I wasn't kidding when I said this thing had a krausen.
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Brewometer kickstarter thoughts - digital bluetooth hydrometer
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Yeah, iOS. Yes, closed the app by swiping it away.
Seems to be able to get a reading from about 15' away with my setup. It's in a Speidel fermenter that is inside a chest freezer. That's in my detached garage, with the garage door closed. That means I can get a reading from my laundry room, so I don't even have to step outside! 
Shame about closing the app loses your calibration settings, but hopefully they can fix that with an app update.
I'll probably go ahead and order another one for my second fermentation chamber.
Shame about closing the app loses your calibration settings, but hopefully they can fix that with an app update.
I'll probably go ahead and order another one for my second fermentation chamber.
Agreed.
Well, the Brewometer keeps going. 24 hours later down to 1026. Yeah, it's a beast this yeast.
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Well, the Brewometer keeps going. 24 hours later down to 1026. Yeah, it's a beast this yeast.
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Hmm, not sure I agree with that. As the developer of an app, I think it's a reasonable expectation that your user will close the app at some point. When they do, it should not erase critical data necessary to make the app function properly/accurately. I emailed the contact email address and let them know. I'll post back here when I hear back.
Either way, now that I know about it, I can avoid it going forward, and I'll be ordering another one for my second fermenter.
Did anyone else notice that it looks like you can enter multiple calibrations? Any idea what happens when you do? I couldn't find anything on their website about it.
Either way, now that I know about it, I can avoid it going forward, and I'll be ordering another one for my second fermenter.
Did anyone else notice that it looks like you can enter multiple calibrations? Any idea what happens when you do? I couldn't find anything on their website about it.
You weren't kidding. That is some serious krausen! I've never had that happen in a Speidel before!
Couldn't resist and just went ahead and ordered the second one - a green one this time.
Has anyone tried using two different devices to access the device?
I have an old iPad that I could hook up and leave full time in the garage, which would enable the cloud upload functionality, which is cool, but I'd still like to check on my phone without having to go outside too.
(Although I guess I could just check the Google spreadsheet from my laptop or phone and see the SG and temp within the last 15 minutes too)
Has anyone tried using two different devices to access the device?
I have an old iPad that I could hook up and leave full time in the garage, which would enable the cloud upload functionality, which is cool, but I'd still like to check on my phone without having to go outside too.
(Although I guess I could just check the Google spreadsheet from my laptop or phone and see the SG and temp within the last 15 minutes too)
Force quitting the app is something that is usually only done when an app crashes. You get no warning from the system that you are being closed down, and your memory space is instantly gone so you have no chance to recover anything which may have been lost. It's an exceptional action which you shouldn't be invoking unless an app crashes, the thing you are supposed to do is press the home button, as there is absolutely no reason to do anything else if you just want the app to go away
hockeyrounds
Active Member
Discounts for HBT members would be nice. hint hint 
All well and good - except for the basic premise that calibration data should be saved in non-volatile space.
The device should have enough on-board eeprom for this function.
Or at the very least, write a fricken' file somewhere fer chrissakes...
Cheers!
I can't get the spreadsheet thingy to work
I would agree the calibration should stored be in the device. This would allow it to show on whatever device it connects to.
Discounts for HBT members would be nice. hint hint
This. So long as you use the app correctly it seems like an awesome tool
I like discounts.
Saying that closing the app is using the app incorrectly is BS - it's a Steve Jobs answer. It's a UI function being leveraged and that's just what a lot of people do. When you write configuration data and then several minutes later you close the app (or even crash it), the data should still persist. Sure if the app crashes DURING the write I can see it, but not several minutes or even moments after. As an application developer, your job is to make sure important data is not lost.
Now what we don't know is if the data is actually lost, or if it's a bug and it just says it's uncalibrated when actually it is. That's possible too. I say we put away the pitchforks (on both sides) and wait to see what the reply is.
Yeah, agree we should just wait and see what the developer says. Didn't come here to argue app UI functionality, I do that all day at work anyway
Either way, it's a "known limitation" at this point, so we all know how to interact with the app as it currently functions. Just be sure to write down any calibration changes you make in case the app actually crashes.
FWIW - it definitely appears to have lost the settings I entered, not just failed to report that it was actually calibrated. When I dropped it in the wort it registered .003 lower than the readings I'd just taken with a hydrometer and digital refractometer, which was the same offset from when I calibrated it that morning.
