Customer Reviews

quality Review by Amnestic

Rating

I do not review often, however, I feel as though I should review this product as I Love it so. To start...the assembly took longer than I thought. With that being said, I did enjoy the process as I felt it drew me closer to the piece of equipment that I will use often and may need to trouble shoot during a brew session. I casually assembled it over two days taking my time and making sure everything was precise. I did not know what to expect with the assemble of this item but it was fairly simple, straight forward instruction and at every turn I was impressed with the quality of material. I like the fact that this can be set up as a gravity system as I have done and am sure that Sir Isaac Newton would have done right?????FREE energy. I had to go buy a few pieces of gas plumbing but seriously that is not a big deal and if the plumbing came with this system it would be all F'ed up because this is the beauty of the Blichmann.....it is a custon system. Literally nobodies system will look quite the same. Is that not cool. Custom brewery. No big deal going to home depot for a few pieces of custom length pipe that cost me a few bucks and allowed me to do whatever to the height's of my brew tiers. I got all the bells and whistles as in the shelf and the therminator and pump brackets and they work great. Very nice all together. If I could change a few things about Blichmann it would not be with the top tier system. I would change the fact that he chose to go with threaded MPT hose barbs and adaptors instead of ALL tri clover. This should at least be an option on everything as it is with the Fermentor. Nice product. Good value. I am happy with it. Thanks. (Posted on 1/11/12)

Rock solid and happy with purchase Review by Tony

Rating

I ordered the Top Tier with 3 burners, therminator mounting bracket and march pump mounting bracket and have brewed one batch on it and I am completely satisfied with the purchase

Installation was fairly straight forward if you are somewhat handy already. It is certainly a solid piece of equipment. What took me the longest was assembly of the burners/brackets and figuring out how to arrange them, but it was from me thinking about things before acting and having to redo things.

The instructions require the use of a torque wrench which I had to purchase separately. Since your dealing with 10+ gallons of hot liquid I'd recommend using the torque wrench to ensure everything is tightened appropriately, but it will run you a few more dollars than a regular wrench, ~ $65.

Assembly of the base stand was an easy one person job along with assembly of the burners, however actually putting the burners on is a job I'd recommend having a extra set of hands help with.

The gas manifold was easy to assembly and I easily found the parts needed at home depot so I can't fault Blichmann for not including them since they were easy to get.

(Posted on 4/26/11)

Top Tier review Review by Roberto

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First of all, I can not see how anyone can give a review of this product if they have not purchased or used this product; so their opinion should not matter much. I personally own this system for about a year, and I have to say it's a great product. I have burners on all three levels because I do not want to lift any liquids. If you want a pump to recirulate or pump hot wort out to your carboy- then great. This is a beautifully built gravity system that will last the test of time. If you want a system with more bells and whistles so you can watch the system make beer for you then go buy that product. The only thing I could complain about is that even with wheels its awfully heavy to move around. (Posted on 12/13/10)

Instructional Video Review by azbrewer

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This is a great product, I was a bit hesitant to buy it at first, but I went for it and bought the 3 burner option. I was glad I bought it after my first brew, worth every penny.

I found a great video on how to build the stand here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmhubUMqmD4 (Posted on 12/8/10)

There are other Options Review by Chuckie

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I have brewed on this first hand... It is a nice quality system and offers a lot of custom options in regards to heights, shelves, burners, etc. However, it is pricy when all is added up... 3 burners, 15 gal HLT, 15 gal MT w/ false bottom, and 15 gal Brew Kettle, not to mention the numerous other componets needed to fulfill the "typical" brewery equipment. Nice peice, however, my money will probably go with the competitors who have all that included in 1 price with custom options... Keep up the good work though NB! (Posted on 12/8/10)

Top Tier is a well thought out and versatile system! Review by Matt

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Configuration: 3 burners, Shelf, March Pump Mount, Therminator Mount, Natural gas converted.

