Home-brewing machines have intrigued people all over the world. Various start-ups are taking advantage of this inquisitiveness and have launched such cider brewing machines into the market. But most of these machines are of use only to beer lovers. A start-up called Alchema is the latest edition to the competition of cider brewing machines. Developed by San-Francisco based entrepreneur Oscar Chang, this product is being launched into the market by the fundraising website Kickstarter. Their funding target was $80,000 but by now Alchema has already raised $344,231. The working sample was backed up by hardware accelerator HAX. The reservations for its early units have started at $299 on Kickstarter itself.
Sync the gadget with your Wi-Fi and smartphone
Alchema does not focus on brewing beer but its main focus is on brewing hard cider. This cider brewing machine is connectable to the Wi-Fi proving how technologically up-to-date this device is. The user has to download the Alchema app from the Apple store which is in synchronization with the machine. This “smart homebrewer” app helps select ingredients and keeps tabs on the fermentation process. Approximately, cider can be ready in 1-2 weeks whereas wine takes about 4 months. All one has to do is add the ingredients into the jar provided along with yeast and sugar. The app will notify the user once the fermentation process takes place. The app also gives suggestions as to which fruits will help to attain a particular flavour.
The Process of Brewing
In the brewing process, sanitation is one of the most essential steps. For this, the brewing machine has an in-built UV C-LED lights which sanitizes the pitcher before beginning the process. In order to make sure that amount of each ingredient is appropriate, the device has a weight sensor. This weight sensor measures how much of each ingredient is necessary at each time on the basis of the recipe. After adding all ingredients, one should add the type of yeast desired. Three packets of yeast come with the machine which can produce three helpings of cider. The gadget also keeps a check on alcohol content, air pressure and temperature to avoid contamination. It also keeps the user updated about the same.
The step-by-step procedure of producing cider is as follows:
- The user first browses through the recipes available on the app and selects the desired recipe.
- The next step is to simply load the required fruit, sugar and water into the pitcher and later add the yeast.
- After this, the individual has to put the device to fermentation and wait for the app to notify him.
Hence in just three steps, cider of the desired flavour is available to the user. In comparison to other at-home cider kits, Alchema is one with the most low-maintenance devices available in the market. Unlike other fundraising products, the production of hardware of this machine is under process. The Alchema Cider Brewing Machine will supposedly be available from July, 2017. The shipping will begin with countries like USA and Taiwan.
Whoa. Cider is something that I use in my day-to-day life, How good is its result? Could you please rate it? I checked online but I haven’t come across many articles on this so far. So it would be helpful if you could.