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Author Topic: BEERMKR Are they any good?  (Read 1838 times)

Offline Lazy Ant Brewing

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BEERMKR Are they any good?
« on: December 21, 2021, 07:24:34 am »
Moving in with my lady friend who has a condo, but not enough space for all my brewing gear.  If the BEERMKR works well, it might be just the solution for me.

I'd appreciate feed back from anyone who has brewed with them, both pros and cons. 

Do you have hassles with leaks?  How well does the carbonation work with the CO2 cartridges?  Is the carbonation adjustable for different styles of beer?  How easy is it to formulate and then brew your own recipes?  Can you fill and cap a couple of bottles if you choose?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
It's easier to read brewing books and get information from the forum than to sacrifice virgins to appease the brewing gods when bad beer happens!

Offline tommymorris

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BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2021, 07:55:51 am »
Moving in with my lady friend who has a condo, but not enough space for all my brewing gear.  If the BEERMKR works well, it might be just the solution for me.

I'd appreciate feed back from anyone who has brewed with them, both pros and cons. 

Do you have hassles with leaks?  How well does the carbonation work with the CO2 cartridges?  Is the carbonation adjustable for different styles of beer?  How easy is it to formulate and then brew your own recipes?  Can you fill and cap a couple of bottles if you choose?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
The current issue of Zymurgy magazine has a review.

Offline erockrph

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2021, 09:37:21 am »
Have you considered an all-in-one like the Grainfather or Foundry? You could even ferment and serve in the same keg if you use a floating dip tube. I think that they're a lot closer to the kind of brewing you're used to than one of these self-contained systems.
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Offline Richard

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2021, 09:59:00 am »
Moving in with my lady friend who has a condo, but not enough space for all my brewing gear.  If the BEERMKR works well, it might be just the solution for me.

I'd appreciate feed back from anyone who has brewed with them, both pros and cons. 

Do you have hassles with leaks?  How well does the carbonation work with the CO2 cartridges?  Is the carbonation adjustable for different styles of beer?  How easy is it to formulate and then brew your own recipes?  Can you fill and cap a couple of bottles if you choose?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
The current issue of Zymurgy magazine has a review.

It is the November/December 2021 issue, not the current January/February 2022 issue.
Original Gravity - that would be Newton's

Offline Lazy Ant Brewing

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2021, 10:07:29 am »
Moving in with my lady friend who has a condo, but not enough space for all my brewing gear.  If the BEERMKR works well, it might be just the solution for me.

I'd appreciate feed back from anyone who has brewed with them, both pros and cons. 

Do you have hassles with leaks?  How well does the carbonation work with the CO2 cartridges?  Is the carbonation adjustable for different styles of beer?  How easy is it to formulate and then brew your own recipes?  Can you fill and cap a couple of bottles if you choose?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
The current issue of Zymurgy magazine has a review.

It is the November/December 2021 issue, not the current January/February 2022 issue.

I did see a paragraph on it in the online issue, but I hardly call it a review unless it is somewhere else in that issue and I overlooked it.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
It's easier to read brewing books and get information from the forum than to sacrifice virgins to appease the brewing gods when bad beer happens!

Offline tommymorris

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2021, 10:32:18 am »
Moving in with my lady friend who has a condo, but not enough space for all my brewing gear.  If the BEERMKR works well, it might be just the solution for me.

I'd appreciate feed back from anyone who has brewed with them, both pros and cons. 

Do you have hassles with leaks?  How well does the carbonation work with the CO2 cartridges?  Is the carbonation adjustable for different styles of beer?  How easy is it to formulate and then brew your own recipes?  Can you fill and cap a couple of bottles if you choose?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
The current issue of Zymurgy magazine has a review.

It is the November/December 2021 issue, not the current January/February 2022 issue.

I did see a paragraph on it in the online issue, but I hardly call it a review unless it is somewhere else in that issue and I overlooked it.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
It was page 9 of the Nov/Dec 2021 issue. It was about 3/4th of a page. It had a 4 paragraph background on the BEERMKR, it’s creators, how it works, a description of a Hazy IPA the author made on the machine, followed by two sections with bullet lists: “what impresses me” and “what leaves me wanting.”

Offline majorvices

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2021, 02:16:00 pm »
No idea about the BEERMKR but I have a small all grain set up that I use to make a little over 1 gallon (5L) in a mini Big Mouth Bubbler. I bottle condition these or put in a 5L corny I bought years ago. Super simple and fun to brew. In my case I work in brewery so no need making 5 gallons of beer or spending my day off brewing. But it would be a great size from people who live in apartments too. Way faster than a 5 gallon batch.

