Good video fella, just bought an S40 and this was a really well explained intro / overview. Lots to think on, thanks a lot for all the great info. Cheers.

Got the S40 about a year ago. Worth every dime if you got it at half price as I did. The feet are fragile. I immediately replaced them with TIG welded slotted SS pipe. Add a half in NPT ball valve with male cam lock fitting for the drain and a compression fitting with male cam lock fitting at the malt pipe connection. Works great. I find it holds temperature less consistently now. Still ok. Good deal. If on sale

I agree with your final comments that it as a good entry point starter for beginners. If then wanting to step up you can always use it in the future as a sparging water heater.

Thanks for the review. It is very helpful!

Nice review. I have just purchased an S40 to try out. Good price here in New Zealand at only $375 USD (around 350 Euro). I haven't had a brew day yet but can confirm the temperature tolerance is now within 1 degree of target temp in some testing I have done. I have been using a 3 vessel system so cant wait to try an all in one.

Good honest review mate. Cheers 👍🏻

An informative honest review, I'm not sure I'de choose this system over the Brewdevil 50 though. Cheers Rich.

A great honest review Tricky

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

Good video and nice to see you read the instructions and had no problems with the controller. I have been using my S40 for a few months now and have one or two comments. Over the piece and taking into account the cost and the quality of the S40 I am really happy with mine. The vessel itself is very sturdy and the double skin definitely helps insulate to the extent I do not think there is a need for a jacket . My gripes are ... The lid should definitely have a hole for the wort recirculation, it is ridiculous they did not do that. The only other issue I have is that the pump cannot be used to empty the wort into the FV. I say that because the S40 when doing even a 30L brew has a considerable weight of material in the grain basket which has to be lifted to sparge. To do that safely the S40 should be on the floor... which make using the tap redundant unless the S40 is lifted onto to a surface that allows access to the tap. Lifting a vessel with 30 plus litres of hot water is an accident waiting to happen in my opinion! I have done it and it requires considerable strength my last brew was 37L plus the weight of the S40 ... hernia inducing :) Having said that I am still pleased with the S40 it does a decent job for the money ... anybody found a way of using the recirculation pump to empty the wort into a FV ?

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

You could attach a length of hose to the end of the recirculation arm and just run that off to the FV? I'd be a bit concerned about the pump blocking with trub though

@johnpantling9284

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews I have thought about that because it would be a perfect solution to the problem but just as you say the pump could get blocked. I am thinking some sort of mini hoist to lift the grain basket it could be the easiest way for me.

So many good options now. When I bought a system in 2016 it was the mostly all about the Braumeister and I think the Grainfather might have just been released. Now there's loads, some are pretty much repurposed water urns though.

I've taken to using my Anvil Foundry 6.5 with a bag. If I take out the grain basket, then I can fit 50% more grain. Even without doing that, it keeps the bottom of kettle cleaner, so fewer issues with scorching, less trub, and I can grind finer. I love using an all-in-one, but the brew bag is still a good piece of kit.

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

That was my thoughts on it too, didn’t change how the unit functions as such but definitely helped with filtration and cleanup

Thanks for the review. Appears the S40 has made to many compromises. If my GF Connect ever dies I would consider the G40.

Very useful video but I didn't understand the point about dead space. Do I just add an additional 8litres of water to the mash volume? Will this affect the brew?

Great honest review mate! Agree with you 100% on all your points. I can't honestly believe they didn't punch a hole through the lid? I mean as far as I'm aware, the grainfather started that!? Bit of a missed opportunity to capture the lower price-point IMHO. Having said that, as you said, I'm sure you can make great beer with it!

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Stass. Its a genuinely baffling decision tbh! Early samples of the beers I have made with it are tasting good at least

@michaeleade4149

2 жыл бұрын

i feel its overpriced digiboil to behonest nothing really exciting to buy this unit i also agree a hole in the lid for recirculation would be better it doesnt encourage me to buy

There's room for improvements apparently. I guess you can fix some issues yourself, use insulation, drill a hole in the lid for the recirculation arm etc. I'm using the cheap digiboil and with a few tweaks it works for me at least.

Hmmm, good honest review mate... I would definitely consider this over the other brands, just because of the aftermarket support; GF seem to be far and away better than the others. However... not sure it's there yet. I think they will definitely be making some revisions to the model, in terms of the temp controller, the lid (that's just bizarre!) and maybe the basket feet perhaps. The chiller is absolute gash, I'd ebay that to someone building a herms setup! The ultimate question of course, if it was your money, would you buy it?

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Jamie, with the issues it currently has no not at that price tbh

Great fair review mate. I love my all in one systems even though one is just an HLT, nice to have an HLT with integrated pump and recirc though. I didn't realised it was a basic system as I was getting jealous you got one to review...but then realised that I have 2 all in one systems and anything more would be greed 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@SafferBrew

2 жыл бұрын

Also, running some plumbing into the cave is a game changer if you can get water + drainage!

