Ethanfox
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Wonder if a tap can be built into the plumbing to allow for draining?
Brewie
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aangel
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Terrible idea. 1 - voids warranty, and with an unproven, rough-around-the-edges product from an unproven company that's having execution issues, that's fatal. 2 - the whole_farking_point of an automated system is to save you from having to do this kind of thing.
Ethanfox
Well-Known Member
I don't think opening a valve and letting out a few ounces of water at the end of a cleaning cycle would kill the automated experience for anyone. As for the warranty... I would rather have better brews and no warranty than a warranty on a system with issues that negatively affect the brew. That is... If it's even an issue.
That is ... if it ever shows up.
Yep, if it ever shows up ! They sent out emails in november claiming that "all brewies are sent or on the way to you" I tried to contact them many times in January and all I got was: you will have your brewie.... soon !
They sent another update last week : "We'll start sending out Brewies next week". Hopefully, this time they mean it... but I kind have a bad feeling 18 months after their initial deadline...
They sent another update last week : "We'll start sending out Brewies next week". Hopefully, this time they mean it... but I kind have a bad feeling 18 months after their initial deadline...
AlpacaBrew
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Brewie is on the move. Things are looking up for the UK. The software fixes are coming fast, I hope the same for deliveries.
QoB
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I am just speaking from experience. We had our share of issues getting the Zymatic out. We are three products out now with more on the way. We just hired employee #58 and counting. Eventually they will land in the US and Canada. It will good to have choices. Automated Homebrewers is a real option now. Anyway, cheers! ☺️
As I have always said... making a product like this is an auspicious undertaking. It's not easy. But the communications have been atrocious, and people will not forget that when the competition is broad enough. I think people understand the delays, but the lack of transparency and abject ignoring repeated inquiries is maddening. I see on the FB group that Gabriella is frequently present and quick to post good news, but blatantly ignores requests she doesn't want to answer as well. That's not how you capture loyalty in your new customer base.
This sums up my feelings toward Brewie. Rolling out a new product is challenging. Delays are expected but you need to communicate with your customer base every step of the way. This is the courting phase when Brewie should be doing all they can to woo potential buyers by establishing and maintaining a healthy line of communication. As a potential buyer, you want to know that if you have questions or need tech support that someone is standing by to assist you in a timely manner. I had a few basic questions about the Brewie that had gone unanswered for so long & were never answered. After several emails & messages spanning months with no response I gave up and bought a Zymatic. When I had questions regarding the Zymatic they were answered within 30 minutes. I've had technical questions about the Zymatic that were answered within 10 mins on a Saturday night around midnight. Customer Service and communication is what wins over buyers.
Two Scenarios:
1.) You're on the subway. The train stops. No announcement is made by the conductor. People start looking around at each other, they get antsy, they start cursing, they get nervous and wonder why the train is not moving. After 20 minutes, the train starts moving again.
2.) You're on the subway. The train stops. The conductor announces there's a sick passenger on the train and that we will be moving shortly. After 20 minutes, the train starts moving again.
Right now, Brewie is scenario 1 and all that differentiates these two experiences is communication, which takes very little effort or manpower.
AlpacaBrew
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More and more people are receiving their Brewie's and the updated software has fixed many issues. It looks like the deliveries to the USA are not far off.
Bum Fudge
Member
Are there any actual owners who have brewed on their new Brewie willing to talk about their experience and results? Any issues with the initial units?
U serious? Read the thread. Brewie is a dumpster fire
Ethanfox
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I don't think the reviews support this statement. It certainly had issues, most of which have already been fixed, but several (not a large pool of users to draw from) users ate experiencing great results. It's not currently attaining its claim of full automation, but it's working.
Bum Fudge
Member
I DID read the thread and I am serious. Sounds like an ambitious project that is underfunded and over schedule just like most craft brewery start ups. It also sounds like they are pretty close to getting units out there and start to get some real feedback on whether it lives up to the marketing. Out of all the other competitors it seems to me to be the most rugged and flexible variant I've seen. It also seems to be very flexible in it's recipe, timer and step customization allowing for using your own recipes and ingredients and not locked into pre-packaged pods. I'm just asking how close it is to living up to all that.
