Is this where home brewing is headed?

BOB357 · Oct 10, 2017

Products succeed or fail based on whether or not they find a place in the market. If a product doesn't sell well enough to cover the cost of R&D as well as manufacturing and a reasonable profit margin in a reasonable amount of time, it has failed and will be discontinued. An exception to this rule is an entry level product that successfully leads consumers to a product that is profitable enough that it more than covers any lack of profit from the loss leader. Knowing this, I find no reason to condemn a product. To me that's just a waste of my time. I'm retired and my time isn't worth much. How much is your time worth?

Ck27 · Oct 10, 2017

BOB357 said:
Products succeed or fail based on whether or not they find a place in the market. If a product doesn't sell well enough to cover the cost of R&D as well as manufacturing and a reasonable profit margin in a reasonable amount of time, it has failed and will be discontinued. An exception to this rule is an entry level product that successfully leads consumers to a product that is profitable enough that it more than covers any lack of profit from the loss leader. Knowing this, I find no reason to condemn a product. To me that's just a waste of my time. I'm retired and my time isn't worth much. How much is your time worth?

I'm far from retired lol I'm still young and because of that my time is worth more I guess. Hence why I'm not going to waste time with something unless I have a damn good reason

GigaFemto · Oct 11, 2017

Someone mentioned making bread in a bread machine. When I was in my 20s I made my own bread regularly. I had a sourdough starter going and I spent hours making bread from scratch once a week. After I got married and had children I just didn't have time to do that anymore. My sister gave me a bread machine and I used that frequently. Of course the bread was not as good as I made before, but it was a lot better than that from the store, and it took a lot less time. Then my wife got diagnosed with celiac disease and couldn't eat my bread anymore so I stopped making it.... that's a different story.

Anyway, I can see the similarity with the picobrew story. It will save a lot of time, and the beer you make with it will likely be better than what you can buy at the supermarket, but not as good a a real hand-made homebrew.

--GF

Ck27 · Oct 11, 2017

GigaFemto said:
Someone mentioned making bread in a bread machine. When I was in my 20s I made my own bread regularly. I had a sourdough starter going and I spent hours making bread from scratch once a week. After I got married and had children I just didn't have time to do that anymore. My sister gave me a bread machine and I used that frequently. Of course the bread was not as good as I made before, but it was a lot better than that from the store, and it took a lot less time. Then my wife got diagnosed with celiac disease and couldn't eat my bread anymore so I stopped making it.... that's a different story.

Anyway, I can see the similarity with the picobrew story. It will save a lot of time, and the beer you make with it will likely be better than what you can buy at the supermarket, but not as good a a real hand-made homebrew.

--GF

Sorry to hear about your wife that would not be fun not being able to eat bread.

Baron Von MunchKrausen · Oct 11, 2017

I appreciate the analogy to bread making. I too have a breadmaker that produces fantastic bread; better than store bought.
However beer making involves infinitely more variables, as Beersmith clearly evidences. Not to mention the water variables.
Back in the dark ages when I became interested in brewing, much of the equipment available today was not yet developed.
Some of the politically correct responses here miss the point. I do not "condemn" this product. My non-retired time is quite valuable. "More power to 'em" is valid if this product truly meets their needs. I simply am wondering if "push button brewing" may eventually evolve into the main stream and take all the fun and "craft" out of home brewing.

Ck27 · Oct 11, 2017

Baron Von MunchKrausen said:
I appreciate the analogy to bread making. I too have a breadmaker that produces fantastic bread; better than store bought.
However beer making involves infinitely more variables, as Beersmith clearly evidences. Not to mention the water variables.
Back in the dark ages when I became interested in brewing, much of the equipment available today was not yet developed.
Some of the politically correct responses here miss the point. I do not "condemn" this product. My non-retired time is quite valuable. "More power to 'em" is valid if this product truly meets their needs. I simply am wondering if "push button brewing" may eventually evolve into the main stream and take all the fun and "craft" out of home brewing.

I refuse to let it

Oginme · Oct 11, 2017

Baron Von MunchKrausen said:
I appreciate the analogy to bread making. I too have a breadmaker that produces fantastic bread; better than store bought.
However beer making involves infinitely more variables, as Beersmith clearly evidences. Not to mention the water variables.
Back in the dark ages when I became interested in brewing, much of the equipment available today was not yet developed.
Some of the politically correct responses here miss the point. I do not "condemn" this product. My non-retired time is quite valuable. "More power to 'em" is valid if this product truly meets their needs. I simply am wondering if "push button brewing" may eventually evolve into the main stream and take all the fun and "craft" out of home brewing.

I seriously doubt that "push button" brewing will hold most people's interest for a while, which is why I could care less about people using it. If it does lead to some people developing a deeper interest in brewing and moving beyond the pre-made pods into home brewing, then I think it is a good thing (for them).

Ck27 · Oct 11, 2017

Oginme said:
Baron Von MunchKrausen said:

I appreciate the analogy to bread making. I too have a breadmaker that produces fantastic bread; better than store bought.
However beer making involves infinitely more variables, as Beersmith clearly evidences. Not to mention the water variables.
Back in the dark ages when I became interested in brewing, much of the equipment available today was not yet developed.
Some of the politically correct responses here miss the point. I do not "condemn" this product. My non-retired time is quite valuable. "More power to 'em" is valid if this product truly meets their needs. I simply am wondering if "push button brewing" may eventually evolve into the main stream and take all the fun and "craft" out of home brewing.

Click to expand...

I seriously doubt that "push button" brewing will hold most people's interest for a while, which is why I could care less about people using it. If it does lead to some people developing a deeper interest in brewing and moving beyond the pre-made pods into home brewing, then I think it is a good thing (for them).

I love brewing it's a great hobby and it involves basic chemistry and math and stuff so it helps me keep some of those skills somewhat sharp. And I get to learn history at the same time! It's a great hobby how many other hobbies can you experiment so much.