Brewie

[macgyuver]

I dont believe anyone has found a replacement for the tubing yet besides ordering it from the UK or something. As for the hop tubing it is really easy to get to and remove. I have rebuilt 2 B20s and working on a B20+ is on the workbench now. The internals of the unit are really simple, looks complex or even chaotic but simple once you get into it. I would turn on your unit, enter dev mode, open all the valves, pop the T line for the Hop cages off and make sure everything is clear. You should be able to find the issue quickly. It may even be a tube that is sticking closed, I have seen that as well and hot water helped un-stick it without taking machine apart.

 

[Bryce Brewer]

Thanks for the quick response mcgyuver, I appreciate the insight. I did take it apart to get at the SD card and found that it shouldn’t be too intimidating with the nice work instructions to base it off of. I did try to run hot water from each tank at it and it was enough to clear the clog or pinched tubing. Hopefully I can get it apart and clean it out without having to replace.

It might be a good idea for one of us to get a long length of the tubing and have it on hand to ship to other Brewie owners on the forums. I’ll look into doing that especially if I have to replace some of mine.

 

[Nate R]

Thanks for the quick response mcgyuver, I appreciate the insight. I did take it apart to get at the SD card and found that it shouldn’t be too intimidating with the nice work instructions to base it off of. I did try to run hot water from each tank at it and it was enough to clear the clog or pinched tubing. Hopefully I can get it apart and clean it out without having to replace.

It might be a good idea for one of us to get a long length of the tubing and have it on hand to ship to other Brewie owners on the forums. I’ll look into doing that especially if I have to replace some of mine.

You may want to try a full clean with a scoop of PBW. If you had a brew running and it failed, chances are really good that the lines are sticky with gunk.
When i used PBW for the first time i was shocked with what came out of the lines!

 

[HarkinBanks]

Well it is a good idea for a complete grain to glass setup.... BUt could you imagine the price if they were an all in one unit. Brewie 2k and Vessi fully loaded was around 3k, So between 4-5k for the setup.... Not for me... LOL Would be interesting if someone with both was able to combine them for a one button push deal...

Hehe, well I have both. They sit next to each other and I do press one button to dump into the vessi. Ferment and then pressure transfer to corny kegs. No lifting, it’s pretty great.

 

[Bryce Brewer]

Update on my Brewie adventures, ran PBW through last night and was able to unclog the first hop tank. The other ones wouldn't budge and I ran water at them several times over the course of an 1.5-2 Hours. I was hoping the hot water and PBW would break them down but no luck.

Opened her up and found the silicone tubes and clamps to be an absolute pleasure to work with, absolutely love it. Got the first two taken off now as I write this and the second on is just jammed with wort. Not sure how it happened since I ran a full clean after. I will be taking the other two valves out and then get at the clamps as the hop tank inlet.

While I had it open, I decided to take a valve apart for the edification of myself and potentially the rest of the group if this hasn't been shared. I haven't found it anywhere but essentially the valves are pinch valves which is nice from a sanitary perspective. The good news is that you can get a 4 pack of the servos that drive these off of Amazon for 20 bucks. They are a MG996R, brand is towerpro in the Brewie but the model shouldn't matter (bad picture labelled Brewie Valve Servo). I'm unable to link, but search Amazon.

Installing a new one isn't as simple as just placing a new servo on and haphazardly installing the rotating "gear" portion (don't have a great name for it, see gray piece in Brewie Valve Gear in Correct Orientation Picture). I have not personally replaced any but the procedure I would go through is to remove the old servo and replace the new one. Do not reinstall the "gear" yet. Turn on the machine and close, then reopen the valve. Install the gear, making sure that the "gear" is pointing straight up (see picture reference above). I would then toggle that valve close/open again and see what it does. Based on that you can adjust and try again. You will want to get this part right otherwise your Brewie valve will not work. If not, the servo may work opposite, or only partially close/open which would not be fun.

The rotating part attached the the servo closes the other gray piece in picture labelled "Brewie Pinching Arm" that actually pinches against the silicone tubing. Hopefully this is helpful to someone. I believe all of the valves are the same so this should apply elsewhere in the machine, not just the hop valves. I'm going to continue my breakdown and will provide a final update. If anyone reads this in the meantime and wants more information, let me know and I will provide as best as I can while it is all apart.

 

[Nate R]

Update on my Brewie adventures, ran PBW through last night and was able to unclog the first hop tank. The other ones wouldn't budge and I ran water at them several times over the course of an 1.5-2 Hours. I was hoping the hot water and PBW would break them down but no luck.