Best to check out the Facebook user group. Experience posted there. It was a dumpster fire but according to users' postings, the fire has gone out and maybe even the garbage smell has faded a bit. Overflows, incorrect liquid volume, and some other weird niggles seem to be the main complaints as of late. I don't get a sense there are a lot of users however, nor do most of those users have deep brewing experience.
AlpacaBrew
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Thats who I think it was designed for. I think it fixes are coming quick and the Facebook owners group is very positive.
Alpaca I am starting to think you work for the company. All your posts here state how great it is, yet the actual owners' experiences don't quite reflect that sentiment. Improving yes, but still not inline with your take.
Yea, just looked back at All his posts. Either a shill or someone who has a consumed a LOT of the Koolaid.
Didn't he explicitly state the Facebook group was censored (by him) to avoid antagonizing the company?
I think you are confusing him with tiputus who started the group
AlpacaBrew
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No I do not work for Brewie and second I am not a him. After living outside the USA for the last 20 years I have different expectations and a lot of patience. I like to stay on the positive side of things and think Brewie, although not perfect is making very good progress. If your expecting flawless that will never happen. The machine works and makes a good wort. Is there lots of room for improvement, yes but the improvements are coming. Look how long the Z has been on the market. Picobrew has several products on the market and all need improvements. I really do not know what you expect from the Brewie other than it will never be all you want it to be.
Positivity is great, but reality plays a role too. An automated machine's first priority would be to measure liquid volumes correctly. I would expect they would have solved that before shipping the machine, yet several software updates later and still many reports of too little or too much volume. I wonder if they have a problem they cannot solve?
What surprises me is that they used weight sensors not a flow meter. Both devices have their weakness but I have had better luck with flow meters. The weight sensors I used would lose their calibration rather quickly.
I don't have a machine so my conjecture should be considered worthless... but I agree with you. I think the hardware design integrating these may be flawed. The software part is easy... so why haven't they got it working right yet? There are some other issues but it looks like those are getting tackled. They definitely shipped with immature software but I suspect the volume thing won't get fixed without hardware changes.
aangel
Well-Known Member
This is all moot until A: they become available for general purchase and B: in-depth reviews of the mature product become available.
In other news, Pico's got some new product they're announcing a kickstarter campaign for on April 3rd.
In other news, Pico's got some new product they're announcing a kickstarter campaign for on April 3rd.
Interesting months ahead in automated brewing:
Pico New Kickstarter April
Igulu scheduled ship in May/June
Minibrew scheduled ship in Sept.
It's chalk to say hat Brewie will be well behind by the time they get it right.
Sorry can't sort out what you are saying here? I think the typos confused the meaning...
Ethanfox
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I think he means Brewie is taking do long to fix their issues that by the time it's ready, many other products will have been on the market for a while
Sorry. I think it a safe bet that by the time it reaches here and is sorted out their product will be behind others. Ymmv.
Probably so...although they are pretty different products. The minibrew and igulu are 5 liter and include ferm temp control. I guess comparing is kinda "apples to oranges"
Idk. I am just hypothesizing. 2 years ago this was a cool idea that was maybe debatably ahead in some ways to what was available. By the time it gets here, or if it gets here, and is in reasonable working form, it is quite likely that it will be chasing the curve from a technology and function standpoint. Time will tell.
No doubt that, if in, I would get out if I could. But I have said that for a while now. I hate to poo poo cool ideas but this one has me at a point that I would sell my investment at 60 cents on the dollar and chalk it up to experience. YMMV
You do or don't own one?
Of course not. Almost nobody owns one yet. Hence my comments.
I wouldn't expect the others to be ontime or perfect either. Plus, what they promising isn't in line with Brewie. Perhaps Pico's next product will, haven't seen details on that yet.
I think brewie has the most promise and best design so far. That said, execution is needed now to make it count. There just seems to be a lot of different software issues remaining which has me scratching my head.
AlpacaBrew
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Brewie should be landing in California very soon. Another software update is scheduled and the knowledge center is full of new information. I hope they continue to move forward quickly.
Alpaca advertising again...something like 60 of your 64 posts are promoting this. It's getting old. Is it MOD time??
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