Brewie

[cubsfan16]

Sorry, I misspoke the hop cages are more coarse

See pics hop cage vs 600micron basket then the basket vs my hop spider

 

[c06u]

Still looking for recipes tailored to Brewie, there must be a logical way to approach customizing standard recipes to take advantage of Brewie's brew options...water levels, mash time/temps (step mash) etc

 

[sniperd]

I haven't posted an update in quite a while. Some fast background. I was an original backer of the Brewie on Indiegogo. More details of my me, my Brewie experience, and my trip so far here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brewie.506703/page-27#post-8399230

one update here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brewie.506703/page-29#post-8425958

And what has happened since:

I didn't brew for a number of months. I turn my Brewie on and it shuts off if I try to run a cleaning cycle. Uh oh. I figure something is clogged and I shoot some air in and stuff does come out but still it is just shutting down as soon as the boil pump turns on. Not good. I contact Brewie and am told that the _only_ thing that can shut the Brewie off like that is a pump and I get a nice doc on how to open it up and where the pump is. Cool I flip it over, open it up and yep, black gunk in the line to the pump. I take the lines and pump apart and clean them. A semi-solid jelly of gross comes out. Yuck. Put it all back together, run a full clean, more yuck comes out and we are back in business. I open it up again and the lines look fine, perhaps a little stained but there is nothing in them. It has been so long since I brewed I wonder how it happened.

I always did a full clean after each brew, and then a drain.. hmmm.. then I realize that I probably didn't fully dry the tuns. Water slowly collects... sits for month. So now after I full drain I leave my Brewie out for a day. Then I do another full drain and just a little more water comes out. OK cool.

brewing - came out fine
brewing - came out fine
...
maybe a few more in here?
...
brewing - came out fine, did it full boil?
brewing - came out fine, it did not full boil.

Hm, now I'm noticing that my boils are ever so getting further away from 212. Never really gets over 206. I contact support and they confirm that my Brewie is shutting of the heater at 205 and just cycling. They have logs and a chart of everything brewed, great for troubleshooting. I do some chatting with Mate on Facebook about it and he is sure it is the Thermostat, I guess there were some bad ones? And now that I think about it, did I ever get to 212? I can't remember. He tells me I can either:

1) Have them ship me a new one (it will take many weeks)
2) Order one from the link provided from digikey, ($15 with fast shipping)

I've got $15 so I order it. Mate provides me some really nice docs on flipping my Brewie+ over and getting to the part. A little intimidating but I take pictures as I go so I can remember what goes where. I'd say if you are handy enough to replace an outlet and replace kitchen faucets, you can do it. No special tools required.

Great, I get to the part and.. wow... the wires connecting to it literally fall apart in my hand. All burned out. "So there's your problem.." I contact Mate back with pictures and nicely ask what he recommends.

Aside Note for people upset with Brewie: I find this very key, treat people nicely like they have your best interest and mind, and you will be also be treated as such. Especially online. This is an overseas small startup company. Patience is hard in the 2-day ship it to me now world. They are trying, this stuff is hard. If it was easy I'd just build one. End aside.

Quickly he tells me I can either locally source a difference (better) wiring setup or they can mail them to me. The issue is the burner is kind of messed up too. Honestly if I could have Amazon'd the parts I would have but he doesn't have a way for me to do that. So I opt this time to have them send me new wires, a new thermostat, and a burner.

About a month goes by. I kindly ask for an update on shipping it and get no response. I ask a few more times over email (responding to my support ticket which should append to their system) and no response which I find strange. I reach out over Facebook and immediately get a response. Mate tells me my ticket was in a 'hold' state since they are just waiting for the part to show up and them ship it to me, thus he didn't see my follow ups. He'll let me know once it ships. OK cool, no problem. A week go by, he emails that it the parts on on the way! Two weeks go by and they show up

I take the Brewie+ apart again and replace the parts. I then realized I don't remember how to hook one of the wires up because the picture I took to show them burned and had them disconnected! I find a picture on Facebook of somebody that had the same problem and I can see how they are hooked up, phew!

All connected, let's fire up developer mode and test it out. No water is coming in.. ugg.... but I can get chill water to pump through..? The inlet valve isn't making any noise when I push the button so I must have knocked something loose. OK, I post quickly on Facebook for help if anybody knows what wire would control that and open the Brewie up at the same time. I trace the water inlet and right way I see a wire that came loose, whoops! I click it back in.

Fire the Brewie up, developer mode, get some water in the boil tank and set it to 212F, let's see what we can do. Hits 211/212! Now to run a Full Clean. Success. Now to run the recipe "Test Recipe". Runs fine, but no 212, only 207. HMMM!!! I contact support and they tell me Boil Cycle 2 only runs for 5 minutes so it doesn't usually reach it, but if you can hit 212 in dev mode you are fine. OK, great!

