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Whats you problem Anyhowe? If you looked at the information online you would know it is true. I thought this was a Brewie thread? What should I be posting? I can see why there is a Facebook page for owners and friends because there really is nothing positive here. Not even anything constructive, just a place to complain about something you don't have and will never buy.
 
I think the level of software/engineering to design, test, and mass produce an automated brewing system is underestimated by most of these Kickstarters. Given Pico Brew's experience, they are probably the exception.

It is very important to look at the project team before investing/backing. If they do not have folks with experience in electrical/mechanical design, software (control and app), quality, and production engineering the prospects for success (at least right out of the gate) are low.
 
I agree with you brew-in. Not trying to "told ya" but I think one of my earliest posts here said similar. Because it's a big enough task to design and test a machine this complex, let alone build, sell, and support it. I think it's pretty clear given the timelines and lack of communication this team lacked said experience.
 
Its been a very bumpy road but the light it getting closer! Their communication is getting better. They even answered my nasty e-mail about shipping times. Software updates are coming out quickly.

Brewie is finally awake at the wheel!


From their site...
"But on a lighter note, this day also marks the biggest amount of shipped B20s yet! We were able to keep our promises to customers on the US West Coast, and at this moment, more than 100 machines are on their way to their destination to Sydney and San Francisco!"
 
AlpacaBrew said:
Whats you problem Anyhowe? If you looked at the information online you would know it is true. I thought this was a Brewie thread? What should I be posting? I can see why there is a Facebook page for owners and friends because there really is nothing positive here. Not even anything constructive, just a place to complain about something you don't have and will never buy.
Click to expand...
well i guess it is just me who is getting a little pesimistic with info from them that reads "should be coming soon" And an update is "scheduled". Continuing to continually post their propaganda leaves me suspicious of your motives. That's all.

I like cool stuff and I wish and hope this becomes an industry standard. However they have not shown me they are really viable with a product 2 years behind with extreamly limited distribution and a history of little communication I can count on.

What should you post? Anything you want I guess. But I would rather read about on-the-ground experiences and less Pom Pom waiving.
 
I agree with anyhowe. It isn't a matter of positivity vs. negativity. The product sounds great but it's currently like a Ferrari without gasoline. And sorry, while there are some positive reports in the FB group, there are many more issues, most of which center around filling volumes, cooling issues, and problems cleaning.
 
AlpacaBrew's post was entirely factual and Anyhowe jumps all over him and threatens to run off and tell his mom, I mean mod. We don't need that in the thread.
 
JamieP said:
AlpacaBrew's post was entirely factual and Anyhowe jumps all over him and threatens to run off and tell his mom, I mean mod. We don't need that in the thread.
Click to expand...

Like Trump factual or what... fwiw my mom is a tough old gal.
 
I don't think it's worth getting wrapped about one post. No disrespect to Alpaca, but most posts are just championing brewie (which is cool), but curiously overlooking the string of issues this product has had. Not saying she is bad people, but her credibility is being questioned as a result of these posts.
 
BrunDog said:
I don't think it's worth getting wrapped about one post. No disrespect to Alpaca, but most posts are just championing brewie (which is cool), but curiously overlooking the string of issues this product has had. Not saying she is bad people, but her credibility is being questioned as a result of these posts.
Click to expand...

I agree, but after being called out for overly rosy posts, the next one was positive, but accurate and there was still an attack on her. We don't need that. Hopefully everyone can move on.
 
the reality is all you do is promote the product even in your posts on the pico brew threads which is cool just be honest and say you benefit from the company. Its already obvious to everyone.
 
pagrider said:
the reality is all you do is promote the product even in your posts on the pico brew threads which is cool just be honest and say you benefit from the company. Its already obvious to everyone.
Click to expand...

Honestly I wish I could be more optimistic like them. IMO they are happier in life seeing the flowers as we look at weeds.
 
AlpacaBrew said:
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.
Click to expand...
Thanks...

I know firsthand how hard it is to bring a product to market. We're 60 employees now. We brought the Z to the market in 2013 and started shipping that fall of 2014. Improvements take time and we listen to our customers, some of which are the best complainers in the world but their feedback is invaluable. We have the best damn customer care. Our Seattle neighbors are our models, Amazon, Costco, Nordstrom- you don't like it, no problem, we take it back. We also offer Brewing support which makes us very different from other Brew appliance manufacturers. Are we perfect, hell no, but we're trying to improve every day.
If you ever notice in our advertising we never compare our products to others. We don't have time for knocking competition we only want to promote good Brewing. The more products on the market means we're doing something right. How boring would it be if there was only one beer to choose from.
Variety is the spice of life.
My advice to Brewie, don't ignore your customers. My advice to Alpacabrew, tone it it down. You don't want to turn off the group.

We do have a new Kickstarter this coming Monday. There's going to be a few really cool things during the campaign. And if any of you are going to be in Minneapolis for the Homebrewers Conference we will be there!

Cheers Gang and happy Friday!
 
Barneey said:
I get the software updates are a welcome addition to those with a machine but no software update will ever change the way the system is physically plumbed in.

Fast-forward a week/month/year the machine works software perfect, how does the physical aspects of the machines limitations alter?