Also, doesn't appear to be any problems accessing it from two devices. Both my iPhone and iPad can access it no problem. Just have to enter the calibration settings on both.
Either way, it's a "known limitation" at this point, so we all know how to interact with the app as it currently functions. Just be sure to write down any calibration changes you make in case the app actually crashes.
FWIW - it definitely appears to have lost the settings I entered, not just failed to report that it was actually calibrated. When I dropped it in the wort it registered .003 lower than the readings I'd just taken with a hydrometer and digital refractometer, which was the same offset from when I calibrated it that morning.
Also, doesn't appear to be any problems accessing it from two devices. Both my iPhone and iPad can access it no problem. Just have to enter the calibration settings on both.
Hopefully they can address it, it should be simple enough but it seems like they're still hovering around minimum viable product stage, so it's designed around typical use scenarios, not abuse scenarios.
Maybe they could consider a discount for multiple purchases? For the price I could easily see myself picking up two for the times when my pipeline is full.
Maybe they could consider a discount for multiple purchases? For the price I could easily see myself picking up two for the times when my pipeline is full.
Haha, oh no, now we're talking about MVP stage. I wonder how many more user stories they have left to complete in their backlog?
Either way, I still think it's a great little product as it stands now, and would encourage others to try it out.
I just setup the logging to the cloud thing on an old iPad that I don't really use, and it seems to be working great. You just have to make sure it's set to never power off/sleep/lock the screen, but once you take care of that it just works.
Someone mentioned they'd like to see it integrated into the brewometer site, but honestly I like it better in Google sheets. Definitely more reliable there.
Either way, I still think it's a great little product as it stands now, and would encourage others to try it out.
I just setup the logging to the cloud thing on an old iPad that I don't really use, and it seems to be working great. You just have to make sure it's set to never power off/sleep/lock the screen, but once you take care of that it just works.
Someone mentioned they'd like to see it integrated into the brewometer site, but honestly I like it better in Google sheets. Definitely more reliable there.
Dropped mine into a batch of Best Bitter about an hour or so ago. Gravity was off by a point compared to my hydrometer and refractometer so I'm happy. Calibrated it to match and we'll see how things go. Temp was off by a couple of degrees to start with, but after settling down, it seemed to close in on the actual temp, so I just left it as is.
Oh, yeah... Mine is sitting in a SS Brewtech conical inside a standup freezer. No issues picking up the signal as long as I'm within a couple of feet of the freezer. That's fine for me... I hope they open up an API down the line - then it may become easy enough to rig something up to get it connected to the home network so you can monitor anywhere without relying on Google.
Oh, yeah... Mine is sitting in a SS Brewtech conical inside a standup freezer. No issues picking up the signal as long as I'm within a couple of feet of the freezer. That's fine for me... I hope they open up an API down the line - then it may become easy enough to rig something up to get it connected to the home network so you can monitor anywhere without relying on Google.
Just heard back from one of the developers. They said thanks for letting them know, and they are actually testing a fix today. If it goes as planned, they say it should be pushed out in a day or two.
I'm just following along with this thread and do not have one yet. I would think that it is better to calibrate the device with distilled water. I checked their site and did not find anything about a recommended way to calibrate. I would think trying to calibrate it to wort compared to a hydrometer and refractometer would introduce some error.
I made a copy and paste error on the URL, now it works.
I did calibrate in RO water against the hydrometer but you can add many calibration points so I added one for my actual wort as well.
I think it's funny that people are talking discounts. Maybe you don't have experience with novel product launches. If you have a first-in-class product and you just bring it to market, you don't make price discretions. Maybe a volume incentive, but nothing else. Price elasticity has not yet been determined and is really not important yet. You are just trying to take orders, build quality product, and get it out the door.
I certainly would not expect a discount, but if the folks want to give one I'll happily accept it. That's a "their issue" not a "my issue." Would it change whether I buy one? Probably not. it might change when I buy it but not much else.
Good to hear they are addressing the calibration ... let's call it a bug now I guess. Otherwise I would guess it would be difficult to use more than one receiving device with the same Brewometer.
Good to hear they are addressing the calibration ... let's call it a bug now I guess. Otherwise I would guess it would be difficult to use more than one receiving device with the same Brewometer.
Totally loving my Brewometer right now. (By the way, is everyone else saying Brewometer or BrewOMeter? I'm not entirely sure from their logo design which it is).