I brewed today and all went well EXCEPT it capped out at 202-206F during boil phase 2. But you know what? It will still make a good beer. I'll make a ticket, see what the logs on their end show and perhaps they mailed me another bum thermostat? I didn't use the one from digikey so I could also try that. I'll see what Mate has to say.

Some key TLDR; from my whole trip:

- Original Brewie, not so good. Brewie+ very good (when working!)
- Use 8 oz of rice hulls, better efficiency
- Split mash into two bags and flip them around part way through. My poor man's stirring since I don't have a basket (yet).
- Mash for 45 minutes (maybe longer?), better efficiency
- They do want to help, just be nice and _very_ patient. They are people, not Amazon drones that you can beat up. Karma is real (enough). It will be fixed.
- Do a full clean the day before you Brew.
- Do a full clean after you Brew. Full drain. Dry the boil and mash chambers. Wait a day, then do another full drain.
- In the recipes there is a "Test Recipe" called just that. Does the full cycle with no grain or hops. A great way to make sure all your parts are working and you have no leaks.
- Type in the recipe 'morecontrol' (without quotes, no space) to use developer mode.
- I use developer mode to put water into my hop tanks to really scrub them out.
- Remember guys, Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!

 

[Nate R]

I haven't posted an update in quite a while. Some fast background. I was an original backer of the Brewie on Indiegogo. More details of my me, my Brewie experience, and my trip so far here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brewie.506703/page-27#post-8399230

one update here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brewie.506703/page-29#post-8425958

And what has happened since:

I didn't brew for a number of months. I turn my Brewie on and it shuts off if I try to run a cleaning cycle. Uh oh. I figure something is clogged and I shoot some air in and stuff does come out but still it is just shutting down as soon as the boil pump turns on. Not good. I contact Brewie and am told that the _only_ thing that can shut the Brewie off like that is a pump and I get a nice doc on how to open it up and where the pump is. Cool I flip it over, open it up and yep, black gunk in the line to the pump. I take the lines and pump apart and clean them. A semi-solid jelly of gross comes out. Yuck. Put it all back together, run a full clean, more yuck comes out and we are back in business. I open it up again and the lines look fine, perhaps a little stained but there is nothing in them. It has been so long since I brewed I wonder how it happened.

I always did a full clean after each brew, and then a drain.. hmmm.. then I realize that I probably didn't fully dry the tuns. Water slowly collects... sits for month. So now after I full drain I leave my Brewie out for a day. Then I do another full drain and just a little more water comes out. OK cool.

brewing - came out fine
brewing - came out fine
...
maybe a few more in here?
...
brewing - came out fine, did it full boil?
brewing - came out fine, it did not full boil.

Hm, now I'm noticing that my boils are ever so getting further away from 212. Never really gets over 206. I contact support and they confirm that my Brewie is shutting of the heater at 205 and just cycling. They have logs and a chart of everything brewed, great for troubleshooting. I do some chatting with Mate on Facebook about it and he is sure it is the Thermostat, I guess there were some bad ones? And now that I think about it, did I ever get to 212? I can't remember. He tells me I can either:

1) Have them ship me a new one (it will take many weeks)
2) Order one from the link provided from digikey, ($15 with fast shipping)

I've got $15 so I order it. Mate provides me some really nice docs on flipping my Brewie+ over and getting to the part. A little intimidating but I take pictures as I go so I can remember what goes where. I'd say if you are handy enough to replace an outlet and replace kitchen faucets, you can do it. No special tools required.

Great, I get to the part and.. wow... the wires connecting to it literally fall apart in my hand. All burned out. "So there's your problem.." I contact Mate back with pictures and nicely ask what he recommends.

Aside Note for people upset with Brewie: I find this very key, treat people nicely like they have your best interest and mind, and you will be also be treated as such. Especially online. This is an overseas small startup company. Patience is hard in the 2-day ship it to me now world. They are trying, this stuff is hard. If it was easy I'd just build one. End aside.

Quickly he tells me I can either locally source a difference (better) wiring setup or they can mail them to me. The issue is the burner is kind of messed up too. Honestly if I could have Amazon'd the parts I would have but he doesn't have a way for me to do that. So I opt this time to have them send me new wires, a new thermostat, and a burner.

About a month goes by. I kindly ask for an update on shipping it and get no response. I ask a few more times over email (responding to my support ticket which should append to their system) and no response which I find strange. I reach out over Facebook and immediately get a response. Mate tells me my ticket was in a 'hold' state since they are just waiting for the part to show up and them ship it to me, thus he didn't see my follow ups. He'll let me know once it ships. OK cool, no problem. A week go by, he emails that it the parts on on the way! Two weeks go by and they show up

I take the Brewie+ apart again and replace the parts. I then realized I don't remember how to hook one of the wires up because the picture I took to show them burned and had them disconnected! I find a picture on Facebook of somebody that had the same problem and I can see how they are hooked up, phew!