Stand assembly was easy. For the manifold, piping was a cinch. Pipes at Home Depot are threaded and with enough different lengths to mix and match for whatever your configuration. Manifold assembly was no more difficult than the rest of the stand. Easy to wheel out of the garage and over to the patio.

I brew 10 gallon batches. I can heat my strike & sparge water simultaneously, put a little heat on the mash if needed, and start heating up the wort once I’ve sparged a few gallons.

Utility Shelf is great to have to place little things (or a beer) in reach while brewing.

Overall, Top Tier is a well thought out and versatile system!
(Posted on 11/9/10)

One of my best home brewing purchases! Review by Richie

I have had my stand for about a week and love it!! This stand is so flexible with the modularity aspect. You can have all tiers low to the ground if you want and you certainly don't need a ladder and have to do anything above your head if you don't want to.

It is built like a tank and very well made which certainly justifies the high price tag. The burners are amazing; really powerful and almost silent.

The stand took about 6 hours for me to assemble, which included a quick trip to Lowes to pick up the 1/2" pipe for the gas manifold. I highly recommend a torque wrench (Sears sells one for about $25) and sockets. It makes putting together the components easy and prevents you from over or under tightening. Also you need a second person to help you put the burners onto the stand. I struggled by myself and did it, but woke up the next day with a bad back and strained muscles.
(Posted on 10/15/10)

Built like a tank Review by MRG Brewing

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Just received my top tier today (2 burners, one shelf). I must say I am very impressed with the build of this unit. Extremely durable materials used to proudce this massive erector set. Well worth the money. If you buy this, once you receive it you won't complain that it's expensive. It's a wonder the price is what it is for the quality of the piece. Those complaining about price don't own one.

Plan on 3 hours of leisure to assemble it the way you want it. Isn't this part of the reason you bought it in the first place?

Way cool.

Mike
MRG Brewing
NH (Posted on 6/26/10)

Straightforward assembly...if you follow all the tips! Review by Mike

Rating

I received my TopTier setup (tower, 2 burners, shelf) last Friday and assembled it over the weekend. It all went together easily. There are numerous places in the assembly instructions labeled Tips. These aren't Tips, as in optional, but required to make things go together smoothly. This is particularly true in the case of not tightening all the screws that hold the burner to the mounting arms. Leave them loose and the burner slides smoothly down the tier. Tighten them beforehand and the burner will not slide down. Read the instructions completely before starting, treat the Tips as required steps, and it will go smoothly.

Be sure to think about all the little details of your setup. I am using a rect cooler for my tun. I have a burner on the bottom (boil), shelf in middle (tun), burner on top (HLT). I first installed the boil burner on the left, tun shelf on the right. Then I realized that this put the cooler hinge on the outside, which would have resulted in an awkward position to add grain. I could have just turned the unit around but then the gas manifold would be facing away from me, making it a bit of a pain to walk around the stand to adjust burners. Thankfully, it's easy to disassemble and reconfigure, but wish I'd thought of it first.

The gas manifold was no problem. Local Lowe's had 1/2" pre-threaded cast iron pipe in multiple lengths. Big tip - tighten all gas fittings completely before mounting the pipe on the stand. It's hard to do after the manifold is already mounted.

OK, I'll stop except to say this product is really well built and sturdy. I can't comment on "value" except to say that it met my budget, I got it really fast (less than a week) and I've already benefited from the easy ability to reconfigured. (Posted on 5/18/10)

No Regrets Review by Russ82nd

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After much consideration I made the purchase of this top tier brewing stand. It was a bit pricey but well worth the $$. Prior to this stand I used step ladders (sometimes my tractor's bucket) and lifted the liquor tun filled with the hot water to the top of the step ladder.
Now no more lifting as I also added the March pump. I just wheel my stand out, set the Liquor tun, mash tun and boil kettle in place and pump what ever liduids that need moving.
I already had the Floor version of the top teir burner with the legs extenstion. So I stayed with that and did not put the burner on the stand. Once done with the boil I can pump the wort to the fermenator.

Russ@ gilbertbrothersbrewing (Posted on 5/2/10)