Been logging to the cloud for about 24 hours now. Love being able to add a note and log a point to the cloud. I used it once yesterday at the 24 hour post-brew point to log a pH reading, and again this morning at the 36 hour point to log another pH reading and note that I kicked in the cooling to get it down to yeast pitching temp. Now I'm just sitting here on my commute to work (no I'm not driving) watching it drop about a degree every 15 minutes
Been logging to the cloud for about 24 hours now. Love being able to add a note and log a point to the cloud. I used it once yesterday at the 24 hour post-brew point to log a pH reading, and again this morning at the 36 hour point to log another pH reading and note that I kicked in the cooling to get it down to yeast pitching temp. Now I'm just sitting here on my commute to work (no I'm not driving) watching it drop about a degree every 15 minutes
Maybe there is incentive to drive order volume to drop unit cost for the first production run or two? Maybe there is something to be gained by forging a relationship with a community and end users? There are multiple ways to handle doing business, and different and equally valid choices to be made.
They are also arguably a second entrant alongside the beer bug folks.
You have no idea what the price elasticity is. If you charged 150, would less people buy it? Enough to offset the incremental per unit revenue? And what is a price drop? There is no reference point. I suppose they could have said 150, but 120 for "new adopters" - would that be a discount? Also, regarding relationships, this will happen regardless of the price.
Anyway, just fodder for the sake of discussion, but if I were them, my price would be fixed for some time. Of course, I realize I shouldn't say that and hope they do drop the price! I would *love* a $99 price point and I think many more people would justify the expense given the mental sub-hundo hurdle.
Anyway, the beer bug may be out of business when this gains traction. This solved the problem a better way in my opinion. On the other hand, this could help validate the market and increase awareness for electronic fermentation measurement, which may help both companies. Anyway, I honestly see this being a device, especially when knock-offs become available, that you don't brew without.
My wheat is down to 1.013! Brewed this thing 2.5 days ago - wow! Raised the temp a bit to help finish and cleanup. Knowing the SG in real time is too damn cool. I will probably need to bite the bullet and get one or two more.
Nobody knows the price elasticity though so your point is moot. It never hurts to communicate with a business, after all they don't have to do anything but it's always affirmative if someone responds.
I'd like them to offer a nominal discount on quantity myself. I'd be instantly sold on a two-pack for instance, but it's a balance of money now vs money later for the vendor for sure.
It seems like a great product and looks like it solves a problem very well, and nixes my plans to install sampling ports on my conicals.
I'd like them to offer a nominal discount on quantity myself. I'd be instantly sold on a two-pack for instance, but it's a balance of money now vs money later for the vendor for sure.
It seems like a great product and looks like it solves a problem very well, and nixes my plans to install sampling ports on my conicals.
schaez
Well-Known Member
I probably would have bought two if there was a 2 pack discount. I asked if they were planning anything and they responded promptly that they didn't. I have no issues with that stance and think the per unit price is set in a pretty good place. I ordered one yesterday after seeing some of the initial feedback here.
yeastylad
Well-Known Member
I got mine a few weeks back, right in time for a brew day. I struggled to get it working initially and had to reinstall the app to get it working.
All seemed good at first, but after a day or so in the fermenter, the temperature was off by quite a bit, so I could no longer rely on my readings. I was fermenting at a tightly controlled 68F, but the unit want reading that.
I spoke to the folks at Brewometer, and Marcus shipped my a new unit to test immediately. Nice service. This unit seemed better, but still not bang on accurate. I'm convinced it's the app that needs to be fixed to though - there is currently a known issue with manual calibrations not being retained in the phone or tablet your are reading with. Marcus tells me this should be fixed within the next day or so.
Although mine hasn't worked well so far, i have faith in these guys to fix the bugs and have it working well soon. The 2 readings here are for my original red unit, and the Orange one they shipped me after. Big differences, as they were both floating around in the same beer...
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All seemed good at first, but after a day or so in the fermenter, the temperature was off by quite a bit, so I could no longer rely on my readings. I was fermenting at a tightly controlled 68F, but the unit want reading that.
I spoke to the folks at Brewometer, and Marcus shipped my a new unit to test immediately. Nice service. This unit seemed better, but still not bang on accurate. I'm convinced it's the app that needs to be fixed to though - there is currently a known issue with manual calibrations not being retained in the phone or tablet your are reading with. Marcus tells me this should be fixed within the next day or so.