All connected, let's fire up developer mode and test it out. No water is coming in.. ugg.... but I can get chill water to pump through..? The inlet valve isn't making any noise when I push the button so I must have knocked something loose. OK, I post quickly on Facebook for help if anybody knows what wire would control that and open the Brewie up at the same time. I trace the water inlet and right way I see a wire that came loose, whoops! I click it back in.

Fire the Brewie up, developer mode, get some water in the boil tank and set it to 212F, let's see what we can do. Hits 211/212! Now to run a Full Clean. Success. Now to run the recipe "Test Recipe". Runs fine, but no 212, only 207. HMMM!!! I contact support and they tell me Boil Cycle 2 only runs for 5 minutes so it doesn't usually reach it, but if you can hit 212 in dev mode you are fine. OK, great!

I brewed today and all went well EXCEPT it capped out at 202-206F during boil phase 2. But you know what? It will still make a good beer. I'll make a ticket, see what the logs on their end show and perhaps they mailed me another bum thermostat? I didn't use the one from digikey so I could also try that. I'll see what Mate has to say.

Some key TLDR; from my whole trip:

- Original Brewie, not so good. Brewie+ very good (when working!)
- Use 8 oz of rice hulls, better efficiency
- Split mash into two bags and flip them around part way through. My poor man's stirring since I don't have a basket (yet).
- Mash for 45 minutes (maybe longer?), better efficiency
- They do want to help, just be nice and _very_ patient. They are people, not Amazon drones that you can beat up. Karma is real (enough). It will be fixed.
- Do a full clean the day before you Brew.
- Do a full clean after you Brew. Full drain. Dry the boil and mash chambers. Wait a day, then do another full drain.
- In the recipes there is a "Test Recipe" called just that. Does the full cycle with no grain or hops. A great way to make sure all your parts are working and you have no leaks.
- Type in the recipe 'morecontrol' (without quotes, no space) to use developer mode.
- I use developer mode to put water into my hop tanks to really scrub them out.
- Remember guys, Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!

Sniperd- nice post. Thanks for taking the time.
100% agree on karma. Start nice. You can always get mean later. It doesnt work the other way.

Fwiw i also had 2 seperate issues. Both resolved with a little effort from me.

I am still rockin' the old skool B20. None of the wire issues the B+ had. Also it seems it was mostly software issues that held it up.
I would argue maybe the B20 is the better way to go?? I would love it to be 15 pounds lighter tho!!

Again thanks. Nice thoughtful post.

 

[sniperd]

Updates! For previous action: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brewie.506703/page-47#post-8625794

Mate and I chatted and they will be sending me a higher temp thermostat. It turns out the thermostat in question is really just a safety thermostat. And where it is (right next to the heater) will make it think that the water is at a higher temp then it really is! So your water may be at 206F and the thermostat will trip and shut off the heater because the heat right next to the heater is higher than 212F. So I happen to have have a higher temp thermostat:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/1NT01L-7950/1862-1073-ND/8558221
so I figured, what the heck, let's try it.

Swapped it out. Ran the normal tests and was able to get to 212 in developer mode, nice.

Then the real test, let's brew! And I'm happy to report a full 212 boil! So this might be a good option if somebody can't reach a boil. Do note that I had already swapped out the wires which what I believe to be higher gauge ones. What I'd like to know is if there are higher gauge (higher heat?) 3rd party wires that I should be using. That I do not know.

 

[Nate R]

Hello all! I have not seen much activity here... no brewie b*tches or otherwise...
Hopefully that means we are all enjoying the machine!
My arborfab basket comes today! I feel like a kid on christmas! Of course i wont have time to brew for a while so i dont why i am so giddy... i did get the lid so i hope to add more hops with it on the bk side. I am worried it may float without weight in it but i will make it work!
I hope to update here with pics and a report once i do.

In the meantime... (and not trying to hijack this thread so call me out if i am!):
-anyone used the pre-programmed Brewie receipies foe their own mix? I.e. use the "rusty pax" pad setting but used your own design of ingredients? I guess this is just me being lazy...

- i want to make a traditional hefe for the summer. My first ever brew was "call me grainy" and it turned out ok. This time i think i will do 60% pils and 40%wheat. Maybe a little acidated malt for the ph. I just want like a weistephener type simple German hefe/weisse beer. Should i use the call ke grainh settings? I wss not going to use their hops tho.

Hope all Brewie owners are happy!

Happy 4th all!
God Bless America!

 

[applescrap]

This machine and company sounds like such a disaster. You are good guys for putting up with all this, there is no way I would be "cool" with any of this. I am impressed by some of your kindness and good nature.

 

[kh54s10]

This machine and company sounds like such a disaster. You are good guys for putting up with all this, there is no way I would be "cool" with any of this. I am impressed by some of your kindness and good nature.

I hope that the people posting problems are a small percentage of owners. I doesn't seem so. Burning wires and thermostat problems, to me, shows to me that the product is really still in developmental stage and is not ready for market. If I bought a toaster oven, etc and the manufacturer said we will ship you new wiring with instructions how to install it..... I would be screaming for a full refund.

