Gillies Brewing Posted December 23, 2021 Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 I thought while I wait for my BD to arrive I'd share why I bought one and maybe some of youse might want to do the same... I live and work on beautiful, sunny, tropical Thursday Island. It's a wonderful place to live, and part of the vibrant social life is that there is a chapter of a group known as the "Gentlemens' Order Of Drinking, Brewers Of Own Beer Society" (I'll let you fill in the acronym yourself). There's a few chapters around the country, and it's meant to be to celebrate and encourage homebrewing, but in our chapter a lot of us just like to bring a "tourist beer" (commercial beer) and blow off steam in a tasting and scoring of all of them. There's rules and games and carry on and it gets a little blokey for my normal tastes but it's nice to have the fellowship and have some fun. Anyway I've had 2 goes at brewing for this event, with a MrBeer 8.5L tub and some bottles and other bits and pieces that I inherited from a member moving back down south. I don't know what possessed me but for some reason for my first brew I ignored the can kits I got with it and decided to vaguely follow some crazy 1700s recipe using molasses. I think I was trying to brew something super quickly. It was horrible as you'd expect. I don't know what I was thinking. Anyway I'm pretty sure it got infected too but who'd know with all the molasses taste. I tried a little of it and didn't get sick but it wasn't tasty. I did end up bringing it to a B.O.O.B.S event after a few months in bottles where it matured to "almost physically consumable" and it came last by a country mile earning me the title of Schlopper (like the butler/mediator) for the next event. My other go more sensibly used a can, but when I finally got it in the fermenter I chucked it in our chest freezer to cool and when I came back the tap had lent on something and leaked 3 quarters of the wort into my freezer which I had to spend my whole evening cleaning. I decided to go on indefinite hiatus from the brewing game and just bring tourist beers. The BeerDroid appeals to me for its foolproof nature as I have proven I am a fool. The temperature solution is very attractive for my tropical lifestyle. Ease of cleaning and sanitisation is a big plus. I am easily peer pressured into new hobbies and homebrew appeals to my chemistry backgound. It's expensive but I justified it as a young man on a solid salary, remote subsidy rent through work with no dependents, mortgage or other major ongoing expenses other than food and painting. I'm feeling very excited! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted December 23, 2021 Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 3 hours ago, Gillies Brewing said: I thought while I wait for my BD to arrive I'd share why I bought one and maybe some of youse might want to do the same... I live and work on beautiful, sunny, tropical Thursday Island. It's a wonderful place to live, and part of the vibrant social life is that there is a chapter of a group known as the "Gentlemens' Order Of Drinking, Brewers Of Own Beer Society" (I'll let you fill in the acronym yourself). There's a few chapters around the country, and it's meant to be to celebrate and encourage homebrewing, but in our chapter a lot of us just like to bring a "tourist beer" (commercial beer) and blow off steam in a tasting and scoring of all of them. There's rules and games and carry on and it gets a little blokey for my normal tastes but it's nice to have the fellowship and have some fun. Anyway I've had 2 goes at brewing for this event, with a MrBeer 8.5L tub and some bottles and other bits and pieces that I inherited from a member moving back down south. I don't know what possessed me but for some reason for my first brew I ignored the can kits I got with it and decided to vaguely follow some crazy 1700s recipe using molasses. I think I was trying to brew something super quickly. It was horrible as you'd expect. I don't know what I was thinking. Anyway I'm pretty sure it got infected too but who'd know with all the molasses taste. I tried a little of it and didn't get sick but it wasn't tasty. I did end up bringing it to a B.O.O.B.S event after a few months in bottles where it matured to "almost physically consumable" and it came last by a country mile earning me the title of Schlopper (like the butler/mediator) for the next event. My other go more sensibly used a can, but when I finally got it in the fermenter I chucked it in our chest freezer to cool and when I came back the tap had lent on something and leaked 3 quarters of the wort into my freezer which I had to spend my whole evening cleaning. I decided to go on indefinite hiatus from the brewing game and just bring tourist beers. The BeerDroid appeals to me for its foolproof nature as I have proven I am a fool. The temperature solution is very attractive for my tropical lifestyle. Ease of cleaning and sanitisation is a big plus. I am easily peer pressured into new hobbies and homebrew appeals to my chemistry backgound. It's expensive but I justified it as a young man on a solid salary, remote subsidy rent through work with no dependents, mortgage or other major ongoing expenses other than food and painting. I'm feeling very excited! Welcome Gillies and great article. You won’t regret the Droid and you’re probably read a lot here that supports that. A big tip, beware taking brews to your fellow “B.OO.B.S” members as once they taste them you’ll have none. 