By Stefanie Collins, editor b&c
As homebrewing technology becomes more compact and more accessible, two companies have launched machines that they believe will do for beer what the Nespresso did for home baristas.
SodaStream International Ltd, the global manufacturer of sparkling water makers, has announced the release of a new home beer system, the Beer Bar. The device utilises sparkling water and “a unique beer concentrate brewed to perfection” to create instant “quality home-crafted beer”.
Launching with a light beer called Blondie that “has a smooth authentic taste, and a hop filled aroma” and 4.5% alcohol by volume a one litre Blondie bottle ‘brews’ approximately three litres of beer. While it is only currently available in Germany and Switzerland, other markets are expected to launch the Beer Bar in late 2016 and into 2017.
Similarly, homebrewing company PicoBrew has introduced a new home beer brewing process with its Pico machine.
Similar to the SodaStream, the Pico utilises pre-packaged ingredient packets and makes five litres at a time, however there is more freedom involved in how the end product turns out. With the system a keg must be filled with water followed by loading the hop and grain modules into the machine. To personalise a brew, users simply adjust the amount of bitterness and alcohol to achieve their desired beer style. Ultimately, after a week the beer should be ready to tap and drink.
PicoBrew will be implementing a “Brew Market Place” which will allow users a unique opportunity to create recipes and share them with other users. The system will be rolled out throughout 2016.