5 Smart Gadgets For Safely Brewing Beer At Home – BGR

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Brewing beer at home doesn’t always work out, but it is satisfying especially when you take that first sip of a new batch. If you brew the traditional way, the process can be pretty complex. There are four primary steps, including malting, mashing, boiling and fermenting. You also have to condition and package the brew when you’re done, which is essentially letting the finished product rest to maturity and then bottling. There is an easier, smarter way to make your own homebrew, though. Thanks to the advent of smart home products and ingenious inventions like the Keurig — yes, we know that’s a coffee maker — there are similar devices for your kitchen and home designed to help you brew beer.

The first thing to know, and to decide, is how much beer you want to brew. There are single-serve and limited brewers, which make anywhere from a few cups of beer, and there are bulk brewers which can make up to four gallons or more. From there, you can choose your system, then your supplies — then you do the work. This guide will explore some of the best smart gadgets, or brewing systems, for safely making beer at home. Let’s get hopping.

Designed specifically to be easy-to-use, accessible, and ideal for beginners, the iGulu S1 smart home brewer almost fully automates the entire process and makes up to one gallon of beer at a time. The lightweight and minimal form factor allows it to be used in apartments, dorms, small kitchens — virtually any space, big or small. iGulu also says the device can make over 100 diverse craft beer styles, as well as other fermented beverages such as Kombucha, cider, wine, tea, etc.

Handling fermentation, preservation, and dispensing all in one machine, it takes three really quite simple steps to brew your batches. First, you mix the ingredients from a “brew kit” and filtered water into the fermentation keg. You initiate the brewing process, and the machine uses a “next-gen brewing algorithm” to ensures the fermentation is stable and successful. Finally, when it’s all done, you pour, sip, and enjoy. It uses CO2 cylinders for the carbonation, sold separately, or you can make use of a built-in air pump function — though you’ll want to drink the brew within 24 hours if you opt for the latter method.

The iGulu S1 AIO machine is $549, CO2 pressure bottles are about $40 for a pair, and brew kits are anywhere from $22 up to $66 depending on the contents and the ingredient amounts. As you might expect, brewing times vary depending on the type of beer but are usually anywhere from six up to 20 days.

Purportedly the “world’s first” fully automated personal brewer, the Brewart BeerDroid smart home brewer makes up to 2.6 gallons (or 10 liters) of any beer style. Naturally, you’re supposed to use proprietary BrewPrints and BrewArt ingredients, with an absolutely massive selection to choose from. You can make lagers, light beers, dark beers, amber beers, and much, much more. Brews take anywhere from six days up to 14 depending on the type of beer.

The unit is temperature controlled and Wi-Fi enabled for smart connectivity, also providing a way to upgrade the firmware. Meanwhile, it takes minimal preparation, work, and cleaning to brew, well, whatever you want. There are even pre-set brewing programs for the different beer types, with specific settings for lagers and ales. Don’t worry, you’re not boxed into any one program, and can also develop your own individual and custom brews. It’s simple to use if you didn’t glean that from the machine’s description. You add your ingredients, set the brewing program, and let it do its thing. There’s a temperature-controlled beer dispenser built-in, as well, so you can pour your brews fresh.

The Brewart BeerDroid machine is $599, Brewprints are $30 and up, and ingredients are $4 to $6 a piece. You don’t need to buy the ingredients if you get a Brewprint. For example, the Nightfall IPA Brewprint is $44 and comes with everything you need, including elements, enhancers, dry hops, yeast, a primer, and even a cleanser.

Researchers debate the health benefits of beer quite vigorously, with studies supporting the idea that it’s good for you in moderation, and other studies claiming that as few as two beers a day can cause brain damage. All of the debate aside: The Exobrew Craft Gen 3 can brew as much as three kegs, individually, of about 1.6 gallons each. In fact, you can order the machine with one, two, or three kegs in tow.

Like the other machines, the Craft Gen 3 can make a wide variety of beer styles ranging from IPAs and stouts to Weizen and lagers. The machine also allows you to use your own raw ingredients or materials “at any stage of the brewing and fermentation” process. However, there are recipes on its site you can order to complete more specific brew kits. The machine settings are 100% customizable, and you can adjust them with a mobile app or from the web — the Craft Gen 3 is Wi-Fi-enabled. The biggest difference between this machine and others is that during the cooling and cleaning cycles you need to hook up a “water connector,” which can be a tap or washing machine water tube.

The Craft Gen 3 with one keg is $799 (on sale, reg. $999), with two kegs is $1,144 (on sale, reg. $1,388), and with three kegs is $1,408 (on sale, reg. $1,777). It’s worth noting you can buy the smart kegs separately later. Therefor, you can order the machine alone, which comes with one keg, and then get more when you need them.

Capable of making up to 2.64 gallons per batch, the Vevor all-in-one automatic home beer brewer handles the full traditional brewing process including mashing, filtering, boiling, cooling, fermentation, and bottling. It features one-tough smart brewing, meaning once you add your ingredients and prep steps, you can leave it alone. Brewing time is between five and 12 days depending on the type of beer. It also has 14 beer preset recipes, from Weissbier to classic lagers. In the same listing, though only tangentially related, you can see pro-grade fermenters ranging in size from eight gallon up to 16 gallon.

Adding your ingredients is fairly simple, but the different stages are separated. For example, the Vevor brewer features auto wort transfer, an auto hop addition stage, and a yeast and sediment collector that works all throughout the brew.

Because it’s more of a traditional machine, the Vevor smart brewer is $1,366, quite a bit more than some of the other options. As far as we can tell, you can add and use your own ingredients with the machine, so you make the recipes yourself. It does require a 60-liter CO2 cylinder for carbonation, which is sold separately.

Now in its third generation with the Pinter 3, this smart all-in-one home brewing machine is a less expensive option. Unlike the other machines which are measured in gallons, Pinter can brew up to 10 pints of whatever beer you choose. It keeps things simple, too. You add a Pinter Pack, with the ingredients, let the system ferment at room temperature, condition it in the fridge, then tap and drink.

Brews take about a week to 10 days, depending on the type of beer. Moreover, it’s easy to clean, relatively compact — and so would fit fine in kitchens or small living spaces — and provided you have the ingredients (and time), you can have craft beer on demand. The Pinter 3 model is $180, with earlier versions being cheaper if you can find them. Ingredients on site are about $30 and up, again, depending on which type of beer you want to make.

It’s low-stress, low-lift, and pretty great to taste a brew that you made yourself. But it does require at least a little bit of work. If you truly want to cut down on the work involved, grab yourself a TV that follows you into the kitchen or brew room so you don’t miss the game every time you need a refill — or while you’re working on new batches.