop addition alarms during the boil - something manual operation doesn't allow.[/quote]

That sounds like a possible birthday present in July
One benefit with buying the kit now and updating later is that if one packs up then you always have a spare to keep you going.[/quote]

Aye, always good to have a spare

[Rad]

I just watched some videos about the Bulldog system. Looks quite good for the price. Most parts are easy to swap if needed. Though those parts are unlikely to fail. Not sure how easy will it be to fix should you need too. I can see few design flaws but all would be easy to fix.

With GF you can buy spares for everything and it's well supported. All parts are integrated better too. Touch wood, the only problem I had with mine was a loose wire that burned the plug. Easy to fix.