New Blichmann Top Tier Sculpture.

[Quin]

What do you guys think?

Looks huge. I doubt I could fit it under my brew shed.

[Lars]

It's essentially the same as the BrewTree from years ago. The site is still there, but I think they went tits-up for poor customer service. This link purports to be a DIY guide to building something similar: http://www.brewtree.com/page/page/3484770.htm

I'm not too sure it was their customer service. One of my friends has one of the BrewTrees... It was built out of the cheapest stuff you can find at homerdepot, and not put together too well either. The mash tun is held in place with weldless fittings!!! On the other hand, he has made some kick ass beers on it.

You are right about the price point. Again, I think if they made it available as a kit without the kettles or burners for $500 or less, then it would be an ok deal for those who don't want to build their own and can't afford to buy a fully prebuilt sculpture.

[SacoDeToro]

I will say that Blichmann Fermenators are top-notch though. I looked at the B3 and Blichmann models in person before my purchases and the decision was easy for me. At a price of $515 for each 14.5 gallon Fermenator shipped to my door, I thought that was a very reasonable price.

[TapItGood]

This sculpture gives you a good idea how to build a verticle sculpture without having to weld.

[Charlie]

I have the Boilermakers and love the sightglass. Useful for collecting a certain boil volume as well as monitoring boil-off rate.

I've got one. It's about to get replaced with a Polarware and promoted to mash tun.

I don't find the sight glass to be very useful during the boil because the level is always jumping around, and the dang markings were so inaccurate I overshot the volume the first time I used it (too trusting, I know). I hope it makes a good mash tun.

Charlie

[andy77]

http://www.blichmannengineering.com/brew_stand/brewstand_modular.html

Looks like they added some upgrades. Burners that adjust to the size of the pot and hard piped gas.

Also this from the interwebs: " And at a price LOWER than out competitors! We have priced the TopTier stand to be hundreds less than the B3 “Sculptures” stainless models (similarly equipped with BoilerMaker pots). And just a bit higher than their plain steel painted stands!"



Edited to fix image.

[andy77]

Holy shit, that's a big photo.

Edit: Smart ass comment no longer relevant after I fixed the image.

[TimmyR]

Just to drop my 2 cents, I am NOT handy and my time is critical with two kids and the AF keeping my away from home a lot. I see the Blichmann Brew Stand as a reasonable "luxury" for a guy like me who does not have the time nor skill to build a similar stand. I am happy to have time to brew and ANYTHING that saves time is awesome to me...kegging was a life saver as was the upgrade to 10 gallon batches. I priced it out a less than $1K which is pretty good considering I already have 3 MB HD Pots (2-15 gal, 1-26 gal) and a Polarware 10-gal. Also, I looked into a MB sculpture without pots and was led to believe that it is not an option. I also like the the fact that the bolt-on burners can me configured as desired...since I will not likely live in my current house for as long as I brew....and am not sure EXACTLY how I would want to configure it. Of course, I can live with my burners (3-Camp Chefs) stacked on my work bench and a single March pump.

Can I ask has anyone been hands-on with the Blichmann stand? Just curious how the pictures and criticism matches up to the actual product.