Smartbrew? fake brewery or take and bake/TV dinners?"

[odie]

https://www.smartbrew.com/

A buddy sent me this...I clicked and said REALLY? strikes me as a bit of a fraud. Is this the "papa murphys" of brewing? I suspect a lot of so-called breweries and brewpubs might be this set up...

I know I'm expecting grain to glass from anyplace calling themselves "brewery, brewing company, brewpub, etc"

I know there is a place for every business model...I think this is up there with Bud Miller Coors ( BMC ? ) putting out "craft" beers...

 

[seatazzz]

I would hope most reputable brewpubs/taprooms/breweries would give this a wide berth. Might appeal to someone who thinks they're ready to take the plunge into running their own though. Looks to me like they're trying to market high-end hopped extract; INSTANT BEER! JUST ADD WATER! Bet it's expensive as poopy too.

 

[MaxStout]

FTFA: "Current Customers have won over 30 Medals for their beers"

A couple questions I would have for them--not that I would consider the system:
1. Have they medaled with beers using your system?
2. Care to share some of those contacts so I can check them out as references?

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[dwhite60]

There was a company back in the 1990's or 2000's that was selling concentrated wort to homebrewers. Forget who they were but they made a big push on it.

Sounds like the same thing. Wouldn't completely rule out the concept without
sampling something from them. Basically large scale extract brewing.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[day_trippr]

So, it's a big-ass Mister Beer? With CIP?
Good luck with that...

 

[dwhite60]

So, it's a big-ass Mister Beer?

Yes, probably.

This is about the same thing I expect.
http://www.magnottabrewery.com/beer-kits

Kind of goes with this thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/customizing-festa-brew-kits.144630/

All the Best,
D. White

 

[applescrap]

I like the idea of it, If I understand it correctly, and I've been waiting for this kind of stuff to come out. Sounds to me like they make the beer and give you the wort to ferment. Not entirely different then brewing nomadically on someone else's system. There are so many breweries now I noticed and I have to admit that some of the beer I have tasted is not very good. My evil plan would be to brew my Beer at their place. I feel like some of these breweries might have garnered enough money to make a brewery but didn't count on the larger expense of advertising and getting your brand out. As long as it tastes good I don't see the problem in having somebody else brew it. Some of you have the skills to brew hundreds of barrels A-day or even the desire to, I have neither.

 

[grampamark]

How is this different from the bourbon whisky business? Many popular spirits are made from industrial ethanol which is aged and blended by the “maker”. Bulliet comes to mind.

 

[brewbama]

How is this different from the bourbon whisky business? Many popular spirits are made from industrial ethanol which is aged and blended by the “maker”. Bulliet comes to mind.

Yep. You don’t need a distillery to start a brand. Hundreds of Bourbon labels but only a few distilleries. Most are stock recipes from Midwest Grain Products (MGP), based in Atchison, Kansas. It is one of the largest distilleries in the U.S

 

[WiSilverBrewer]

Turn Key brewery using fancy extract...ummm, yeah, looks like an opportunity for them to make a lot of money off other people's risk...no thanks

 

[dwhite60]

If you buy grain, mash it, add hops, boil, and something goes wrong you don't go back to Rahr or Yakima Valley hops demanding a refund.

There is always some risk taken on by the end user. It's up to the end user to evaluate their market and make a decision. Buying pre-made wort eliminates a lot of potential problems for the end user. This has little difference from a restaurant pushing their own house beer which is really made by a contract Brewer across town.

If the sellers business model isn't working for some of their customers they wouldn't be selling.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[verboten]

I’ve been to Paddle Hard Brewing, that’s one of the breweries on the list. It was beer.