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Chris, yeah plumbing is definitely on the agenda just need to work out how to fit a sink in there!

I tend to agree with you mate, they have took too much out of this system to get it at an entry level. The G40 is over 1k so well out of my league so think I will stick with my G30 and I now am thinking of using a grain bag in the malt pipe to save on cleaning. Great Idea Cheers Tricky

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

cheers Mark, I'd stick with the G30 for sure over this version

The bag might prevent grain being stuck between basket and hop filter where it would end up being boiled. And If you skipped the basket then you’d have less dead space and could use proper mash/sparge volumes!

great review, but you have to question GF's market with this product, its clearly at the lower end of the spectrum so they are trying to fill a gap in the market which I get, but would anybody that has the capacity to brew and ferment double batches, be trying to do it on the cheap, surely they would be looking to upgrade not downgrade.

Hey dude, did you test the S40 at full capacity? I couldn't find a video of yours if you had done. Im considering getting one, over my brew in a bag and SS brew kettle. Mostly because I like the idea of electricity rather than a gas burner, plus not having to use a pulley. Also I guess the timer function is quite nice. And generally the whole all in one thing. Thanks for the video duderino

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Mark, I never got round to doing the video at full batch size but I have tested it a couple of times. There is one issue that I encountered which is not being able to sparge to the full preboil volume with the grain basket in the draining position. Because it sits partly inside the top of the vessel the wort hits the base of it at just under 40L and will then overflow out the sides if you continue, this made a real mess the first time when I didn’t realise it would happen! So basically you have to reserve about 6-7L of sparge water and top up the kettle once you remove the basket. Due to this and its weight when doing double batches I’d say a pulley would still be pretty useful tbh. Otherwise it still worked reasonably well with a double batch and was able to maintain a decent boil with good efficiency etc despite not doing the full sparge

What size bag are you using there (where did you purchase it?), after 6 brews on the G40, I've decided to admit, it would be better with a bag. Diameter 450mm

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

I think its this one i got brewinabag.co.uk/en/biab-bags/9-biab-bag-for-pots-up-to-45cm-diameter-0756406310853.html

Thanks for the review! Really useful. I bought one of these recently, and followed your advice on getting a reducing coupler. Couldn’t tell if the pipe was 10mm or 8mm, so I bought both. And would you believe it… neither fits. The 8mm won’t go on, and the 10mm sits loose. So the piping on the chiller is 9mm - and the only reducing couplers you can get in the UK are 8mm or 10mm. This is a serious oversight from Grainfather. In the meantime… any suggestions on how to make the 10mm one work? Maybe electrician’s tape? Edit: or plumber’s tape?

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the feedback, yeah I guess a wrap of tape or ptfe could work but its quite liable to slipping or twisting off, you could get a short piece of 10mm copper pipe connect that to the coupler and then join the copper to the SS with a short bit of the silicon tube and jubilee clip them but thats a bit of a faff that you shouldn't have to do. Tbh with the performance you are likely to see with the SS chiller I'd recommend getting a coil of copper pipe and making your own which will be much more efficient

@MattCalthrop

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews Thanks for the advice. I’ve already got a copper wort chiller that I was using with my 25l plastic bucket setup, but it’s too small for the S40. I guess I’ll have to get a bigger one. But it’s irritating to have to do that, because the S40 is meant to be all-in-one. Thanks again!

@MattCalthrop

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews So you reckon a copper chiller is gonna be a lot quicker than SS?

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

@@MattCalthrop definitely SS has terrible thermal conductivity, its quite baffling why people are using it for immersion chillers tbh an equivalent length/surface area of copper will transfer heat between the 2 liquids much more efficiently. Heres a link with some numbers and further info www.industrialmetalsupply.com/blog/best-metals-conducting-heat

@MattCalthrop

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews Wow, those figures are crazy. I guess vendors assume people aren't aware of the significant difference in performance between SS & copper (I wasn't).

Nice video, 1 question, does the controller controls the element power %? Ex goes to 50% to keep temp or is just an ON /OFF?

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

The controller doesn’t but you can manually switch element between 1000/2300w with switch on the side

@StassBrewing

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews does that improve temp during the mash??