Opened her up and found the silicone tubes and clamps to be an absolute pleasure to work with, absolutely love it. Got the first two taken off now as I write this and the second on is just jammed with wort. Not sure how it happened since I ran a full clean after. I will be taking the other two valves out and then get at the clamps as the hop tank inlet.

While I had it open, I decided to take a valve apart for the edification of myself and potentially the rest of the group if this hasn't been shared. I haven't found it anywhere but essentially the valves are pinch valves which is nice from a sanitary perspective. The good news is that you can get a 4 pack of the servos that drive these off of Amazon for 20 bucks. They are a MG996R, brand is towerpro in the Brewie but the model shouldn't matter (bad picture labelled Brewie Valve Servo). I'm unable to link, but search Amazon.

Installing a new one isn't as simple as just placing a new servo on and haphazardly installing the rotating "gear" portion (don't have a great name for it, see gray piece in Brewie Valve Gear in Correct Orientation Picture). I have not personally replaced any but the procedure I would go through is to remove the old servo and replace the new one. Do not reinstall the "gear" yet. Turn on the machine and close, then reopen the valve. Install the gear, making sure that the "gear" is pointing straight up (see picture reference above). I would then toggle that valve close/open again and see what it does. Based on that you can adjust and try again. You will want to get this part right otherwise your Brewie valve will not work. If not, the servo may work opposite, or only partially close/open which would not be fun.

The rotating part attached the the servo closes the other gray piece in picture labelled "Brewie Pinching Arm" that actually pinches against the silicone tubing. Hopefully this is helpful to someone. I believe all of the valves are the same so this should apply elsewhere in the machine, not just the hop valves. I'm going to continue my breakdown and will provide a final update. If anyone reads this in the meantime and wants more information, let me know and I will provide as best as I can while it is all apart.

@Bryce Brewer thanks for this!! Very much appreciated!! Pleaae update if you have any more pics, info, etc.

 

[macgyuver]

On the Brewieforum.net site someone posted that the brewie app was removed from his phone without him knowing and that the app is no longer on the app store. I checked and the app isnt showing up in the app store. I have the app installed on my phone and it has not been removed. Of course I have my phone setup so Apple cannot remove apps automatically or update them without my approving the install. Has anyone else had this happen to them? I have not checked the play store yet so cant answer for there.

 

[Nate R]

On the Brewieforum.net site someone posted that the brewie app was removed from his phone without him knowing and that the app is no longer on the app store. I checked and the app isnt showing up in the app store. I have the app installed on my phone and it has not been removed. Of course I have my phone setup so Apple cannot remove apps automatically or update them without my approving the install. Has anyone else had this happen to them? I have not checked the play store yet so cant answer for there.

I still have my app, but i am on android and do not know if that makes a difference.

On a related note, is it possible that Brewie still exists as a European company? I.e. they just decided to cut all ties with North America and focus on 220V "in their own backyard" countries?
I only mention this as i find it hard to belive the website is still up if the company is no more.

 

[macgyuver]

@Nate R

Interesting idea but no one from that area has said they are up and running. I am not sure, I read something about an Australian company bought them. Maybe that company is keeping things as they are in hopes of relaunching the company. Keep the user base in tact until new hardware hits the market. Another interesting thought I had that is.

 

[Bryce Brewer]

I was that someone in the other forum. It is no longer available in the Apple App Store and I clicked too fast when opening the app and it essentially said that it wasn’t available and I thought it was saying to update.

I did just power on an old Android I had lying around and thankfully it is available on the Play Store. I will use this as a backup but I was hoping to find some hack through some google searching on how to restore old apps and it seems like Apple patched up how to do this back in 2018. Interrogating my phone didn’t help as there wasn’t a trace of it in apps, through the App Store looking at past downloads, nothing.

I hope there is someone out there with more experience that can find it because it would be very helpful for me.

On the question of more pictures from disassembling the hop tanks, I have some more but don’t think it is helpful. I unclogged it, accidentally had a few valve wires come undone and had to do some guess and checking to make sure that I plugged them back in correctly, and then reassembled. I would highly suggest labeling the valve as soon as you pull it off the tube as I had it backwards on one of the sets. Thankfully I did a full test of every valve to ensure no other ones were unplugged. Just open up developer mode and toggle each valve to make sure it opens/closes and is the correct valve otherwise you flavoring hops may become bittering and vice versa.

 

[macgyuver]

I spoke with Apple today and they did indeed pull the app. It can no longer be downloaded from the app store. If anyone has a backup of the IPA file then they can post it and anyone can install it that way or Brewie can release it. But those have a slim chance of happening.

It is still available on the Play Store and I have downloaded a backup copy of the APK file from there. So at least I have a copy of the android version.