Although mine hasn't worked well so far, i have faith in these guys to fix the bugs and have it working well soon. The 2 readings here are for my original red unit, and the Orange one they shipped me after. Big differences, as they were both floating around in the same beer...
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BeardedBrews
Well-Known Member
You know what would be crazy cool? API integration between the app and Brewer's Friend.
Even if it didn't have a dedicated device at your fermentor, you could open the app, get the reading, and then click "Post Sample to Brewer's Friend". I guess you'd have to also be able to select the brew session, but still, would be awesome.
My first one is arriving in the mail today and hopefully by the time I need to buy a second one, they'll have some sort of discounted price.
Brewer's Friend integration would be pretty cool, but again, I really like the way it is integrated with Google sheets right now. Once the data is there you can then do anything you would like with it. Google is not going to lose any of your data and the downtime there should be virtually zero, so if you ever experience any problems, the issue is likely not with the receiving side.
Like I said, I've been logging data to the cloud since yesterday afternoon, and while I was at work today I noticed something really strange. This morning at 5 am my fermenter was sitting at about 80F. I plugged in the fermentation chamber and set the temp for 58F, the pitching temp for the Kolsch yeast I'm going to pitch. I watched with every 15 minute data point as it went down 80>79>77> and so on until it finally hit 58. Then the next reading jumped up to 61, and it continued climbing to 69. Then it went down slightly to 67 and stayed there for 11 consecutive readings, before it jumped down to 64 and lowered back down to 58 again.
So now the question is, did my fermentation chamber go bonkers and decide to heat things up for no good reason, or did the thermometer on the Brewometer go crazy like yeastylad described? Unfortunately no one was around to go look at the actual temp, so I might never know.
Like I said, I've been logging data to the cloud since yesterday afternoon, and while I was at work today I noticed something really strange. This morning at 5 am my fermenter was sitting at about 80F. I plugged in the fermentation chamber and set the temp for 58F, the pitching temp for the Kolsch yeast I'm going to pitch. I watched with every 15 minute data point as it went down 80>79>77> and so on until it finally hit 58. Then the next reading jumped up to 61, and it continued climbing to 69. Then it went down slightly to 67 and stayed there for 11 consecutive readings, before it jumped down to 64 and lowered back down to 58 again.
So now the question is, did my fermentation chamber go bonkers and decide to heat things up for no good reason, or did the thermometer on the Brewometer go crazy like yeastylad described? Unfortunately no one was around to go look at the actual temp, so I might never know.
Just pulled the trigger on a Brewometer -- thanks to everyone for their feedback so far. I also got a pair of Tessel 2 devices a few weeks ago. Originally, I was planning on writing code for the Tessel to have it drive an SSR to control my fermentation chamber fridge, much like this project:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgU3McOF-l8[/ame]
Now I'm thinking I can pair the Tessel to the Brewometer and have a unit that could control the fermentation schedule based on both temperature AND SG. How cool would that be?
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgU3McOF-l8[/ame]
Now I'm thinking I can pair the Tessel to the Brewometer and have a unit that could control the fermentation schedule based on both temperature AND SG. How cool would that be?
OP
OP
boat_eggs
Well-Known Member
anyone who is pining for a discount: you had your shot with the kickstarter. paid over $90 extra for a pair since the campaign didnt make it
pepindavid
Well-Known Member
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Received mine yesterday! Will brew tonight, and report back.
I did a test overnight (i'm also testing my fermentation temperature control setup for the first time).
The Google Sheets work like a charm. The temperature readings also seem fine. But the gravity seems odd: I tested with tap water, and the gravity went from 0.994 to 1.008 overnight, with fluctuations, with most readings being between 1.000 and 1.006.
I did a test overnight (i'm also testing my fermentation temperature control setup for the first time).
The Google Sheets work like a charm. The temperature readings also seem fine. But the gravity seems odd: I tested with tap water, and the gravity went from 0.994 to 1.008 overnight, with fluctuations, with most readings being between 1.000 and 1.006.
Dropped mine into one of my tanks that's going through secondary right now. I am very impressed so far with the little I was able to play with it last night. One thing that surprised the hell out of me was the range. I was expecting maybe 3-5' feet, but was able to get up to 15' feet away - in a SS BrewBucket (stainless), through a 1/2" solid wood door and drywall! Now to start budgeting for another one... 
HLSheppard
Well-Known Member
I ordered mine just based on this thread. Love me some new toys!!
