Brewie

[AlpacaBrew]

Brewie Team,

I would like to know when your engineers will be hitting the road to Taiwan? Not just soon or at the end of the month but some dates. Photos of the factory and the tooling process to ensure the machines are in fact being made would be nice. Have there been any changes to the machine since the release date is near? What is the Brewie's weakest point? Something has been holding back production.

 

[Anyhowe]

The amount of distrust in the brewie team is palpable.

 

[BrunDog]

Caveat emptor as the old saying goes. I think the problem was the unrealistic expectations they have given since the beginning. No way a machine of this complexity could be produced as quickly as initially quoted initially. Now it is just a matter of patience.

 

[NK3008]

Caveat emptor as the old saying goes. I think the problem was the unrealistic expectations they have given since the beginning. No way a machine of this complexity could be produced as quickly as initially quoted initially. Now it is just a matter of patience.

This is fairly typical for a startup. Over ambitious and under experienced in delivering hardware and associated software. Patience or requisition a refund for those who ordered is the only choice.

I submitted a few questions to them. Here they are:

What is their rate of production for the next 3 months. ie x per y days (1 every 2 days for example)?

When will they be at full production capacity?

What is their production rate at full capacity?

What back-up plans do you have in place to maintain a decent are of production?

I would assume that with 400 back-orderes and potentially another few thousand once they are at regular production they would need to produce between 5 and 10 per day. At 5 a day its going to be another 5 months before they hit the 400 back-orders.

I am interested to see their answers and hope they can stretch to 20 a day so I won't have to wait til next year

 

[tiputus]

Good one NK3008! My general question I sent is:

"Can we have some photos / videos of the factory? Would be nice to see that you really have production line as you've had my money for almost a year now. Little bit suspicious as you may have noticed!"

 

[NK3008]

Good one NK3008! My general question I sent is:

"Can we have some photos / videos of the factory? Would be nice to see that you really have production line as you've had my money for almost a year now. Little bit suspicious as you may have noticed!"

I professionally work with start-ups. Pretty sure they have taken advice and would only show limited production set-ups. Automation in this market can be very lucrative. Lets say they can scale this up to 50 or a 100 gallons. That would be perfect for any brew-pub or even any pub really. If they can further expand in fermentation and conditioning automation you can have an all in one from grain to glass.

If I were them I would keep that rather close to my heart. Just think about all the middleman pubs have to pay to get beer. Now they can take some of these profits without to much hassle. Have three of those in your pub and you can serve a nice choice and reduced price or increased profit.

Like I said I do this as a profession so I get where these guys are coming from. Some people asked about a live Q&A which I can understand. However do think about where they are based. Hungary so likely they are spending time on forums in Dutch, French, Hungarian, Polish, German and who knows what other languages. Collating and doing a video is going to save them a lot of time and helps them not to repeat the same things over. I think that is a great thing so they focus on production.

I do hope to order a few in 2016 but we'll see.

 

[Brewie_team]

Hello dear Beer Lovers,
Thanks for all the comments, we will collect and answer them in a video which we will share with you this week.
We do understand that it is even more difficult to wait when we are that close to the Mass Production but we need your patience and support these days as well. The reason why we chose to film a Q&A and not to stream a live session is that in this way we can ensure you all get an answer and we can also start a brewing program on the machine.
Hopefully you understand our points as well.

Have a nice day,
Brewie Team

 

[AlpacaBrew]

Super! Can't wait, Brewie in action:rockin::rockin:

 

[squared]

here is a video showing some other aspects of brewie with the CEO

The interviewer doesn't know about brewing but it has some good shots of the LCD display. machine does look pretty sexy


http://intotomorrow.com/fully-autom...twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

 

[AnotherSillyUsername]

Most important question, which should be answered now/in the next 3 days: has pilot production started yet?

As per the last info from brewie that was planned this month..

 

[fethdarman]

This is fairly typical for a startup. Over ambitious and under experienced in delivering hardware and associated software. Patience or requisition a refund for those who ordered is the only choice.


I am interested to see their answers and hope they can stretch to 20 a day so I won't have to wait til next year

If they do the assembly in the fab shop on location 100 units could be built easily in a medium small shop. I'm a retired machinist sheetmetal mechanic. I spent my life building prototypes, Mechanical electronic enclosures most of my career. Even if a shop with junky equipment they can pump out units if they have the craftsman. At NASA back in 1998 I was working on the international space station in the model shop. We had nothing fancy as far as equipment went but we had the know how.