 

[RMW]

@Nate R

Interesting idea but no one from that area has said they are up and running. I am not sure, I read something about an Australian company bought them. Maybe that company is keeping things as they are in hopes of relaunching the company. Keep the user base in tact until new hardware hits the market. Another interesting thought I had that is.

If Macgyuver or anyone else has any info on them being bought it would be great to get more detail. As per my earlier post, my broken B+ was on a factory repair when the shutters came down and i am trying to find out where it is. Not sure it is even worth the shipping to get it back but be good to try.....

 

[macgyuver]

@RMW

Ouch on the unit being out to get repaired and now you are without. That really sucks...

As for being bought out, I read somewhere that the company was bought by an Australian company. I have no way to verify this it is just random info I have ran across in the many websites I have visited trying to find out any information before I gave up.

 

[imitosis]

Well my B20+ Heating element finally stopped working after many successful brews.

Time to do surgery. For those of you who have added extra fans (for 4 total?), what fans did you use and where/how did you mount them?

 

[RMW]

Thanks @macgyuver
Only items of note I have found have been that 1) emails to support don’t bounce back any longer (obviously no replies yet) and 2) the actual legal entity is still in existence and as of January still registered as employing a couple of people.
None of which helps get my Brewie back but does seem to indicate some options to keep the idea alive...

 

[macgyuver]

@RMW

hopefully you unit isn’t sold off. A lot of the original Brewie are being sold off on eBay. That’s where I picked up my two from.

@Bryce Brewer

I have successfully pulled the app off my iPhone. I have it backed up with the Android version. If you want it you can download it. Here is this link to the files.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ar9OhkrfmFhCg_dn6wdGP4qydE9wog

Let me know if it doesn’t work. I have uninstalled the app and reinstalled it a few times on my phone.

 

[padair519]

Just FYI... Now that my "case" is official closed I don't mind sharing my "outcome" of my Brewie+. The long and the short of it, after 2 failures I requestes a refund. It was past 30 days but still in warranty. Brewie denied my return. I called my credit card provider and I filed basically a "Lemon" clause on product purchases. I proceeded down that road that day and was Instantly refunded my money to my MasterCard. It started a 45 day window for Brewie to respond for a charge back. They did file a claim on about the 44th day, which included nothing but the standard purchase agreement saying refunds are not allowed. I then had to find a "bonafied 3rd party expert" to document my case and give opinion. I hired an electrical company with experience in commercial and industrial applications including custom PLC, automation and electrical control systems. A quick letter detailing the design flaws and failures was written and I filed it with my credit card company. That started another 45 day window. Brewie never responded after that. Case closed, I got my money back. I'm still out of pocket for the taxes and import fees but I was able to sell mine locally and pretty near come out net 0 on this whole fiasco.

Many posts ago I've read users basically say "we" were all the Brewie beta testers with our money and cautioning and warning future buyers to beware. Hind sight, I couldn't agree more. While Brewie was great in concept, very pourly designed product and now we all see the result of company that didn't do enough R&D and testing on their own.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Theres a reason hands off automated brewing devices don't exist and it's not because nobody else had the idea before brewie. It's because they don't work constantly and therefore defeats the whole purpose of them. If they did all the big names would be all over them already. It's easy to dream big with other people's money. Heck id love to invent a engine that runs off thin air and could give it a go if enough people also wanted one and were willing to prepay for it regardless if it works or not. Theres to many things that require attention and intervention when brewing like boil overs , stuck mashes, etc. If it's too good to be true it usually is. I think currently the best compromise for people with limited time is a grainfather or similar. If that's still to much interaction for someones lifestyle unfortunately homebrewing probably isn't a good hobby at this time. Cheers

 

[macgyuver]

Well after trying to install the backup app I have on my older iPhone it failed. Come to find out that apple started "App Thinning" some time ago and it only downloads what is needed for that model of phone to keep the packages smaller. So if you download the iOS app that I have linked it may not install on your phone. It was pulled from an iPhone X and should support any phone that is in that foot print. I tried to install on my 6s and my 11 and it failed. Just a heads up for anyone wanting to try the backup file.

I was also going to try and email Brewie to see if I can get a copy of the ipa file that they would send to apple but the website email is suspended. Does anyone else have a working address I can send to. I know it is a long shot but it is better to try and fail than to not try at all.

 

[deuc224]

I was so close to purchasing on e of these because it looked the part. Then I read on here what went wrong and got a B80 instead. Its the reason i joined this forum. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I hope you giuys get ur funds back eventually.

 

[Nate R]

I was so close to purchasing on e of these because it looked the part. Then I read on here what went wrong and got a B80 instead. Its the reason i joined this forum. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I hope you giuys get ur funds back eventually.

