There's never been a better time for craft beer aficionados in the United States. New brews are taking over menus in bars and specialty shops, and this summer it became legal to home brew in all 50 states. Legalizing home brewing, however, doesn't make the process any simpler.The task is a complicated chemistry where timing is crucial: add hops at 45 minutes instead of 60 minutes and you produce two totally different drinks. Miss the timer for cranking up the heat and you've botched the fermentation process.
We use our phones to automate everything from our schedules to our home thermostats, heck––even the number of fresh eggs in our refrigerator. So why not do the same for beer?
Meet the Brewbot, a smartphone–powered appliance for making at–home hooch. The device is composed of plastic bins and pipes enclosed by a sleek steel and wood box that while big––it's about the width of two refrigerators––is handsome. It comes equipped with accompanying software that guides users through the process via a smartphone app alerting them to key moments in the brew process.