 

[Nate R]

I hope that the people posting problems are a small percentage of owners. I doesn't seem so. Burning wires and thermostat problems, to me, shows to me that the product is really still in developmental stage and is not ready for market. If I bought a toaster oven, etc and the manufacturer said we will ship you new wiring with instructions how to install it..... I would be screaming for a full refund.

Yup i get all of that. Especially to some of the backers of the indigo campaign. I got in just when the B+ was coming out too so many software bugs were fixed.

I guess my take us this: i had not brewed before but wanted to- but wanted to focus on the recipie side vs. making wort side. I.e. conistent results.
To me this was not buying a toatser or microwave.
It was like buying a toaster over or mocrowave back before toaster ovens or microwaves even exisited!! Sure there was pico but it only did 2.5 gal and limited capacity. It seems to be going away now.

So i look at it like 'wow i was having to reheat pizza in the oven for 10 mins and now i can cook it in 30 seconds? Ok i will put up with some issues for that!'

Buy as always ymmv. Honestly i think the happy brewie brewers are doing just that- brewing easy wort.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Yup i get all of that. Especially to some of the backers of the indigo campaign. I got in just when the B+ was coming out too so many software bugs were fixed.

I guess my take us this: i had not brewed before but wanted to- but wanted to focus on the recipie side vs. making wort side. I.e. conistent results.
To me this was not buying a toatser or microwave.
It was like buying a toaster over or mocrowave back before toaster ovens or microwaves even exisited!! Sure there was pico but it only did 2.5 gal and limited capacity. It seems to be going away now.

So i look at it like 'wow i was having to reheat pizza in the oven for 10 mins and now i can cook it in 30 seconds? Ok i will put up with some issues for that!'

Buy as always ymmv. Honestly i think the happy brewie brewers are doing just that- brewing easy wort.

Due to your lack of prev brewing experience your over estimating the amount of work being saved using the brewie over a grainfather or biab. It was originally marketed as the brewing device for people that rather brew than fiddle with equipment....... That lasted about 2 days lol.

 

[Nate R]

Due to your lack of prev brewing experience your over estimating the amount of work being saved using the brewie over a grainfather or biab. It was originally marketed as the brewing device for people that rather brew than fiddle with equipment....... That lasted about 2 days lol.

Good point- perhaps i am not a good person to compare to "other methods". I did research home brewing on and off for about 2 years before making the jump. But I think I can speak for the Brewie itself... and you know what? I just started beating that dead horse again, so I will let it go... The previous posts speak for themselves.

BUT- according to all the other posts on other forums I read here @Blazinlow86 , I must argue with you about everything, so... I dunno- the brewie lasted about 3 days! lol.

 

[tyso22]

Due to your lack of prev brewing experience your over estimating the amount of work being saved using the brewie over a grainfather or biab. It was originally marketed as the brewing device for people that rather brew than fiddle with equipment....... That lasted about 2 days lol.

Not to be argumentative, but to add my perspective...I’ve been home brewing for about 5 years now. I’ve done everything from full/partial extract on the stove, to BIAB, to traditional brewing, to brewing with my Grainfather and most recently with my Brewie.

At first, the Brewie was pretty user-unfriendly. It was slow, clunky and just didn’t seem to really capture the essence of brewing. The software upgrade fixed a ton of issues and I’ve been brewing happily for the past 6 months.

Now Blazinlow86 made mention that Nate R, due to lack of experience with other methods, for lack of better words might not be a credible resource. Well, having experience in a lot of different applications, I can back his claim that Brewie most definitely makes brewing less time and labour intensive. Now, that doesn’t go without a little upfront work...nailing down and perfecting your manual recipe, calibrating the Brewie and making sure not to move it all around, and just having confidence in leaving the machine to do what you’ve asked it to do. Once all that is done, I no longer need to come back to the machine after mashing to sparge...I no longer need to sit there during the hopping schedule...I no longer need to be staring at my soon-to-be-beer while it cools in order to pitch my yeast and then I no longer need to spend my final hour cleaning my equipment. Instead, I work upfront to set and input my recipe, put all the ingredients where they need to be and push brew before I head to bed. Then I return about 7hrs later when I wake up to drain my wort and pitch my yeast, I run a quick clean cycle to drain all the tubes and pumps as well as the mash and boil tanks (while I use a soft brush on the sidewalls and hop tanks which all takes about 10min total), then I run a sanitize clean cycle and walk away. So, I will respectfully challenge the notion that the work saved by using Brewie vs other methods like using a Grainfather/Brewie is negligible. The savings are a lot. Albeit, your upfront work will dictate how much time you save.

 

[Nate R]

@tyso22 ... nice post.
But whoa whoa whoa... what's all this "respectfully challange" talk??!!??
Are we all having a civil, decent discussion of ideas with each other? And possibly learning from one another?
Lol.

