Grainfather Guide: G30 vs G40, Accessories & Is It Worth It?
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The Grainfather is one of the most popular all-in-one brewing systems for home brewers who want to move to all-grain. It mashes, boils and chills in a single unit, with an app that guides you through every step. This guide explains how it works, compares the G30 and G40, and covers the accessories and grain kits worth adding.
What Is the Grainfather?
A traditional all-grain setup needs a mash tun, a kettle and a separate chiller. The Grainfather combines them: an electric stainless steel vessel with a removable grain basket, a pump to recirculate the wort, and a counterflow chiller to cool it straight into your fermenter. The Grainfather App holds recipes and walks you through temperatures and timings, controlling the unit from your phone.
If you're new to all-grain, see all-grain vs extract brewing and What Is a Mash Tun?
A Grainfather Brew Day
- Heat the water to mash temperature, following your recipe in the app.
- Mash: add your crushed grain to the basket. The pump recirculates the wort through the grain bed to keep temperature even and extract the sugars.
- Sparge: lift the basket and rinse the grain with hot water to collect the remaining sugar. A sparge water heater has this ready and waiting.
- Boil and add your hops at the times the recipe gives.
- Chill: pump the hot wort through the counterflow chiller straight into your sanitised fermenter.
- Clean: rinse and clean with Grainfather High Performance Cleaner, which is formulated for the system and safe on both the stainless steel and the copper chiller.
G30 vs G40: Which Should You Buy?
| G30v3 | G40 | |
|---|---|---|
| Batch size | 10–25L (up to around 40 pints) | 10–40L |
| Capacity | 30L pre-boil | 46L |
| Grain bill | 1.5–8kg (9kg with top plate) | 3–13kg |
| Power | 2000W | 2900W |
| Control | Bluetooth (Wi-Fi with GCAST) | Built-in wireless smart controller |
| Extras | Perforated basket, magnetic drive pump | Conical base, clean-in-place, sight glass, PID heating control |
| Weight | 14.6kg | 29kg |
| Warranty | 3 years | 3 years |
Choose the G30 if…
- You want standard 23 litre (40 pint) batches, the same size as most beer kits
- You're moving to all-grain for the first time
- Space and budget matter: it's lighter, smaller and much cheaper
Buy the G30v3 with Counterflow Chiller, or the G30v3 without chiller if you already have a way to cool your wort.
Choose the G40 if…
- You want bigger batches, up to 40 litres, or to brew two fermenters' worth at once
- You brew strong beers with big grain bills
- You want built-in wireless control and clean-in-place
See the Grainfather G40.
Grainfather All-Grain Kits
Grainfather grain kits contain pre-measured grain, hops, yeast, finings and instructions, and load straight into the app. Each makes 20 litres: one kit for a G30, two for a G40.
- Clean Cut Pilsner – crisp and bready, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops
- Town Crier Best Bitter – copper, caramel and toast, with EKG and Fuggles
- Blackened Stout – coffee, dark chocolate and roast
- Evergreen Pale Ale – citrus-bright with Cascade
- Bay Break West Coast – punchy citrus and pine with Centennial and Simcoe
- Orion Haze Hazy Pale Ale – juicy tropical fruit with Amarillo and Citra
Prefer to design your own? Build a recipe from our crushed malts and hops using the malt selector and hops selector.
Accessories Worth Adding
Milling your own grain
The Grainfather Electric Grain Mill + Mounting Board lets you buy grain in bulk and crush it fresh on brew day, with 10 gap settings from 0.8mm to 2mm.
Sparge water heaters
Heat and hold sparge water while you mash: the 18L suits the G30, the 25L suits the G30 or G40, and the 40L is for bigger systems.
Fermenters and temperature control
- GF30 Conical Fermenter – 30L conical with heating, wireless controller and a dual valve for dumping yeast, sampling and transferring. The Basic Cooling Edition adds the cooling pump kit.
- SF50 Conical Fermenter – 50L stainless conical on castors, holding up to 45L.
- Glycol chillers for precise cooling and cold crashing: GC2 with glycol and connection kit (two fermenters), GC4 with glycol (up to four) and the GCA adapter to connect most other fermenters.
Upgrades and spares
G30 Rolled Plates, G30v3 Perforated Basket (an upgrade for older G30s), Micro Pipework for 10L batches on older G30s, plus replacement pumps, seals and chillers.
Can You Distil With a Grainfather?
Yes, with the right attachments. The G30v3 is compatible with the Still Spirits Alembic Dome and Condenser, and the G40 works with the T500 Alembic Attachment Kit + Condenser (distilling lid sold separately). See our copper still guide. In the UK, distilling spirits requires a licence from HMRC, so check the rules before you start.
Is the Grainfather Worth It?
If you enjoy brewing and want full control over your recipes, yes: it makes all-grain brewing repeatable and far less messy than a multi-vessel setup. If you just want to try all-grain first, start cheaply with a 5 litre batch on your kitchen hob (see How to Make Beer on Your Hob) and upgrade once you're hooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between the Grainfather G30 and G40?
The G30 brews batches of 10–25 litres with Bluetooth control. The G40 brews 10–40 litres, takes up to 13kg of grain and has built-in wireless control, clean-in-place and a conical base.
How much beer does a Grainfather G30 make?
Up to 25 litres per batch, around 40 pints.
What else do I need with a Grainfather?
Crushed grain (or a grain kit), hops, yeast, a fermenter, a hydrometer, cleaning and sanitising products, and bottles or kegs. A sparge water heater and grain mill are useful extras.
Do I need the counterflow chiller?
It's the easiest way to cool wort quickly and hygienically. Buy the G30 without chiller only if you already have another cooling method.
Can I use the Grainfather for distilling?
Yes, with an alembic dome and condenser attachment. Distilling spirits in the UK requires an HMRC licence.