Grainfather G40 Setup and First Brew Day (Dragon's Silk Imperial Stout)

We finally got to brew with the new Grainfather G40 and had a blast! William, of our new product development team, walks us through the easy setup of the G40 control panel and app, then puts the all-in-one brewing system to the test brewing a batch of our Dragon’s Silk Imperial Stout. Minus a few user errors (our bad!) the first go at brewing with the G40 went really well and proved to be super easy and fun.
For more info and to order a Grainfather G40:
bit.ly/3uKqycG
Dragon's Silk Imperial Stout Beer Recipe Kit
Extract: www.northernbr...
All-Grain: www.northernbr...

[@cesarv.6365]

Super helpful. I'm about to do my first brew of the year in the G40. Thank you for this video!

[@lisacarruthers9649]

Great video! What a nice chap! Saving up for one of these!

[@sbrown21113]

I've had a G30 110V for almost 6 years and haven't added grains without the basket (yet). I have added grains without the filter and I have also added unmilled grains to the basket! I own a LHBS and just picked up a G40 today and can't wait for the first trial run!

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

It was quite embarrassing for William, but a good learning lesson worth catching on video!

[@matthewkaiser310]

Nice review William. It looks like Grainfather is stepping up there game again.

[@Wtfdawg321]

That trub plate is a nice addition, I have the g30 and have to use a hop basket to not clog the pump

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

It is super slick!

[@StassBrewing]

Cheers! Great video. I've been there with the mash basket!

[@curtpick628]

Great review and demo.

[@jesseamaya4594]

I an seriously looking at this system early next year. It'd be my first foray into brewing beer and the funny thing is I was looking at the dragons silk too, A lot of money right up front but I'm thinking buy once and don't regret as opposed to keep on finding out I need more equipment. If I go this route I'm also thinking of getting the chiller/fermentor combo. A LOT of money for the whole setup but should be covered for just about any beer I want to brew. As I get closer to trigger time I'll be asking a LOT of questions of you guys.

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

That's great to hear. You can always hit us up here or at .

[@jt4180]

Having a problem with grains going through the grain basket even with a corse mill grind. Any suggestions?

[@billgrubbs9316]

How much strike water was did you use

[@matteopastore609]

Good evening. I have the g40. With the machine off, I want to create a recipe with the application but when I go to insert the g40 it tells me that I have to connect it. How can I create a recipe without connecting it to the phone? Thanks so much

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

Did you ever figure this out? If not, we might need a bit more info to help troubleshoot. Please contact our Customer Service team at .

[@karldempsey2799]

Good video. Is there any problem running the G40 on 208V?

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

Sorry for the delay. The G40 is not compatible with 208V.

[@Alin-no9cz]

Great

[@erikzett]

Any chance this system can go all the way silent- my dog goes spastic with beeps. (Her previous owner used a shock collar that beeps) Had a g30 and had this issue along with major problems with the app temp readings and stuck sparges

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

I don't believe there is a way to disengage the audio alerts, but I'll check to confirm!

[@GadgetMartian]

Gotta Get Me One Of These Machines!!

[@cromwellvalley9416]

Any idea when Northern Brewer will start shipping these? The website just says they are "preorder" Thx

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

Preordered G40s should ship in late October or early November.

[@davidfullen5673]

By chance are you planning on uploading the Dragon's Silk Imperial Stout to the Grainfather recipe app. It would make it much easier for me and others to not have to manually add in the ingredients. Just wondering. Also when dispensing the stout are you doing it with CO2 or nitrogen. I only have CO2 for now. Thanks in advance.

[@erichoffman372]

Thanks for the review. My g40 is on the way. When using sparge water, do you need a separate place to heat up the water like a stove or electric kettle? When you add the sparge water, would you add it when the grains are raised and draining or would you add while they are submersed? Thanks!

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

You'll need to heat the sparge water somewhere separate. As one option, Grainfather does also make a sparge water heater that is pretty easy to set it and forget it until you need it (www.northernbrewer.com/products/the-grainfather-sparge-water-heater). You sparge the grains once the basket is lifted out of and secured above the kettle.

[@hmmy92]

No top plate as in GF30.Is there any difference on that?