My brewie basket comes today! Yay! So giddy despite i wont brew for another week or so

 

[Blazinlow86]

Not to be argumentative, but to add my perspective...I’ve been home brewing for about 5 years now. I’ve done everything from full/partial extract on the stove, to BIAB, to traditional brewing, to brewing with my Grainfather and most recently with my Brewie.

At first, the Brewie was pretty user-unfriendly. It was slow, clunky and just didn’t seem to really capture the essence of brewing. The software upgrade fixed a ton of issues and I’ve been brewing happily for the past 6 months.

Now Blazinlow86 made mention that Nate R, due to lack of experience with other methods, for lack of better words might not be a credible resource. Well, having experience in a lot of different applications, I can back his claim that Brewie most definitely makes brewing less time and labour intensive. Now, that doesn’t go without a little upfront work...nailing down and perfecting your manual recipe, calibrating the Brewie and making sure not to move it all around, and just having confidence in leaving the machine to do what you’ve asked it to do. Once all that is done, I no longer need to come back to the machine after mashing to sparge...I no longer need to sit there during the hopping schedule...I no longer need to be staring at my soon-to-be-beer while it cools in order to pitch my yeast and then I no longer need to spend my final hour cleaning my equipment. Instead, I work upfront to set and input my recipe, put all the ingredients where they need to be and push brew before I head to bed. Then I return about 7hrs later when I wake up to drain my wort and pitch my yeast, I run a quick clean cycle to drain all the tubes and pumps as well as the mash and boil tanks (while I use a soft brush on the sidewalls and hop tanks which all takes about 10min total), then I run a sanitize clean cycle and walk away. So, I will respectfully challenge the notion that the work saved by using Brewie vs other methods like using a Grainfather/Brewie is negligible. The savings are a lot. Albeit, your upfront work will dictate how much time you save.

I'll agree to disagree. Sounds like you had some room for improvement in your old wort making process if it was taking you that much hands on time. I guess if you have to brew while sleeping for whatever unusual reasons this might be a option but I'd be worried the thing would catch on fire in the middle of the night with its crappy wiring, hardware etc. It's nice that they have allegedly corrected software issues that shouldn't have been there in the first place but the hardware faults are still there and for that reason the thing will always be a failure.

 

[tyso22]

@tyso22 ... nice post.
But whoa whoa whoa... what's all this "respectfully challange" talk??!!??
Are we all having a civil, decent discussion of ideas with each other? And possibly learning from one another?
Lol.

My brewie basket comes today! Yay! So giddy despite i wont brew for another week or so

Hahahaha we most def are! I just always seem to find a way to sound like an ******* when typing so I figured I'd try and set the tone lol.

Can't wait to hear how it goes with the Brewie Basket. I would really like to pull the trig on one too.

 

[sniperd]

I'll say this, I can brew manually with my two 15 gallon systems (so 30 gallons) from setup to tear down in about the same amount of time that I do my brewie from setup to tear down/full clean cycle. The difference is I'm sweating by the end of the day for the 30 gallons and it is real work, the 5 gallons with Brewie isn't much more than click start. I can be fully focused on other home projects while using the Brewie, but on a 'regular' brew day that is all I'm doing.

Is one better than the other? Well one kicks out 6 times the amount of beer in the same time. Do I need 30 gallons? Do I want to test batch just 5 gallons? Both are valid ways to brew for sure. I'll say this, since I've had my Brewie I've only brewed once with my old system. I'd rather brew once or twice a week on short notice, almost no planning and be able to work on my car, or play a game or *gasp* do some actual work than try and plan out a big brew day where I'll probably need another pair of hands.

It's not really what this thread is about at this point anyways. When the Brewie works, it is awesome. When it doesn't you can usually salvage the batch. When it really doesn't work you want to throw it into a pit. Part of that is because it sort of is a black box, you click start, the just fails, now what? You get mad. On a normal brew day if your burner dies you don't get mad, you just fix the burner.

Now that I've taken it apart a few times and I see how the parts all work, I have a good idea what has gone wrong and how to fix it. As it stands now I'm very happy. I completely agree that it is still in sort of a 'beta' phase but most of the kinks I think have been worked out. Would I buy one now? Yes. Do I wish I waited until now to buy one instead of all the frustrating times being a backer? Yes.

For me it is worth having it. It is very expensive, it will in no way save you money. But it gets me to brew more. Sort of the same reason I have a season pass for snowboarding, it gets me out more is the primary reason (although I do save money considering how often I go...)

 

[tyso22]

I'll agree to disagree. Sounds like you had some room for improvement in your old wort making process if it was taking you that much hands on time. I guess if you have to brew while sleeping for whatever unusual reasons this might be a option but I'd be worried the thing would catch on fire in the middle of the night with its crappy wiring, hardware etc. It's nice that they have allegedly corrected software issues that shouldn't have been there in the first place but the hardware faults are still there and for that reason the thing will always be a failure.