 

[JamieP]

Most important question, which should be answered now/in the next 3 days: has pilot production started yet?

As per the last info from brewie that was planned this month..

Brewie just sent an email update that included a few pictures of pilot machines taken by the engineers in Taiwan. They report they are on track and have asked supporters to confirm shipping details.

They asked for shipping details once before, but cautiously optimistic...

 

[sniperd]

Brewie just sent an email update that included a few pictures of pilot machines taken by the engineers in Taiwan. They report they are on track and have asked supporters to confirm shipping details.

They asked for shipping details once before, but cautiously optimistic...

Got the same email. I'm honestly OK if it takes longer to make this thing right. If they told me straight up that it would be another 6 months, fine. As long as this thing isn't vaporware and the quality is there, I'm happy.

 

[Ethanfox]

Hey, Brewie Team, do you plan on shipping these things insured?

 

[AlpacaBrew]

Can you post the pics?

 

[AnotherSillyUsername]

Thanks for all the comments, we will collect and answer them in a video which we will share with you this week.
Brewie Team

The post from Monday. Today is Friday.
Where is the promised video?

 

[tiputus]

The post from Monday. Today is Friday.
Where is the promised video?

I asked about this yesterday at their fb-site. They said that Q&A is coming out today.

I also asked if Brewie is going to be delivered to customers directly from factory in Taiwan or via hub in Hungary. Doesn't make much difference for rest of the world, but for EU residents it's a big deal! Originally Brewie told that production is going to be in Hungary --> No VAT or custom fees for EU residents. As they decided that production is going to happen in Taiwan instead of Hungary and IF they're shipping machines directly from there, there will be VAT + custom fees for people receiving their machines inside EU. Brewie aswered me that they're going to have a meeting about this subject today and get back to me after that. We'll see what their answer is!

 

[IamBoz]

Brewie just posted the Q & A video on their facebook page. Toward the end they lay out the production and delivery schedule.

 

[Ethanfox]

Was glad to see they delivered, as promised (perhaps the first promise they've kept!). Photos look great too. It's actually quite a relief to see that it's being made in Taiwan vice China (politics aside).

Here's the photos AlpacaBrew asked for:

 

[AlpacaBrew]

Thanks for the pics. I have to say the machine looks great. Now we will have to see when they start delivering. I did not preorder and will be waiting to hear about the customs fees. If charged it will add another 20% to the price tag plus the cost of delivery.

 

[AnotherSillyUsername]

Fair enough, they delivered the video as promised. Thanks for that brewie!

As well it looks like production will indeed start. Finally some positive news.

So I will wait for the first reviews when they start shipping.
It would be a relieve discussing the actual machine instead of the company.

 

[Ethanfox]

A 20% VAT would be a HUGE discriminator. It's quite surprising that they're just now planning on having a meeting to decide how to ship the product. Shouldn't they have made these decisions before moving production to Taiwan? I'd be furious if the total cost increased 20%!

Being from the US, I hadn't even considered that. I'd actually prefer a drop shipment from the factory to reduce delivery time and potential for damage.

 

[fethdarman]

I have decided to bail out. I was ready to preorder. I think I'm going to order the Braumeister 20 L

Something just doesn't feel right about the Company. I know they are trying to get it all going and I do hope they do well.

 

[Bassman2003]

It is good to see an effort but it does fall a little short for me. I am sure there were a lot of questions sent and they only answered a few imho.

I sent a question about wort scorching and wheat beers and am disappointed it was not addressed. No big deal though.

I wish them luck.

 

[AlpacaBrew]

I am still on the wait and see. They think like the Europeans they are and PR means nothing here in Europe. I really need to see the final product and hands on evaluations. They could have had 1000 more pre-orders if they would have communicated more. Remember when you were 25! Ha ha ha Nobody could tell me different either.

 

[griffin1]

I am still on the wait and see. They think like the Europeans they are and PR means nothing here in Europe. I really need to see the final product and hands on evaluations. They could have had 1000 more pre-orders if they would have communicated more. Remember when you were 25! Ha ha ha Nobody could tell me different either.

