Easy

Review by Dean Kelly on 1/26/2018

I've had several setups, first stovetop-DM, then all-grain with a cooler mashtun on stovetop, then propane burner all-grain and finally this. It is definitely smaller than my previous setups (I still have components, I could still do a LARGE all-grain mash with my 10 gal cooler if needed) this thing takes the cake and makes brew day easy. The further I've gotten into brewing (about 3 years) the more honed my tastes have come and the less need I have had to make the "biggest baddest beer around". I have 4 taps I like to keep filled with great homebrew and having this helps immensely. It's compact, the sparge process is simple, no need for pumps just open the spigot at the bottom, fill a container and dump it up top. While I do recommend double-milling your grain it still makes a good batch without it. Transferring to the fermentor is a breeze! The delayed start is nice for days I have the forethought to use it, especially with a mini RO setup. I cannot recommend this thing enough.

More powerful than expected

Review by DougA on 1/8/2018

I received the Mash and Boil as a gift for Christmas. I promptly purchased ingredients and planned a batch of Janet’s Brown. The ability of the unit to deal with the extremely low trmperatures on New Year’s Day was impressive. I was Brewing in a 20 degree garage. There were some hurdles, as you would expect when learning a new system, but I am very happy after my first brewday. I look forward to many more.

Packaging

Review by Anthony on 12/14/2017

I have seen some reviews which mentioned poor packaging. I just received mine today and I thought the packaging was very adequate - double box with bubble wrap between boxes and good polystyrene protection for the unit in the inner box. Arrived in great condition. I have two 'brews' on the go at present so may not use the unit for a week or more - will review again after use but looking forward to my next session !

Very happy with this product!

Review by Mitch on 12/1/2017

I have brewed two batches of beer with the Mash and Boil so far. Both times it was less than 50 degrees outside. The first batch took a really long time, 6+ hours, but that is because I used the Mash and Boil to heat up all my water. The second batch took less than 5 hours, but I was using my propane burner to heat up water to speed things up. When it comes to mashing I could not be happier with how easy it is to have everything in one kettle. The biggest complaint online I have seen is from the 6 degree hysteresis. I did find the temperature fluctuating a lot but the grain bed temperature stayed pretty consistent while I circulated the wort with a pyrex measuring cup. Lifting the grains out of the wort to rinse them is so much easier than sparging with three vessels. Both batches, even in the cold, had a nice rolling boil and stayed up to temperature. Because I had extra equipment I feel that this machine is worth it and I was able to have a very efficient brew day.

Amazing Upgrade for Little $

Review by Joe Walker on 11/30/2017

I just brewed my first batch of beer with the Brewer's Edge and could not be happier. The extraction efficiency was just under 90% which gave me a much more alcoholic beer than I was planning at 75% efficiency. Easy to use. I made lots of notes about the set temperature vs actual temperature in the mash (there was a difference even with nearly constant stirring). I made an oatmeal stout as a first batch and the lauter was almost 1-1/2 hr. Might be because of the gooey oatmeal. I will know next batch. I did a 60 minute boil and lost more than the 1/2 gallon that I expected so a little less wort volume which I will adjust for next batch. Over all, a great system. When you pull the basket up for the vorloff and sparge, she sits really tall. I may put it on a stand on the floor. The kettle diameter is small and I have to modify my cooling coil a bit to get it to sit all the way down in the wort. Might add a small pump to circulate during mash but that is just another toy. Really happy!