The convenience of having the brewing process complete overnight is a luxury for me. I'm sure as most do, I have 2 kids and evenings are usually an all-hands-on-deck kind of adventure. So technically I don't "need" to brew overnight, but it sure is one hell of a convenience.

As for the comment of me having room for improvement on my wort making process...I think I'm an open book when it comes to suggestions on improvements. I come and go from the brew room while brewing so I'm not standing over top of it the entire time. I'm more speaking to the fact you need to be dedicated to it the entire time to intervene when you need to. With the Brewie, once you're set up and confident in the setup, you don't need to be.

As for hardware faults, I'm no electrical engineer so I can't really speak to that. But seeing how much improvements were made in the software upgrade, I'm betting a lot of stuff that went wrong initially was sh*tty software related. Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Blazinlow86]

It was specifically designed to be taken out of the box and work without needing any tinkering. That was the whole point of the machine. It failed miserably in that aspect. How it's so hard for the 5-6 owners here to grasp that is beyond me. They should make yet another redesign, test it fully this time prior to releasing it and if and only if it works *perfectly* release it under a completely new name.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I just took a quick look at the brewie owners Facebook page and 9 of the first 15 posts I read were in regards to hardware failures......

 

[tyso22]

It was specifically designed to be taken out of the box and work without needing any tinkering. That was the whole point of the machine. It failed miserably in that aspect. How it's so hard for the 5-6 owners here to grasp that is beyond me. They should make yet another redesign, test it fully this time prior to releasing it and if and only if it works *perfectly* release it under a completely new name.

I think that was perhaps the thought for their Brewie Pads. I've never once used a Brewie Pad pre-packaged recipe. I imagine it was pretty frustrating in the very beginning. It was marketed as sort of a plug and play type machine, I won't argue with you there. But that was never their only intent. It was also targeting people wanting to create their own recipe and if anyone was naive enough to think it wouldn't involve any tinkering at all probably needs more help than the Brewie can provide.

 

[Blazinlow86]

No it was not the pads lol but nice try. They were adverting all over Facebook etc in the beginning cheekily that this machine was great specifically because it didn't require tinkering like other brewing systems and turned out the complete opposite.Things like changing thermostats, clearing blockages and replacing burnt up wires were supposed to be a thing of the past. But let me guess you missed all those advertisements? No need to damage control for them.It's a overpriced unreliable grain father that burns up wiring. But it's great right? Brew on and keep a fire extinguisher handy. Cheers

 

[tyso22]

No it was not the pads lol but nice try. They were adverting all over Facebook etc in the beginning cheekily that this machine was great specifically because it didn't require tinkering like other brewing systems and turned out the complete opposite.Things like changing thermostats, clearing blockages and replacing burnt up wires were supposed to be a thing of the past. But let me guess you missed all those advertisements? No need to damage control for them.It's a overpriced unreliable grain father that burns up wiring. But it's great right? Brew on and keep a fire extinguisher handy. Cheers

Haha nice try? I don't work for Brewie nor am I trying to sell you one. You have obviously made up your mind about it and I respect your position. I perhaps missed those advertisements because I only invested in one recently. I'm guessing that messaging came out back in 2016...so yea, I did miss that. Anyway, my experience has been good thus far and in no way do I feel it's unsafe. So at this point, yea, I do think it is great. I'll keep brewing until the wheels fall of it but for the time being they seem just fine!

 

[Blazinlow86]

I think majority of the users are in the same situation as yourself. They missed the original release of the machine and therefore didnt see the irony of a machine that's biggest selling point was **NOT** having to fix poorly designed components on a regular basis or buying stainless baskets to get acceptable efficiency etc. It also didn't help that all the original backers who recieved failed machines out if the boxes mostly got screwed out of alot of money. The company earned the hate with the choices they made plain and simple. Cheers

 

[tyso22]

I think majority of the users are in the same situation as yourself. They missed the original release of the machine and therefore didnt see the irony of a machine that's biggest selling point was **NOT** having to fix poorly designed components on a regular basis or buying stainless baskets to get acceptable efficiency etc. It also didn't help that all the original backers who recieved failed machines out if the boxes mostly got screwed out of alot of money. The company earned the hate with the choices they made plain and simple. Cheers

Yea I totally see your point with the early backers. I'd be pretty pissed off too. What I guess should have happened was get a few dozen of these machines in the hands of some brewers outside of the Brewie bubble at a reduced cost and put them to work for some real life data vs in-house lab data. Probably would have saved a lot of anguish for everybody. I guess I benefit from the hardships of those early backers by having a working machine just the same as the company does lol.

