Brewometer

[Glomp]

The brewometer was first proposed in a failed kickstarter campaign a couple of years ago and there was some discussion here but the thread title is now a bit dated.

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/80057-new-wireless-brewing-equipment-needs-our-support/

It has been on sale recently in the US for US only customers for $120 US.

I notice on their website that they are now shipping internationally. It seems pretty interesting

http://brewometer.net/products/brewometer

 

[Siborg]

A lot of people bagged this out so much on that previous thread here. I actually kind of like the idea. It would be good to track the temps of my brew and make adjustments to my temp control process to get that extra little bit out of that process. And I forgot that it tracks gravity as well. More reason for me to leave it the hell alone once fermentation starts. Otherwise, I waste way too much taking readings.

$US120 isn't too much to ask for a bit of smart tech IMO

 

[megabyte]

I was very interested in this project when it was on kickstarter and didn't realise they were still persevering after the failed campaign.

My worry about the S.G. readings, aside from krausen and hop material stuffing up the accuracy is when it gets swished around with fermentation activity and when it contacts/sticks to the side of the fermentor. I'm eager to hear real world results!

 

[Danscraftbeer]

So its not going to work in a seeled Stainless Steel kegmenter/vessel though. Oh well.

edit: It claims that it does. oops. Still sceptical if its all in a temp controlled fridge as well. (chewing on foot in mouth right now)

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Hate to be negative really but cant help it. If there isn't enough things on phones to distract people from work and while driving cars!!!
What can you do at work etc when the temp gets too high! other than be distracted bla bla. Sorry for cynical reality checking.
I'm not bagging it by the way. I love seeing techno brewing stuff it is pretty cool. B)

 

[MastersBrewery]

Hate to be negative really but cant help it. If there isn't enough things on phones to distract people from work and while driving cars!!!
What can you do at work etc when the temp gets too high! other than be distracted bla bla. Sorry for cynical reality checking.
I'm not bagging it by the way. I love seeing techno brewing stuff it is pretty cool. B)

login to your brewpi and adjust the temp from work. Get with it !!

 

[Siborg]

I'd be interested not so much for the real-time monitoring but the reporting, which I can use down the line for adjustments to my process and maybe fine tune my controller.

 

[megabyte]

I'd be interested not so much for the real-time monitoring but the reporting, which I can use down the line for adjustments to my process and maybe fine tune my controller.

+1 I had serious concerns about my fermentation temperature control until I eventually got around to logging it. Having a nifty BLE device and an App on your phone to display charts would be neat.

 

[Coodgee]

Seems really cool. I'd like to get one

 

[MastersBrewery]

Actually my thought from the outset with this was to tie it to brewpi, repeatability/consistency is the goal of every brewer. So removing human error/complacency is a step forward. No one takes sg readings every hour, yet we set ferment temps using gravity as the parameter (D rest and CC). Yes there would still be the unknown parrameters of disolved oxygen, bacteria count, precise ibu and srm but hell it's one less variable.

Ed. Typing on phone

 

[megabyte]

Yep, using gravity feedback to step through our fermentation temperature schedules would be a step forward for brewing. Currently we've got BrewPi, STC1000+, or OhmBrew's fermostat but they only follow a time schedule AFAIK.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Yep, using gravity feedback to step through our fermentation temperature schedules would be a step forward for brewing. Currently we've got BrewPi, STC1000+, or OhmBrew's fermostat but they only follow a time schedule AFAIK.

Some smart cookie got brewpi running on an android tab. I'm thinking a quick hack of the BPi code to pull the db containing the sg and make it a usable parameter for temp setting. Also it may be that the native software and db will run on raspberry (that's probably hoping for a little too much I know).

 

[fraser_john]

Hmmm, for lagers this would be cracker if you could tie it to the brewpi, ferment at 12c till 75% fermentables consumed, then raise to diacetyl rest temp for 24 hours, then drop by 1c/hour till 8c reached yada yada. Great concept.

 

[contrarian]

I was very interested in this project when it was on kickstarter and didn't realise they were still persevering after the failed campaign.

My worry about the S.G. readings, aside from krausen and hop material stuffing up the accuracy is when it gets swished around with fermentation activity and when it contacts/sticks to the side of the fermentor. I'm eager to hear real world results!

