HomebrewandBeer.com forum

Apparently a new microbrewery has opened in the ACT.

It offers quite a few services according to the website http://www.ubrewit.com.au/

They even put your beer into cans, which seems like a fair bit of hassle.

Before I venture out to have a look, I thought I'd ask if they're any good?? They are apparently in quite a few locations across the country but I don't know if their beers are of a reasonable quality or not.

Has anyone been there?? Worth a trip??

Cheers,

Throsby

Its extract brewing from what i read so just keep that in mind.

There are quite a few U-Brews about. I have heard good things, but the general consensus seems to be that it is very expensive. For any skilled homebrewer I think it would be a waste. These places are more for people that don't want to brew at home I think.

Exactly! Its only slightly better than simple K&K and i reckon everyone here could make a beer as good for a fraction of the cost. The only real advantage i see is doing it for a special occasion as you can add personalised labels to cans and bottles, something i am way too lazy to do. IIRC it was something like $50-60 per 25L batch. You could use expensive kits, steep loads of spec grains and use a liquid yeasts and stll come under that! I must admit, there cool room makes me jealous tho, imagine being able to keep 5 fermenters are 11/12 C and be able to walk in and tap of a sample...... drooooooool. I wonder if i insulated the garden shed...........

In Adelaide you should be able to dig out a decent cellar and with good insulation and a somewhat decent AC unit keep it quite cold year round

there's one in Oakleigh, Victoria called Barleycorn Brewers if i recall. Had a mate go there. They advise some... interesting things.. Eg drinking your beer within a few weeks so it doesn't go off?

KEG wrote:drinking your beer within a few weeks so it doesn't go off?

That has got to be good for business! Make people think it will go off if they do not consume it quickly and come back for more

If it's filtered, then fresh is best as there's no yeast to continue the conditioning process.

Thanks heaps guys. I was intrigued by the labelling/canning/kegging options they have.

I agree that they could be good for special occasions because of those options, but it wouldn't be worth it if the beer is no good. I've been very happy with the taste of my own beers and, as mentioned above, can make it for a fraction of the cost of U-Brew. So their beer would have to be fairly nice to be worth the effort.

Has anyone tasted their wares??

Never tasted anything from these sort of places so i wont shitcan them too much. If you have the gear to homebrew, kits, extracts or whatever then these places are really targeting you. They want a bunch of mates to get together for some fun one night and then have their own pretty labels on the cans or bottles. The kegging option is nice too. All grain would be very difficult to do as a businnes like this as it adds so much extra time not to mention equipment. I had thought of doing this as a step towards opening a brewery proper but the sums dont add up. I think i would be better off trying to sell fresh worts especially as there is a gap in the marketplace for these in Adelaide since Grumpys stopped doing them. Pity i have taken such a vocal stance against no chill.......

drsmurto wrote: Pity i have taken such a vocal stance against no chill.......

Just tell 'em you've seen the light, had an epiphany etc. Doc.

Cheers,
Greg

The day i back down on my opposition to no chill is the day i set fire to my doctorate.........

It works for companies making fresh wort kits in clean industrial settings but not in a backyard or shed.......

i brewed there once before i started home brewing, and it was just extract brewing.. there was nothing special about it. it cost 145 dollars for 50L. I made a little creatures pale ale which was very very watery, not hoppy at all and had a strong smell of apples. We canned it, and when i poured it, it was flat within a couple of minutes. They did also tell me to keep it refridgerated and try to drink it within 3 months otherwise it'll go off.

I'd much rather stick with home brewing... cos if you dont like it, you're not stuck with 50L of it...

These places are what got me into HB. So at least they are good for something.

The only thing they have over most HBers is temp control. Everything else we can do as good and better than one of these places.

My advice is that if you are reading posts on this site you have all the tools to make beer better than a u brew it.

The beers i did, about 4-5 batches were all supposed to be different but they all kind of tasted the same.

Spend your money on buying equipment for yourself, rather than $140 a batch.

I agree
Have seen these set ups. Better to invest your money in more HB equipment.

esky mashtun and a keggle all grain or go home

Let's not be judgmental, after all I applied for a job at one of these places yesterday.

Pretty nice setup, wish I had some of the equipment. Though, unless they were feigning ignorance to test me, it'd be nice if they knew a little bit more about the beer and the ingredients.

I just dont understand why they didn't make it an AG setup... anyone (well almost anyone) can make beer using extract, so there is no real novelty to it. I would like to see them have an AG system and really make it a little more special. I think that would attract more people...

It wouldnt take alot more effort from them.. All they would need is a mash tun and sparge system on top of the equipment they already have and they would be set. they already do a full volume boil, and they could have the ability to have water temperature controlled for sparging... why not go the whole way.

If they decided to go with AG i would use it, simply because i dont have the money to by the full AG setup yet and i dont have room yet...

With AG there are too many variables. You need to be a skilled brewer to run an AG system, having the tools does not make you an instant brewer!

This would add significantly to the cost. They would have to provide more training, or hire real brewers. It would take said brewers a lot more time to do each brew. The overhead costs would be higher because of the range of grain they would have to keep in stock. Not all of it would probably get used (some spec grains necessary for speciality beers that may not be popular) before it had to be thrown out (you can only keep grain for so long before it starts to go stale). This is not to mention the cost of what would probably have to be a fairly high tech HERMS/RIMS system, as well as power to run it. Don't even get me started on cleaning as it can be a nightmare with these sorts of set-ups!

Basically what I am trying to say is that it would not be cost effective for them. They would have to charge you far more than the beer would be worth, and most people would be happier to just buy a slab of VB unfortunately.

Kevnlis wrote:With AG there are too many variables. You need to be a skilled brewer to run an AG system, having the tools does not make you an instant brewer!

This would add significantly to the cost. They would have to provide more training, or hire real brewers. It would take said brewers a lot more time to do each brew. The overhead costs would be higher because of the range of grain they would have to keep in stock. Not all of it would probably get used (some spec grains necessary for speciality beers that may not be popular) before it had to be thrown out (you can only keep grain for so long before it starts to go stale). This is not to mention the cost of what would probably have to be a fairly high tech HERMS/RIMS system, as well as power to run it. Don't even get me started on cleaning as it can be a nightmare with these sorts of set-ups!

Basically what I am trying to say is that it would not be cost effective for them. They would have to charge you far more than the beer would be worth, and most people would be happier to just buy a slab of VB unfortunately.

Amen!