A buddy is set on buying one of these. I told him that if I were going to spend that kind of cash and invest that type of effort, I'd sure as shit be looking at something that yeilded me more than 10 gallons of beer (like a 50 gallon psychobrew kit), but the owner (owners uppity wife) of the property that he'll be using to brew is not keen on that much volume being produced. So... Anyone use one, or both and have any pros/cons on the two systems. I know one of the biggest things is that the Sabco has the re-circulating feature while mashing, but with such a small mash capacity is this even worth having? Seems to me, that for the difference is prIce, the brewtree is the way to go. What say y'all?
i'd be looking at the blichmann top tier & the morebeer rigs as well. Sabco systems are pretty pimped out, what you will find in many breweries for their pilot system. no input on the brewtree
Yeah, I get the impression that the sabco is a bit fancier than need be for most people. My buddy is newer to brewing and I don't want it to be too easy for him either. I want to make sure he has to be as hands-on as possible with whatever rig he buys, but I also know that he's the type of dude who will pick this up very quickly and outgrow your average homebrew setup within a few months. Anyone else?
The Blichmann system can start out with 1 burner and 2 shelves. Use the boil kettle to heat all the water you need and pump it to coolers on shelves. Upgrades upto a 3 burners system that will hold 30 gallon pots should take a while to out grow.
I'm well aware that the system doesn't make the beer, if that's what you're saying. My post inquired whether anyone had some preferances, pros/cons or pearls of knowledge about either of these rigs. Have you operated either of them? Or something similar?
I never heard of BrewTree. I googled and got as far as the home page, where they say up front that financing is available. Seriously? I never used either of these systems, but clearly the biggest cons are that one might require financing.
RIMS, HERMS, direct-fire, Kettle, Keg, Kettle w/a tangential inlet, burner type, etc. These are all personal choices. I'd suggest that your friend brew on your system and/or hook up with some local HB'ers and check out theirs. You might also want have your friend to checkout http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/show-us-your-sculpture-brew-rig-46578/ or just Google beer sculptures. You might see some hardware that night not fit on the suggested rigs.
Yeah, they start at a few grand. Not a huge pricetag but not chumpchange either, which is why I personally would need to yeild significantly more beer per batch if I were yo drop that kind of coin.
Cool, thanks for the feedback. My system is an 18 gallon "Home Depot Special" and I recommended to him to build something similar, but his deal is that his employer is set on buying a pre-fabricated rig for his property and my boy will be the primary user of said rig. if this guy is set on buying an expensive rig, I'm not going to tell him not to. I don't even know the guy. I just figured I might get some insight as to whether or not any of the the more popular systems out there had a huge following or on the other hand, were known to be hunks o shite. I'd be inclined to steer him toward a brewtree. Direct fire with Keggles. Thanks for the link, I'll send it to him.