If you have a look at their blog on the site they have a graph tracking fermentation that seems to show what happens. It looks like it does influence the reading but only temporarily. With the right smarts it should be possible to link to temp control so a fermentation schedule could be set based on gravity rather than time.

It would be interesting to track gravity with one of these, a hydrometer and a refractometer to see what variation was recorded. Presumably this has happened in their development but it would be interesting to see their data on it.

I also wonder whether it is necessary to have this in your fermenting vessel or if a smaller volume of wort with the same concentration of yeast cells would ferment at the same rate So for example, could you pitch yeast and then run off a few hundred mL that you could ferment side by side with your main ferment for monitoring. There may be absolutely no benefit but would still be interested to know if it would work.

 

[Phyro]

Awesome to see the brains trust is all over this!

My 3cents (inflation, y'all), as someone who works away, this'll be awesome. Being able to track and time a brew will take it from messaging SWMBO every so often for a gravity/shifting fermenter into fridge* to just a "hey, can you flick the temp to X and we'll bottle when I get home"**

Obviously not everyone's situation, but it will really help time brews around work.

Someone mentioned worrying about the movement of the brewometer. Would a bracket, attached to your fermenters lid assuage this concern? (Hanging down like a thermowell) With the usual consideration towards cleaning the heck outta everything.

*have yet to finish wiring up an STC1000, and am a ways away from brewpi level, so ferments under the stairs next to that orphan wizard kid. And then schlepped to fridge. Should fix that.

**have yet to fully succeed in getting her onboard with brewing. Would figure by now she could brew her own though. As soon as she works out how to make sours though, I bet she takes over the operation.

Curious whether I can get windows to read it via Bluetooth? Run the app on whatever you call those android emulators?

 

[MHB]

I also wonder whether it is necessary to have this in your fermenting vessel or if a smaller volume of wort with the same concentration of yeast cells would ferment at the same rate So for example, could you pitch yeast and then run off a few hundred mL that you could ferment side by side with your main ferment for monitoring. There may be absolutely no benefit but would still be interested to know if it would work.

That's an interesting idea, just had a think about it over a cup of coffee, short answer I get is - not a chance in hell!
Thinking through the variables.
Height of wort plays a roll, they would have to be the same, hydrostatic pressure on the yeast, time traveling up and down, temperature difference between top and bottom...
The big one is surface area to volume, to be tall enough the sample would be like 5mm in diameter which would stuff up all the internal flow dynamics. if it was too thin rising bubbles are likely to act as an air lift pump and empty the sample tube. As the SA/V would be way higher your heat loss through the body of the two fermenters would be different (Very) even side by side in the same fridge.

Interesting but I suspect way harder than just monitoring the main ferment, fun little thought experiment tho.
Mark

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Looks cool, anyone gone through the checkout process to get freight cost to AUS?

 

[AJS2154]

Seriously....do you need this?? Plenty of wondeful beer has been made without this level of anxiety. Don't overthink it guys.......it is beer, not an intensive care ward in a cardiac hospital.

 

[contrarian]

That's an interesting idea, just had a think about it over a cup of coffee, short answer I get is - not a chance in hell!
Thinking through the variables.
Height of wort plays a roll, they would have to be the same, hydrostatic pressure on the yeast, time traveling up and down, temperature difference between top and bottom...
The big one is surface area to volume, to be tall enough the sample would be like 5mm in diameter which would stuff up all the internal flow dynamics. if it was too thin rising bubbles are likely to act as an air lift pump and empty the sample tube. As the SA/V would be way higher your heat loss through the body of the two fermenters would be different (Very) even side by side in the same fridge.

Interesting but I suspect way harder than just monitoring the main ferment, fun little thought experiment tho.
Mark

Thanks for the reply Mark.

I don't really understand the impact of fluid motion and hydrostatic pressure on fermentation so hadn't even considered them as variables although the point about temperature is a good one as a smaller volume would obviously change much quicker.

I also hadn't considered the surface area to volume ratio.

I know that temperature would change the rate of fermentation but would the other factors change the rate of fermentation or the quality of the finished beer or both?

It sounds like the only thing a separate smaller ferment might tell you is when the beer is finished!

 

[Exile]

Looks cool, anyone gone through the checkout process to get freight cost to AUS?

Brewometer $120.00 USD
International Shipping $32.00 USD

Total $152.00 USD

All UP $210.60 AUD