What is a "B80"? I assume a different all in one?

 

[deuc224]

Brewtools B80 pro, more a grainfather style with better sparging capabilities.

 

[Tim H]

I saw the Anvil Foundry at my LHBS this weekend and thought it was halfway decent for the price. Double-wall construction with an external pump and no stupid gaskets to mess around with on the grain basket... I love my grainfather but the platform hasn't changed in the last 10 years.


I really, really wonder what it would take to build a simple yet reliable automated brewing system. The next company to swoop in can learn from the bloated rotting carcasses of Brewie and PicoBrew.

 

[Tim H]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Theres a reason hands off automated brewing devices don't exist and it's not because nobody else had the idea before brewie. It's because they don't work constantly and therefore defeats the whole purpose of them. If they did all the big names would be all over them already. It's easy to dream big with other people's money. Heck id love to invent a engine that runs off thin air and could give it a go if enough people also wanted one and were willing to prepay for it regardless if it works or not. Theres to many things that require attention and intervention when brewing like boil overs , stuck mashes, etc. If it's too good to be true it usually is. I think currently the best compromise for people with limited time is a grainfather or similar. If that's still to much interaction for someones lifestyle unfortunately homebrewing probably isn't a good hobby at this time. Cheers

Hate to burst your bubble.... Air-powered engines already exist..... and here is a sweet History Channel video about it haha.

I would disagree that automated brewing doesn't exist because it isn't reliable, it doesn't exist because the profitability just isn't good enough. Complicated automatic espresso machines work every single time because the number of coffee drinkers willing to pay for a device in their house dwarfs the homebrew population that is willing to shell out money for a turn-key brewery. I am going to use my refund to buy some custom kettles from Spike and work with BruNdog to automate the process.

 

[Nate R]

Hate to burst your bubble.... Air-powered engines already exist..... and here is a sweet History Channel video about it haha.

I would disagree that automated brewing doesn't exist because it isn't reliable, it doesn't exist because the profitability just isn't good enough. Complicated automatic espresso machines work every single time because the number of coffee drinkers willing to pay for a device in their house dwarfs the homebrew population that is willing to shell out money for a turn-key brewery. I am going to use my refund to buy some custom kettles from Spike and work with BruNdog to automate the process.

Spike has a 1 vessell e-biag coming out soon (as if you didnt know already!)

 

[Tim H]

Spike has a 1 vessell e-biag coming out soon (as if you didnt know already!)

Yess, it caught my attention. I am interested to see how much it costs, and more importantly, what it would take to automate! I wonder what I could do with two of these.......

 

[Nate R]

Yess, it caught my attention. I am interested to see how much it costs, and more importantly, what it would take to automate! I wonder what I could do with two of these.......

They had a promo video... looked like a LOT of hoses and clamps to move. Probably not a lot of automation.

P.s. morebeer has a 3 vessell e set up. $6k or so, but another step in the right direction for us all

 

[Blazinlow86]

Hate to burst your bubble.... Air-powered engines already exist..... and here is a sweet History Channel video about it haha.

I would disagree that automated brewing doesn't exist because it isn't reliable, it doesn't exist because the profitability just isn't good enough. Complicated automatic espresso machines work every single time because the number of coffee drinkers willing to pay for a device in their house dwarfs the homebrew population that is willing to shell out money for a turn-key brewery. I am going to use my refund to buy some custom kettles from Spike and work with BruNdog to automate the process.

Ah no bubble bursted here. If my invention was already created we would be looking at it under the hood of all cars and trucks today and not on a documentary on the history Channel. I doubt if brewie tacked another 2 grand of profit on each machine that would have made it work correctly but I guess we will never know. While you can definitely diy a automated system yourself it won't be what brewie promised and what I was referring to which was very specifically a out of the box hands off brewing device that just works every time without any tinkering. And I'm pretty certain that a device that does that is a very long way away. Time will tell if I'm incorrect. Cheers

 

[Tim H]

Ah no bubble bursted here. If my invention was already created we would be looking at it under the hood of all cars and trucks today and not on a documentary on the history Channel. I doubt if brewie tacked another 2 grand of profit on each machine that would have made it work correctly but I guess we will never know. While you can definitely diy a automated system yourself it won't be what brewie promised and what I was referring to which was very specifically a out of the box hands off brewing device that just works every time without any tinkering. And I'm pretty certain that a device that does that is a very long way away. Time will tell if I'm incorrect. Cheers

This is why we have people like BruNdog to save the modern brewer

 

[Blazinlow86]

This is why we have people like BruNdog to save the modern brewer

He's got the software side figured out. Now someone needs to figure out a foolproof hardware side and combine them (again referring to the brewies goals). Cheers