 

[cubsfan16]

No it was not the pads lol but nice try. They were adverting all over Facebook etc in the beginning cheekily that this machine was great specifically because it didn't require tinkering like other brewing systems and turned out the complete opposite.Things like changing thermostats, clearing blockages and replacing burnt up wires were supposed to be a thing of the past. But let me guess you missed all those advertisements? No need to damage control for them.It's a overpriced unreliable grain father that burns up wiring. But it's great right? Brew on and keep a fire extinguisher handy. Cheers

Ugh...hear we go again.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Ugh...hear we go again.

Yup and it most definitely won't be the last. Cheers

 

[cubsfan16]

I don’t doubt it.

 

[c06u]

Brew #12 (B20) no problems will never go back to lugging around keggle's, setting up burners, dragging propane bottles around, spending all day babysitting the brew, transfer to my Fermenters, wheel them into the house and then am faced with cleaning all the equipment, so after 30 years of brewing and at my age 71 this Brewie gadget has kept me brewing when I was ready to quit, I don't have Techno Phobia so taking the back off something and tinkering has been my life's work from radios to Boeing 747's, I was NOT raised in the Plug and Play era! these machines are not for the (don't know how to change a tire types) plan on learning not just how to use it but how it works and how to maintain it....Honestly what sold me on Brewie was this user group, I read about the problems and fixes collected all the pictures getting a look at how it was built that were posted here also looked at the Z machine and was undecided until reading post here both positive and negative, in the end the B20 looked the best as I am not a believer in Higher powered Electrical burners on any device, so the B20 works best for me...bottom line for me is I brew to drink not experiment

 

[kh54s10]

Brew #12 (B20) no problems will never go back to lugging around keggle's, setting up burners, dragging propane bottles around, spending all day babysitting the brew, transfer to my Fermenters, wheel them into the house and then am faced with cleaning all the equipment, so after 30 years of brewing and at my age 71 this Brewie gadget has kept me brewing when I was ready to quit, I don't have Techno Phobia so taking the back off something and tinkering has been my life's work from radios to Boeing 747's, I was NOT raised in the Plug and Play era! these machines are not for the (don't know how to change a tire types) plan on learning not just how to use it but how it works and how to maintain it....Honestly what sold me on Brewie was this user group, I read about the problems and fixes collected all the pictures getting a look at how it was built that were posted here also looked at the Z machine and was undecided until reading post here both positive and negative, in the end the B20 looked the best as I am not a believer in Higher powered Electrical burners on any device, so the B20 works best for me...bottom line for me is I brew to drink not experiment

Nice write-up for a machine that had many problems. I was never in the market for one - way too expensive. And all the problems would have kept me away anyway. It sounds like you are making excuses for all the inferior work done on the machine in the beginning. In my case I went with a simple 3 tier setup and put it in place. I don't lug things around other than empty and filled propane tanks. Cleaning is no real big deal and seems simpler than cleaning the Brewie. Though cleaning the Brewie is mostly hands off, I'll give you that. Then you say you brew to drink not experiment. I guess taking your Brewie apart to fix bad wiring is repair not experimentation....

To each his own. Drink responsibly my friend.

 

[applescrap]

Brew #12 (B20) no problems will never go back to lugging around keggle's, setting up burners, dragging propane bottles around, spending all day babysitting the brew, transfer to my Fermenters, wheel them into the house and then am faced with cleaning all the equipment, so after 30 years of brewing and at my age 71 this Brewie gadget has kept me brewing when I was ready to quit, I don't have Techno Phobia so taking the back off something and tinkering has been my life's work from radios to Boeing 747's, I was NOT raised in the Plug and Play era! these machines are not for the (don't know how to change a tire types) plan on learning not just how to use it but how it works and how to maintain it....Honestly what sold me on Brewie was this user group, I read about the problems and fixes collected all the pictures getting a look at how it was built that were posted here also looked at the Z machine and was undecided until reading post here both positive and negative, in the end the B20 looked the best as I am not a believer in Higher powered Electrical burners on any device, so the B20 works best for me...bottom line for me is I brew to drink not experiment

You make some great points for sure. The only problem is most people, me, dont want to pay well over 1k for something and take the back off of it. Also, I dont want to wait months for response on a recent said purchase. Especially if I backed them. If it's that amazing and easy to use, I hope they stay in business and eventually I will end up with one.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Brew #12 (B20) no problems will never go back to lugging around keggle's, setting up burners, dragging propane bottles around, spending all day babysitting the brew, transfer to my Fermenters, wheel them into the house and then am faced with cleaning all the equipment, so after 30 years of brewing and at my age 71 this Brewie gadget has kept me brewing when I was ready to quit, I don't have Techno Phobia so taking the back off something and tinkering has been my life's work from radios to Boeing 747's, I was NOT raised in the Plug and Play era! these machines are not for the (don't know how to change a tire types) plan on learning not just how to use it but how it works and how to maintain it....Honestly what sold me on Brewie was this user group, I read about the problems and fixes collected all the pictures getting a look at how it was built that were posted here also looked at the Z machine and was undecided until reading post here both positive and negative, in the end the B20 looked the best as I am not a believer in Higher powered Electrical burners on any device, so the B20 works best for me...bottom line for me is I brew to drink not experiment

"these machines are not for the (don't know how to change a tire types) plan on learning not just how to use it but how it works and how to maintain it".