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

@@StassBrewing no it just takes a bit longer to come back up to temp as the 3c cycle remains the same (if its 1k rather than 2.3 for mash)

@StassBrewing

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews that's a little more than slightly frustrating

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

@@StassBrewing indeed! lol

Honest review. Great video 👍 Did make me laugh when I saw the grain bag 😂 For me the two best features of the original Grainfather, is the controller and the counter flow chiller, both missing here. Good size for Impy stouts though 😉

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Rusty! Will see how it handles a big batch next and yeah good size for impys etc

I bought one of the generic repurposed tea kettles at the start of lockdown. Soon got rid of the irritating malt pipe and bought a mesh basket, that's a great fit, and now use it as an electric BIAB. Works a treat. The S40 would not persuade me to change this set up. Having looked at the G40 though ...... Might have to save up 😉

@indiekiduk

2 жыл бұрын

What basket did you buy? I’m looking for one to fit in my 30cm diameter tea urn.

Have the manufacturers made any improvements from your review observations?

@DudesBrews

Жыл бұрын

Not that I am aware of there has only been 1 version of this released up to this point

These are on offer for 350 at the moment. A worthy first all in one brewing system would you say? or is it worth paying a bit more for something else?

@DudesBrews

Жыл бұрын

I’d say as a basic starter system that has the advantage of doing bigger batches thats a price worth considering but I’d probably save up for something in the next price bracket personally

@Joetp

Жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews I've come back to say I bought it a few months ago as I managed to get one for 300... It's not a baaad starter kit for the price, but you're bang on about the mash temperature fluctuations being an issue. I've had mixed results. I attempted a mash at 70 degrees a couple of brews ago as I wanted to get a solid body on a fairly low ABV beer - with the benefit of retrospect I've deduced that the mash temperature was actually getting up to 73/74 degrees (I also left the lid on as much as possible, with the recirc arm off to the side and I had the 2.3kw element on) which in hindsight all could have contributed to the excess mash heat. This resulted in me getting a 4.3 percent beer where I should have had a 4.9 percent, and a FG of 1.024, where it should have been 1.017. Safe to say there was a lot of residual sweetness in that one! In my latest brew, I changed mashing tactics and just left the lid completely off and the lowest element only on. I did periodically check the mash temperature with a digital thermometer and it was still higher than the controller said throughout. It's a shame there's no option to calibrate either... It's not finished fermenting yet, but we'll see what final numbers we get. I'm hoping I might be able to figure out some kind of method of mashing that results in reliable results, but if not I'll likely look into selling it as I want to be able to produce consistent and reliable beer. My previous Peco boiler was more reliable as it stands... Another issue is the lack of false bottom - it's competitors like Brewzilla have one. I emailed Grainfather to see if one is available, but I kind of got fobbed off with a "thanks for the feedback" response. It'd be nice to be able to use the pump to whirlpool, but I wouldn't trust that the inbuilt pump wouldn't get clogged since there's no false bottom. I should have followed your advice and spent some more cash, but thought it was worth a follow up for anyone else thinking about this unit! 🙃

@DudesBrews

Жыл бұрын

@@Joetp thanks for the detailed follow up, thats a good point about the false bottom option which I hadn’t thought about. I don’t think there is really a good solution to solve the mash temp issues as the controller is always going to cause quite a wide swing but cutting a hole in the lid so the recirc arm can go through it did help a little bit but to be honest I didn’t do much testing of it as I got fed up with its shortcomings pretty quickly

Can you use the recirculating arm to whirlpool

@mikebeswick3420

Жыл бұрын

I suppose it would block the pump.

Does this system have the WiFi controller? Doesn't look like it. Not impressed with this new one.

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

no wifi or bluetooth, its the basic version of the G40

14:45 its just a workout. A brewer should be strong to emanate with that daddy energy

Get that controller in the bin and wire a craftbeerpi in to fix it ;)

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

lol!

Dude, the mash bag! I was hoping to see a warts and all review of the S40 including how the new malt pipe works! On another note if that has a +/- 2c variable in mash temps then its a complete waste of money! That combined with the minimum 5kg malt bill makes this unit pretty useless as a "premium" product. I can get the same experience with a mash bag in my $160 digiboil kettle

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

I hear what you are saying but there isn’t a malt pipe and the recirc still functions with the bag in so it didn’t change the process that much apart from better filtering. There was still a few warts on display and I agree a lot of people would be put off by the poor temp control, I mentioned in previous vid that the 5kg minimum doesn’t make any sense to me as I cant see any reason why you cant have less than this if minimum volume is given as 10L but then that would be an error on the specs which is another wart I guess! 🤷‍♂️🙈

@davec4955

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews I think some of the all-in-one call the mash/grain basket a grain pipe, and the tube in the middle is an overflow pipe.

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

@@davec4955 thanks Dave yes I think you are right, that term is used by some people for the overflow so I think I got a bit mixed up

This wasnt a bad video, though I must say too long considering the amount of actual information. Furthermore, a test with just the basic equipment would have been much more worthwhile. Not only did you add a mash bag but you used a different chiller too. In the end what you did is not really a test of the system as such. You also seem to misunderstand mash temperature and its effect overall in terms of enzymes and the ranges that they are active at and how this carries down to final gravity.

