I'm 2 extract brews in (Brewers Best English Pale Ale and Belgian Dark Strong, bottling the latter in a few days). I've queued up a partial mash kit for a month or so from now because I want to move out of extract into all-grain. I can also see some equipment upgrades in my future, so I've been spending a lot of time on here and elsewhere on the web. I'm intrigued by the Blichmann BrewEasy, but I have some questions that maybe some BrewEasy users can answer.
1) Can this system, which is basically a mini-kit of various Blichmann components by my estimation, later be expanded into a full 3V horizontal system pretty easily?
2) I need to get out of my kitchen, and I'm not ready to bust a 240V lead into my garage. I eventually want to though! For the next few years, though, the gas option is making this unit particularly attractive over other similarly priced electric systems. Can anyone with experience on the gas system comment on whether it's a bad move if the bigger plan is to move to a big electric system?
3) I'm not afraid of pumps. I know there are some strong opinions around here about avoiding them - that debate is for another thread. My question: Is the pump in this system a good one?
4) I hate to open this wide open, but I guess I will. In the $1,500-$2,000 range, should I be considering other systems? I'm not looking to burn money just to burn it - I'm trying to avoid dropping smaller money on coolers and econo-kettles and building out with the "end in mind." I also have 2 small children at home and a wife who has somewhat reluctantly gone along with this endeavor so long as it's not smelling up the house or pulling me away from family time excessively (this is another reason the Blichmann is attractive - no separate sparging activity).
Let 'em rip, friends...
1) Can this system, which is basically a mini-kit of various Blichmann components by my estimation, later be expanded into a full 3V horizontal system pretty easily?
2) I need to get out of my kitchen, and I'm not ready to bust a 240V lead into my garage. I eventually want to though! For the next few years, though, the gas option is making this unit particularly attractive over other similarly priced electric systems. Can anyone with experience on the gas system comment on whether it's a bad move if the bigger plan is to move to a big electric system?
3) I'm not afraid of pumps. I know there are some strong opinions around here about avoiding them - that debate is for another thread. My question: Is the pump in this system a good one?
4) I hate to open this wide open, but I guess I will. In the $1,500-$2,000 range, should I be considering other systems? I'm not looking to burn money just to burn it - I'm trying to avoid dropping smaller money on coolers and econo-kettles and building out with the "end in mind." I also have 2 small children at home and a wife who has somewhat reluctantly gone along with this endeavor so long as it's not smelling up the house or pulling me away from family time excessively (this is another reason the Blichmann is attractive - no separate sparging activity).
Let 'em rip, friends...