5 Home Brewing Innovations That Will Change The Way You Make Beer

[NobleNewt]

Hey folks!

Thanks for your help compiling information for this post: 5 Home Brewing Innovations That Will Change The Way You Make Beer!

I know I missed some things, but I'll do a "Part II" soon! The PicoBrew and several others are definitely worth mentioning. Let me know what other gear I can put in the next post. Please subscribe or like on social media

Seth

 

[dstranger99]

I like that Big Mouth Bubbler overall, will have to invest in one of those soon...

 

[Spartan1979]

To me, the biggest innovation is FermCap.

I started brewing in 1991 and stopped about 2000. I really wasn't enjoying my brew days. When I started back up about 5 years ago, I found FermCap. It allows me to walk away from my kettle and get other things done. By the time I put the wort in the fermenter, all I need to clean is the kettle and the chiller. I've done other things to improve my process, but FermCap is the biggest thing. I now look forward to my brew days.

 

[NobleNewt]

I like that Big Mouth Bubbler overall, will have to invest in one of those soon...

Yeah! Those are money. I'm still a bucket kind of guy, but those are groovy!

 

[OneFeather]

My vote would be the internet.

Without access to this knowledge base I would have to be trying to learn it all by experimentation.

 

[NobleNewt]

My vote would be the internet.

Without access to this knowledge base I would have to be trying to learn it all by experimentation.

But isn't that part of the serendipity of home brewing?

I agree with you though. The resources on the internet make any home craft easier and the learning curve more manageable: everything from home brewing to coffee roasting!

 

[jcp]

Yeah, while some of these are kind of neat, they really don't seem like *innovations*. At best, they seem like "slightly more convenience for a great deal more money".

We all already store our bottles in crates, which are perfectly stable. Buckets are plenty cheap and effective (maybe not for long term storage where oxygen permeability is an issue, granted). There are tons of cheap and reasonably-efficient propane burners on the market. The only product, here, that might be considered "innovative" is the zip-up insulation for a fermenter, and even that's just trading time to DIY for money.

 

[ImNoExpert]

Vinator, starsan and bottling rack. Bottled for years without them. What was I thinking?!!/1 Now I keg, but I like to bottle some of my agers.

 

[NobleNewt]

Yeah, while some of these are kind of neat, they really don't seem like *innovations*. At best, they seem like "slightly more convenience for a great deal more money".

We all already store our bottles in crates, which are perfectly stable. Buckets are plenty cheap and effective (maybe not for long term storage where oxygen permeability is an issue, granted). There are tons of cheap and reasonably-efficient propane burners on the market. The only product, here, that might be considered "innovative" is the zip-up insulation for a fermenter, and even that's just trading time to DIY for money.

I don't disagree with you at all; however, the fact that these products hit the marketplace because of a previously unmet need is innovative. Some of the products themselves? Not so much.. Perhaps capitalism would have been a better theme for the blog post.

DIY, in my opinion, is the essence of homebrewing. I like to look at all of these things from the business standpoint as well. Could you have made a Cool Brewing gadget or something just as effective? Yes. The fact that they took a problem that plagues homebrewers in warmer climates and gave them a simple, cost-efficient, and time-saving solution is pretty creative.

I just like that these businesses said, "Hey, no one is making that and no one is doing it, so we will." And we, as consumers, say, "Damn, that was easy.. Why didn't I think of it?"

 

[evrose]

I swear the entire Internet is becoming one big wasteland for articles titled "5 ways the Internet is reaching for content and creating link-bait."

Sorry, but that was meh.

 

[NobleNewt]

I swear the entire Internet is becoming one big wasteland for articles titled "5 ways the Internet is reaching for content and creating link-bait."

Sorry, but that was meh.

Yeah, the X (ways to, things to, etc) is content marketing 101.

If it makes you feel any better, I didn't try to sell you anything..... Except for a weekly blog email :-D

 

[bja]

I didn't try to sell you anything..... Except for a weekly blog email :-D

Do you accept bit coins?

 

[NobleNewt]

Do you accept bit coins?

Is it digital? Yes.

 

[nickmv]

I have to disagree about this point on the Dark Star Burner:

Regardless of where the burner is made or of what quality it is made, Northern Brewer did a great job of pushing this product to the price sensitive all-grain brewers, and it’s a reasonable alternative to the more expensive Blichmann and Edelmetall products.

Most All-Grain brewers are not going to be looking at this burner. Matter of fact, from what I can tell, this burner isn't being marketed to all-grain brewers. It appears to be targeted towards beginners of brewing. I doubt you're going to see many AG'ers out there using one of these, especially given the fact that the burner has issues with holding more than 10 gallons of water (they literally collapse).

 

[bja]

I have to disagree about this point on the Dark Star Burner:



Most All-Grain brewers are not going to be looking at this burner. Matter of fact, from what I can tell, this burner isn't being marketed to all-grain brewers. It appears to be targeted towards beginners of brewing. I doubt you're going to see many AG'ers out there using one of these, especially given the fact that the burner has issues with holding more than 10 gallons of water (they literally collapse).

Do you have a link to this? They appear to be more than sturdy enough to hold 10 gallon.

 

[nickmv]

Do you have a link to this? They appear to be more than sturdy enough to hold 10 gallon.

I'll see if I can find it sometime today (I'm at work now). Seems like I saw a thread where a guy's DSB got severely bent and he had like 12-13 gals in it. It's been a while since I've seen it though. I guess that wasn't really my main point anyways --- it's that the DSB is typically not the burner you're going to see AG brewers using.

I'll try to get back to you later today with that link.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I really like my fast rack. I don't use many bottles anymore since I keg, but it solves 2 problems for me. 1. The obvious its great for bottle sanitizing. 2 it also works for bottle storage. I just put my empties in it after I rinse them out, where they can drip dry, and are out of my way and ready to be sanitized when needed.

 

[NobleNewt]

I have to disagree about this point on the Dark Star Burner:



Most All-Grain brewers are not going to be looking at this burner. Matter of fact, from what I can tell, this burner isn't being marketed to all-grain brewers. It appears to be targeted towards beginners of brewing. I doubt you're going to see many AG'ers out there using one of these, especially given the fact that the burner has issues with holding more than 10 gallons of water (they literally collapse).

You make a good point, Nick. I thought I read somewhere that they were pushing it that direction (website or catalog), but the only thing NB says is it allows you to do full-boil brews.

They do claim; however, that it'll support up to 10 gallons.. Take that for what it's worth.

Thanks for your feedback, though. I'm trying to improve the quality of my site and make it a credible place for information. ;-)