Scenario, I make a wort & then ferment it (lets be honest its a wort making machine -nothing else). 2 months later I want to make another wort, is the machine clean enough to use? Should I be worried that a plate chiller on it side has been left for 2 months? If I run another cleaning cycle before the brew, where does any residual cleaning fluid go without a bottom drain outlet.
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You gotta hot water rinse after every brew. If you wait a month between brews, run a deep clean then a hot water rinse. I cannot imagine this being any different for the Brewie than our Zymatic. You don't want it to sieze up. Bad!
 
Per the FB forum, Brewie's now having a few circumstances of screen failures. Sounds like heat, overflow, or both are maybe the culprit. Hopefully they can address the overflow situation - sugary liquid and electronics don't mix.
 
i am from austria and have been browsing through this thread every once in a while. a friend of mine ordered his brewie in december 2015. for a few months now i've toyed with the idea of getting one myself. i used to co-brew with another friend of mine who owns a speidel braumeister, unfortunately he left the country for a few years recently and took the braumeister with him ... however the long wait and the delays before the brewies finally were shipped made me a bit suspicious, as so many of you.

two weeks ago the thing finally arrived and i got a chance to take a first look at it (plus a few photos; don't know how to turn them though, this is my first post). my basic and very subjective observations: the hardware looks good and, more important, pretty high-grade. as for the software/display, we had a minor problem when my friend wanted to stop the brewing process right at the beginning, because he figured out it would take too long to finish it that evening and wanted to wait until the next morning. after a few minutes of trying quite a lot of menus and functions we finally made it ...
i haven't seen my friend - nor the brewie - since then. he told me there were no problems during the actual brewing process. he got out 17 litres (of amber ale, i think).
if anyone is interested, i can post another short note once i get to taste the beer. then i'll see if i am going to order one, too. but feeling vaguely positive about it right now.

IMG_8021.jpg


IMG_8023.jpg
 
i am from austria and have been browsing through this thread every once in a while. a friend of mine ordered his brewie in december 2015. for a few months now i've toyed with the idea of getting one myself. i used to co-brew with another friend of mine who owns a speidel braumeister, unfortunately he left the country for a few years recently and took the braumeister with him ... however the long wait and the delays before the brewies finally were shipped made me a bit suspicious, as so many of you.

two weeks ago the thing finally arrived and i got a chance to take a first look at it (plus a few photos). my basic and very subjective observations: the hardware looks good and, more important, pretty high-grade. as for the software/display, we had a minor problem when my friend wanted to stop the brewing process right at the beginning, because he figured out it would take too long to finish it that evening and wanted to wait until the next morning. after a few minutes of trying a quite a lot of menus and functions we finally made it.
i haven't seen my friend - nor the brewie - since then. he told me there were no problems during the actual brewing process. he got out 17 litres (of amber ale, i think).
if anyone is interested, i can post another short note once i get to taste the beer. then i'll see if i am going to order one, too. but feeling vaguely positive about it right now.

IMG_8021.jpg


IMG_8023.jpg
 
sorry for the double post. if some moderator can do this, please delete one of the posts. i can't.
 
Thanks for sharing. Even though some people are having problems it's nice to see that this isn't vaporware. I'm on the East Coast of USA so I'm next in line after West Coast, but I'm happy to wait. I do NOT want something buggy and would rather wait. The goal of the brewie for me is to save time. If I setup a day to make beer and it's blown due to overflow or what have you, it's a total waste. Fingers crossed!
 
I have one (as I have previously stated) as do others. Just not necessarily actively using these forums to share our experiences. I have had five successful brews so far and counting.
 
I know they still have some kinks to work out, but it looks pretty impressive.
 
sooty said:
I've had mine since march and I'm on my 6 successful brew.👍
Click to expand...

At all who have a Brewie and have brewed with it a few times:
I am sure that I am not the only one on this board wondering about the capabilities of the machine and being on the fence about pulling the trigger on a purchase. I know writing a thorough experience report takes time and thought but I am sure all interested members here would really appreciate it. Specifically of interest for me would be:
1. What have your pain points been with the machine? Have there been crashes, missed OGs, missed final volumes, boil overs, other issues?
2. What is your fermentation setup and how was the resulting beer?
3. Have you brewed a familiar recipe? How did it compare to your previous brews?
4. What extraction efficiency does Brewie get?
5. Have you found any shortcomings, things you cannot do with Brewie, that you could do before?

I am sure others have additional questions.
Again, to anyone who takes the time to help out your fellow homebrewers, thank you, much appreciated!
Cheers from San Diego!
 
I just got mine today... it took like 3h to fill the gaps of the insconstistencies with the quick-setup-so-called-manual. Frankly I am not the type who criticises manuals, but this one is way off with the subjects : " you will be notified in the connected machines" except there can not be connected machines because there is no app to connect. Or counter example : " you can put different varieties of hops in the same cage" Right! No one would have ever figured that out!

Calibration is way better in v.1.9 of the firmware ( when you are lucky to get a straight update) . It still takes 30min including you weighting grams of water (yeah that's grams, not ml, or gallons) which is really annoying considering that you have to do it every time you brew.

I started with their automatic package which is ... brainless and annoying. Frankly there will never be a market for ready made recipes because it so boring that you could just buy beer.

So this machine should be tested for its abilities to produce beer according to the manual instructions. But at this point there is no app, no instructions and I kinda of doubt the reliability of its software.

Bottom line if I had to choose today between buying two grainfathers or one brewie well ... two grainfathers all the way... or perhaps even one grainfather.

TBC perhaps a firmware 2.0 and an app might change this opinion?
 

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