Skip to main content

The latest automated home-brewing machine is an all-in-one beast

Home brewing bottles
Adam Wilson / Unsplash

Craft appliance company iGulu has a new all-in-one machine to share. The S1, made for home-brewers, does it all, from fermentation and cooling to dispensing the finished product. And good news for those who like sibling beverages, as the S1 can also make cider, kombucha, and even non-alcoholic beer.

Now, because the process is fully-automated, brewing beer with essentially the push of a button, home-brewers might argue over how much involvement one has. Regardless, the machine offers a streamlined experience, one batch at a time. There are a number of beer styles that can be accommodated and each creation serves up about a gallon of beer.

Recommended Videos

Brew kits come with RFID stickers that can be scanned to set the machine up for the appropriate beer. You can brew everything from an American Amber Ale to an Irish Stout. The S1 comes in weighing 20 pounds and the beer-making process takes about one week.

One of the coolest features of the machine is the bottling capacity. While you can dispense directly into your favorite pint glass, you can also bottle your creation to preserve the freshness of the beer. It’s a great way to enjoy and hang on to just-made beer.

Perhaps the machine will inspire you to officially join the craft beer movement and launch your own label. If nothing else, it will likely outfit you with a nice happy hour pour. The model starts at $549.

Stay right here at The Manual for all things food and drink. We’ve got the latest beer news, spring cocktail recipes, chef insights, and more.

Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
Purity Coffee unveils Brazilian cold brew for home brewing
A new clean coffee blend designed specific for cold brewing
Purity Coffee Cold Brew

Health-focused coffee company, Purity Coffee, has just released its latest innovation: Cold Brew. The new Cold Brew is a single-origin Brazilian coffee, specially crafted for cold brewing at home. Purity Coffee is known for its high-end, mold-free coffee—this blend, which uses beans rich in antioxidants and prebiotic compounds. The latest cold brew blend is designed explicitly with gut health in mind, setting a new standard in health-conscious coffee. Available in whole bean or ground coffee, the new Purity Coffee Cold Brew blend is a medium-roast coffee with tasting notes of cocoa nibs and peanut butter.

The Purity Coffee Cold Brew, now available online, can be easily used with any of your favorite at-home cold brew methods. Just steep for at least 6 to 7 hours to ensure maximum flavor extraction, as well as the extraction of caffeine and antioxidants. This coffee blend, along with all products by Purity Coffee, undergoes rigorous third-party testing for mycotoxins, impurities, and other contaminants, leading to the best-tasting cup of coffee. As health-conscious coffee consumption continues to rise, coffee drinkers are increasingly paying attention to potential toxins and mold that can be present in their coffee. As a regular cold brew drinker, I'm especially excited about this new release by Purity Coffee.

Read more
From ancient brews to craft cans: the 9,000-year story of beer
The lengthy history of a well-known beverage
Beer on a wooden barrel

Beer has deep, deep roots. The stuff predates so many things, from actual religious figures and way-back eras like the Middle Kingdom of Egypt to fellow fermented beverages like wine. How beer is made has changed quite a bit over that long arc, but the amazing fact remains: it's one of the oldest beverages on earth.

Undoubtedly, the first versions of beer tasted very different than what we're accustomed to today. That's pretty much the case with most things we eat and drink (ancient Roman wine, anyone?). Regardless, humans were interested in fermenting grain several thousands of years ago and that's pretty cool to mull over.
When was beer invented?

Read more
Ferment Brewing celebrates a legendary sturgeon and wildlife conservation with a proper IPA
A hoppy craft beer for an ancient local fish
Ferment Brewing High Five Herman IPA.

Ferment Brewing Company is celebrating the birthday of one of the biggest tourists attractions in the Pacific Northwest. The Hood River brewery, located in the gorgeous Columbia River Gorge, is toasting a beloved sturgeon named Herman with a proper IPA. The beer is an homage to the 500-pound fish, believed to be well over 80 years in age.

The beer, aptly-named High Five, Herman!, officially drops on June 22nd. That's the same day that the area celebrates the ancient and giant fish's big day. Herman's home is in a spacious observation tank at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. It's the second year running at the west coast brewery has joined in the celebration of Herman, an Oregon celebrity.

Read more