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Its a fair point about the mash bag and chiller and I would have changed both of these if I had been able to set the test up properly in time for getting the video out but I was under some pressure time wise to get this done. I don't see the issue here with regards my comments on mash temps, I did not say that it will cause the mash to go outside of the enzyme range (although it could if you were operating at the extreme ends of this). My point which I was trying to make is that a mash temp that oscillates quite rapidly by 2-3c while remaining in the correct range is going to make predicting FG more difficult as this will have an observable effect on the wort fermentability. That is something I believe should be better even for an entry level model from GF. Bearing in mind I have contacted GF directly and they have acknowledged this as an issue I think its a fair criticism.

@alanman5328

2 жыл бұрын

@@DudesBrews I think you have a good presentation style but surely waiting a little longer would have been better as you are being judged on it into the future and people are watching your video to asses the full product. I do not mean this harshly, just constructively but your video is over 35 minutes long and told me less of actual value than the much shorter ones out there. By the end I at least would have liked to know what you thought of the chiller but that was missing and because you used a bag there is no way of knowing from your video if the lack of filter is a problem. Ive not tried one of these brewing systems but Its not the only brewing system in the market I found out with the same controller and this is how it operates, so I do not think Grainfather would think this is an issue, it is obviously something they made a decision on. If it was an issue then why would they release the S40 in the first place and keep it released? Also, It really should be very obvious that having some variation in mash temperature is a reality no matter how the controller works within any brewing set up. With something cheap it is probably not accurate anyway and as long as you are in enzyme range it really does not really matter that much anyway of course. Even if it was totally accurate in temperature at the probe end , you have a heater at the very bottom where the probe is and despite having a pump it is never going to be a uniform temperature throughout the whole mash. To do this you would need something much more high tech and expensive. How do you think this translates to commercial sized batches? Temperature variation during mashing is known and accepted. By saying that this product is compromised by its way of heating is just plain misleading. You mention FG prediction but unless you are using a commercial grade density meter you are not going to be close to know what your actual FG is anyway. Do you think the average taste pallete can detect a change of a small amount of gravity points? The difference is very small. Do you think your malt yield is accurate? What about the yeast attenuation prediction? These are just averages in case you do not know. Even if you tried to brew the same beer at home with identical ingredients more often than not you will not have the exact same beer no matter how you do it but it will be similar enough. Homebrewing is not a precise science, so there really is no point in trying to say it is and casting doubt around a product at the same time. Grainfather were mad to use this controller because beginners are not going to usually understand why this temp gap is actually no big deal but it will stand out because most home brewing systems do not have it and show you one temperature, despite it not being accurate anyway.

@StassBrewing

2 жыл бұрын

@@alanman5328 I disagree with you on a number of points here. Yes, cheap systems won't be as accurate as more expensive ones (generally). But I think Richard was speaking more to the repeatability of the system. It's fairly easy to determine mash yield, variations in yeast Attenuation and wort fermentability with forced ferment tests and good record keeping and controlling parameters etc that you as a brewer (pro or homebrewer) can influence. If your tools do not allow for tight controls of parameters, how can you expect your product to be consistent? Yes, the controller is used on other systems, but I'm sure the parameters on that controller can be tweaked by the OEM company. The other units probably hold better temp cos you can put the lid on while mashing (can't believe they didn't punch a hole in the lid). The irony of you constructively saying that the video was very long and didn't contain much info not lost on me after your blog post. This is Richard's first brew and first impressions of a brewing unit that he has ACTUALLY used and I think they are pretty valid comments for what it's worth. Just because you are given a unit for review, doesn't mean you have to like it or gloss over the negative points. Cheers

@edmessinger5854

2 жыл бұрын

Ridiculous and unnecessary comments from a self opinionated know it all. Brilliant video Rich- first of yours I’ve seen but definitely subscribing. Keep up the good work!

It’s still a lot of money for what it is, those feet are going to fail and that tap screams of being cheap. Better off with brew in a bag for what you get here…and that wort cooler what a joke. Disappointing Grain daddy you could or should do better for that money !

If you are making a video, at least understand brewing

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

What exactly is my misunderstanding of brewing here Ferry?

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Come on if you are going to shitpost on my video you can at least explain what you think is wrong with it? I'm open to constructive criticism if its valid.

@AstroHAM

2 жыл бұрын

Don't delete my comment then!

@DudesBrews

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroHAM i haven’t deleted any of your comments

@AstroHAM

2 жыл бұрын

​@@DudesBrews ok than it is youtube filtering out a link i provided. Your error is with the mash temperature and the impact this has. I would suggest that you do some reading.

great honest review mate , , i think it is an expensive bit of kit for what it is really worth brewzilla has set the standard with the digiboil i think