It's comments like this that keep the thread going lol

 

[c06u]

Like I said I am not from the "Plug and Play" era, am from the "Heathkit" era, am sure most of you Yoots might not know what that means but at one time in this world you had to make things work no matter what you paid for it, don't buy a Mercedes if you can't fix it yourself (something I have been doing for well over 50 years and my MBZ's are much better off for it..

don't be afraid of this beast, enjoy playing with it, it's a hobby not a business, hobbies cost $$$$$

 

[kh54s10]

Huge difference between buying a Heathkit to build and spending $1500 on a machine to make beer, then have to take it apart to make it work so that you CAN brew beer.

 

[Blazinlow86]

You no doubt have ever built a "Heathkit" I spent $750.00 in 1975 dollars to build a Television to add to a long list of Heathkit projects, so the $950.00 on the Brewie is just chump change, I prefer working in an air-conditioned Kitchen (year round) over the great outdoors when brewing, your limited experience with the history of technology is showing...the leading edge is not always a comfortable place to be

I'm confused. Did you buy the brewie knowing of all the fatal defects in advance but didn't care because your not afraid to pull the cover off and replace burnt up wires etc? Or was it like most people that got ripped off did you purchase it because you read the advertising and wanted the machine that brewie promised which was specifically supposed to not require taking the cover off and replacing burnt up wires etc? It's like someone making a boat that's unsinkable and they're charging a big premium because it's unsinkable yet it regularly sinks on the first few times out. It's no big deal though cause everyone knows boats can sink and you can always pull it up and rebuild it yourself before taking it out to sink again. Cheers

 

[Kent88]

Let's keep it civil in here and stay on topic.

 

[cubsfan16]

I’m really enjoying mine. I’m not sure why there is so much passion to tell me not to like it? Hoping this thread gets back on topic.

Brewed a Pils using Mecca Grade malt hopped with Nelson while mowing the lawn and smoking some ribs today. Running the cleaning cycle now. Been alternating brews between the Brewie and BIAB last few brews depending on the time I have. It’s certainly not for everyone, it’s going to be more complicated to troubleshoot than pretty much any other setup but I’m glad companies are innovating. Honestly the innovation is what keeps me interested in the hobby....there are a lot of ways to make great beer.

 

[Gardiner4]

I am so glad I found this thread. I only keep my FB account for the Brewie group on there. I wish it was somewhere else...

First off I really like my Brewie. I was an original Brewie backer, and wound up upgrading to a Brewie+ when they made the upgrade offer. I graduated from the Brewie Pads and have been doing custom recipes. I have about 5 brews on the new machine without any issues. I have really been trying to increase efficiency. I have a 400 micron SS basket, but after reading this thread I bought a 600 micron SS basket. Last brew I didn't hit my marks and had to add a lot of extract.

I also just switched from Beersmith to BrewFather. I love how Beersmith has a built in Brewie profile. The mash/sparge volumes seem to be more accurate with Brewfather and I hope that helps with my efficiency. Last brew was a little doughy.

I recently did a Kveik NEIPA, and a Tree House Julius clone. I'm going to do another batch of the Julius this weekend with some tweaks.

As far as whirlpooling goes does everybody think reusing the hop baskets in developer mode is the best method for oil extraction?

 

[sniperd]

As far as whirlpooling goes does everybody think reusing the hop baskets in developer mode is the best method for oil extraction?

I have a big hop spider that I use with my 15 gallon system. So when it comes to flameout/hopstand/etc. I just put it in, pause the chill and let it sit. But if you really wanted to whirlpool, then yup you'd have to go dev mode at the end. Which basket did you find worked better for efficiency? I'm using 2 of the brewie bags right now and I flip them around during mash/sparge a few times but would rather just have a basket I can stir and it works ok, but a bit of a hassle.

 

[Gardiner4]

I'll be testing the 600 micron for the first time this weekend. I'm using 65% efficiency in my calculations until I hit better numbers.

I never liked the bags. I remember doing a bigger grain bill and finding dry malt balls in the bag. I bought a Stir Mate that I have been using with the baskets to help keep things moving.

 

[Nate R]

I'll be testing the 600 micron for the first time this weekend. I'm using 65% efficiency in my calculations until I hit better numbers.

I never liked the bags. I remember doing a bigger grain bill and finding dry malt balls in the bag. I bought a Stir Mate that I have been using with the baskets to help keep things moving.


View attachment 634667

Do you think the smaller tighter 400 mesh could be working agaisnt the efficiency? Also is it needed to stil constantly? I have read here that someone stirs at mash-in and right before sparging.
I cant wait to try my basket. I will report on results.