Offline Lazy Ant Brewing

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2021, 04:34:41 pm »
Moving in with my lady friend who has a condo, but not enough space for all my brewing gear.  If the BEERMKR works well, it might be just the solution for me.

I'd appreciate feed back from anyone who has brewed with them, both pros and cons. 

Do you have hassles with leaks?  How well does the carbonation work with the CO2 cartridges?  Is the carbonation adjustable for different styles of beer?  How easy is it to formulate and then brew your own recipes?  Can you fill and cap a couple of bottles if you choose?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
The current issue of Zymurgy magazine has a review.

It is the November/December 2021 issue, not the current January/February 2022 issue.

I did see a paragraph on it in the online issue, but I hardly call it a review unless it is somewhere else in that issue and I overlooked it.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
It was page 9 of the Nov/Dec 2021 issue. It was about 3/4th of a page. It had a 4 paragraph background on the BEERMKR, it’s creators, how it works, a description of a Hazy IPA the author made on the machine, followed by two sections with bullet lists: “what impresses me” and “what leaves me wanting.”

Thanks for the info.  I found that section and read it.  Sounds good if the "foghorn" vibration isn't too loud or occur too often.
It's easier to read brewing books and get information from the forum than to sacrifice virgins to appease the brewing gods when bad beer happens!

Offline chinaski

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #8 on: December 21, 2021, 05:00:25 pm »
I have no opinion of the machine, other than I wonder how proprietary the parts and services are for it.  Pico went out of business, leaving folks to scramble for support for the machines.  Seems like a simple stove-top brew-in-the-bag or extract recipes might be something to try.  See how your lady like the smell of wort!

Offline majorvices

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2021, 07:10:20 pm »
Also keep in mind that these products are only as good as their support. I owned a PicoBrew Zymatic for a couple of years -- costs about 2K. Fun little machine that could brew 2-2.5 gallons. The main mash tun piece broke once and they replaced it for free. When it broke again they offered me $500 off their new 2K machine because they weren't supporting that model anymore making it essentially useless.

Offline Wilbur

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2021, 07:34:12 am »
BYO had a blurb about it in their "Roundup" of electric systems, but it's less comprehensive than the Zymurgy review. Having to use the steam hops or making a separate hop tea seems like more trouble than it's worth. The steam hops you have to buy in preprocessed time increments, i.e. "10 minute" Cashmere vs "30 minute" Cashmere.

I'd get one of the small AIO, a minifridge, and a 2.5 gallon keg with a floating dip tube. Ferment/serve in the keg. Or I'd just do extract.

Offline tommymorris

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2021, 08:28:58 am »
Also keep in mind that these products are only as good as their support. I owned a PicoBrew Zymatic for a couple of years -- costs about 2K. Fun little machine that could brew 2-2.5 gallons. The main mash tun piece broke once and they replaced it for free. When it broke again they offered me $500 off their new 2K machine because they weren't supporting that model anymore making it essentially useless.
Yeah. I had a Picobrew. It’s a brick now. People hacked it but I wasn’t interested in that journey. I used the hack a few times and have moved on.

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #12 on: December 22, 2021, 09:22:19 am »
What size batch are you currently brewing?  I lived in an apartment for a couple of year after the end of my marriage and I could have easily brewed 2.5 to 3-gallon batches with an Anvil 6.5-gallon setup. It is small enough to fit in a closet and a 2.5-gallon keg with a paintball tank adapted to CO2-based dispensing will fit in small dorm-size fridge.  There even 1-gallon soda kegs these days.  One gallon BIAB batches can be made with a bog standard 3-gallon stockpot.  The main problem with apartment and condo brewing is the smell, that is, unless you are allowed to boil on the balcony/patio.

Offline Lazy Ant Brewing

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #13 on: December 22, 2021, 02:50:18 pm »
I had been doing 5-gal batches at my house on the back patio, using a full size fridge in the garage as a fermentation chamber/bottle and keg storage.  I was living by myself and if I made a mess at my house it wasn't the end of my world.

My biggest issue with stovetop brewing inside at my friend's place would be boil overs, spills, messes made while bottling or kegging.

I could be content with smaller-size batches as I have weight and medication issues anyway.
It's easier to read brewing books and get information from the forum than to sacrifice virgins to appease the brewing gods when bad beer happens!

Offline Richard

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Re: BEERMKR Are they any good?
« Reply #14 on: December 22, 2021, 05:44:40 pm »
A small electric all-in-one may be the right thing for you. If you are making smaller batches than the capacity of the system your chance of a boilover is zero. Also, a 120V unit will not have any problems bringing a small batch to a boil quickly.
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