😃 The units are expensive at first consideration however pay back will happen , my first Droid now runs at just over $4 a brew. The main thing is the quality of brews that are produced and simplicity of BrewArt recipes and ingredient usage. Bear in mind the Droid will ferment any wort and experimentation will suit your chemistry background.🤔 With proper cleaning and sanitising you can’t go wrong. Wait until you are with your mates, you open the app on your phone and you say “I think I’ll increase the fermentation temperature…” via wifi 🤗 Read up here as there is a lot of info, tips ect and feel free to ask away. What brews do you enjoy the most? BrewArt recipe thoughts! Cheers 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillies Brewing Posted December 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 On 24/12/2021 at 5:57 AM, Captain 3 Droids said: What brews do you enjoy the most? BrewArt recipe thoughts! I started with the QLD Gold because it looks simple and I sure know what XXXX tastes like and so I will know if I've made it right. Not the most. adventurous or most delicious sounding beer on the list but it suits a first go I think. I also bought a Golden Days of Summer Ale because I want to try the dry hopping (I got the filter and bottling adaptor) and I like the fruity flavours of a dry hop but I don't love super bitter beers. I want to try the Ruby Porter and the Spoke Amber Ale because I like the malty flavours, and Coopers Red because I like it commercially, as well as a bunch of the other ones out there Loving reading all the posts on here! I think I'll have read every thread before mine arrives... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted December 26, 2021 Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 2 minutes ago, Gillies Brewing said: I started with the QLD Gold because it looks simple and I sure know what XXXX tastes like and so I will know if I've made it right. Not the most. adventurous or most delicious sounding beer on the list but it suits a first go I think. I also bought a Golden Days of Summer Ale because I want to try the dry hopping (I got the filter and bottling adaptor) and I like the fruity flavours of a dry hop but I don't love super bitter beers. I want to try the Ruby Porter and the Spoke Amber Ale because I like the malty flavours, and Coopers Red because I like it commercially, as well as a bunch of the other ones out there Loving reading all the posts on here! I think I'll have read every thread before mine arrives... Golden Days of Summer is a favourite of mine, it’s not bitter, easy to drink and is adaptable to a number of different hops. I’m drinking one now with 20g Amarillo and 10g Citra - delicious . Both Ruby and Spoke are on the smooth malty side and you’ll enjoy them. A number of the lagers are easy going as well. Glad your enjoying reading the various posts, have you read up on the Droid manual before it arrives? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillies Brewing Posted December 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 1 minute ago, Captain 3 Droids said: Glad your enjoying reading the various posts, have you read up on the Droid manual before it arrives? I've read and reread. Had to make sure it was right for me before buying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Frothman Posted December 26, 2021 Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 Welcome @Gillies Brewingyou'll love your Droid. I've done some work in your part of the world. It's beautiful up there, however I don't miss the wet. I even drank some XXXX Gold when living and working in the Gulf. Sometimes you just need a cold beer but bloody hell it's disgusting stuff. I'd rather a XXXX Bitter off the wood at the Breakfast Creek Hotel. The "real" XXXX. To add to your post/answer your question - I bought my Droid(s) because I was moving to Dubai for work pre Covid-19 and wanted a wifi enabled temperature controlled fermenter. I'd done a bit of brewing a long time ago and it was a spectacular failure. Temperature control and sanitation is everything. You can start off slow using BrewPrints, then BrewPrints with Dry Hops, Custom recipes, Wort Cans, Fresh Wort Kits and even brew from scratch with grain. The possibilities are endless. I think there's a pretty good homebrew store in