I totally agree with you. I am very excited about the machine and I had several questions for the team. I went to their website and submitted my questions with zero response. Tried again, nothing. Posted on facebook, no response. Finally I got them to respond to a facebook messenger note. Still did not answer the main question that would make me preorder. Based on standard calculations, the 7 gallon tank capacity, the unit falls short of space with pretty standard beer bill grains. Does the machine use less water and still produce 5 gallons of wort?

I was ready to preorder and did not because of the lack of communication. I was a backer of motorcycle helmet from indiegogo and the company claimed bankruptcy, stop all production and left 99% of the backers 1800 bucks in the hole. Their communication and updates were sketchy. Unfortunately I get the same vibe with the brewie.

I will wait until they start shipping.

 

[BrunDog]

What was the helmet?

 

[griffin1]

Skully. Great idea but real bad ceo! Check out google. He used the company money in Vegas. Classy guy

 

[BrunDog]

Oh yeah... I remember hearing about the AR1. I didn't know it crashed & burned tho. Sorry!!

 

[BurntOrngeLonghorn84]

They say the heater element is 1800w, which would require a 110v 20a circuit. Seems like an odd choice, given how common 15a circuits are in the states...

 

[jrcrilly]

They say the heater element is 1800w, which would require a 110v 20a circuit. Seems like an odd choice, given how common 15a circuits are in the states...

US nominal voltage is 120VAC so a 15A circuit would manage it. If a particular service drop provides lower voltage, less power would be available to the element but current would always be less than 15A.

 

[BurntOrngeLonghorn84]

US nominal voltage is 120VAC so a 15A circuit would manage it. If a particular service drop provides lower voltage, less power would be available to the element but current would always be less than 15A.

I know the theoretical math proves out, maybe I'm just too much of a chicken to run a 15a at max continuously for 45-60 minutes. There's a reason most US appliances top out at 12.5 amps, or 1500 watts.

 

[jrcrilly]

I know the theoretical math proves out, maybe I'm just too much of a chicken to run a 15a at max continuously for 45-60 minutes. There's a reason most US appliances top out at 12.5 amps, or 1500 watts.

I agree that it would be bad practice to operate a nominal 15A load on a nominal 15A circuit. A dedicated GFCI 20A circuit would be the right way to do it.

 

[ccbadd]

US nominal voltage is 120VAC so a 15A circuit would manage it. If a particular service drop provides lower voltage, less power would be available to the element but current would always be less than 15A.

I thought most kitchen circuits were actually 20A anyway?

 

[sniperd]

I thought most kitchen circuits were actually 20A anyway?

What's the best way to see what your outlet is? If I just go look at my breaker box and see a '20' on the breaker that controls that outlet, is that enough?

 

[pointcity-homebrew]

What's the best way to see what your outlet is? If I just go look at my breaker box and see a '20' on the breaker that controls that outlet, is that enough?

That would let you know that the outlet is on a 20 amp circuit, which will contain more then one outlet unless it is dedicated.

 

[BurntOrngeLonghorn84]

I think my original point was to say, using a 1800 watt heater creates doubt people can purchase a brewie and be confident it will work in their home. They could have used a 1500 watt heater, and although would be less power would make it much easier for them to sell.

For a mass market consumer device it certainly won't be UL certified...

 

[jrcrilly]

That would let you know that the outlet is on a 20 amp circuit, which will contain more then one outlet unless it is dedicated.

It would let you know that it is on a twenty amp breaker. That means that either it is a 20 amp circuit or some previous homeowner foolishly stuck a 20 amp breaker on a 15 amp circuit. That is not uncommon.

 

[pointcity-homebrew]

It would let you know that it is on a twenty amp breaker. That means that either it is a 20 amp circuit or some previous homeowner foolishly stuck a 20 amp breaker on a 15 amp circuit. That is not uncommon.

True. However ,given the subject, I assumed the Brewie would be used in the kitchen, given the OP did not specify it was only an assumption.

Around here, and other areas I have dealt with, kitchens usually have 20 amp circuits, bathrooms as well. Lighting, and other areas are usually 15 amp circuits.

You can always pull the outlet and check the rating and see if it is rated 20 amp, as well as confirming a 12 ga run from your panel to the receptacle(s).

 

[Ethanfox]

I think US code requires 2x 20a circuits in kitchen. Not sure when that code started though.