[Stevie]

The article is basically another review, but I was surprised that comps might be considering banning entires. First of all, how would they know? Secondly, why are there so many change resistant farts out there?

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/11/picobrews-dream-of-a-homebrew-appliance-is-not-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/

[tommymorris]

That would be crazy. You still control recipe, yeast pitch rates, water treatment, fermentation temp, sanitation, ...

[Stevie]

Maybe the guy at the shop was just blowing smoke.

[mainebrewer]

Well, as a beer judge, I can only judge a beer based on what the entrant tells me it is supposed to be.
I don't know how it was made or even what the ingredients are.
So, it doesn't really matter if the brewer made the beer in a 2 gal pot on the kitchen stove or a $10K brew sculpture (or a Zymatic).

[tommymorris]

The author's experience is why I expect to start finding Zymatic's on eBay and craigslist. No temp control equals bad beer.

PS. Not ragging on Picobrew. But some newbs won't figure out the extras needed to make good beer.

[brewday]

That would be crazy. You still control recipe, yeast pitch rates, water treatment, fermentation temp, sanitation, ...

Exactly.  The reviewer managed to turn perfectly good wort into two crappy beers.  Enough said.

[Phil_M]

I doubt they'd be able to ban Zymatic-brewed beers unless they also banned anything brewed with any sort of PID or digital controls.

My thing is this, for all the griping some folks do about brewery controllers being "cheating," how the heck do they expect commercial beer to be made? I know some breweries still have manual control, but even my tiny local brewpub has a computer controlled brewery.

They still serve beer full of yeast too and fermentation off flavors, but that's another story...

[hopfenundmalz]

The competition thing was "I heard from this guy who heard it." With no attribution to sources. Are there any competition directors who can state facts? Maybe Janis can say from the perspective of the NHC. Some pretty sophisticated systems have appeared on the AHA page and in the forum, no talk of a ban there.

This next bit was also something that was not well researched, or written in a way that is so ambiguous that some will think they can start selling their beer once they have a picobrew.
"Still, the HopTech attendant said the Zymatic has proved popular with amateur brewers who want to up their game. With the Zymatic, you can test a variety of recipes quickly and decide which is best before you try to make a bigger batch to sell." We are talking Homebrew here, right?

[klickitat jim]

Ya, I suppose their talking about getting your recipes down before you go pro. Because we all know that's really all there is to it. Develope an IPA, a blonde, a stout, maybe a seasonal barrel aged sour, then... oh and a pumpkin beer, then go pro. You just... go pro. Yee haw.

[BrewBama]

If a brewer wants to run a computer controlled machine why should we care? Though it does not appeal to me personally, if it appeals to the next brewer that shouldn't ban the device. I've seen some pretty fancy HERMS, RIMS, etc that aren't far off this particular machine. Not sure they're banned.

[Phil_M]

As someone with a PID controlled system, I'm learning more and more than the precision I get during the mash is a small factor in the outcome of the final beer.

I'm not commenting on any alleged competition bans, just about the bitterness some seem to have towards automated systems. What are these people's goals? My PID system is just as hands-off as a cooler batch sparge setup. Do they want us outside in 5^o weather using nothing but an analog thermometer, a spoon, and a manually-adjusted propane burner trying to maintain mash temps?

[crynski]

As someone with a PID controlled system, I'm learning more and more than the precision I get during the mash is a small factor in the outcome of the final beer.

I'm not commenting on any alleged competition bans, just about the bitterness some seem to have towards automated systems. What are these people's goals? My PID system is just as hands-off as a cooler batch sparge setup. Do they want us outside in 5^o weather using nothing but an analog thermometer, a spoon, and a manually-adjusted propane burner trying to maintain mash temps?

No propane either you have to show photos to prove you built the fire with sticks. 

Seriously there seems to be a school who believe home brewing is about doing different from the "big manufactured beers" and the school I am in who believe it is simply a way of being involved in the full beer process however you choose to enjoy that process.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[AmandaK]

Full disclosure: I have a Zymatic.

If comps are going to ban the Z, they should also ban any BCS-1000 setup, some PID controlled setups, probably the BrewEasy, and definitely any extract beers. /sarcasm... kinda

But seriously, when I see stuff like this it shows me how inexperienced these people are. Like Phil_M said, the precision of the mash is the least of anyone's worries when it comes to excellent beer. I have one because it's ridiculously easy to clean and all I have time for anymore. If people want to ban precision controlled mashes from comps, I'll keep the beer to myself.

[denny]

The author's experience is why I expect to start finding Zymatic's on eBay and craigslist. No temp control equals bad beer.

PS. Not ragging on Picobrew. But some newbs won't figure out the extras needed to make good beer.

No temp control?  What?  I can control mash temps precisely and repeatably.  If you're referring to fermentation, it's no different than any other brewing system.

And who says it's not homebrewing?  Who the hell is trying to define the hobby for ME?  Brew the way you want to and I'll do the same.

[hopfenundmalz]

Full disclosure: I have a Zymatic.

A brew magic, a Zymatic. Yes you are an engineer!