Sabco Brew Magic V350MS System

Anyone use one? Worth the money? What’s it like to clean/sanitize?

I don’t have one. I know one guy who does. He likes it.

It is convenient and well-made, but at a premium price.
Don’t expect it to pay back for a long, long time.
The size seems limiting if you aspire to becoming a commercial nanobrewer.
It won’t fix your process problems because it really isn’t magic, but it will make the process easier.

There are better options if you want to build your own system. Blichmann has a new system that is single tier, no sparge that is killer and much cheaper...

How difficult is the cleaning/sanitation on one of these units?

I find the cleaning/sanitation to be very easy. All of the components and lines are attached with sanitary tri clamps and are easy to disassemble. We routinely just start at the hot liquor tank and then run sanitizer followed by a rinse there the whole system. That process usually takes about 20 minutes.

Thanks for the information, guys. I’m speaking to the wife about taking the plunge. The Blichmann is intriguing. I’ll have to give them a call for a consultation.

I have a system that is somewhat similar to the Sabcom, but it was constructed over the years. (Three keggles, two burners, pump, plate chiller, etc.) My cost was under $750, but I don’t have the electronic "time to turn on the burner" reminders. Part of the low cost comes from being cheap and opportunistic. I grabbed bargains over the years where I could.

To clean it, back-flush starting at the plate chiller, then I heat water in the boil kettle, add PBW, and do a CIP (Clean In Place) cycle for about 15 minutes. Everything but the HLT gets this treatment. I do a five minute CIP cycle just before brewing. With two burners, I can heat my strike water on one, and by cleaning water on the other. The cleaning water comes up to temp much quicker due to the low volume.

I’m going to my local brew supply store (never been there yet, just moved here not long ago) to discuss piecing something together.