I’m not sure how I feel about this contraption:
It’s a home brewing machine that produces a batch of beer in seven days. Here’s a description of how it works:
The machine saves time by combining home brewing’s longest steps—fermentation, which usually takes a week, and carbonation, which can take at least two. The fermentation tank is also a pressure vessel, which traps carbon dioxide released by yeast, force-carbonating the beer. The system also does away with two common foes of freshness: the sealed vessel keeps out oxygen, a culprit behind flat-tasting pints; and a valve at the bottom of the tank isolates the yeast from the beer as soon as fermenting is done, which prevents meaty, off flavors.
It’s certainly a clever innovation, assuming it works and produces quality beer. But really? If you’re not interested in brewing, why make beer? Much of the fun is in the experimentation. And part of experimenting is taking risks by trying new techniques and combinations of ingredients. Sometimes these risks work out, and sometimes they don’t. But each time you know more and can make a better beer next time. For someone looking to have a simple ale without learning how to brew, why not just go to the store and buy a six pack?
The part about it that really threw me was the explanation of the “brewing” process:
Day 1: Brew: Add water, malt extract and yeast to the fermentation tank, and seal the top. Set the thermostat to 70ºF, the temperature at which ale yeasts ferment sugars most quickly while reducing nasty flavors, such as overly buttery diacetyl.
Here’s the simplest Merriam-Webster definition of brew (verb): “To prepare by infusion in hot water.”
You brew coffee by steeping coffee grounds in hot water. You brew tea by a similar process. You could brew a stew, I suppose. You don’t brew wine. You don’t brew a gin and tonic (although you might brew the grain prior to distilling the gin). You don’t brew lemonade.
But you do brew beer by steeping and boiling grains and hops in water. This process breaks down the complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars and adds various hop characteristics to the flavor (and sterilizes it all). If the recipe doesn’t require hot or boiling water: (1) you’re not brewing anything, and (2) somebody else probably brewed your beer before they shipped you the ingredients.
And It’s $5,000, $4,885 more than the cost of a home brewing starter kit.