Grainfather VS BrewZilla VS Brewtools 2022 PART ONE HomeBrewing Systems Comparison

[@alanman5328]

This was by far the best brewing system comparison that ive ever seen on youtube. So much information, professionally presented, no bias and it covered everything I could hope for. My decision is made, Brewzilla 65 it is.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks Alan, that is great to hear. These videos took a lot of hours to create! The BZ 65 is a great system, I am sure you will be very happy.

[@mickmcmillan3955]

I have the Gen 3 BZ65, upgraded from the BZ35. I love it so far, but the controller screen is down low which is a pain. I look forward to what Brewzilla decide to do with recipes and smart control.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yes the GEN 4 screen being up high is a nice upgrade. In the near future you will see the features you mention. There is Brewfather compatibility already in beta that you could try.

[@mickholgate3347]

Yay David, I ordered my BZ Gen4 65L yesterday!!!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear Mick, enjoy 🍻🍻

[@danielpinny3635]

Hello from NZ! Great comparison as always. I've benefited from the knowledge shared in many of your videos and appreciate the work you put in to them - thanks. For this reason I thought I would query the table at 1 minute 25 seconds, as the measurements for the BZ units look different that the preceeding images suggest. In particular the table suggests the BZ 65 is wider than it is tall, and the BZ 35 is listed as being shorter than the BT B40 PRO. Apologies if I have misread. If there is an issue in the table I thought raising by comment might be helpful. I stumbled on this while trying to confirm if the BZ 65 would fit in to my storage cupboard.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hey Daniel, ive not checked but perhaps some measurements were in different order. Some manufacturers do that.

[@danielpinny3635]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thanks for the reply David. I guess 850mm would have been very wide for the BZ 65! It doesn't seem likely that's the height either given the units being compared are all about the same height. I guess the mix up in measurements also means the commentary in the video regarding the height and width of the units and how they compare to one another is also slightly off, e.g. the BZ 65 isn't actually 850 wide nor is it the widest. I was really just trying to make sure you were aware that the measurements might be off for one reason or another. Thanks once again for all of the great content you create.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers, I think the commentary is correct, its just the dimension order that is different.

[@Siminit]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew I think both the commentary and order (for the BZ 65L Gen4) are incorrect in my mind. Looking at the side-by-side images just prior to the table, there is no way the BZ65 Gen4 is that different to the GF40. These dimensions don't seem to represent the overall height so perhaps they are of the internal volume diameter/height dimensions? Finally, the diameter of the BZ65L is certainly not larger than the height (@1:46). Definitely something wrong here.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yes, I think so too. The order is different from some manufacturers.

[@herewegotoday]

"A wider false bottom is more forgiving when it comes to flow" -- does that mean that the BZ 65 GEN4 would actually be more efficient than the BZ 35 GEN4 generally speaking?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hi David, after a certain point of grain then potentially yes. Though you should not have any issues hitting good levels of efficiency in general with both. The potential of difference will be on larger grain bills.

[@AndrewSmithThomas]

The video gives the BZ 65 Gen 4's volume capacity as 5-55L. I've seen elsewhere (a video NOT made by David) that a 19L corny will actually hold 18L of beer if you fill it to the liquid dip tube. Therefore, it sounds like in theory a BZ 65 Gen 4 could fill 3 19L cornies from one brewday. Has anyone tried that?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

It will depend on the beer volume after fermentation. Large amounts of dry hops with reduce a fair amount of volume, for example but yes you could “almost” fill 3 19L corny kegs.

[@thomasbackelin8730]

Great video David, as usual. I am currently a proud owner of a 2011 Braumeister which I love for "normal" beer but am very annoyed with as soon as a high gravity beer is planned. For this reason I am considering renewing my equipment. I am mainly looking for the best flexibility in gravity for a 20 l batch and am still not sure if the GF40 with its low and wide grain basket or Brewzilla 35 or 65 gen4 with their tall and slimmer grain baskets are more suitable for thick mash brewing. Does anyone have any experience or data on this?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hi Thomas, yes those BM units are great until you want something stronger. Certainly all the brewing systems you mention are very good with higher grain bills. There is the Brewtools also, no problems there either. If you want to avoid mashing twice (reiterated) then the larger models work great.

[@thomasbackelin8730]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew Dear David, thanks for this quick reply. Brewtools looks really cool but is more hands on and this is not what I am looking for so it is then between the GF 40 and the BZ 65 gen 4. I like the quality feel and the slightly smaller size of the GF 40 but prefer the price of the BZ 65 and Keglands innovative path. Are both of these equally suitable for a single mash 10% abv brew or is one of them more efficient at high gravities due to the different mash tun dimensions?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yes, I can understand that. The Bz65 is naturally a bit larger than the GF40 and has more powerful heating elements. You can also buy add ons so you can expand the volume and also the malt capacity. They will both easily cope with a 20L 10% brew though.

[@LukeHively]

Great video David, as always, thanks! Any idea where to pre-order the Brewzilla 65 Gen4 within the EU?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hey Luke, which country do you live in?

[@LukeHively]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew Hi David, thanks for your reply! I live in Switzerland; however, we also have a shipping address in Germany. Shipping to Germany is probably the best option as it generally saves a bunch on VAT...

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hi Luke, For Switzerland try “Vision Beer”. They are having stock in your country. Germany I am not aware of having stock.

[@Nagellan]

Hi. I’m from Poland. Can you please tell me where I can order Brewzilla gen 4 ? Thanks

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Poland I am not sure about at this point sadly.

[@jibba0202]

No too sure where youre getting your size calculations from but without ever having seen the BZ Gen4 i can tell you them measurements do not make sense at all. 600 x 850 gives you a volume of 340l minus the volume for electronics, heating element and headspace etc. you're not coming any where near the usable volume of 65l

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

These all came from the manufacturers, some dimensions were in a different order is all.

[@jibba0202]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew that still gives a 240l volume. I suspect them dimensions are for the package that its shipped in.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

@@jibba0202 Could be, hopefully the main points were made though. Not everything always goes to plan sadly