[@nbwillis8081]

The main difference I found is to make sure to adjust your recirculation flow at the start to set the grain bed. For most batches, a top plate should not be needed. There is an optional top plate coming out. For higher abv beers and larger grain bills, this could be helpful to ensure the grain stays in the basket if you are pushing the upper limits. Cheers!

[@oasiscultivation2204]

I love the fact that while he’s brewing beer he also has little cannabis seedlings grower on the other side of that window he pulled out! 🤣 Yeah, only a trained eye would spot that cultivar growing.👍✌️

[@nbwillis8081]

Haha, that's the G40 NEIPA Strain, 27 generations better than G-13 Haze! OR a squirrel planted a Juglans nigra (Black Walnut) seedling... you be the judge.

[@ryanjiles]

What was your opinion on the sight glass? Is there a way to clean it? Will it be a problem after a few brews?

[@TeensierPython]

Just bought the S model. Now watching this I wish I would have gotten the G model. I thought it was just the connection difference. Didnt realize there was so much other differences.

[@davedaly5174]

What was the process like entering your recipe into the app software? Any hiccups?

[@nbwillis8081]

Hey Dave! Thanks for checking out the video. The app is great and makes it super easy to enter recipes. Under recipe select "create recipe", from there you can name the recipe, select the system you are brewing on. For this, we picked the G40 and went with the default settings built into the app. After that, you can input your ingredients. The app breaks it down into sections; Fermentables, Hops, Yeast, Extras (ie salts). It comes preloaded with dang near every ingredient you can think of which simplifies this down to searching for the ingredients picking the amount and hitting save. Very easy. You can also set up new ingredients if need be. Mash steps are also easy, click "add mash step", set the temp and time, boom done. I found the water calculator while still in beta was also helpful for salt additions. If you use this feature I would hold off on any acid additions recommend, best to check your mash pH after 15mins or so and make small acid adjustments. This calculator and really most water calculators in my experience over estimate acid additions. The app is free to download and you do not need a Grainfather system to check it out and set up recipes.

[@bankruptsee]

Do you NEED to use the app for these systems? Or can it all happen at the unit itself?

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

You can totally control all the functions manually on the control screen. I have a G30 myself and only use the touchscreen. Hope it helps!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

NIcely done :)

[@mrdespizeme]

What was your real world boil off? Efficiency? Heat and boil times?

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

From our buddy William Richartz, the brewer in the video (hope it helps): "5 gallon batches, I'm getting ~4 hour brew day start to finish, from heating 90ish degree water to clean up and in the fermentor. I don't record heat times since I care more about overall brew day length. Only have notes with one heat time. Roughly 25 mins for heating strike to mash temp (95f-160f) and another 20 from mash out to boil (170f-212f.) Boil off, I hate this question really depends on the environment, any where from 1-1.5 gallons, call it 1.25 gal for 60 min boil. To be honest on efficiency I have not taken as many notes on pH reading to dial this in. The last couple 5 gallon batch's I have got 70-75% with minimal effort. I think that this could easily could go up to 80-85% once you get familiar with the system and water adjustments. I just have not cared enough to dial it in that much. 10 gallon batches I have seen a bit lower 65-70%, outside our maiden voyage that got 60%."

[@mrdespizeme]

@@NorthernBrewerTV sure, relative humidity has a lot to do with boil off, but this "looking" like a bigger diameter, verse smaller and deeper, was the reason for the question. More surface area. Appreciate the response though.

[@billywray4524]

saw no sparging???

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

You can sparge if you want (and I do on the G30 model) but you can also adjust your grist slightly to do a no-sparge, one-rinse batch as well. It's pretty flexible.

[@billywray4524]

@@NorthernBrewerTV if you don't add sparge water how will you have enough water going into the boil?

[@rommelgonzalezantay4560]

Hola te saludos desde Perú, me gustaría comprar uno de esos. Buen vídeo

[@NorthernBrewerTV]

¡Muchos gracias! El padre del grano es asombroso. Muy fácil de preparar.

[@joegugliotta8988]

Excellent video can I get one of those grainfathers for free 😂

[@globalscott5864]

My G40 crapped out over a week ago on my 6th brew... GF are assessing my broken unit by osmosis and refuse to replace it under warranty... buyer beware.

[@mittelfruh]

I see you've reported this issue in various channels of KZbin. Have you got it resolved yet? I ask because I'm still contemplating getting the G40. Thanks