the Big Smoke (Kuranda - Cairns) for when and if you're down there and need some supplies. Otherwise Brewart's distribution centre is in Brisbane so it shouldn't take too long for things to ship to you. Cheers and enjoy the journey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Courtney Posted December 26, 2021 Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 About 15 years ago, I saw an advert for a home brewing set up for (I think) William Warn and it was a pretty sweet set up...and I thought, " how cool to make your own beers and to such a purported high quality" but the set up was a smidge under 10k so I didn't bother. The bug had bitten though Next a few yerars back, the beer droid came out and i was really, really tempted. I even talked to the team about different ways I could do it...but I still hadn't bought it. One of my staff at work knew that I talked about Brewart a bit and said "oh yeah, Harvey Norman are selling their display droid and Brewflow at a discount, you should go see". So I turned up in dirty jeans, jumper with a whole in it and negotiated both for $600, it was, a sweet deal, even if at the time I was nervouse that I had spent a bit of money on something I wasn't 100% on. Anyways, did a few brewprints in their boxes, learnt the shem sheet and then met someone on this forum with a big beard...don't know if he posts here anymore...and then started to produce some decent beers. Like anything, it is about doing it, to get experience...and sharing your successes and failures because that is how we all learn but there will be a stage in the not to distance future that you will be stoked you bought a droid and will be thinking " how do i get my hands on another one?" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted December 26, 2021 Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 7 minutes ago, Rob Courtney said: then met someone on this forum with a big beard...don't know if he posts here anymore...a Be careful 😁😀 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillies Brewing Posted January 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2022 (edited) The last piece of the puzzle has come together with the beerdroid and some accessories I got from Hop and Grain... Edited January 7, 2022 by Gillies Brewing 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Frothman Posted February 12, 2022 Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 @Gillies BrewingSo a month or so into the journey now. You appear to be making some great progress. How are you enjoying it? 2nd Droid on order yet? 😏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillies Brewing Posted February 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 Definitely enjoying it! Learning a lot, I tend to throw myself pretty hard into a new hobby. No 2nd droid on the way yet. I'm in a townhouse apartment with a housemate and my one droid is already in my bedroom 😅. Also not quite enough of a pintman to get through it all at the minute... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Frothman Posted February 12, 2022 Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 9 minutes ago, Gillies Brewing said: Definitely enjoying it! Learning a lot, I tend to throw myself pretty hard into a new hobby. No 2nd droid on the way yet. I'm in a townhouse apartment with a housemate and my one droid is already in my bedroom 😅. Also not quite enough of a pintman to get through it all at the minute... Great to hear, and it's definitely not about how much beer your produce (or consume) moreso that you learn what you can brew on this system and enjoy your creations and the process. Hopefully your days of $70+ cartons of Great Northern are almost a thing of the past! 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted February 12, 2022 Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 9 hours ago, Gillies Brewing said: Definitely enjoying it! Learning a lot, I tend to throw myself pretty hard into a new hobby. No 2nd droid on the way yet. I'm in a townhouse apartment with a housemate and my one droid is already in my bedroom 😅. Also not quite enough of a pintman to get through it all at the minute... It can be hard to justify however a cunning plan - get your housemate to buy one. 👍😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillies Brewing Posted February 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 He rarely indulges, and when he does prefers rum 😭 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 minute ago, Gillies Brewing said: He rarely indulges, and when he does prefers rum 😭 Obvious solution, you need a new beer swilling housemate! Say to your current housemate “it’s beer or the road” The question you might ask yourself is “what’s more important, the housemate or beer” stupid question on a beer forum lol 😂😂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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